SOKY Economic Development and Business News

February 27, 2023

Vol. 1, Issue 5

Content Compiled from Various Sources

Gov. Beshear Helps Break Ground on $259 Million Trader Joe’s Facility in Franklin, Creating 876 Jobs

The DeCesare Group was there!

On Friday, February 24, 2023 the Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority held a ground breaking for the Trader Joe's Distribution center in Franklin, KY. In attendance was Governor Andy Beshear, Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins, State Representative Shawn McPherson, Simpson County Judge Executive Mason Barnes, Franklin Mayor Larry Dixon, members of the Cabinet for Economic Development and other local leaders.

The project is a $259 million investment creating 876 new jobs. According to Rocky Adkins, who is also a former legislative colleague of mine, he said, "this project started on the back of napkin". It seems some of the best ideas start with a dream, an idea, or in this case on the back of a napkin.

The DeCesare Group was fortunate to be a small part of this event. Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority Executive Director, Dennis Griffin reached out to The DeCesare Group and asked if we could help coordinate the groundbreaking event? Our response? "YES!"

Team TDG jumped into action. With less than 2 weeks to get everything needed for a groundbreaking event we were able to pull it all together. We could not have done it without some help. First and foremost, I want to thank Chris Higgins, Vice President of Heavy Civil Operations at Scotty's Contracting and Stone. Chris and his team put in overtime to make sure we had a site ready to hold the groundbreaking and have plenty of parking. This may have been the largest groundbreaking in the history of Kentucky. On hand were 12 shovels and hard hats along with over dozen pieces of heavy equipment actively working on the site.

We also want to thank our friend and client Josh Starrett at Blue Moon Porta-Pot & Sanitation for the restroom facilities and trash containers.

This project is another great example of why South Central Kentucky is a national leader in economic development activity.

-Jim DeCesare

Jim DeCesare is the Senior Partner of The DeCesare Group, LLC, a business solutions, strategies, and consulting firm based in Bowling Green, KY. Jim has over 30 years of business, economic, and organizational development, operations, and public relations experience. He also served 14 years in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Jim was honored twice by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce with their “Going to Bat for Business” Award, and in 2019 the Kentucky Association of Economic Development (KAED) inducted Jim into the KAED Hall of Fame for his work in promoting Economic Development initiatives in Kentucky.

Jim has his undergrad and MBA from Western Kentucky University.

Read the full press release from the Office of the Governor.

The National Corvette Museum's NCM Motorsports Park Is Kentucky's Home Track

The National Corvette Museum opened NCM Motorsports Park in 2014. In the years since, it has become a beloved road course in a market long starved for one.

The eventual circuit added a track to the the home of America's sports car in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but the thing that makes NCM Motorsports Park so notable is the track itself. Two separate track ribbons combine to build into a full course inspired by the Circuit de la Sarthe that hosts the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In its most technical layouts, the two inner tracks are packed with mid-speed corners and elevation changes. The two-mile Le Mans circuit, however, replicates specific components of the Circuit de la Sarthe itself: the Porsche curves, the Mulsanne corner at the end of the long hunaudières straight, and even one of the two chicanes that now breaks up that long straightaway.

-Road and Track

Editor's Note: The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky is a major economic force in the region. Not only does it attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world annually, but it also creates jobs and boosts local businesses.

Since its opening in 1994, the National Corvette Museum has become a premier destination for car enthusiasts everywhere.

Gov. Beshear Presents Over $10.7 Million in Awards for Edmonson County

Gov. Andy Beshear presented more than $10.7 million in Edmonson County to support career and technical education, tourism marketing and a cleaner water project.

“My administration will always put education first, and that includes helping our students discover technical fields where they can get hands-on experience, serve others and find great jobs that can support a family,” Gov. Beshear said. “That’s why we’re awarding $10 million to support career and technical education here in Edmonson County, and we’re also providing funding to promote tourism and expand access to clean water.”

-Office of the Governor

Passed in the final days of 2022 as part of a massive omnibus spending bill, the “new-and-improved” legislation lays out a new set of retirement rules designed to make it easier for you to save for retirement and access your money.

Will SECURE 2.0 accomplish that? We won’t know for years what effect this law will have on retirement savings, but there’s reason to be hopeful.

-Ramsey Solutions

The Customer Satisfaction Crisis: Solve It With 3 Strategies

Reinventing the workplace is top of mind for many leaders these days, for good reason. Employers and employees are renegotiating the who, what, when and where of work.

And yet amid the debates about where and when, we’ve forgotten to answer the most important question of all: Why do we come to work in the first place?

The answer, of course, is simple: to deliver on our promises to customers.

-Gallop

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