our beginning
The Columbiana County Land Bank was formed in April 2014
County Commissioners Mike Halleck, Jim Hoppel, and Tim Weigle passed legislation requested by County Treasurer Linda Bolon.
This legislation created the Land Bank as a tool to fight blight in the county and to prepare additional land for economic development activities.
CURRENT LEADERSHIP
Board Members
The Land Bank is governed by a Board of Directors.
Current members of the Land Bank Board of Directors:
- Mike Halleck, Chair
- Roy Paparodis, Vice-Chair
- Bryan Blakeman
- Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey
- Bill Cowan
- Jim Sabatini
- Tim Ginter
Executive Director
The daily activities of the Land Bank are overseen by an Executive Director. The Land Bank contracts with the Columbiana County Office of Economic Development to provide these services.
The Current Executive Director of the Land Bank is Bobby Ritchey.
The Former Executive Directors of the Land Bank are Tad Herold and Haedan Panezott.
Mr. Herold was the founding Executive Director of the Land Bank, serving in from 2013-2017 and again from 2023-2025.
Mr. Panezott was named Executive Director of the Land Bank in May of 2021, after serving as Interim Executive Director for seven months. Prior to that, he assisted with the day-to-day operations of the Land Bank as the liaison in the Office of Economic Development.
He left the Land Bank in January 2023 to work full-time at the Port Authority. During his time at the helm, Haedan made great strides in developing the Land Bank’s Brownfield Remediation Program.