Staff Spotlight, November 2017

OACAA would like to thank Mr. Kline for his contributions to the Community Action mission.

Mr. Kline joined Ironton-Lawrence County CAO in 1981 as the Agency Planner and later became the Director of Housing and Community Development. In 2003, he was promoted to Assistant Executive Director over Planning and Development. He currently oversees the areas of housing, economic development, downtown and community revitalization, infrastructure improvement, and strategic planning for Lawrence County, the City of Ironton, the CAO, and its subsidiary corporations.

Mr. Kline is responsible for bringing in “hundreds of millions of dollars” to Lawrence County. He has successfully built strong relationships to leverage partnerships and employers bringing value and resources to the community to make a strong impact.

“Many of the great things our agency has accomplished can be directly attributed to Ralph’s work,” said D.R. Gossett, executive director of Ironton Lawrence CAO. “He knows how to communicate the purposes of the dollars and the impact those dollars will have on the community. There is no way to do his work justice. Ralph has really bent the curve.”

Mr. Kline is an Ohio University graduate with a Master’s Degree in Geography concentrating in Economics and Rural Development.