STRATEGIC

DOING
PROGRESS REPORT 2007

“The Bluegrass Region is our greatest asset, and by working together, we'll be able to meet our needs,
exceed our expectations, and create a Bluegrass worthy of our children and our children's children. We
have reached the time to move from the talking to the walking. We all know that our actions will
speak much louder than words. This will be my goal as your chairman of Commerce Lexington.”

GUY A. HUGUELET III

2007 CHAIRMAN
COMMERCE LEXINGTON INC.
BRAINPOWER GROUP PROGRESS
PRESIDENT, ADECCO OF Early discussion by the Brainpower Group centered on the following questions,
CENTRAL KENTUCKY including:
! How can we support the Fayette County Public Schools Vision 2020 initiative?
! How can we develop ways for business to make high impact partnerships
with secondary teachers and students to enhance and bring relevancy to educa-
tion?
! Are there ways to improve the public's understanding of the importance of
career/technical education as an equally valuable option for preparing people?
To help with the These discussions led the group to decide that its vision would be "To work to
make Lexington a place where talented and creative people want to live." Building upon
Brainpower Group, con- author Richard Florida's use of the Three T's - Technology, Talent and Tolerance, the group decided
tact Pamela Trautner at to expand the idea of "brainpower" by adding a Fourth T, Trades, or highly skilled, good paying opportunities, which
ptrautner@Commerce emphasizes vocational/technical education as a viable option.
As a way to ensure that (1) students are prepared when they enter the workforce, and (2) teachers understand what
Lexington.com businesses need in the way of a worker's skills, a program called the Lexmark Teacher Institute: "Bringing Innovation to
Teaching and Relevance to Curriculum" has been developed. Scheduled to be held July 30 - August 3, this weeklong pro-
gram will allow teachers and community business partners to collaborate on how businesses use what schools are teach-
ing, real world examples that will enliven delivery to the students, and ultimately open doors to more opportunities for stu-
dents.
The Brainpower Group needs help in the following areas: (1) Can you host a group of teachers for a visit during the
week? (2) Do you know of a company that may want to be involved? (3) Are you a company that can help bring real life
examples to curriculum?

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP PROGRESS

The Physical Development committee has been working very hard during the last
year since the Commerce Lexington Leadership Visit to Oklahoma City. A series of
meetings was held to gather information, concerns and existing programs that would
assist the committee in developing a list of needs and desires for Lexington and the
surrounding counties.
To get involved with the The committee then agreed that there were certain projects that needed to be
developed for Lexington that would not only help for the 2010 FEI Games, but for the
Physical Development community as a whole. Different media will be used to distribute the information to
Group, contact Harold the public, including newspaper articles, billboards, radio shows and the creation of a
Tate at harold@ printed booklet that will be distributed to various political groups and interested citi-
zens and businesses. A draft copy is being developed that this committee will share
lexingtondda.com with the entire Commerce Lexington Inc. group for review and input.

MORE STRATEGIC DOING GROUP PROGRESS REPORTS ON NEXT PAGE

Visit www.CommerceLexington.com and click on GET INVOLVED to find out more about the groups.
 2007 STRATEGIC DOING GROUP PROGRESS REPORTS CONTINUED

INNOVATION GROUP PROGRESS

The Innovation Group decided to focus its energy on one strategic outcome: "A more cre-
ative and entrepreneurial community environment that utilizes coordinated infrastructure to
encourage and develop innovation for the economic gain of the region." What will allow the
Bluegrass to achieve this? It is fact that smaller enterprises as a whole have a huge impact on
the U.S. economy. As group leader Tom Harris pointed out, "According to the Small Business
Administration, companies with fewer than 20 employees added a combined 1.6 million jobs
to the U.S. work force. Businesses with 20-to-499 employees added 400,000 jobs.
To join the Innovation Businesses employing 500 or more had a net loss of 1 million jobs."
Group, contact Gina Based on that information, the group decided that the most important thing would be to
enable budding entrepreneurs to quickly and efficiently find the information they need and not
Greathouse at have to make multiple stops to learn about licenses or financing or business planning, etc. The opportunity for a true collaborative part-
ggreathouse@ nership between the University of Kentucky, Commerce Lexington Inc., and the city of Lexington in the area of entrepreneurial support
CommerceLexington.com soon took flight.
The Bluegrass Business Development Partnership recently emerged as a strategic one-stop, super-service provider that links a team of
business development specialists from local government, Commerce Lexington and UK with the end user to provide assistance with
things like business and financial planning, loan programs and tax incentive information, connections to funding sources, real estate, uni-
versity commercialization opportunities, and more. To further assist entrepreneurs on the front-end, a Web site is being developed at
www.ThinkBluegrass.com.
Success will be measured through the following baselines: The development of a consolidated resource hub that is the epicenter of
links, information and networks for anyone in search of support for ideas, innovation and entrepreneurship; Number of Lexington-based
start-up companies; Number of contacts/referrals to the resource center; and Dollars of venture capital expended.

BRANDING GROUP PROGRESS

The Branding Group has been working to develop a brand for the Bluegrass region, sim-
ilar to what the state of Kentucky did with Unbridled Spirit a few years ago. Regional
chambers and convention and visitors bureaus were briefed in advance on the process,
and their support was sought. The ultimate goal is to have a brand that represents the
To assist with the Bluegrass and is interchangeable enough to use in other communities and various eco-
Branding Group, con- nomic sectors. We know through research done by the Lexington Convention & Visitors
Bureau that "scenic beauty" and "the horse" are the most recognizable features about
tact Shari Fiveash at this area from both residents and outsiders.
sfiveash@Commerce After deciding on "It's Better in the Bluegrass" as the brand theme, the Branding
Lexington.com Group began a design competition earlier this year through the help of the Lexington
Advertising Club, a regional advertising/public relations organization. Brand ideas had to be turned in by March 30, 2007. By
taking into account criteria that was developed by the Branding Group, a subcommittee of the group selected three finalists, that
most accurately reflected the research and criteria set forth. Logos needed to transcend different types of media, work well as
both color and black and white images and in both small and large-scale graphics.
Currently, the group is seeking the assistance of the public through an e-mailable on-line voting tool that allows people to
offer their thoughts and opinions on the three design concepts selected. Feedback gathered during this part of the process will
help guide the group's decision to further explore one of the concepts more or consider other options.

REGIONAL COLLABORATION GROUP PROGRESS

The Regional Collaboration group has been charged with identifying
connections/partnerships, which could ultimately produce multiple positive impacts
to the Bluegrass Region. The focal point of developing these networks is the World
Equestrian Games in 2010. In order to identify key leaders that are in fact connected
Want to help with the and may not even know it, the Regional Collaboration group is working to develop a
Regional Collaboration Social Network Map, which will indicate how many people or organizations operate
within a specific area, where the gaps are, and what connections (resources) exist
Group? Contact Bernie that can be beneficial to the network (region).
Lovely at blovely@ The group is developing the network map through surveys conducted of business organizations and key community leaders
bowlesrice.com or that ask people to list the two or three people that they immediately think of when trying to solve a problem. The goal is to make
it easier for folks who may appear to be on opposite ends of the leadership spectrum to see what resources are available
Darrell Ishmael at throughout the region that could benefit them. This will go a long way in ensuring that the Bluegrass is successful when it hosts
darrell.ishmael@ekpc.coop the World Equestrian Games in 2010.
As the network mapping progresses, the group also intends to hold informational Town Hall Meetings throughout the
region, and later convene a "regional civic resources summit" to help people get a better understanding of what resources are
available, what the different groups do, and how leaders can tap into that expertise. The team hopes to identify gaps in the civic
network sometime during the summer.

Visit www.CommerceLexington.com and click on GET INVOLVED to find out more about the groups.