HOUSTON COUNTY RECEIVES THREE-STAR RECOGNITION
Story by Teresa N. Settle
TENNESSEE EXPRESS NEWS WRITER
* Erin, Tennessee Ridge, and Houston County were raring to go to the Governor?s
Conference this month. The event, slated for Sept. 28-30 in Nashville,
highlighted accomplishments across the state. And the good news is, Houston
County has bragging rights.
* Thanks to the Houston County Leadership Class, our little community
[Population 8,000-plus, including about 1,500 in Erin and 1,400 in Tennessee
Ridge] is a THREE-STAR community.
* According to Erin City Recorder Linda Bratschi, the community representatives
won?t be going empty-handed, either. ?We are going to take a booth that is
representative of our community.?
The display covered such areas as tourism efforts, business and industry,
agriculture, recreation, and other activities, and, of course, the annual
Houston County Irish Celebration.
Bratschi said the display showed that Erin, Tennessee Ridge, Houston County,
and the Stewart-Houston Industrial Park all share in the three-star award.
* Several locals will represent our community, including: Bratschi and her
husband Ronnie, Erin Mayor Rhyne Largent, Houston County Mayor George E. Clark,
Bettye and Bob McKinnon, Kay and Randall French, Mike Davis, Sheila Settles,
Julia Presson, Dana Miller, Kristy Spurgeon, Robin Fielder, and Laura Mobley.
*Tonnie Trotter, Regional Economic Development Specialist with the Tennessee
Department of Economic and Community Development, said this is the second year
in a row that the community has been certified as a three-star community.
* She said we were also the 70th community to do so under Governor Don
Sundquist?s old plan.
* According to Trotter, three of the categories that the Houston County
community had to work on were economic development, community development, and
workforce development.
* ?They worked real hard here,? Trotter said. ?The Houston County Leadership
group ? took that as their class project.?
* Trotter, who has assisted other communities in the three-star process, said
she was very impressed with the commitment of the people involved in the three-
star process. She said the partnering and working relationships that went on in
the process was excellent.
?I?m just impressed,? she said. ?People do notice when things are going on.
They may not participate, but they notice.?
At Governor Bredesen?s Conference, Houston Countians received the new
guidelines for remaining a three-star community.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOUSTON COUNTY?
* Tennessee?s 90th county has 200 square miles in northwest Tennessee. It
adjoins Stewart, Benton, Dickson, Henry, Humphreys, and Montgomery counties,
along with bordering the Tennessee River.
* Houston County was first settled in the late 1700s. It was named after Sam
Houston, a former governor of Tennessee, hero of the Mexican War, and president
of the Republic of Texas.
Read more!