When Mike Throne steps into the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce each morning, he does so with the practiced ease of someone who has spent a lifetime listening to a community’s heartbeat. After three decades in journalism, most of them at the Chillicothe Gazette, he is no stranger to unpredictable days. Some mornings begin with a quiet stretch of emails. Others start with a ribbon cutting, a board meeting or a call from a business owner who needs help navigating a crisis. The variety, he says, is part of what keeps him energized.
Throne arrived at the Chamber in late 2018, leaving behind a newsroom career that began in Sandusky and carried him through nearly every editorial role in Chillicothe. The transition was not a departure from public service but a continuation of it. He had served on the Chamber board years earlier and had long admired the organization’s ability to strengthen the local business landscape. “The chamber world is about making the business community stronger and better,” he said in a recent interview. “And when you have a strong business community, you have a strong overall community.”
For Throne, the Chamber’s mission is straightforward. It is to make Ross County a place where people can grow and thrive. That mission has taken on new weight as the region confronts economic shifts, industrial closures and the promise of new investment. He sees the Chamber as a convener, a role that became essential when the local paper mill closed in 2023. The loss of the plant, once a major employer, sent ripples through the county. The Chamber helped coordinate conversations among government leaders, workforce agencies and business owners, all trying to understand what would come next. “We like to bring people together to talk about the big challenges that face our community,” Throne said.
The former mill site, more than 480 acres along the Scioto River, now represents one of the county’s most significant opportunities. A new owner has plans for part of the property, but much of it remains open for redevelopment. Throne imagines a multiuse site that could attract data operations, advanced manufacturing or emerging industries. The region, he notes, has a ready workforce and a growing network of technical training programs that could support new employers.
Chillicothe’s identity is deeply rooted in history. It was Ohio’s first capital and is home to the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, which recently earned designation as a World Heritage Site. Throne believes that heritage is not a constraint but a catalyst. Visitors from around the world are beginning to arrive to study the earthworks and the Native American cultures that built them. He sees an opening for new experiences, from expanded tourism to cultural programming to outdoor recreation. “I think we are just sort of scratching the surface on what we can do with that historic tourism and that innovation,” he said.
At the same time, the region is surrounded by modern industry. Defense drone manufacturing is rising to the north. Uranium enrichment is returning to Pike County. Kenworth continues to test and refine heavy duty truck technology. A former papermaking facility has been transformed into a medical glove manufacturer with ambitions to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. Throne sees these developments as part of a broader story about a region balancing its past with its future. “We respect our heritage, but we are also looking ahead,” he said.
For all the large scale projects shaping the region, Throne is quick to point out that the Chamber’s membership is overwhelmingly small. Nearly 90 percent of its 800 members have five or fewer employees. These are the mom and pop shops that sell local goods, run ice cream counters, operate batting cages and fill the niches that larger companies overlook. Small businesses face challenges that are often invisible from the outside. Rising costs for gas, groceries and utilities strain household budgets. A single car repair or medical bill can disrupt a worker’s ability to stay on the job. Employers see the effects in absenteeism, safety issues and turnover.
To help, the Chamber participates in the Southern Ohio Employer Resource Network, which places a success coach inside workplaces to connect employees with resources. The goal is simple. Remove barriers so people can work without constant crisis. “It is never fun when you cannot get to work because your car broke down and then you get in trouble for being late,” Throne said. “We want to minimize those distractions.”
Looking ahead, Throne is focused on workforce development. The Chamber recently launched Saana Valley Forward, a website created in response to the mill closure. It will soon evolve into a broader platform for STEM education, career exploration and early exposure to job pathways. Throne believes students should begin thinking about careers long before high school. He knew he wanted to be a journalist in the fifth grade. Many students, he says, do not have that clarity. The Chamber hopes to change that by partnering with schools and expanding hands on learning opportunities. “When they graduate, we want them to be ready,” he said. “Whether that means going to work or going to college.”
The Chamber’s staff is small, just four people plus a resource network coach, but Throne says they “punch over their weight.” Their work ranges from advocacy to event planning to crisis response. Sometimes it is as simple as serving as a drop off site for a member who lost his home in a fire. Other times it involves navigating state or federal policy on behalf of a business struggling with regulation. “If you have an issue that stands in the way of you doing business at your optimum level, we need to know that,” he said. “Let us help you.”
More than a century after its founding, the Chamber remains a fixture in Ross County life. It is a bridge between past and future, between small storefronts and large employers, between the needs of today and the possibilities of tomorrow. Throne, who once chronicled the community from a newsroom, now helps shape its next chapter. And in a region defined by resilience, he sees reason for optimism. “There is a lot of opportunity here,” he said. “We are excited to keep moving forward.”