Board of Directors

Bart Hamilton’s “real” job is being the Richland County Treasurer (2006 – present). His passion is actually acting as the Chairman of the Richland County Land Reutilization Corporation. He started working in the Treasurer’s office as a Delinquent Tax Collector in 1992 and became Chief Deputy in 2002. Bart attended Kent State University, College of Continuing Studies, Ohio Public Finance Officer’s Training Program.

He is a lifelong resident of Richland County who worked closely with a few forward-thinking individuals in the county to create the Land Bank. In the creation of the Land Bank, Bart took the reins, the Treasurer’s office space, supplies, and personnel to operate the day-to-day functions of the Land Bank.

Bart is very active in the Ohio County Treasurer’s Association and is a member of the Richland County Advisory Board.

Jeff Graduated in 1991 from The Defiance College with a BS in Finance and Management, the Harry Blythe School of Banking, and many other courses through the Ohio Bankers League.

Jeff’s work experience began with sales and management and led to a career in banking in 1997. Jeff joined Richland Bank in Mansfield in 1997 as a Management Associate for one year, then became a Branch Manager. In 2007 Jeff accepted the position of Branch Administration and was promoted to Assistant Vice President. Later Jeff added the retail, mortgage, and collections areas to his management responsibilities and was promoted to Vice President of Retail Operations in October 2017. In addition to the retail loan areas, he is responsible for directing the 10 branch locations of Richland Bank.

Jeff plays an active role in our community, serving on the local board of directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Downtown Mansfield Inc., and the Richland County Land Reutilization Corporation (Land Bank). He also enjoys serving on committees for NCSC, the Rewards Association, the Mansfield Association of Realtors, the United Way of Richland County, and Leadership Unlimited.

Joe Gies is the Project Coordinator for the City of Shelby which includes project management, planning, and zoning. Joe became the City’s Floodplain Manager in 2009, becoming a Certified Floodplain Manager in 2011. He was recognized as the 2012 Ohio Floodplain Management Association Floodplain Manager of the Year and received the FEMA 2015 CRS Award for Excellence.

Joe has spent most of his life in Richland County and is passionate about giving back to his community. He is involved in many commissions and boards including: the Development Advisory Committee for the Muskingum Watershed District, the Board of the United Fund of Shelby, the Community Improvement Corporation of Shelby, Shelby Rotary Club, and Knights of Columbus Council #1968.

A 1988 graduate of Shelby High School, Joe attended Morehead State University and the Ohio State University. He and his wife, Heather, have two children who also graduated from Shelby. Andrew is pursuing a graduate degree at Ohio University and Alexandra is attending the University of Toledo.

Jerry Holden is the President and Broker for The Holden Agency.  Following a career in professional baseball and graduating from The Ohio State University, Jerry furthered his education and entered the world of real estate.

He has built a reputation of success in the industry by being the #1 top sales producing agent for 8 years straight in North Central Ohio and having been involved in over $200 million in real estate deals since 2005.

Jerry has brought a whole new dimension to the real estate market in the state of Ohio. He has done real estate transactions all over the continental United States of America. During those travels, it brought to his attention new ways and ideas of taking care of customers and making it seamless and effortless for the customer using four key principles in his approach to every real estate transaction: innovation, integrity, vision, and partnership.

The Holden Agency continues to expand into new markets and give clientele the expertise that they deserve and a new and innovative way to do business.

In his spare time, Jerry enjoys spending time in south Florida, working out, golfing, watching college football, and spending time with his family. He resides in Ontario, Ohio with his wife Lindsey and their two children, Jaren and Liam.

Cliff received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Toledo. He came to Richland County when he was recruited out of MBA school to work in the Industrial Relations Department of the former Westinghouse Company.

Cliff has worked with some of the largest and most prestigious organizations in the country, including the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; Dunn & Bradstreet and Revlon Health Care in New York; and Armour Pharmaceuticals in Kankakee, Illinois. While at R. R. Donnelley and Sons Company for more than 25 years, he held positions of increasingly greater responsibility including Data Analyst in Finance. He worked at the former General Motors plant in Mansfield in Indirect Materials Management. Cliff taught Communications courses at the University of Toledo and at North Central State College for more than 20 years.

Cliff feels compelled to give back to the community that allowed him to have such good fortune in the private sector. His interest in perpetuating the local art scene is demonstrated by his commitment to the Mansfield Playhouse, which is the second-oldest continuing-producing community theater in Ohio. He served on their Board of Trustees for over 20 years, most of that time as Business Manager. He was elected and served as at-Large Mansfield City Councilman from 2012 through 2019, then elected Council President in 2020. Cliff became Richland County Commissioner the following year and joined the Land Bank at that time.

Cliff is involved in numerous boards and organizations and is a member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church. He has been married to his wife, Cheryl, for over 40 years, and they are proud to say they raised their two successful children, Katie and Daniel, here in Richland County. Cliff and Cheryl have four grandsons: Sam, Charlie, Max and Henry.

Jodie A. Perry is the 71st Mayor for the City of Mansfield, Ohio, after taking office in January 2024. Mansfield is the 23rd largest city in Ohio with nearly 47,000 residents. Mayor Perry has identified economic development, infrastructure, and public safety as her top three priorities.

Prior to this, she led the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development in Mansfield for nearly ten years. In that role, she was responsible for leading the county-wide economic, community, and workforce development efforts.

Previously, she led the Greece (NY) and Van Wert (OH) Area Chambers of Commerce and also served on staff at the Ashland (OH) Area Chamber of Commerce. She also worked as the Deputy Chief Clerk for the US Senate Banking Committee. Jodie received her Bachelor of Arts from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.

Jodie is actively involved in the community and has served in several volunteer leadership positions. She is a past President of the Rotary Club of Mansfield and received the 2019 ATHENA Award for Richland County. The importance of business was instilled at a young age as she grew up in a family of entrepreneurs in Rochester, New York.

Jotika Shetty is the Executive Director of Richland County Regional Planning Commission. She moved from India, with an undergraduate degree in Architecture, to pursue a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning at the Ohio State University, with a brief layover in New York City. This journey has happily culminated for her here in Mansfield, a community she has loved to call home for the past two decades.

The Richland County Regional Planning Commission is a transportation and land use planning organization that also serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Richland County, Ohio. Jotika has led the organization since 2014 and is committed to the vision of a robust and resilient Richland County, engaged in enhancing the quality of life and building sustainable communities through cooperation, collaboration, and participation in planning. To achieve this, the organization strives to provide innovative information and planning services.

Jotika is actively engaged in the community, serving on the board of the Richland County Foundation, YMCA of North Central Ohio, OhioHealth Governance Council, the Richland County Chamber of Commerce, the Richland County Development Leadership Group, and Downtown Mansfield Inc. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and their two children to visit new places and experience new cultures.