A true daughter of Southeast Kentucky, she grew up biking and “running the creeks” in rural Stearns. Today, she is the head of a growing nonprofit and leading the effort to make this 41-county region the state’s first National Heritage Area.
Photo Courtesy of Tammie Nazario.
Tell us about where you grew up, where it’s led you and what your family enjoys together.
I grew up in Stearns, a small, rural town in southern Kentucky. Stearns is part of the Big South Fork National Recreation Area, located in Daniel Boone National Forest. Outdoor beauty and activities are limitless, making it easy to fall in love with being outside. As children, we would leave early in the day on our bikes to play and knew to be home by dark. We spent much time exploring in the woods, discovering nearby creeks and springs.
Stearns is near beautiful Lake Cumberland where my son, grandchildren and I spend much of our time. I live in Somerset—“Capital of Lake Cumberland”—so it’s nearly in my back door. With over 1,200 miles of shoreline, you discover something new every time you’re on the lake.
Growing up, I wanted to be a “city girl.” My mom has always loved the outdoors. She was an avid hunter, loved riding her horses and just everything outdoors. As I grew older and had a child of my own, I wanted him to experience this natural playground, and hopefully raise his own children here one day. I’m glad I stayed. I love experiencing our great outdoors together.
Tell us about the two different nonprofits you have led.
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE [Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment] was founded in 1997 by Kentucky’s U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers and the late Secretary of the Kentucky Environmental Education Cabinet, James Bickford, to improve water quality in southern and eastern Kentucky. We did this—recruiting nearly half a million volunteers who donated 1.5 million hours to remove 250,000 tons of trash and appliances from our roadways and creekbanks. After 25 years, it was time to show it off, so we launched The Kentucky Wildlands to foster economic development through tourism—promoting an entire region as a destination.
Today, the work is under one combined organization—The Kentucky Wildlands. Our missions complement one another.
What will it mean to become the state’s first National Heritage Areain 2024?
For too long, eastern Kentucky has been overlooked and plagued with negative stereotypes. This designation will provide long-deserved recognition on a national level. Many don’t even know the majestic beauty we have. I’m hopeful this will allow us to develop a plan to keep growing our region.
Appalachian Regional Commission funding in 2018 helped us plan the launch of our tourism initiative. After important community meetings and more planning, we were set to launch in 2020. Then, we all know what happened. Launching a tourism destination in the middle of a pandemic seemed impossible. Our team took a step back, reexamined our messaging and decided we were the best place to “social distance,” so we marched forward. It has proven very successful and positively received!
Why is leading Kentucky Wildlands exactly where you want to be, and is it coming full circle?
I’ve always known I wanted to serve in some capacity. Doing so in a region I love is an incredible opportunity. I’ve seen the economic and geographic struggles of our region all my life. Fun fact: I traveled to various places as a child doing reenactments at parks, including Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. We slept in tents much like there were many years ago. I dressed in the long prairie dress, like one you would have seen during the Civil War. I learned to fish during these events. These opportunities contributed to my love for the outdoors and this work.
What’s next for you?
For now, we are focused on the National Heritage Area designation. I love to start new projects so I hope everyone will follow along in 2024 to see what else is next!
The story above first appeared in our March / April 2024 issue.
