The South Western Economic Development Council celebrated the economic growth across Christian, Todd and Trigg Counties and honored those that made it happen at their annual Industry Appreciation Lunch on Wednesday at the James E. Bruce Convention Center.
The Industry Appreciation lunch is an annual event hosted by the council and takes time to recap and recognize economic achievements over the past year.
Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Jeff Noel was the lunch’s guest speaker, and shared that the economic growth the three-county region is seeing would not happen without the people or the community support.
Along with the region, Noel says Kentucky is on an economic climb with the state recently having its best two years of economic growth and told the audience it’s okay to give themselves a pat on the back for their work in the community.
Following Noel, Hendricks took a moment to remember former Elkton mayor and community leader, John E. Walton who died in June. Hendricks was joined by Todd County Judge Executive, Todd Mansfield and Elkton Mayor, Arthur Green to present Walton’s family with the inaugural John E. Walton Legacy of Leadership Award honoring his work in the community.
Along with the award, Mansfield and Green presented Walton’s family with a plaque renaming a parcel of land designated to be an industrial park in his honor. Mansfield says Walton played a key role in securing that land, and it was dubbed the Robertson Property, but now it has been officially renamed as the John E. Walton Business Park.
The plaque was presented to Walton’s wife, Diana Walton who says her husband loved Todd County and wanted to make it a great place for their family.
Concluding the lunch, Hendricks recognized industries that have established facilities in the region and what milestones they have achieved in 2023. Hendricks recognized companies such as Novelis being in Todd County for five years all the way to Rogers Group who have been in Southwest Kentucky for 70 years.