WAVERLY — At the regular June meeting of the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission Executive Committee, members named Stephanie Gilbert to lead the organization. Effective Thursday, Stephanie Gilbert took over as Executive Director of the OVRDC and John Hemmings stepped 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. Hemmings served OVRDC as the Executive Director from August 2008 to July 31.
“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 program,” Gilbert said. “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.”
OVRDC Chairman Barry Woodruff pointed to Gilbert’s years of experience with the OVRDC, coming up through the ranks and her institutional knowledge.
“She’s what we needed to bring the agency forward and has the full support of the board and commission members,” Woodruff said.
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 i nvestment of $61 million in business investment in the OVRDC region.
Prior to the promotion to executive director, Gilbert was responsible for heading up the Ohio Department of Transportation designated Regional Transportation Planning Organization program. The RTPO program was developed with support from state legislators, to coordinate transportation funding in the southern Ohio region. The RTPO program, under Gilbert’s leadership, has grown to an annual budget of $1.2 million available for planning and projects.
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 Hemmings’ initiative.
Hemmings will continue his economic and community development work in the region and is looking forward to taking on new professional challenges, renovating his house and travelling in his time off.
