SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — People in Georgetown and Scott County are remembering former Governor Martha Layne Collins, who died Saturday at the age of 88. She is credited with the difficult task of bringing Toyota to the area, a move that forever changed Scott County.
"It changed the whole thinking in Scott County," said former Judge-Executive George Lusby.
On May 5, 1986, Toyota broke ground in Georgetown for the first wholly owned Toyota manufacturing plant in the U.S. and the company's largest plant outside of Japan.
The feat may have seemed impossible to some, but not to Collins — Kentucky's first and only female governor.
"Negotiating these things weren't easy. The roads, the property, negotiating with Toyota to even get them here," said Lusby.
Among her many accomplishments as governor of Kentucky, Collins is credited with the challenge of wooing Toyota to Scott County.
"It would have been easy for Martha Layne to have given up on it. And a lot of people would've. But she didn't. She stayed with it," said Lusby.
The decision changed the area forever. Toyota initially envisioned 3,000 workers and an investment of about $400 million.
That has since grown significantly. Toyota's Kentucky plant now boasts more than 9,000 employees and produces more than 400,000 vehicles and 700,000 engines, generating more than $11 billion in investment.
"The incentive package she used to lure Toyota here in the first place was a little bit criticized because it was just a large incentive package. But as years have unfolded, we've seen that she struck the economic development deal of the century," said former Georgetown Mayor Tom Prather.
The move stimulated Scott County's economy and made it a hub for a brand-new workforce.
"She believed absolutely on the ability of the Kentucky workforce. She knew Kentuckians could do anything with the right training and the right incentive. And she set out to prove that repeatedly," said Prather.
Collins' legacy continues, forever remembered for her innovation and leadership.
"It's sad when you lose somebody like that who has done so much. You can't help but tear up a little," said Lusby.
