Attractions and Job Growth In Southern Ohio

Southern Ohio is one of 10 market regions in the state and as such, includes the 10 counties. It is located just south of Central Ohio, which includes the Capital, Columbus.

The 10 Counties of the Southern Ohio Market

• ADAMS, BROWN, GALLIA, HIGHLAND, JACKSON, LAWRENCE, PIKE, ROSS, SCIOTO, VINTON.

State Supported Resources Open to the Public:

State Parks and State Forests:

• Adams Lake State Park
• Brush Creek State Forest
• Dean State Forest
• Great Seal State Park
• Jackson Lake State Park
• Lake Alma State Park - South of Columbus and near Jackson, Lake Alma has a camping area on top of a tall island in the lake.
• Lake White State Park
• Paint Creek State Park
• Pike Lake State Park and State Forest
• Richland Furnace State Forest
• Rocky Fork State Park
• Scioto Trail State Park and State Forest
• Shawnee State Park and State Forest
• Tar Hollow State Park and State Forest
• Wayne National Forest - Largest forest in the state.

Other State Resources For Outdoor Recreation:

• An additional 7 Nature and Wildlife Preserves - controlled hunts are held yearly in some of the preserves, with park closures.
• 8 Protected Historical Sites
• 9 Maintained Hunting & Fishing Areas - With the new Cabela's outdoor outfitting store in Columbus OH at Polaris Mall, these nine places will be even more enjoyable! Cabela's is at the corner of Gemini Place and Lyra Drive, across from COSTCO on one side and a new high rise htel on the other. At 80,000 square feet, it is smaller than the usual Cabela's, but still abundant with goods and entertainment.

Counties and Their Major Cities:

• ADAMS - West Union, Peebles, Manchester
• BROWN- Ripley (see museum details below), Mt. Orab
• GALLIA - Gallipolis (see material below), Rio Grande, Bidwell
• HIGHLAND - Hillsboro, Greenville
• JACKSON - Beaver, Jackson
• LAWRENCE - South Point (southernmost town in the state), Ironton
• PIKE - Waverly (the center of the region), Piketon, Bainbridge
• ROSS - Chillicothe (a former Ohio Capital; see videos below), Kingston
• SCIOTO - Portsmouth (see videos below), Latham, Wheelersburg
• VINTON - McArthur, Moonville ghost town

Gallipolis Island sits in the Ohio ("Big") River off the coast of Gallipolis in Mason County WVA. It became a part of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge in 2004.

Gallipolis is the birthplace of Bob Evans, who founded Bob Evans Restaurants and the associated sausage company. He was in ompetition with Jimmy Dean Sausage for many years and seems to have come out the winner in sales. The farm is still located near Rio Grand, Ohio and Rio Grand College, to which the Evans family foundation has provided scholarships.

Many celebrities have been born in or lived in Gallipolis. One is the syndicated columbust of The Great Depression Era, Oscar Odd McIntyre. He began work on the Gallipolis Journal in 1902 and progressed to editorships in newspapers in Dayton,Cincinnati, and NYC, to mention a few. Readers of that era said that his columns were like letters from home, only a a big one - New York.

Oscar used his initials and people called him "O.O." like "Oh, oh!"

Michael Harden of The Columbus Dispatch used a letter format at least once a month when he wrote for the newspaper, from a fictitious aunt in a small Ohio town called Kerosene or similar. People felt that he reminded them of McIntyre in a down-home way.

Having died at the age of 53 in 1938 after a successful career that afforded him a Park Avenue hotel suite, O.O. was buried on the bluffs overlooking the Native American's Big River to whom the song Beautiful Ohio is dedicated: the Ohio. You can visit the O.O. McIntyre Park District in Gallipolis and probably find his grave pretty easily as well.

Belcan specializes in engineering and technical jobs, making it one of the top engineering companies in the world. It also is active in staffing activities for a variety of industries.

The private, family-owned company does other professional job placement, but the science and engineering fields seem to be their forte in Southern Ohio. This is useful in that Belcan helps to place individuals into jobs throughout Southern, Southwestern, and even parts of Central Ohio, including people in the growing Aerospace Industry. The entire Southwest Quadrant of the state fr Cincinnati through Dayton-Fairborn to the Capital, Columbus, comprises the Ohio Space Corridor.

Headquarters

10200 Anderson Way, Cincinnati OH 45242 (Blue Ash neighborhood)

As of March 10, 2013 the Southern Ohio region showed 145,675 jobs advertized within its nine counties.The highest demand jobs among this large number include:

1. Engineers at Belcan (various cities): Manufacturing, Software, Electrical, Mechanical, Products, and others.
2. Nursing, all types and levels
3. Insurance Sales Agents
4. Customer Service Representatives in Banks and other Financial Institutions
5. Call Center Jobs
6. Financial Center Managers
7. Mortgage Loan Officers
8. Truck Driver/Owner-Operators
9. Physical Therapists
10. Store Managers
11. Business Analysts

Several large healthcare systems operate in and adjacent to the counties of Southern Ohio. Cincinnati Children's Hospital is just outside the region and consistently lists the largest numbers of jobs for this area, including within its internationally known children's burn unit.

Holzer Health System is the largest employer, advertising the most jobs, within the 10-county region itself. In recent years, it has expanded with a cencer center, a cariac center, a weight loss clinic, and several other departments to serve Southern, Southeastern, and Southwestern Ohio, as well as parts of Kentucky and West Virginia. In March 2013, Holzer advertised nearly 60 full-time jobs and dozens of opportunities for licensed physicians.

1. Cincinnati Children's Hospital- Southwestern Ohio
2. Holzer Health Systems - Gallipolis headquarters
3. Southern Ohio Medical Center
4. Interim Healthcare
5. Cabell Huntington Hospital
6. Fairfield Medical Center
7. Core Medical - Southern Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia
8. Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital
9. Berger Health System
10. Maxim Home Healthcare
11. Genesis Healthare
12. Havasu Regional HealthCare - West Virginia and Southern Ohio
13. Parallon Workforce Management
14. Bon Secours Health System - Southern Ohio and Kentucky
15. LifePoint Hospitals - Southern Ohio and Kentucky