On July 22-24, 2026, Commerce Lexington hosted the annual Greater LEX Washington, D.C. Fly-In co-presented by Columbia Gas of Kentucky and BrightSpring Health Services to our nation’s Capital.  This year’s trip was unique.  Approximately 80 business leaders from both Commerce Lexington and One Louisville joined together to meet with policy experts, members of Kentucky’s federal delegation, and key officials in the Trump Administration, especially with ties back to Kentucky, to advocate for policies and investments to improve economic competitiveness for both regions. It was the first joint endeavor for both Chambers and turned out to be a successful trip for networking, policy engagement, and demonstrating we are better together as a region and a Commonwealth. In case you missed the visit, here is brief recap of the meetings and important policy topics discussed by federal policy leaders. 

By Jennifer Stolo, President & CEO, Christian Appalachian Project

Less than 72 hours.
 
That's about how much time participants on Commerce Lexington's Annual Leadership Visit spend immersed in another community. Yet somehow, those few whirlwind days often generate ideas, relationships, and insights that shape our own communities for years to come.
 
Last week, I had the opportunity to join nearly 150 other Kentucky business, nonprofit, education, and government leaders in Des Moines, Iowa, as part of Commerce Lexington's 2026 Leadership Visit. The itinerary was packed and the purpose straightforward: to learn from another community's successes, challenges, and vision for the future.
 
At first glance, Lexington and Des Moines appear to have much in common. Both are growing regional hubs with strong healthcare, education, agriculture, and business sectors. Both are communities that take pride in their quality of life, civic engagement, and commitment to economic development. Both are navigating questions around workforce development, housing, infrastructure, and long-term growth.

​For the third consecutive year, Commerce Lexington’s economic development efforts have been recognized among Business Facilities’ Economic Development Organization (EDO) Awards, which celebrate organizations that demonstrate exceptional leadership in fostering economic development, supporting workforce initiatives, and creating impactful projects across the nation. Commerce Lexington received recognition in the Large EDO Category (serving a region of 500,000+ population) for its Greater LEX Economic Development Awareness and Education Campaign.
 
In 2025, Commerce Lexington launched its first-ever fully digital economic development awareness and education campaign—a strategic, data‑driven initiative designed to ensure that Greater Lexington is heard, seen, and respected as a prime business location by the individuals who influence corporate growth decisions. Built to address outdated perceptions of Kentucky and elevate the region's standing among industry decision makers, the campaign represents a major step forward in how the organization communicates competitiveness, business readiness, and innovation.

Commerce Lexington, along with regional business and local government leaders, continue to advance the Regional Competitiveness Plan, a 5-year strategy launched in 2023 to support job creation and workforce growth across the nine-county region. With the assistance of Economic Leadership, LLC and its managing partner Ted Abernathy, Commerce Lexington and the Greater Lexington Inc. Board have released a progress report.
 
Although there is still much work to be done, the report shows that the collaborative efforts of public and private sector leaders across the region are producing positive trends for the 5-year strategy (2022-2027).  The action items are aimed at increasing jobs and workforce across the region through economic development, talent attraction and public policy initiatives.  Initially, the goal of the Regional Competitiveness Plan is to increase economic growth through additional investment in economic development and talent marketing efforts to key audiences, leadership development through events like the Annual Regional Summit and elevated advocacy for critical infrastructure investments and policy changes to improve the business climate.   

This session, Commerce Lexington worked closely with and led community and regional partners to champion public-private investments with high-impact initiatives before members of the General Assembly. Following final passage of House Bills 500, 502, and 900 before the veto recess, lawmakers approved funding for several priority projects that will deliver significant benefits to the Greater LEX region.

​Overall, the General Assembly invested nearly $30 million to support Blue Grass Airport plan to reimagine and expand its terminal. This includes $19.9 million to launch the new terminal expansion, which will add airline gates and accommodate larger aircraft. The upgrades are expected to boost passenger capacity, attract more direct flights, increase regional traffic, and unlock new opportunities for economic development and tourism.

By Keller Riede, Commerce Lexington Policy Intern 
​On Wednesday, March 4, nearly 60 business and community leaders from across the nine-county region gathered in Frankfort for Commerce Lexington’s Greater LEX Day at the Capitol in partnership with AT&T. This event provides a vital opportunity for policy experts, elected officials, and regional leaders to further connect during this legislative session and collaborate on key policy issues impacting the Lexington region.  

Several prominent members of the General Assembly addressed attendees including Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy, Senator Amanda Mays Bledsoe, and Representative Josh Bray – sharing insights on the status of legislation and updates on the biennium budget planning that are currently underway. Their input provided valuable insight on policy developments that are affecting Lexington and the broader nine-county Greater LEX region. Priority issues for the region include policy and investments impacting housing affordability, childcare, talent attraction marketing, and job site readiness (KY Product Development Initiative).

In today’s rapidly evolving economic landscape, it has become clear that a more unified, strategic approach is essential to keeping our region competitive on a national and global scale. That’s why, alongside regional leaders, Commerce Lexington has led the charge to develop a  bold and forward-thinking roadmap designed to increase more jobs and attract more workers to the nine-county region.

Public and private sector leaders are working together on key initiatives to grow the economy and elevate all communities across the region.

To move the region forward, leaders established clear, measurable goals and action items focused on three pillars: economic development, workforce, and policy.

Early successes include the creation of a regional brand — Greater Lex — and the launch of a new talent attraction website featuring more than 30 pages of “live, work, play” messaging. The site increases awareness among key audiences and offers tools such as an interactive community quiz, regional map, cost of living calculator and detailed county pages to help users discover what makes each area unique.

The 2025 Greater LEX Regional Summit presented by Community Trust Bank brought together 320-plus influential business, community and government leaders from across the Greater LEX region.  This year’s Summit was the largest gathering to date, signaling the continued momentum and commitment to regional collaboration.  The annual event provided a valuable opportunity for economic benchmarking and a progress report on the implementation of the Regional Competitiveness Plan action items.  Attendees were also able to connect, share ideas, and explore strategies to make the nine-county region more competitive for jobs and talent.  

Commerce Lexington was recognized with two awards related to its ongoing Regional Competitiveness Plan, while the City was named an award winner for its Second Chance Academy Workforce Reentry Program.