Welcome to ON TARGET, Graves County Economic Development's (GCED) bi-monthly newsletter. Here you can learn economic development updates, projects, and upcoming events. In this edition of ON TARGET we'll discuss recent events, last year's achievements, project updates, and what we're looking forward to in the future.

Past Months' Announcements

January

February

We hosted our Skybox Partners celebration to thank our investors for their contribution into GCED. Through them we are able to continue our mission to bring jobs and investment that enhance quality of life in Mayfield and Graves County.

GCED and local community partners announced the launch of a remote worker program with the Make My Move group. This program incentivizes remote workers to relocate to Mayfield and Graves County to help our community to grow and prosper through their consumption of the local goods and services that our businesses provide.

March

GCED was awarded a grant from round 2 of the Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) for the westwards expansion of the Hickory Industrial Park to develop a 500,000 square feet pre-graded build-ready pad, the widening of Hickory Road, and the extension of utilities to the site. The planning for this project was completed by Bacon Farmer Workman Engineers who has also worked with GCED on other site development projects. This grant is made possible through a partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the Kentucky Association for Economic Development, and a fund created by the state in 2022. GCED has received previous grant awards from earlier rounds of KPDI, one to grade the pad that Osmundson Mfg. Co. is currently constructing on and the speculative building currently underway in the Hickory Industrial Park. We are thankful for the support that Graves County has received from the KCED, KAED, and the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority that helps us to build up our economy, attract new jobs and investment, and promote quality of life in Mayfield and Graves County.

The Mayfield/Graves County Chamber Leadership Class of 2023-2024 includes Jason Lemle, GCED President. For recent leadership days, the class traveled to Nashville for Business Day to meet with downtown revitalization leaders and the class met with Summit Christian University, Mayfield Independent Schools, Graves County Schools, and WKCTC for education day.

GCED supported the Graves County Fiscal Court and City of Mayfield with the Let's Do BBQ event, celebrating the state legislators that support Graves County and Western Kentucky. State Representative Richard Heath and State Senator Jason Howell are Graves County's representation in the general assembly.

April

April is community college awareness month, please join us in celebrating and thanking West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) for their contributions to workforce and talent development. They help to provide many different programs that provide students with many great skills to empower them to have quality high paying jobs that help increase the quality of life in our region.

There isn't a month that celebrates universities, so please join us in also celebrating our regional universities: Murray State University (MSU), University of Kentucky College of Engineering Paducah Campus, University of Tennessee-Martin (UTM), Summit Christian University, and Bethel University for the great skills and invaluable experiences that they provide to the students they enroll from all across the the world. Our regional universities help to provide an affordable and well rounded education to their students.



Thank you to all of our regional higher education institutions for their dedication to economic development in our region.

For any questions please call Garrett Clark at (270)804-8224 or send an email to garrett@gravescountyed.com