By Ashland Alliance
ASHLAND, KY — Good books make good readers! The Jesse Stuart Foundation encourages businesses and local business leaders to promote reading. This holiday season, give the gift of reading! Few cities and towns in America can boast of a publishing house that focuses on local history, literature, and culture. This is one reason why the Ashland Alliance (Chamber of Commerce) Business of the Month for November is the Jesse Stuart Foundation.
For 35 years, the Jesse Stuart Foundation (JSF) has served as an intellectual and cultural resource center for residents of Boyd and Greenup Counties. The JSF assists our community by preserving our history and culture through publishing more than 150 books such as, The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart, many of Stuart’s children’s books, and True Christmas Stories From the Heart of Appalachia. These entertaining books range in price from $6 to $30 depending on the book. There is a series of excellent junior books for readers age 8-14, that include 9 titles for only $36.
The JSF serves Boyd and Greenup Counties in many ways, including: hosting book signings for local and regional authors, presenting one-person dramas focused on Kentucky’s history and culture, facilitating more than 500 meetings and consultations with local individuals who wanted information and advice regarding their publishing projects, and hosting the annual Jesse Stuart Weekend at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park.
This holiday season, give the gift of reading! As the holidays approach, don’t forget to support your local bookstore and publishing house. Because of Covid-19, the bookstore is only open online. You can place an order from your living room by visiting www.jsfbooks.com or by calling the Foundation at (606) 326-1667. Usually, your order will be processed and shipped the day that it is received. However, the JSF staff encourages you to place your order well in advance of “the Christmas rush” to insure arrival before Christmas.
JSF has been an integral part of our community for years and we want to keep it that way! Join the Ashland Alliance, the JSF staff, board members and volunteers in promoting reading in our homes and communities this holiday season.