Author: Clinton Hardy
Major Program: Business Retention and Expansion
Daviess County has high importance placed on economic development, job creation and business expansion. Multiple public and private organizations exist at the local level to aid commercial and industrial business recruitment, retention and expansion. One of these organizations is the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Cabinet of which multiple agricultural organizations partner to obtain a board member delegate. The Daviess County Extension Agent, a representative of local
Author: Keenan Bishop
The Frankfort/Franklin County Chamber of Commerce partnered with UK CEDIK to survey local small businesses to identify impediments to remaining or expanding in the county. The results would be incorporated into their 2020 Mission & Goals. KSU wanted to make sure that minority businesses were included and reached out to the Franklin County Extension office to help.Surveys were sent out to members of the local Farmers Market as well as other potential minority owned small businesses. The busin
Author: Paul Andrew Rideout
Extension: Supporting Small Business in Tough TimesCovid 19 has been hard on small business in Henderson. Mandated shutdowns for many entrepreneurs caused financial strains and uncertainty for numerous entities. Several Federal and State programs were set up to help but the majority of business owners were having trouble navigating the rules and procedures to get the help.Late March, 2020, a local business owner contact Henderson County Extension to ask for any help we might could pr
Author: Gill Finley
Frankfort, like most small city and communities who wants to thrive by its treasured culture, builds around its strengths, and expand its resources to keep up with the demands of a growing diverse population. To grow and develop the City of Frankfort, there are unseen hurdles as well as known obstacles to overcome. In 2019, the Frankfort Area Chamber of Commerce, the Frankfort Mayor’s Office, and the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Program (KSUCEP) collaborated with t
Author: Christopher Cribbs
On Friday, July 26, 2019, two Kentucky Land Grant Universities, an 1862 and 1890, teamed up to address existing business retention and expansion issues in the Frankfort Area. Kentucky State University (KSU) Extension Community Resource Development (CRD) team and the University of Kentucky (UK) - Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) partnered with the Frankfort Area Chamber of Commerce and the Frankfort City Mayor's Office to provide a community-based program (Bus
Author: Gregory Drake
Butler county leadership continues to identify entrepreneurship and economic development as important areas for cooperative extension service programming. Greg Drake II and Butler County’s Entrepreneurial Coaching team continue to support entrepreneurship. The county entrepreneurial coaching team has now coached thirty businesses. The coaches use materials developed by UK extension specialist and agents to assist potential business owners. The entrepreneurial coachi
Author: Paul Sizemore
This agent was approached by a county official and asked to serve on the Board of Directors for the Owsley County Industrial Authority. Owsley County Industrial Authority operated a metal business located in the Owsley County Industrial Park near the Owsley County Extension Service. Due to some unexpected circumstances some of the leadership was no longer with us and they needed someone to step in and assist with some restructuring within the metal business. After three years it was determined t
Author: Judith Hetterman
The Leadership Owen County 2018 group conducted the Business, Retention, and Expansion Survey provided by CEDIK through University of Kentucky. They coordinated engagements with local business owners to gather their perspectives, their needs, and the challenges facing their businesses. The summary of the RE survey interview results and represents over 330 employees.The process began with a dinner to inform business owners of the BRE assessment process and the leadership group spent several
Author: Judith O'Bryan
The annual Farm Industry Tour, organized and hosted by the Laurel County Extension Council, has become one of the most anticipated community events of the year. The purpose of the tour is to introduce community members to local industries that provide agricultural goods and services, educate participants on new and emerging crops, and encourage them to shop locally.The 2019 tour began at a local farm where 42 people boarded old-fashioned trolleys and several others followed in cars to the
