Call it whatever you like, but the recent gathering of elected officials from across the county to talk about where we are headed in 2010 should be considered a step in the right direction.

That was exactly what last week’s Lawrence County Community Leaders Symposium was all about: moving our entire region forward.

Critics and naysayers who want to do nothing but sit on the sidelines and throw stones were quick to point out that this meeting was all talk.

And they may be right.

But, you know what? Talk may be exactly what is needed to get progress started.

For far too many years city and county government did a terrible job of communicating and an even worse job of working together.

Meetings like this one — an effort that was led by Ironton City Councilman Kevin Waldo — are a solid foundation for continued growth and partnerships.

Talking about challenges every community and agency in the county are facing as a whole is the first step toward working together to overcome these hurdles.

Are our elected officials perfect? Of course not. Do some decisions make it appear that far too many of our leaders are happy with the status quo? Absolutely.

But to constantly criticize even the positive efforts is counter productive and just feeds the negativity in our community.

Working together to make plans for our county’s future is vital. And that starts with getting together to talk about where we are going.