Lawrence County — and the city of Ironton — has no shortage of organizations and civic groups working to make the community a better place. But there is always room for another.

That is where Ironton aLive comes in.

The organization began to take shape in 2011 and officially became a non-profit last fall. It took another positive step recently by hiring Jon Ferguson to serve as the executive director.

Ferguson’s goal, and that of the organization as a whole, is to carve out a unique niche among the city’s community groups — Ironton In Bloom, the Friends of Ironton, the Child Welfare Club and others — by focusing on facilitating business promotions and a culture of economic growth.

This is an important mission, filling the void left by the long-defunct Ironton Business Association, and could be another piece of the puzzle in the revitalization of the city and its downtown.

Even after just getting off the ground last year the organization helped promote Small Business Saturday and worked on several projects that had downtown Ironton looking better than it ever has for the Christmas season.

The small group of volunteers is already hard at work scheduling events for this spring and summer that will help promote the city and get the city’s businesses working together.

A positive attitude is always the first step forward.