Author tells groups to ignore county lines and work together for economic good of the area

Author and economic developer Kim Huston, right, told county officials in Western Kentucky Monday to erase “invisible county lines” and promote the area as a whole. Huston, born and raised in Bloomfield, Ky. (pop. 900) and now living in nearby Bardstown (pop. 10,374), has collected short stories about her life in her book Small Town Sexy.

She spoke to the Lake Barkley Partnership for Economic Development, which includes county elected officials, the local Chambers of Commerce and area tourism representatives. According to a report in The Times Leader of Princeton, Huston said the notion of 120 counties in Kentucky is "absolutely ridiculous," observing that tourists do not pay attention to the boundaries of the community through which they travel. “Nobody really cares, unless it’s us,” she said.

Huston is president of the Nelson County Economic Development Agency, which oversees the county’s tourism, Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Program and economic-development efforts. Economic development, she told the group, is about much more than searching for large industries.  "It’s not your father’s smokestack-chasing anymore. Those days are over." (Read more)