HOUSTON COUNTY ENJOYS THREE-STAR STATUS

By TERESA N. SETTLE
TENNESSEE EXPRESS NEWS WRITER

* Erin, Tennessee Ridge, and Houston County are still riding high after a
recent trip to Nashville to attend this year’s Governor’s Conference on
Economic and Community Development (ECD).
* That’s because Houston County was officially recognized by Gov. Phil Bredesen
as being a Three-Star community.
* Underneath the Eye of the Batman Building, Houston County Area Chamber of
Commerce Chairman Dana Miller and President-Elect Becky Averitt kept a large
group of County ambassadors upbeat throughout the day.
* Our little community, population 8,000-plus–including about 1,500 in Erin and
1,400 in Tennessee Ridge–achieved bragging rights, thanks in large part to the
Houston County Leadership Class.
* According to Erin City Recorder Linda Bratschi (a former Chamber President
herself and a very active member of the community), the area representatives
took with them a booth that is representative of the community.
* It covered such areas as tourism efforts, business and industry, agriculture,
recreation, other activities, and, of course, the annual Houston County Irish
Celebration.
* Bratschi said the display showed how Erin, Tennessee Ridge, Houston County,
and the Stewart-Houston Industrial Park “all share in the three-star award.”
* 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 the governor’s old
plan. A total of 74 communities were recognized at the Sept. 28 conference.
* 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 recently while visiting Erin. “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 were excellent.
* “I’m just impressed,” she said. “People do notice when things are going on.
They may not participate, but they notice.”
* Other locals who attended the conference, along with Miller, Averitt, and
Bratschi, were the following: Rhyne Largent, G.E.
Clark, Kay and Randall French, Mike Davis, Sheila Settles, Ronnie Bratschi,
Julia Presson, Kristy Spurgeon, Robin Fielder, and Laura Mobley.
* At the conference, ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber stated, “Gov. Bredesen and I
are pleased to congratulate these outstanding communities for their
achievements... Our goal with this program was to develop something that would
be more comprehensive and beneficial to communities and help them close the gap
between economic stagnancy and competitiveness.”
* Kisber said the program’s focus on education, community leadership, and
infrastructure helps local communities identify key marketing strengths to grow
and retain jobs, improve quality of life, and better prepare for sustainable
growth.
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