WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 24, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes today hosted a discussion among Northern Kentucky leaders, where she celebrated the region’s recent business growth and stressed the importance of continuing to make the area even more business-friendly, including building a new Brent Spence Bridge.
More than 12,000 new businesses have opened in Northern Kentucky since Grimes took office in 2012. Statewide, more than 100,000 new businesses have registered in that time frame.
“I am proud to stand up with and for those who live and work in Northern Kentucky and to be a voice in Frankfort demanding the resources and attention the region needs and deserves so it can continue to grow and thrive,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief business officer. “I have a record of cutting red tape and streamlining processes so businesses can spend less time interacting with government and more time creating jobs, and I’m excited to build on our strong foundation so we can achieve even greater growth and success in the future.”
Grimes held the forum, the fourth in a series of ten stops in her “Kentucky Means Business” listening tour, to garner input about how state government can better serve the region’s economy. Participants discussed a variety of issues such as the Brent Spence Bridge, public-private partnerships and workforce development initiatives.
Attendees at the meeting included Executive Director of the Northern Kentucky Area Development District Lisa Cooper, Northern Kentucky University Haile/US Bank College of Business Dean Rebecca Porterfield, and representatives from the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Central Ohio River Business Association, Ohio Kentucky Indiana Council on Governments, Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council, and CVG Airport.
Cooper said, “Northern Kentucky is a vital part of the state and regional economies, and I urge our elected officials to do their part to help serve our businesses and people. I thank Secretary Grimes for bringing much-needed attention to our business community.”
Trey Grayson, President of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and former secretary of state, emphasized the importance of workforce development. “In order to maximize economic growth, we must produce talent to match employers’ needs,” said Grayson. “Northern Kentucky is already implementing many innovative strategies, and I’m encouraged to see business leaders gather and continue to work collectively toward common goals.”
Following the forum, Grimes toured Braxton Brewing Company’s state-of-the-art facility. Braxton Brewing is a small, family business that started in a home garage. Braxton holds the distinctions of waging the most successful brewery campaign in Kickstarter history and being Northern Kentucky’s first free-standing microbrewery.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Kentucky’s economy,” said Grimes. “From micro-brewing to crowdfunding to mobile apps, Braxton is leading the way into a new era of business development, blazing a trail that I hope other new and existing businesses can follow on the path to success.”
Since taking office in 2012, Grimes has helped to grow Kentucky’s economy and give the green light to small businesses. For example, in addition to expanding and improving the Business One Stop Portal, Grimes has supported legislation that creates online crowdfunding opportunities in Kentucky and approves new generation cooperative associations to encourage development in the agriculture and energy industries.
During her first term as Secretary of State, Grimes has successfully sought more than ten bipartisan pieces of legislation – more than any other constitutional officer during the same time frame – to make Kentucky more business friendly and safeguard access to the ballot box.
Lynn Sowards Zellen
Director of Communications
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes
(502) 330-9839
Email: lynn.zellen (at) ky (dot) gov
