From the Chamber

CANDANCE CASTLEN BRAKE

President & CEO

BRENDA CLAYTON

Board Chair

Welcome to this edition of GO Chamber 2022. This last quarter has been productive, and action filled to say the least!

Our General Assembly work started in January and by the time the gavel went down in April, we could look back at one of the most productive sessions in memory. Transportation projects we once saw as long-term dreams came to fruition, our community received its second Family Court Judge and All-day kindergarten was funded.

And the Owensboro Health Workforce Innovation Center was funded. This center is the first of its kind and will grow our regional health care workforce and address our health care shortages while at the same time giving our local students the opportunity to connect with life changing careers.

We also successfully advocated for a number of specific pieces of legislation to protect business and to make our community more competitive in the talent retention and recruitment game.

On a local level, our fiscal court is utilizing ARPA funds to ensure that citizens all over Daviess County can access broadband.

These projects together truly show a community that is moving forward and positioning itself for growth. A big thank you to our local delegation for their late hours and tenacity in making this session such a success and our fiscal court for committing to make countywide broadband a reality.

After the General Assembly session drew to a close, we quickly turned our attention to local government and the local primaries. Our Chamber made several opportunities for our members to connect with candidates including Red White and Blue and a candidate forum.

Our talent programs are bustling as we said goodbye to our 2022 Leadership Owensboro Class and are planning for 2023. We have added a full-time position to focus on talent programs which will include partnerships with our school systems for career pathways for students and higher education programs intent on giving our graduating seniors career opportunities so they can call Owensboro home after college.

Our events are also back in full swing, and we celebrated our first Chamber After Hours since the pandemic. And our packed schedule of Ribbon Cuttings are a sign that good things are happening.

Our takeaway? Our Chamber is bustling and is ready to roll. It is not time to look back but to see what is coming and what needs to be next.

We hope you enjoy the issue!

- Brenda and Candance