Author: Levi Berg
Planning Unit: Clark County CES
Major Program: Build Engaged and Empowered Communities – General
Plan of Work: Develop Henry
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Henry County is a smaller rural county of just over 16,000 residents (2019 census), and the county has grown by 4.6% from 2010 to 2019 (2019 census) due to individuals moving from urban to rural areas. With this growth, residents wanted to feel connected to county events. This is conclusion was gained through the University of Kentucky Community Assessment Survey in 2018, and the number one item which individuals stated was most important was to feel more connected with county and community events. With this information, the Henry County Extension Office with support of the Henry County Extension District Board decided to work with the Henry County Chamber of Commerce to create a county-wide informational website. The planning of the website stated in 2019 by a committee consisting of extension volunteers and Chamber of Commerce members, and the building of the website started in the summer of 2020 with a private contractor. The website henrykentucky.com was opened in the spring of 2021. Information shared through this website is broken down into nine different categories such as community calendar, governmental agencies, community help resources, education, farm registry, local businesses, recreation, healthcare, restaurants, and more. This website has been special because it is driving exclusively by volunteers with the sole purpose of helping relay information about community events and services available only in Henry County, Kentucky. Also, there is no charge for information to be shared about community events and such on the website, and there are multiple social media page which shares information while directing individuals to the website. Two aspects many individuals appreciate are the farm registry and local businesses registries. Due to being affiliated with UK Extension, businesses and farmers cannot sell individual items, but this website allows them to publicize that they are in business and the type of business they do. In three months, the website has had over 2,300 views by 279 different user, 28 farms have submitted contact information, and 25 businesses have decided to be a part of this website. The Henry County Extension Office and Henry County Chamber of Commerce are excited for the website to be running and continue to grow.
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