Hall back home as Holmes County commissioner

Maybe it’s the story of the prodigal son returning home. Maybe it’s a case of a man leaving home and coming back wiser, or perhaps it is a story of a young man spreading his wings, taking a chance and growing personally from the experience.

Regardless, Holmes County native Dave Hall has experienced the world through new eyes and is now ready to bring everything he learned back to Holmes County.

On Jan. 1, 1999, Dave Hall took his seat behind the large wooden desk in the Old Jail meeting room in Millersburg as Holmes County’s newest commissioner.

The Holmes County Republican Central Committee met May 9 and voted to appoint Hall to complete the unexpired term of Rob Ault as a Holmes County commissioner. Ault resigned April 3 to retire. His term expires at the end of 2022. Hall won the May 3 Republican primary for the new term for Ault’s seat on the board of commissioners, which will begin January 2023.

Republican Party chairman Rob Hovis said the central committee felt it was logical and appropriate to appoint Hall to complete the unexpired term because Hall is unopposed in the fall general election and will take office as soon as he is sworn in.

While he spread his wings and later served at the state and national level, Hall never forgot where he came from and now returns to serve his community again, having been elected as a Holmes County commissioner during the recent May 3 election.

While he said he will feel right at home, he added that the challenges he faces now compared to two decades ago will be vastly different.

“Our county has changed greatly since I was here last,” Hall said. “We’ve grown a lot. There have been a lot of changes, yet many things are the same, and I am looking forward to serving the people of Holmes County to the best of my ability.”

After serving as commissioner in his first tenure, Hall was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2009. During his eight-year tenure, he served as chairman of the agriculture and natural resources committee and was appointed to the finance committee, the finance subcommittee on agriculture and natural resources, and the local government committee, as well as serving on the Ohio Public Works Commission. He also was a past president of the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association.

In November 2017 the Trump administration appointed Hall as state director for USDA Rural Development in Ohio, where he served until Trump’s presidency ended in 2020.

Hall said bringing that experience back to Holmes County will be a foundational plus in working with administration, local businesses and organizations and serving the people of Holmes County.

“I am looking forward to bringing the knowledge I’ve gained at the state and federal levels to Holmes County,” Hall said. “I’ve made so many great contacts at all levels of government, and I believe that will enhance our ability as commissioners to connect our businesses and organizations and to grow our infrastructure the way it needs to grow for us to be successful.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is one of his commissioner cohorts. Joe Miller was part of the commissioner team when he left office in 2008. The change in teammates will be changing Rays, going from Ray Feikert to current commissioner Ray Eyler. He said changes since he last served in Holmes County have gone from dealing with Ohio EPA issues and the Holmes County landfill to developing better infrastructure and business growth and employment issues.

Hall said public service has been a part of his life for many years. He said his parents and grandparents instilled that desire to serve others in him, and doing so has been a life process for both him and his wife Anita, who currently serves as the Holmes County recorder.

He said whether he is serving under the Trump administration, at a state level or on the local level, service to the people never changes.

He also said having built relationships with many of the county employees and leaders long ago, he is looking forward to growing and developing new relationships.

“That’s something I am looking forward to,” Hall said.

While serving as a legislator, Hall said he developed an approach to serving called Capital Stacking. He said that is leveraging local funds and stacking state and federal dollars on top of that to truly create the best possible funding for projects. He said knowing the avenues where state and federal resources are available is one asset he hopes to bring to the commissioner role. He pointed to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s new commitment to making available $50 million to Appalachian counties in Ohio.

“How can we leverage our local dollars against those funds to improve and benefit our county? That is one thing I am going to explore,” Hall said.

While he enjoyed serving on the state and federal levels, Hall said coming home and turning his attention to Holmes County and its people is exciting.

“I can focus on one county now,” Hall said. “It’s our county and our people, and bringing that kind of focus to the people here is all about Holmes County. To be able to come in here every day and focus my interests to all the residents of Holmes County is heartwarming for me.

“I’m ready to step in and work as a team to support and serve the people of Holmes County and do whatever it takes to serve.”