Chillicothe, Ross County, Southern Ohio, and Ohio — Economic development and community plans were the topics of the “Annual Celebration Breakfast” of Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development.
Five speakers, as well as the economic development director and the chairman, spoke in the two-hour event at the Chillicothe County Club on December 11th.
Director Tammy Eallonardo started the event with an briefing of the projects overseen by the consortium of Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development (GCRCD), Ross County Community Improvement Corporation (RCCIC), Joint Economic Development Initiative of Southern Ohio (JEDISO), and others.
She said when they started the breakfast a few years ago, she could dwell on details of a few projects…now she can only summarize the many. She listed the ten projects GCRCD supported in 2024, and that they represent more than $91M in capital investments.
Eallonardo said that JEDISO reached a “monumental milestone” in 2024 of reaching a total of $1B of capital investment secured. JEDISO, the Joint Economic Development Initiative of Southern Ohio, was created in 2013 to support the four-county region impacted by the loss of the Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon.
Hear her in her own words in a video of the beginning of her presentation.
The keynote speaker was Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Development of Development.
She congratulated Ross County and Chillicothe on their work at home and in the region, especially with their roles in the Appalachian Community Grant – Mihalik said people here will benefit from their work for years.
In introducing her, Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney pointed out that she had been the mayor of Findlay, Ohio. Mihalik said that being mayor has shaped her role in the state, saying that “local knows best.”
She said the DeWine-Husted state administration has worked diligently to listen to local needs, with support of the general assembly.
To learn more, she recommended her department’s website, as well as the Ohio Department of Tourism.
Speakers in the Celebration Breakfast included Drew Cooper of JobsOhio, and Katy Farber of OhioSE.
My reports will be upcoming on the presentations by Mihalik, Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney, and Ross County Commissioner Jack Everson.
