Rodney Henry
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

A village of New Richmond native has filled the council seat left vacant when Rick Hilt passed away on May 30.

The New Richmond council appointed Rodney Henry to replace Hilt during its regular meeting on June 28.

Henry, who owns Armored Construction, was one of four applicants for the position.

“I’m proud and excited about it. It was unexpected,” Henry, who’s never held a public office, said. “It helps to be a hometown guy.”

He added, “I’m nervous too; now you have everyone looking at you. I already know some of the other [council] members, so I’m not completely blinded, but I’ll have to lean on them to get my bearings.”

Henry graduated from New Richmond High School in 1989, after which he immediately went into the Army.

A few years after serving, he returned home and then moved to Kentucky, where he met his wife. They lived in Somerset for a while before eventually moving back to New Richmond.

“I have lived other places, but New Richmond has always been home,” Henry said in an email. “I’ve seen the hard times that have come on the village over the years and really wanted to get involved in trying to help bring back the wonderful community I grew up in.”

Henry said that New Richmond has a lot of great things to offer and he looks forward to serving on the economic development committee.

“A great school system and a central location to just about anywhere in the Cincinnati area provide what I think most families are looking for in a community without having the hustle and bustle of bigger city life,” Henry said in an email.

Councilwoman Mary Allen, who was appointed to vice mayor during the meeting, said Henry’s ties to New Richmond distinguished him from the other applicants.

“All the candidates had good backgrounds and were qualified to fill the role, but Rodney stood out because he’s from New Richmond and decided to come back; he’s interested in helping give back to his community,” she said.

Henry is a self-described “doer” and doesn’t like to take “no” as an answer.

“Most of the time ‘no’ is the obvious answer that you already knew. I want to find the angle nobody has thought about and try to turn that into a possibility,” he said in an email. “New Richmond faces a lot of challenges in its attempt to continue to prosper, but if the community continues to work together solutions can be found.”

He added, “It’s our job as council members to work with the leaders of the community exploring options maybe never thought of.”