Tribune editorial staff

Prosperous communities often have three things going for them: Luck, ingenuity and gumption. The first one is out of our hands. Luck comes and luck goes, with little input from us.

Ingenuity and gumption, however, are things we can utilize here in Lawrence County. History shows that our residents have the gumption to get off their rear ends and do something about a problem or issue. The factories that once served as the economic engine of our area did not become successful because it employed lazy people.

Those factories were among the best in the country because we have some of the hardest working folks in the world.

And that will be key to our success.

Case in point: The Friends of Ironton group was formed months ago after residents started talking and realized that the area needed some help.

In particular, the founders saw that some of our law enforcement officers were wearing bullet-resistant vests that had been taped together and were far past their lifespan. So rather than sit around and talk about how bad things are and how good things once were, the Friends of Ironton, stood up, rolled up their collective sleeves and went to work. Since that time, the group has funded the purchase of new vests for the Ironton Police, donated money to a number of area charitable organizations and worked to replace street signs in the area.

The group's latest endeavor is its most adventurous to date, and could prove to be the most beneficial to the city.

Organizers are sponsoring the Rally on the River, a combination motorcycle rally and car show. But the purpose of the event is far greater than to merely show off a little chrome and steel, it's about economic development. Each enthusiast who comes to Ironton for the event will bring new dollars into our community.

And each one of those may tell 10 friends about his or her experience. So, as residents who will benefit from each dollar that's brought into the area, let's make sure they have a wonderful time and that they'll tell everyone they know about the good time they had in Ironton.

The first Rally on the River could be big, but future events could be huge for our community.