IGNITE OPPORTUNITY
The following report showcases SKED’s significant impact on economic growth across Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
Brett Traver
Executive Director
Powering Growth Across our Region
A letter from Executive Director Brett Traver
Thank you for taking the time to read SKED’s redesigned 2023 Annual Report. With more content, more success stories and more impact across the region, we needed to expand this record of our last 12 months of work. All of this is the culmination of a lot of labor by our staff and our clients working in concert.
During the past year, SKED made 29 loans totaling $6.4 million to companies throughout Southern and Eastern Kentucky. These loans led to the investment of an additional $8.4 million in the region. These business loans resulted in 273 jobs across our region.
Seeing this growth, our federal partners continued to invest in SKED to the tune of nearly $2 million. We will put this new capital to work throughout the region by continuing to invest in businesses large and small.
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In 2023, we began work on a new three-year strategic plan that will set the course for decades of potential growth for the organization and, in turn, the region. Working with the professionals at Freidman Associates, our Board of Directors and staff met both virtually and in person to map out new strategies and goals that we believe will give SKED the direction to lead the region to new heights in the coming years.
From that plan, came the need for a new position at the organization. SKED’s Small Business Training Specialist Kyle Smith was promoted as our new Manager of Impacts, Investment and Operations in September.
SKED’s Supplier Education and Economic Development (SEED) program wrapped up its eighth year by holding our Contracting Symposium in October at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset. This event brought together two dozen Eastern Kentucky companies to meet with federal contractors from Boeing, Raytheon, Hendrickson, General Dynamics and many others.
Since SEED’s inception eight years ago, companies in the program have invested more than $64 million, more than 500 workers have been trained and more than 560 jobs have been added to the region. While our Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER grant wraps up in 2024, SKED and our partners will continue working with the region’s small to medium-sized manufacturers and making connections to help companies grow.
Throughout this report you’ll see stories of people who have put in the hard work to grow their businesses and communities.
Serving 45 counties across Southern and Eastern Kentucky since 1986.
We help businesses large and small find innovative solutions that inspire growth.
198 Jobs WERE created by SKED Programs in 2023.
97
FROM SEED
51
FROM LOANS
50
FROM RECRUITMENT
Focus Forward
FOCUS Economic Development Director Tal Jones hit the ground running in 2023 and never slowed down as he worked to market the FOCUS region of Jackson, Clay, Lee, Leslie and Owsley counties.
Jones and the FOCUS Board of Directors began the year with goals of expanding opportunities for new and existing businesses and illustrating the region’s rural advantages regarding workforce, infrastructure and logistics.
Jones began working on attracting new industry to the region and determined one of the best ways to do so was to utilize the state and regional resources already in place. To do that, FOCUS needed to create a digital presence and create a digital marketing plan to capitalize on those strengths. Now, the world can see the region’s strengths at KYfocus.com.
“The year-end of 2023 brought welcome news for the FOCUS region with the Clay County KPDI grant, the build-ready site certification, and an additional two marketable lots for the Jackson County Industrial Park,” Jones said.
Pictured: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear traveled to Manchester, Ky. in August to present a check in the amount of $394,483 to SKED to help fund FOCUS. He’s pictured, center, flanked by SKED staff from left, Bob Burgess, Brett Traver, Jackson Energy Cooperative’s Katie Dotson, PRTC’s Keith Gabbard, FOCUS’ Tal Jones, Amanda Kelly, Jill Johnson, and Kyle Smith.
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To increase the marketability of property within the Jackson County Regional Industrial Park, the Jackson County/McKee Industrial Development Authority applied for and received a Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) grant in the amount of $95,000. The grant money was used to prepare a geophysical assessment, concrete slab integrity assessment, Phase 1 and limited Phase 2 assessment working toward a “Build Ready” certification of a 140,000 square-foot concrete slab in the Annville park. The funds also paid for other upgrades of the site.
JCIDA also purchased an additional piece of land adjacent to the Annville property. Independent owners with tracts and a building next to or in the Annville Industrial Park have partnered with FOCUS to market their property to potential new businesses. So, 2023 ended with two vacant buildings, one enormous concrete slab, and three more commercial tracts in a marketable position for the community.
The Elk Mountain Regional Industrial Authority, which serves Clay and Leslie counties, saw an opportunity to upgrade the community’s water infrastructure through the KPDI Program. With this in mind, Jones helped them apply for funding. The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development is moving the $1 million application toward final approval to solve the water supply issue. The grant is expected to also help improve the local community’s residential water supply in the coming years.
The crypto mining industry has found the region’s infrastructure attractive, with five facilities located or expanding in both Jackson and Clay counties. Essential support includes the electrical rates and supply from Jackson Energy Cooperative. Local community support has also been received favorably.
FOCUS’ new website has been much more active with social media posts about local activities in 2023. Zoom Prospector listings for potential industry, business and manufacturing location clients have increased exponentially as they search for information in their site evaluation process.
FOCUS worked closely with SKED providing collaborative opportunities for contract manufacturing and with clients through its Supplier Education & Economic Development (SEED) Eastern Kentucky Contracting Symposium. These contacts led to follow-up plant visits to explore complementary manufacturing partnerships.
SKED’s Small Business Training Team hosted two small business support classes. Small Business Training Director Amanda Kelly led an Entrepreneurial SMARTS Class and Be Boss Online digital media marketing training. Both courses were well attended, well received, and, yes, free to more than 26 individual participants.
Jones reports that many new relationships have been formed across the FOCUS region during the last year, and local community leaders are much better informed of opportunities than they have been in the past.
“We have also addressed, and in some cases overcome, obstacles that have hindered economic development efforts in the past,” Jones added.
Carol Wright
President & CEO
Jackson Energy
“Thanks to SKED’s partnership with Jackson Energy, we were successful in obtaining an ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) Grant to employ an economic development director for our five-county FOCUS region in Southeastern Kentucky.
By working together, we can assist new and existing businesses in Lee, Owsley, Clay, Leslie, and Jackson counties as they continue to bring jobs, products, and services to our area.”
FORGING FUTURES
The 2023 SEED Symposium Unites Eastern Kentucky’s Manufacturers and Defense Industry Giants
Advanced manufacturers from across Eastern Kentucky gathered at The Center for Rural Development in the fall of 2023 to meet with some of the world’s biggest prime defense contractors for the Fifth Annual Eastern Kentucky SEED Contracting Symposium with one goal in mind: building connections that lead to future work and economic growth in the region.
The annual event is the culmination of months of training, preparation and certifications. All of this work has one goal: to prepare small machine shop, welders, tool and die operators and others to meet and sell themselves as potential suppliers to the defense industry.
Representatives from 10 different aerospace and defense contracting companies, including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics held a panel discussion on the best way to do business with the federal government. They also met individually with small business owners and managers, listening to them give their sales pitches and presenting their capability statements.
Twenty-two Eastern Kentucky-based businesses attended, where they exhibited their products and capabilities and met one-on-one with defense prime contractors at the symposium. The event also allows these same manufacturers to network among themselves. Over the years, many connections have been made, creating an ever-expanding growth ecosystem among these small and medium-sized advanced manufacturers.
Pictured: Somerset Community College Additive Manufacturing instructor Andrew Clapper, right, demonstrates the latest in 3D technology at the 2023 SEED Contracting Symposium.
seed’s impact in eastern kentucky
560
jobs created by SEED
1,262
jobs retained by SEED
Congressman Hall Rogers,
Dean of the House
“I’m thrilled to have our federal contractors back in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District and in the same room as our local manufacturing companies. I have always believed that the Southern and Eastern Kentucky region has what it takes to compete for more federal contracts. We have the best workforce in the country, we have competitive energy rates and wages, and we’re located in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.
The Department of Defense awards more than $350 billion in federal contracts each year, and I want to make sure our region is in the race for more of those jobs. Thanks to SKED, our local companies now receive the information, certifications and training necessary to compete.”
Congressman Rogers could not attend due to pressing business in Washington, D.C. He provided this message via video during the symposium.
Stories of people who put in the hard work to grow their businesses and communities in 2023
A palace in our backyard
LONDON
Laurel County natives Leslie and Craig Tincher hope their new family entertainment center will keep residents closer to home by offering them all the fun attractions they’ll find in bigger cities. They opened their doors in 2023, creating several new jobs in the region. READ MORE
Caffeine and community
WHITLEY CITY
Nina Bradley moved Bradley’s Gourmet Coffee & More into its new location across the highway at 980 US 27 in Whitley City. The move has given customers more ways to drink and more space to come in from the cold, with comfortable seating, workstations and free Wi-Fi. READ MORE
Hardware Hustle
SOMERSET
Four years ago, Luke and Jenn Bates left their comfortable corporate jobs, working normal hours and receiving regular paychecks, to cash it all in and take on the most incredible adventure of their lives to begin writing their own small business success story READ MORE
All Boats Service Center
BRONSTON
Chase Brumett and Stefan Brown purchased All Boats Service Center from its original owners in 2023. Together, they are combining their unique skill sets to build on the 27-year-old company’s legacy of service to the Lake Cumberland region READ MORE
Pioneering Public Safety
SCIENCE HILL
When building their business, Eric and Alex Wilson leave nothing to chance. The Pulaski County brothers have been building Ridgenet Network Group since 2012. Since then, they’ve worked together and with key partners to grow heir family-owned and operated company READ MORE
BE BOSS ONLINE: leading the hive
The Be Boss Online small business training team continued to share valuable digital marketing skills and the most up-to-date information on technology trends and information through both in-person and online classes with folks across our region in 2023.
They began in the spring by redesigning the training videos to make them more user-friendly, enabling participants to interact at their own pace. To maintain Be Boss Online’s relevance, they consistently update its content. In the latest revision, they identified extra resources that can enhance client value. the aim is to enhance user-friendliness and increase the platform’s overall value proposition.
SKED’s Small Business Training Director Amanda Kelly says the primary goal of Be Boss Online is to empower business owners to understand and effectively use digital marketing strategies.
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The team continued their popular Facebook Live Coffee Talk series, allowing select small business owners to join in person and others online by chat. Some of the topics they covered included local, SEO, keywords, AI tools, algorithm changes and more.
The team hosted a Be Boss Online training in Somerset, Ky. in March and April at the Hampton Inn. Sixteen people from surrounding communities attended virtually and in person to receive training on topics ranging from cybersecurity to basic social media strategies.
Later in the summer and fall, they led two separate small business support multi-session classes in Annville, Ky. Kelly led an Entrepreneurial SMARTS Class and Be Boss Online digital media marketing training. More than 26 individual participants were in these classes.
Amanda Kelly
Director of Small Business Training
“In the ever-changing realm of digital marketing, ongoing evolution is a given. Engaging with new insights daily is not only enlightening but also enjoyable. We then share this knowledge with our clients, helping to nurture their growth and pave the way for success.”
Learn more about Be Boss Online.
SKED thanks the following funding partners for their assistance in 2023:
Appalachian Regional Commission
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Rural Development
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Community Development Financial Institution Program
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Cabinet for Economic Development
Economic Development Administration
U.S. Small Business Administration
Microloan Program