Face to a name: Dominion East Ohio's relocation from downtown Cleveland to East 55th Street entailed a significant investment in its headquarters and the community.(Community)

Until a year and a halt ago, most people in Cleveland's St. Clair-Superior neighborhood saw Dominion East Ohio as little more than the men in the white hard hats who fixed gas leaks. That perception is starting to change.

"We're not just some big bad utility [company] anymore," says Bruce Klink, vice president of business development at Dominion. "That's the biggest business plus, is that we're a much more friendly face to the community out here. Downtown you don't have that kind of thing."

In 2003, Dominion consolidated its Cleveland-area offices from the East Ohio Gas building downtown and satellite offices in Independence to a former operations building on East 55th Street in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood. With the move, Dominion has invested more than $100,000 and hundreds of volunteer hours to area nonprofit organizations, schools, and charities.

Not only have those efforts helped introduce the community to Dominion's 350 employees, but it has also reaped dividends for the company as well as improved the neighborhood.

"Our people feel more comfortable here," Klink …