BUSINESS FOCUS \\\ OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF COMMERCE LEXINGTON INC. | SEPTEMBER 2018 | VOLUME XXVI, ISSUE IX Lexington Mayoral Candidates Headline Public Policy Luncheon Thursday, October 4th RONNIE BASTIN LINDA GORTON INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Kentucky Regional Tour Heads to Bowling Green, October 29-30 Make Connections at Opportunity Exchange on Thursday, Sept. 13 Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon is Friday, Sept. 7 2018 Winner’s Circle Kicks Off www.CommerceLexington.com BUSINESS FOCUS September 2018: Volume XXVI, Issue IX INSIDE THIS ISSUE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives 4-5 Hippo Manager Software Opens New Headquarters 2016 Chamber Chinese Ambassador to U.S. Visits Lexington of the Year CLX Economic Development Team Attends AutoVision STAT: Lexington Ranks 3rd in College Enrollment Rate Business Focus is published once a month for a total of 12 issues per year by Commerce Lexington Inc., 330 East Main Street, Suite 100, Lexington, KY 40507. Phone: (859) 226-1600 EVENTS: 2018 Chair of the Board: 6-10 Policy Luncheon Features Lexington Mayoral Candidates Karen Hill Make Connections at Sept. 13th Opportunity Exchange Chief Operating Officer/Chief Nursing Officer @330 Series Presents Branding for B-to-B Companies Baptist Health Lexington Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon is Sept. 7th Publisher: 2018 Salute to Small Business Category Award Winners Robert L. Quick, CCE, President & CEO Commerce Lexington Inc. Editor: Mark E. Turner CONNECT: Communications Specialist: Elizabeth Bennett 11-15 Commerce Lexington Inc. Social Media Guide Printing: Post Printing Mail Service: SouthEast Printing & Mailing 2018 Winner’s Circle Campaign Officially Kicks Off Service, LLC (2610 Palumbo Drive) AMBASSADOR SPOTLIGHT: Kelly Tudor Leadership Lexington Class Begins 2018-19 Program Subscriptions are available for $12 and are in - Welcome New Commerce Lexington Inc. Members cluded as a direct benefit of Commerce Lexing - ton Inc. membership. Business Focus (USPS Member Personnel Announcements & Awards 012-337) periodical postage paid at Lexington, Kentucky. POSTMASTER : Send address corrections to Business Focus, Commerce Lexington Inc., P.O. Box 1968, Lexington, KY 40588-1968. Commerce Lexington Inc. Accepting Nominations Display Rates for 2019 Board of Directors Until September 4th For DISPLAY RATES in Business Focus, con - Do you want to have some input on the directors1.html . Forms can be submitted tact Dana Zinger at (859) 226-1607 or key issues that affect local business, our by e-mail to cbenningfield@commercelex - [email protected], and an community, and our future? Have you ington.com or in person to Commerce Lex - account executive will contact you . thought about becoming a board member ington Inc. President & CEO, Bob Quick, for one of the most effective business or - before the established deadline to 330 East Personnel Updates ganizations in Kentucky? Main Street, Suite 100, Lexington, KY Submit your company’s awards and mile - Commerce Lexington Inc., with over 40507. stones or personnel changes and additions 5,500 business professionals representing A nominating committee will review the to [email protected]. Per - nearly 1,700 member businesses, will be ac - names submitted. Once the board slate is sonnel news might include promotions, ad - cepting nominations from the membership approved by the Commerce Lexington Inc. ditions, awards and milestones, recognitions for its 2019 Board of Directors until 5 p.m. Executive Board, the names will be pub - and certifications and/or appointments. In - on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 . By becom - lished in a future issue of Business Focus . formation is published only as space per - ing a board member for Commerce Lexing - For questions about the nomination mits. ton Inc., you'll be able to weigh in on the process or the nomination form, contact issues that affect the Bluegrass Region. Cindy Benningfield at cbenningfield@Com - A nomination form is available on-line merceLexington.com. at www.commercelexington.com/board-of- 2 BUSINESS FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2018 \\\ EVENTS: KENTUCKY REGIONAL TOUR 2018 Kentucky Regional Tour Heads to Bowling Green on October 29-30 In 2009, Commerce Lexington Inc. revived a long- ago tradition of visiting other regions of Kentucky PRESENTED BY with the intention of listening and learning from busi - ness leaders and elected officials in other communi - ties. This year’s edition of the Kentucky Regional Tour presented by UK HealthCare will take Central Ken - tucky leaders to the southern part of the Common - wealth to experience Bowling Green and all that it has to offer on October 29-30 . Bowling Green is the third-largest city in Kentucky and serves as the center of business, education, in - PLATINUM SPONSORS : AT&T dustry and health care for approximately ten counties The Gatton Academy at Western Ky. University. in its region. The city has experienced tremendous LG&E and KU Energy population growth recently. This year’s tour will high - UK Athletics tucky Transpark, a modern, state-of the art business light key initiatives in Bowling Green related to work - park that has landed many top economic develop - WesBanco force development, K-12 education, business ment prospects for Kentucky in recent years. The attraction, downtown development, tourism and RECEPTION & DINNER SPONSOR : tour will conclude with a visit to the National Corvette public-private partnerships. The group will visit the Museum Motorsports Park. Community Trust Bank University of Kentucky College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus in its inaugural year. LUNCHEON SPONSOR : Central Kentucky leaders will connect with stu - TO REGISTER: ARGI Financial Group dents at the Gatton Academy on the campus of The cost to participate in this two-day bus tour to Western Kentucky University, one of the top high Bowling Green is $699 per person, which includes GOLD SPONSORS : schools in the nation, and explore the downtown accommodations, and meals as outlined on the Central Bank & Trust Co. area. The delegation will learn about efforts to attract agenda. For more information or to register, visit Ky. Employers' Mutual Insurance the talent needed to fill 6,000 open jobs in the region. www.commercelexington.com/kentucky-regional- U.S. Bank The group will also visit the highly impressive Ken - tour.html . SEPTEMBER 2018 BUSINESS FOCUS 3 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT /// A C OLLABORATIVE EFFORT OF THE BLUEGRASS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP (BBDP) SUBMITTED BY CLX E CONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION : G INA GREATHOUSE , H ANNAH CRUMRINE , K IMBERLY ROSSETTI & R YAN KAFFENBERGER Chinese Ambassador to U.S. Cui Tiankai Visits Lexington In mid-August, Governor Matt Bevin hosted Chinese Am - bassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai to discuss and to continue to build economic partnerships with China. Commerce Lex - ington Inc. participated in events in Frankfort and in Lex - ington. Increasing exports and foreign direct investment are goals of Commerce Lexington Inc.’s economic devel - opment team. Lexington is home to three Chinese-owned firms, including Birtley Industrial Equipment, FGX Septech, and Lexmark International. Hippo Manager Software, Inc. Opens New Headquarters in Lexington, KY On July 26, Hippo Manager Software, Inc., the largest independently-owned, cloud-based veterinary practice management software in the United States cel - ebrated the opening of its new headquarters in the heart of Lexington with a ribbon cutting and open house. Founded in 2012, Hippo Manager employs a local staff of 12 and has grown to more than 250 practices in 19 countries. The veterinary software company boasts an industry leading uptime as a cloud soft - ware as a service (SaaS) provider to the veterinary industry, with its cornerstone solution being full practice management for veterinarians to run their busi - nesses. Hippo Manager is a great success story of the Bluegrass Development Partnership, and we are proud that they call Lexington home. Photo courtesy of the KY Cabinet for Economic Development. National Horse Center Luncheon On August 15, Commerce Lexington Inc. and VisitLEX partnered on a luncheon at the National Horse Center’s monthly meeting at US Eques - trian’s headquarters. The National Horse Center is a group of 31 national and international organizations that are headquartered at the Kentucky Horse Park. Our economic development team spoke to the group on what our team does and how we can be of assistance to them. 4 BUSINESS FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2018 \\\ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Stat of the Month: Lexington Ranked Third in College Enrollment Rate According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 64.4 percent of Lexington residents age 18-24 are enrolled in college or graduate school, ranking Lexington third in college en - rollment rates among cities with a population over 300,000. This statistic, like many others, reinforces the age-old adage that Lexington is the “Athens of the West.” While there are many engines that have contributed to Lexington’s highly educated population, the state’s flag - ship school, the University of Kentucky (UK), has clearly demonstrated their commitment to empowering stu - dents and faculty with over $2.3 billion of investments in residential, community, academic, research, health care, and athletics facilities since 2011. All this investment has attracted the very best and brightest students to UK. As such, UK is among the top 10 public universities in the country enrolling National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholars. These students