On Thursday, June 27th, 2024, at the regular meeting of the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC) Executive Committee, members named Stephanie Gilbert to lead the organization. Effective August 1st, Stephanie Gilbert will take over as Executive Director of the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission and John Hemmings will officially step down after 33 years with the organization.

Established in 1967, OVRDC has a 50-year history of fostering economic development and job creation in the region. John Hemmings served OVRDC as the Executive Director from August 2008 to July 31, 2024.

“The executive search was a deliberate process that took a while, but the dominos fell in such a way that we have the best result for our organization. Stephanie Gilbert has come up through the ranks and she’s been there 11 years, so she knows the programs of the organization inside and out. She’s what we needed to bring the agency forward and has the full support of the board and commission members,” said Barry Woodruff, OVRDC Chairman of the Board and Brown County Commissioner.

“I am truly honored to have been chosen to lead OVRDC into the future. I appreciate all the support of the staff and the Executive Committee, and especially John Hemmings for investing his time in helping me prepare to take on this role. My priorities will include keeping us in a financially sound position, pursuing growth opportunities and preparing for the agency’s future. With my background, I look forward to continuing to grow the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) program. We will continue to partner with our members on infrastructure projects for regional economic development and increase face-to-face communication with community leaders. All these things tie back to bringing more money into our region to help grow our communities,” said Stephanie Gilbert, new OVRDC Executive Director.

“The executive committee selected the right candidate to take the reins of this organization and lead us into the future. I’m excited for Stephanie and with my upcoming departure, I know I’m leaving the organization in good hands under her leadership,” said John Hemmings. Stephanie Gilbert is a resident of Pike County and has been with OVRDC since 2013. She has moved up in the organization, steadily taking on more responsibilities from first working as the secretary and bookkeeper, then as a part of the planning department where she managed small business program support, and finally, as coordinator of transportation funding projects.

As an owner and operator of several small businesses, Stephanie was a good fit to direct the OVRDC Revolving Loan gap financing program for businesses. The impact of the program since 1985, includes over $7.8 million in loans dispersed leveraging a total investment of $61 million in business investment in the OVRDC region.

Prior to the promotion to executive director, Ms. Gilbert was responsible for heading up the Ohio Department of Transportation designated Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) program at OVRDC. The RTPO program was developed with support from state legislators, to coordinate transportation funding in the southern Ohio region. The RTPO program, under Stephanie’s leadership, has grown to an annual budget of $1.2 million dollars available for planning and projects.

In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys home renovation and landscaping projects and spending time with family. In the eleven years Stephanie has been at OVRDC, she says the best thing about the job is the people she gets to work with, both inside and outside the office.

John W. Hemmings III embarked on his journey at the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission when he was hired as a Regional Planner on March 1, 1991. John then became Economic Development Director in 1996, and later the Assistant Director in 1999, a position he held for nine years before the OVRDC Executive Committee elevated him to the Executive Director leadership position in 2008. Majoring in Business Economics, John graduated summa cum laude from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. During John’s tenure as Executive Director, from 2008 to 2024, he has been part of a team responsible for more than 203 economic development infrastructure projects through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and Economic Development Administration (EDA) programs. The impact of this work has meant over $304 million dollars leveraged for projects in southern Ohio. These ARC and EDA projects were responsible for creating or retaining a total of 15,904 jobs for the region.

Mr. Hemmings says one of his greatest achievements during his time as Executive Director of the agency was realizing the dream of finding a permanent home for OVRDC after circumstances necessitated multiple office moves. The planning and building of the current office and OVRDC home began with John’s initiative. The original office was in Portsmouth, Ohio for many years until that building was condemned, and necessitated relocating to a leased facility in Waverly, Ohio for about 15 years, before construction began in 2012 on the current location.

“It just felt like we didn’t have a permanent home. The building project was one of my favorite projects, because I was involved start to finish, from securing the financing, to helping design and build it to completion and there’s a big reward when you see a project happen start to finish,” said John Hemmings.