Projects
Each year’s class is asked to develop and carry out projects designed to benefit the residents of Adams County. This could be one major project of several smaller ones. The class develops the basics of the project over the course of their course work, then continue after their Launch to bring it to reality. The following is a list of the various projects that have been developed over the past years.
Class of 2011
Leadership Adams Youth Academy
This class discussed and developed the initial plans and concepts of creating a Leadership Adams Youth Academy. This Academy would become reality in a later year.
GED Program for Jail
This class assisted in securing the grant to bring a GED program to the county jail. This grant allowed the securing of staff to work with the GED resources in the area but to also bring on additional staff to assist inmates with academic support and direction. Students completing their alternative diploma were given earlier probation opportunities with stable and consistent employment.
Class of 2012
John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail Promotion
A team from the class developed, designed, financed, and printed 4x9 full color rack cards to promote the JHM Heritage Trail that passes through the county. These were placed at various information kiosks in the county. This project helps promote tourism throughout the county.
Ping Pong Balls Fundraiser at McDonald Classic Holiday Tournament
This was a Community Fund Raiser for student scholarships. The class initiated a competition between the current Leadership Adams Class and Alumni for most balls sold at event.
Adams County Designation / Board for United Way Contributions
Previously all United Way contributions collected from the DPL and GE employees and others were going to the Scioto chapter because Adams County did not have the structure. As a result, the returnable amount to the county was not close to the amount collected from Adams County employees. The establishment of a United Way board in the county allowed for the county to move to fuller funding and equitable distribution to county agencies.
Class of 2013
Adams County Geocache Sites
To help promote tourism, several Geocache locations were placed in key areas around the county. Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which participants use GPS coordinates to locate containers (caches) at specific locations. Over a million people actively participate in this high tech “treasure hunt”.
Interfaith House Relocation
The original house on North Street needed repairs. As the group looked into repairs, a possible metal building, or other options, the opportunity opened up to secure the Chaparral Feed Store building (grants and local funding). The class worked on physical transitions as well as fund raising / grant efforts to secure the property.
Foundations of Adult Education Training Center
A business incubator/adult training center were some of the primary needs discussed for Adams County. Southern State and Economic Development started conversations for the Adams County campus of SSCC. ACOVSD offered after hour use of facilities to start an Adult training program if others would facilitate the training and management since the school district was not charted to offer adult education.
Class of 2014
Adams County Fairgrounds Revitalization
A meeting was held with the Adams County Agricultural Society to make them aware of the Leadership Adams class and its desire to do a project to benefit the fair and see what they needed help with. In the first year, marketing efforts began to double sell the fair book. Letters went out to several hundred businesses/organizations and the fair book was sold at $16,000. The Merchant Hall was painted, and work began on the renovation of the historic grandstand. The Annual Grandstand Bonanza dinner was created to raise $15,000 each year to be used to match grants, beautification, and general upkeep. Since 2014 over 1 million dollars in improvement have been completed. Capital money is now being awarded and Ohio Department of Agriculture funding has been given multiple times. This ongoing project has taken the situation from borrowing money to start the fair, to now ending a fair with 6 figures in the bank!
Class of 2015
Homeless Shelter Supply Drive
The class collected supplies and encouraged groups to contribute to the needs list of the Homeless Shelter.
Class of 2016
Resurrection of the Chamber of Commerce
Efforts to resurrect a struggling chamber started with this class. Members filled many of the executive officer’s positions (even if for a short term) and created an event to generate interest and support for the rising of a Chamber effort. The outcomes gave the Chamber the structure needed to grow strong.
Class of 2017
Adams County Business App
This class developed the concept of creating an App for the Chamber of Commerce. The App would list all county businesses that participate in the Chamber. The design work was going to be carried out by students at the CTC, however; due to curriculum changes this never happened.
Class of 2018
Hiker’s Guide to Adams County
The Hikers Guide to Adams County is a single source guide to all public hiking trail in the county. The design and production of the guide required a cooperative effort between multiple organizations including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, The Cincinnati Museum Center, and the Arc of Appalachia. Fund raising efforts resulted in the printing and distribution of 26,000 copies throughout the Tri-State area.
Class of 2019
Underage Drinking Awareness Campaign
A campaign was designed to bring awareness to the problems of underage drinking. Signage was developed to be distributed throughout the county, near the four high schools, during Prom time. Radio spots were also developed and run on WRAC.
Class of 2020
Adams County Resource Guide
A digital source to various assistance resources was developed on the Leadership Adams website. This guide lists resources for clothing, food, transportation, housing, and Senior Citizen’s needs; as well as several other categories. Promotional materials such as magnets and postcards were produced and distributed throughout the county.
Adams County Bear Display
Fundraising to assist in the construction of a display case for a young Black Bear that was accidentally killed within the county. An informational brochure was also printed to describe life of black bears and their growing re-appearance in the county. This display is in the Adams County Courthouse.
Class of 2022
Veterans Memorial
The class is currently continuing to work on the development of an Adams County Veteran’s Memorial. This memorial would be located at the intersection of State Routes 124 & 41, on property donated by First State Bank.
Class of 2023
Marketing Plan
One question repeatedly asked during our Leadership Adams 2023 sessions was, "How do we attract revenue and investments for Adams County?"
Many were equally interested in tourism and economic development. Tourism has been a linchpin for the county due to the natural landscape and unspoiled terrain. We asked ourselves, "How do we continue to foster our natural resources while inviting commercial investments to see the appeal of opening manufacturing?" This question ultimately led to determining our community brand – naming what Adams County represents and what Adams Countians value.
The stunning countryside, land preservation, and dedication to agriculture define much of what we do here. A broad marketing strategy targeting tourism in relaxation and recreation and enticing commercial enterprises with local talent and land provision encompassed the brainchild we were sensing.
The Leadership Adams Class of 2023 aspires to work alongside economic and community development and travel and tourism to produce a fluid blueprint for marketing Adams County. This project will be a workable plan that will adapt to the consideration of our audience, assets, and message. We will carefully weigh and gain expert opinions on combining traditional and digital marketing strategies.
The first in a series of this effort is to update the current hiking guide. Plans and processes are underway, the Leadership Adams Class of 2018 completed much of the groundwork. The hiking guide allows the LA Class of 2023 to build on an established project and further educate us on promotion strategies while partnering with other community leaders.