On Dec. 14, 2016, Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud, pictured in back, presided over his last regular session. He will retire early next year after 28 years of public service to devote his time to being a stay-at-home dad to his 2-year-old son, Michael Proud, pictured in front.

On Dec. 14, 2016, Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud, pictured in back, presided over his last regular session. He will retire early next year after 28 years of public service to devote his time to being a stay-at-home dad to his 2-year-old son, Michael Proud, pictured in front.
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud will retire early next year after 28 years of public service, and he presided over his last regular session on Dec. 14.

“It’s bittersweet,” Proud said as he closed out the meeting. “I love the job; love it today as much as I loved it day one. Twenty-eight years has been awesome; it seems like just yesterday.”

He added, “We have a great team; I’ve worked with great people here at the county, and no one ever worked for me, they always worked with me. That’s been my philosophy.”

Proud’s seventh term will end on Jan. 2, 2017. He didn’t run for re-election and instead decided to retire so that he could devote his time to being a stay-at-home dad.

Proud, 58, married for the first time in 2012. He and his wife Rebecca have a 2-year-old son, Michael.

“I’m trading in one title for even a better title, and that’s to be a full-time dad,” Proud said. “I’m looking forward to my new job, as stay-at-home dad. We’re going to have a lot of fun fishing and camping, and maybe we’ll get my wife camping, too.”

Proud is a native of the county; he was born and raised on a farm in Amelia. His parents, Charlie and Beulah, grew soybeans and field corn, and raised cows, hogs and chickens, according to a press release.

After graduating from Amelia High School, Proud went on to attend Cumberland College in Kentucky, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in both religion and psychology and a certificate in secondary education.

As an avid tennis player, Proud had planned to teach high school psychology and coach tennis. However, when he was approached by then Clermont Senior Services Director Lois Brown Dale to take a job in public relations for the agency, he accepted.

Dale took Proud under her wing, and in 1987, she suggested he run for county commissioner.

Proud hadn’t considered running for an elected office, but once the seed was planted, he threw himself into the candidate role; he took 72 percent of the vote in the primary against an incumbent Republican, according to a press release.

He ran a grassroots campaign and went on to win the general election.

“I’ve always been one who believes you go big, or you go home,” Proud said.

He joined then Commissioners Martha Dorsey and Jerry McBride.

Quickly after taking his seat, Proud and the other commissioners were tasked with making some controversial decisions.

They approved finalizing the state Route 28 bypass as well as a 30 percent fee increase for water/sewer customers to pay for improvements to the county’s wastewater treatment plants, according to a press release.

As he prepares to leave office, Proud is satisfied with the fiscal state of the county. With a healthy reserve fund and yearly appropriations that never exceed the previous year’s revenue, the county can sustain itself during a downturn, as it did during the last recession, he said in a press release.

In addition to making decisions that govern the county, Proud has also been an advocate for area veterans.

Since 2004, 12 local men have been killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and their pictures hang on a wall of tribute on the third floor of the county Administration Building, outside the commissioners’ hearing room, as well as in Proud’s office. He also arranged a public memorial service for each of the veterans, and he stays in touch with each family, according to a press release.

In 2009, Proud began Whole in My Heart, a support group for families of deployed veterans. The group had more than 400 members at its peak; it meets the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Union Township Civic Center, located at 4350 Aicholtz Road.

As he closed out the meeting and this part of his career, Proud reflected on a lesson he learned from his parents.

“My mother always told me, ‘Your name will always go further than you ever will,’ and I hope too when people hear the name Proud, they will associate that with integrity and honesty, and those are things I plan on also imparting to my son,” he said. “So again, to the people of Clermont County, thank you for all those years of support. It has been my honor to serve you.”

He added, “And, to all of those on our county team, from ‘89 on to today, I thank them; it’s them who made me look good. What you do is you surround yourself with good people and you let them do their jobs, and it makes you look good as well.”

Proud also urged leaders to keep an open mind when it comes to politics.

“The one thing I stress to people, too, is don’t ever see a Republican, don’t ever see a Democrat, see a person,” he said. “When you do that, keep that in mind, you’ll be successful whether you’re elected or you’re appointed.”