More than 300 travel industry representatives descended on Wilmington this week as Clinton County hosted the Annual State Tourism Conference, a milestone the rural county spent more than a year working to secure. The gathering brought state tourism leaders through the Roberts Center, a historic downtown theater, and a working farm south of town, showcasing the county's hospitality assets to an audience that decides where Ohio tourism dollars and attention flow next.
Clinton County won the bid to host the conference in 2025, according to the Wilmington News Journal, with Melissa Hedrick leading the effort to bring the statewide event to the county. Susan Valentine-Scott, who has served as Executive Director of the Clinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau since April 2017, also sits on the Ohio Travel Association's board of directors, giving the local bureau a direct line into the statewide circuit that selects host counties each year.
The conference's main sessions unfolded at the Roberts Center, a facility that offers more than 80,000 square feet of flexible meeting space across 13 event rooms with a total capacity of 4,600 people, according to the Roberts Centre. That scale allowed the venue, which sits alongside an on-site Holiday Inn along Interstate 71, to accommodate breakout sessions and state awards presentations for the full slate of attendees.
Awards and a Near-Miss for the Home Team
Among the honors handed out was the Paul Sherlock Award, which recognizes individuals who exemplify professional, personal and career excellence in Ohio tourism. This year's winner, Jason Fallon, works for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and is involved with the Ohio State Fair, per the conference proceedings detailed by the News Journal.
Clinton County itself was nominated for a RUBY Award but did not win this round. The RUBY Awards are presented annually by the Ohio Travel Association and sponsored by Ohio Magazine, evaluating destination marketing excellence across 17 categories based on organizational budget size, according to the Ohio Travel Association.
A Farm Dinner, a Pie Auction, and a Theater Built by a Cubs Owner
Clinton County Commissioner Kerry Steed helped open the conference and welcomed attendees at an opening dinner held at Schappacher Farms, a 50-acre family-owned agritourism destination on State Route 73 that opened its current location in 2017, according to a county tourism document hosted by Clinton County. The outdoor dinner included a bonfire, hayrides, and live farm animals, with Baker Street Culinary providing a pig roast and Harvest House Catering supplying the sides.
Jonathan McKay conducted a pie auction during the evening, assisted by Shelby Boatman-McKay and realtor Bobi Gray. The auction raised nearly $1,500 for the Leadership Clinton Youth Collaborative, a program created in 1994 by the Clinton County Leadership Institute to provide leadership training and civic education to high school students across six local school districts, according to Leadership Clinton. McKay also presented facts about the county's heritage as music played and local TinCap Hard Cider was served, with the cider taproom operating out of a spot on West Sugartree Street specializing in house-crafted varieties, per TinCap Hard Cider.
Later in the conference, attendees traveled to the Murphy Theatre in downtown Wilmington for a concert. The 682-seat venue was built in 1918 as a gift to the community by former Chicago Cubs owner and Wilmington native Charles Murphy, according to the Murphy Theatre.
Why a Rural County Fights for the Hosting Bid
The competition among Ohio counties to host the annual conference reflects the broader stakes of the state's tourism economy. Visitors generated nearly $58 billion in total economic impact across 245 million trips in Ohio in 2025, supporting nearly 447,000 jobs statewide, according to TourismOhio. State and local tax revenue generated by that activity totaled $4.8 billion in 2025, an amount TourismOhio estimates saved each Ohio household about $989 in state and local taxes.
The conference was scheduled to wrap up Friday with the unveiling of next year's host county, a tradition that keeps the statewide spotlight moving from one Ohio region to another. Clinton County's turn in that spotlight followed previous host communities including Wooster in 2023 and Newark in 2021.
