Brownsville-Haywood County has been certified as a Three-Star Community since 1997.

The Tennessee Three-Star Program is designed as a road map to assist local communities in their effort to achieve excellence in community and economic development.

A Brownsville-Haywood County function, the program is director by a local Three-Star Committee. Members are Walter Battle, chairman; Ann Banks, co-chairman; Joe Ing, chamber director; Rhonda Thompson and Jackie Collins. Communities must be recertified each year, and in 2006, Brownsville-Haywood County qualified for Level II distinction, the highest level in the program.

Tennessee communities participating in the program have gone through an intense strategic planning process, establishing priorities, developing an action plan and learning how to identify performance measures in order to track success. This process is a move toward establishing a fluid strategic plan for each Tennessee community, therefore increasing the success for sustainable economic development.

Required components of the program include a leadership program, healthcare, website, existing industry program and education. Optional components include the areas of community involvement, community livability, community pride, business development, job skills development and visitor development.

For more information about the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development's 3-Star Program, go to www.tennessee.gov/ecd/3star_cnt.htm.

For more information about the city and county's designation, contact Brownsville-Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Director Joe Ing at 731-772-2193.