Executive Inn closing presents region with an opportunity

Comments from Dr. Fred Reeves, Director of the Downtown Owensboro at Monday's press conference regarding the community response to the closing of the Executive Inn:

"The swift closing of the Executive Inn presents us enormous short term challenges. However, given the commitment of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce I have great faith that they will have a significant positive outcome on many of these challenges.

At the same time I hold the view these very events present us a great opportunity to realize long term benefits for the community on that 17 acre property.

Prompted by work of the Downtown Development Corporation’s 2007 downtown study recommendations, the City’s recent Strategic Planning process and other downtown advocates, the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation assumed the leadership to launch our “Downtown Place Making Initiative.” That initiative is focused on creating a vibrant downtown that will attract talent to our community.

To that end we have engaged the Gateway Planning Group from Ft. Worth, TX to guide us in the development of a downtown master plan that is implementation-based. This process is significantly different than anything undertaken in the past. as it will provide us a step by step approach to working with private sector investors to develop both the public and private amenities that will once again make downtown Owensboro the envy of our region.

Since the beginning of our discussions with the Gateway Group they have emphasized the importance of the Executive Inn property and its future development. Jon Hockenyos, the lead economist with the Gateway Team, has consistently referred to the Executive Inn property as the cornerstone to our future downtown development.

Our “downtown place making initiative” will guide us as we work with developers to make sure that in the very near future Owensboro has a state of the art convention center hotel complex that will serve our community for the next several decades as the Executive Inn has in the past. The Gateway group will also provide guidance and prudent fiscal analyses to insure that the taxpayers’ investment in amenities and other necessary infrastructure appropriate to leverage maximum private development.

Thankfully, the public and private leadership of the community had already anticipated the need for this progressive approach to downtown development and we have that process already moving forward to insure we proceed with both determination and wisdom."

Glory Industries returns to the Greater Owensboro Venture Club: New Breakfast Format on June 11 at 7:30 am

The recent article in the Messenger-Inquirer about Glory Industries is a testament to the value of the Greater Owensboro Venture Club for entrepreneurs in the region. Dan and Patty Ogles owners of Glory Industries, a company that makes easy-to-replace mud flaps for semi-trucks, made a one-minute pitch at the inaugural Venture Club meeting in spring 2007.

At that meeting Ogles met Ankur Gopal, a local entrepreneur who made a pitch for his company. The connection made at the Venture Club proved to be beneficial to both. Gopal later worked with Glory Industries assisting with the development of their business plan.

"Ankur brought us his business expertise," Dan Ogles told Keith Lawrence of the Messenger-Inquirer. A class on entrepreneurship that Gopal was teaching at Kentucky Wesleyan College helped design a marketing campaign for Fast Flap.

"They didn't even know what a mud flap was on the first day," Ogles said. "But in a couple of days, they were on fire, coming up with all kinds of ideas for us."

The marketing is paying off. At the recent Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville in March, the Fast Flap caught the attention of CMT's popular "Trick My Truck" cable series. Ogles is hoping the product placement will help the young company capture the attention of the nation's trucking industry.

It all began at the first Venture Club meeting last spring. On June 11, Ogles will return to the Venture Club to be a featured presenter in hopes of raising the $200,000 that they need for the tooling and molds of the product line.

The June Venture Club meeting will also feature a presentation by a Texas-based medical devise company. Both companies that presented to the Venture Club in the spring recieved funding!

The meeting includes a new breakfast format beginning at 7:30 am at the Springs Conference Center. The cost for admission is $10. To make a reservation for the meeting, please contact Melissa Shelton at 270.926.4339 or via e-mail at mshelton@owensboro.com. Reservations can also be made online at http://www.owensboroventureclub.com/

EDC Hires Existing Industry Manager

Sharla Austin-Darnell has been hired as the new Existing Industry Manager at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. Prior to coming to EDC, Austin-Darnell served as the Existing Industry Manager at the Madisonville-Hopkins County Economic Development Corp., where she served as the Interim-President since February. Prior to working in economic development, she has served as the Executive Director for the Madisonville-Hopkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau. She has a bachelor’s degree from Murray State University and is currently working toward a master’s degree at Murray State.

"Sharla brings several years of experience in working with existing businesses and has run a quality program in Madisonville," said EDC President/ CEO Nick Brake. "She has worked closely with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and understands many of the issues that impact economic development. She will fit in well with the existing team at the EDC."

Madison Silvert will assume the title of Executive Vice President while continuing to serve as the director of the Emerging Ventures Center and coordinating EDC efforts in high tech development and entrepreneurship. Becky McCubbins will continue to work with marketing and new business development and assume the title of New Business Development Manager.

Jennifer Wright, the EDC Executive Vice President, who handled the existing industry program since November 2007, is relocating to Savannah, GA, where her husband has accepted a job.

EDC a Partner in the 26-County Regional Economic Summit

EVANSVILLE, IN– The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. will join business and government leaders from Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky in Evansville on November 20 and 21, 2008 to study the new economic model of future growth. The 2008 Regional Economic Summit will feature nationally-recognized business experts and economists who will discuss the current economic climate and realities facing a 26-county region, as well as outline the steps necessary for prosperity, wealth creation, and economic vitality in the 21st Century.

"Our global environment requires us to think regionally to be competitive in the future," said EDC President/CEO Nick Brake, a member of the steering committee.

“Each community in our three-state region faces the same economic realities,” said Kevin Sheilley, President & CEO of Northwest Kentucky Forward, a public-private economic development partnership that serves Henderson, McLean, Union and Webster counties. “We share a common workforce and have identical infrastructure challenges, and we believe it is possible to develop solutions which can be replicated in each state.”

Kicking off the summit is Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes – the world’s most popular business and financial magazine. Karlgaard writes Digital Rules, a regular Forbes column, which discusses technology, entrepreneurship, regional and economic development, and the future of business and work. He frequently guests on the Fox News Channel’s Forbes on Fox and has written a Wall Street Journal best seller – Life 2.0 How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness.

University economists from each state led by Dr. Mohamed Khayum, Dean of the College of Business at the University of Southern Indiana, are collaborating to develop a regional economic model which will establish the foundation where opportunities for the 26-county region will be identified.

“Evidence suggests that the significance of previous drivers of economic growth such as natural resources and physical capital is being replaced by human creativity and that creativity propels economic growth,” stated Dr. Khayum.

Attendees will have the opportunity during the two-day summit to participate in general and break-out sessions dealing with entrepreneurialism, regional collaboration, building stronger economic development strategies, and alignment to the emerging world economy. The final summit agenda is being developed in cooperation with regional advisory councils from each state.

Founding sponsors for the 2008 Regional Economic Summit are Old National Bank and Regency Properties. Lead sponsors of the event are the Richland County Development Corporation (IL), Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation (KY), Northwest Kentucky Forward (KY), Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana (IN), and the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana (IN).

For registration and more information about the 2008 Regional Economic Summit log onto http://www.regionaleconomicsummit.com/ or call 812-463-6102.

EDC, Learning Community Form Partnership for P-16 Council

The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. and The Learning Community have formed a partnership for continued support of the Regional Alliance for Education, the Owensboro area P-16 Council.

The Regional Alliance, which brings together leadership from area school systems, colleges, universities, early childhood, adult education, and workforce development with representatives from the business community each quarter, is one of the first and most active P-16 Councils (preschool through college/ grade 16) recognized by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Helen Mountjoy, former Executive Vice President of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. served as the Executive Director of the Regional Alliance until departing for Frankfort in December to serve as Secretary of the Education Cabinet for Governor Beshear. Dr. Fred Reeves served as the Interim Executive Director from January until May.

Tracy Marksberry, the Executive Director of The Learning Community will oversee all Regional Alliance programming with financial support from the EDC under the new partnership.

The EDC and Learning Community will advance a plan of work for Regional Alliance programs that will be released in more detail later in the year. The agenda will focus on the following three broad areas:

1. Building a strong foundation through early childhood education and literacy initiatives such as the Imagination Library;


2. Preparing high school students for 21st century success with emphasis on increased access and improved preparation for postsecondary education;


3. Developing a 21st century workforce, emphasizing life-long learning, internship programs, and increased opportunities for students to earn bachelor's and graduate degrees in Owensboro.
   

"Nearly all jobs of the future will require some postsecondary education," said EDC President/CEO Nick Brake. "The EDC, the Learning Community, and the Regional Alliance for Education will take the lead to champion higher education attainment by providing a consistent, unified voice to promote these goals and by supporting and implementing strategies for our region to GO-Higher"

The Learning Community is a grass-roots initiative to increase educational opportunities for residents of the region. The office is located at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. Watch the Learning Community video here.

Nadira Hira speaks about Gen Y challenges in the Owensboro region

This week the Green River Workforce Investment Board (WIB) hosted a luncheon, co-sponsored by GO-EDC, featuring Nadira Hira speaking on the Generation Y workforce. Hira is an award-winning journalist and general assignment writer at Fortune Magazine, where she has focused increasingly on stories for and about Generation Y, the fastest growing segment of the American workforce.

Generation Y refers to individuals born between 1978 and 1994. In the next several years, they are expected to outnumber all other segments of the workforce. The retirement of the boomer generation, which officially began this year, will trigger a worker shortage that Generation X, which comes behind the Boomers, will be unable to fill. Businesses are realizing that they may have no choice but to accommodate the unique and curious aspects of the Gen Y creatures.

Hira spoke to the audience about many of the challenges that businesses face in recruiting, retaining, and supervising this important demographic group. Her blog at Fortune.com is full of the same points. Members of Gen Y are looking for meaningful work; they are particularly influenced by technology which often makes them more productive than their predecessors despite the fact that they spend less time working in a traditional office setting.

It struck me, as I looked around the room how evident the need to reach out as a region to this group-- the community in general is not connecting with Gen Y.

Greater Owensboro has an opportunity to correct this with a couple of key steps. The first step is to conduct a real evaluation of the strengths and values of the community relative to the Gen Y group. The current branding campaign is an opportunity for the region to appeal to the Gen Y audience as an authentic community providing meaningful work and meaningful play.

Secondly, the region should have a plan to become a destination for Generation Y. This is where the overall strategy to attract people with attractive places, known as place making, come in to play (click here for more information). Lastly, the community must figure out how to engage this younger generation as community leaders. Not only will Gen Y fill a majority of the jobs in the workforce, they will be assuming leadership roles in corporations and communities much sooner than their predecessors.

The last step is a missing link. The Chamber Young Professionals is an active group of Generation Y members which could play a key role in shaping this for future of their generation and the vitality of the region. Are we ready to pass the torch?

Please visit the following links to read more about Nadira Hira:
http://www.timeinc.net/fortune/information/presscenter/fortune/bios/FOR_Hira.html
http://thegig.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/entrylevel/2007/index.html

Hines Group Consolidation and Expansion Creates an Opportunity to Market 150,000 Square Foot Building in the Airpark

The Hines Group plans to expand its Premium Allied Tool plant in Philpot so it can consolidate operations there with its Owensboro Manufacturing plant. The move in-and-of-itself is good news for the community because of the jobs and the important role this firm has played over the years in our regional economy.

This consolidation will also lead to an opportunity to market the 152,000-square-foot Owensboro Manufacturing plant and its 25 acres in the Mid America Airpark.

The building, originally constructed in 1998 with an addition in 2002, was designed for metal
fabrication manufacturing and has been used for that purpose for the past 10 years. The building
is constructed of steel framing, steel siding, and low pitch gable roofing, with a brick finish
identifying the primary administrative portion of the facility. The manufacturing and production
areas of the facility are approximately 140,000 square-feet, and the remaining approximate 12,000 square-feet is designed for clerical and administrative use. Because of its design and construction, this building offers considerable versatility and changes can easily be made to accommodate the precise needs of a variety of manufacturing, warehousing, or distribution organizations.

The manufacturing and production areas of the building have concrete floors, some 12” thick. The walls are 8’ steel sandwich and unfinished, and the ceilings are 22’ CH to eaves with vinyl faced insulation. There are eleven (11) loading docks, sizes 30’x50’ typical, 60’x50’. Sodium vapor and some metal halide lighting illuminates this area of the structure. This area includes second level office space, several specialty production rooms, a large break room,
multiple restrooms, and adequate closet space. The warehouse and manufacturing areas, like the office areas, offer complete climate control with air conditioning andheating systems.

For more information about the Owensboro Manufacturing Building please visit the following link: http://edc.owensboro.com/documents/PropertyBrochure-OM.pdf