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For most people growing up in the Mahoning Valley, the anticipation and opportunity of leaving “home” can’t come soon enough. The bright lights of the “big city” awaiting them seem to offer something more than what the Steel Valley can deliver. For Trumbull County native, Jonathan Ulp, the Mahoning Valley offered something more than cities like Los Angles and Chicago could ever provide. With a company culture embracing employee development rather than corporate tendencies and a commitment to growing a better community, Jonathan traded in the penthouse for a spot back home on his family’s farm to join Burgan Real Estate as their newest real estate agent.
A 1995 graduate of Mathews High School, Jonathan earned his college degree in Marketing and Communications from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a member of the rowing team and studied abroad, managing to visit 5 continents…there was some studying in there too, we’re sure. After graduating, he began his successful career in “Corporate America.” His ability to successfully lead multi-state teams to meet company goals by demonstrating strong business acumen, quickly provided him with opportunities to rise through the corporate ranks by holding leadership positions with various marketing agencies, as well as working in consumer goods with one of the largest companies in the world, MillerCoors.
Though his successes led him to experience living in some of the largest cities in the country, like Los Angeles and Chicago, he traded in the city life to come back to the fresh air of his family’s farm in Vienna Township, Ulp’s Produce, where he continues to help maintain his family’s farm that has now been existence for 5 generations. The farm not only allows him to be closer to his family and loved ones, but the acres of land is perfect for his dog, Aasher, who finished top in his doggie boot camp class, and Hedgeball, his 1-year old hedgehog. While his personal life was back home on the range, his professional career was missing something, which he found in gaining his real estate license. In his first year as an agent, he garnered over $1.5mm in sales and was looking to grow in an environment that had fertile soil and great care. Burgan Real Estate was the ground he planted his flag.
When not on the farm or making a better home for his clients, you can find Jonathan tilling the land in a different way as he is an avid golfer. If the weather keeps him off the course, you can find him enjoying a fine meal at Leo’s Ristorante in Warren or Muddy Waters in Pittsburgh, preferably with some freshly shucked oysters. But, if he were being honest, he’d really prefer enjoying a cold Pepsi on the couch, watching Netflix or listening to some acoustic John Mayer or Ed Shareen ballads. You can take the boy out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the boy.
Jonathan has experienced what corporate America has to offer and knew that there was something more for him out there. In Burgan, he found something that corporate cultures could not deliver, even in a larger city. “Having held multiple roles in large corporate entities, I’ve come to see the value of independently owned companies where the main focus is on customer service and not the bottom line entirely. I was drawn to Burgan mostly by their emphasis on employee development, fantastic team environment, non-corporate culture, innovative marketing initiatives and support of the local community. It feels like home,” said Ulp.
Well, Jonathan, we think so too. Welcome to the Burgan Bunch!
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