MILFORD, Ohio — Regional economic development leaders, a county official and business executives will gather Thursday afternoon to discuss the next wave of growth facing Clermont County, from industrial and housing expansion to workforce needs, the Clermont Chamber of Commerce said.
The 2026 Clermont County Development Forum is scheduled for 3 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Little Miami Brewing Co. Event Center in Milford, according to the chamber. The chamber said the forum will give business owners and residents “an inside look at the projects, trends and investments shaping our county’s future.”
Kimm Lauterbach, president and chief executive of REDI Cincinnati, will deliver the forum’s keynote address and join a panel discussion, the chamber said. Lauterbach has led REDI Cincinnati, the nonprofit that serves as the first point of contact for companies weighing a move to the 15-county, three-state Cincinnati region, since 2018.
Also joining the panel will be Kris McClintick, Clermont County’s community and economic development director; Bryant Fox, market president of Park National Bank’s Cincinnati division; and Justin Conger, president of Conger Construction Group, which the chamber listed as the forum’s silver event sponsor. Chris Harding, who oversees government affairs and community relations for Duke Energy in the region, will serve as emcee, according to the chamber.
The forum comes weeks after Clermont County officials announced the completion of the State Route 32 expansion through the Eastgate corridor, a 13-year, roughly $200 million effort spanning 11 separate construction projects, according to the county. The project replaced a string of traffic signals along a 4.5-mile stretch of the highway — at Eastgate Boulevard, Glen Este-Withamsville Road, Elick Lane, Old State Route 74, Bach Buxton Road and Olive Branch-Stonelick Road — with new interchanges and overpasses intended to improve traffic flow and safety and to support further private investment in the area, the county said.
The Clermont Chamber of Commerce has served as the county’s primary business advocacy and economic development organization for more than 50 years, working with public and private partners on business attraction, retention and small-business growth, according to the chamber.
The chamber said registration for Thursday’s forum remained open as of Wednesday.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont Chamber of Commerce and Clermont County.