McCreary County, Kentucky is among the most economically distressed counties in the United States — historically reliant on timber and coal, with no incorporated municipalities. In August 2023, an RGI team spent two days on a self-funded on-site assessment of the county's assets and challenges.
The team paired national expertise with deep local roots: downtown-revitalization pioneer Billy Parrish, one of the country's first Main Street Managers and a former Director of the National Main Street Center; Curtis Lee, a retired Marine Corps colonel with decades of manufacturing, supply-chain, and economic-development experience; and McCreary County native Nathan H. Nevels II, the county's former Economic Development Director, who had already filled downtown Whitley City's storefronts and brought the county airport back into service.
Despite the legacy of decline, the team found real momentum: gigabit broadband, a well-run county airport, the historic district of Stearns, and growing manufacturing investment.
From assessment to fundable plan
RGI's roadmap centered on a unifying county-wide vision and action plan, “Character Areas” with tailored Small Area Plans for Stearns, Whitley City, Pine Knot, and Parkers Lake, a proactive approach to recruiting housing developers, and a strategy to attract remote workers.
Building on the assessment, RGI prepared roughly $1 million in federal and state grant applications — including a US EDA Distressed Area Recompete proposal, an Appalachian Regional Commission pre-application, and a USDA Rural Business Development grant — to fund the county's multi-year strategic plan and small-area planning work.
