Message from the Board Chair:
CARLA BLANTON
As we celebrate 250 years of Lexington’s history this year, it’s important to note that most of our city’s success has been made possible by partnerships. In good times or challenging times, we’ve always found a way to come together to find solutions to our community’s greatest issues. It’s what sets us apart from so many other cities and regions.
The ongoing Regional Competitiveness Plan has brought together public and private sector leaders across our nine-county Bluegrass region to collaborate on seven key action items across economic development, talent attraction and policy advocacy with the goals of increasing jobs, median wages and GDP within the region. Great progress was made last year to implement the plan’s action items, and we expect that to continue in 2025. Regionalism is an absolute necessity when competing for jobs and talent. From business sites to housing inventory to quality of life, each community in the region has unique attributes, and that strengthens the region as a great place to live and work.
Recent Census data highlighted by USA Today placed Lexington among the top ten cities that experienced the most “brain drain” across the country. Attracting and retaining workers are not only key items of the competitiveness plan but are also key to recruiting new business and industry to the region. We also must work to grow our own. Utilizing strategic partnerships and educational investment, it is important that the business community work with Fayette County Public Schools and our many postsecondary institutions to help ensure that our youngest residents are prepared for success.
There is a huge need for more housing in our community, and more specifically affordable housing, to support the workforce we need to attract and retain. A collaborative effort that includes Commerce Lexington and other community organizations, a consortium of banks, and local developers created Lexington’s Transformational Housing Affordability Partnership. This unique public-private effort led to the purchase of land that was formerly Transylvania University’s baseball field, and the banks established a $3 million interest-free revolving capital fund to support affordable housing development. The project caught the attention of the state legislature, which provided $10 million in funding, and Interim HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman, who praised the effort during a meeting with local leaders in Washington, D.C.
Across Commerce Lexington’s broad spectrum of events, programs and services, you’ll find partnerships and collaborations at the heart of things like the Access Loan Program, where a variety of banks and financial institutions have come together to help small businesses with financing, our Money Smart for Small Business classes, or the Emerging Leaders of the Bluegrass program, and many more.
I am also excited to lead our 2025 Leadership Visit to Madison, Wisconsin, May 14-16. This annual intercity visit not only enables us to study the best examples of success from benchmark cities across the country, but this one will be especially intriguing with so many similarities between Lexington and Madison. Both cities boast an exceptional quality of life, diverse economy, large public universities driven by research and development, top-notch healthcare facilities, high educational attainment numbers, and a strong entrepreneurial environment built by collaboration between education and industry to help translate ideas into solutions viable for business.
I look forward to serving as your Board Chair this year and working with you to strengthen the Greater Lexington economy for the next generation.
Carla Blanton
2025 Commerce Lexington Inc. Board Chair
Owner
Carla Blanton Consulting
The ongoing Regional Competitiveness Plan has brought together public and private sector leaders across our nine-county Bluegrass region to collaborate on seven key action items across economic development, talent attraction and policy advocacy with the goals of increasing jobs, median wages and GDP within the region. Great progress was made last year to implement the plan’s action items, and we expect that to continue in 2025. Regionalism is an absolute necessity when competing for jobs and talent. From business sites to housing inventory to quality of life, each community in the region has unique attributes, and that strengthens the region as a great place to live and work.
Recent Census data highlighted by USA Today placed Lexington among the top ten cities that experienced the most “brain drain” across the country. Attracting and retaining workers are not only key items of the competitiveness plan but are also key to recruiting new business and industry to the region. We also must work to grow our own. Utilizing strategic partnerships and educational investment, it is important that the business community work with Fayette County Public Schools and our many postsecondary institutions to help ensure that our youngest residents are prepared for success.
There is a huge need for more housing in our community, and more specifically affordable housing, to support the workforce we need to attract and retain. A collaborative effort that includes Commerce Lexington and other community organizations, a consortium of banks, and local developers created Lexington’s Transformational Housing Affordability Partnership. This unique public-private effort led to the purchase of land that was formerly Transylvania University’s baseball field, and the banks established a $3 million interest-free revolving capital fund to support affordable housing development. The project caught the attention of the state legislature, which provided $10 million in funding, and Interim HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman, who praised the effort during a meeting with local leaders in Washington, D.C.
Across Commerce Lexington’s broad spectrum of events, programs and services, you’ll find partnerships and collaborations at the heart of things like the Access Loan Program, where a variety of banks and financial institutions have come together to help small businesses with financing, our Money Smart for Small Business classes, or the Emerging Leaders of the Bluegrass program, and many more.
I am also excited to lead our 2025 Leadership Visit to Madison, Wisconsin, May 14-16. This annual intercity visit not only enables us to study the best examples of success from benchmark cities across the country, but this one will be especially intriguing with so many similarities between Lexington and Madison. Both cities boast an exceptional quality of life, diverse economy, large public universities driven by research and development, top-notch healthcare facilities, high educational attainment numbers, and a strong entrepreneurial environment built by collaboration between education and industry to help translate ideas into solutions viable for business.
I look forward to serving as your Board Chair this year and working with you to strengthen the Greater Lexington economy for the next generation.
Carla Blanton
2025 Commerce Lexington Inc. Board Chair
Owner
Carla Blanton Consulting