PINEVILLE — Bell County has a lot of brand names associated with it, from Middlesboro’s “The Crater City” to the tourism slogan for the county, “Gateway to the West.” But much of the discussion at Thursday’s third Bell County Summit on the Future addressed how to nail down one brand name for the county.

“Your brand is who you are. It reflects everything you are,” said Jeff Hooper, Chief Marketing Strategist for the Knoxville-based marketing firm, Ackermann PR, speaking to a room full of Bell County’s most prominent politicians, business people, and community activists at Pine Mountain State Resort Park.

But Hooper asked the group to consider something new for the county’s image.

“We feel the current brand is just not working.” Hooper said in order to come up with a brand, the county should recognize their strengths and own identity, like a rich history and faith-based, family-oriented values.

But Hooper asked the crowd what they thought the essence of Bell County is.

“We believe it is your commitment to preserving your heritage while investing in the future,” said Hooper. “ You are willing to move forward. But you don’t want to lose what you have.”

He said that the county has relied on using nature and the mountains too much, and needed to focus on the origin of the area.

“Bell County: Blaze a Trail” is a possibility for a brand name that his agency came up with.

Hooper said that this new approach will send a new signal to businesses considering Bell County.

“If you want to bring your business to our community, what you will sit by is an environment that applauds pioneerism,” said Hooper. He said that “Blaze a Trail” encapsulates the spirit of pioneerism today and ties it to Bell County’s history.

Judge-Executive Albey Brock quickly interjected that the brand is “not in stone” but still in development.

Other suggestions that Hooper made included the possibility of the county hiring a Development Director that would act as coordinator for all of the marketing and community development going on in the community.

He also suggested some county-wide initiatives like starting a “Taste of Appalachia Food Festival” that would highlight local cuisine, or twists on nature attractions like zip-lining and llama trekking.

After Hooper’s presentation, the audience was broken up into groups to discuss the branding strategy.

Later in the meeting, the new Bell County web site was unveiled by Daily News Graphic Designer Mark Small.

Brock said that this meeting was the culmination of feedback from previous meetings and would spur more action in the community.

“Everything we’re going to discuss is something that you told us is important,” said Brock. “And at the end, we’re going to define more things that are important so that we can go back out in our respective groups and organizations and do those things.”

Stephen Woodward is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. He may be contacted at swoodward@middlesborodailynews.com.