Leadership Kentucky visits Northern Kentucky
Written by: Abbie Gilbert, Associate Director, Humana, Leadership Kentucky Class of 2023
The Northern Kentucky Session started out with a beautiful view of the Ohio River at the Metropolitan Club with an innovative panel facilitated by Leadership Kentucky Class of 2023’s Lee Crume- sharing the bright future that NKY has in Life Science Research Innovation. Pivoting to continued economic development discussions around the theme of Regionalism, the class heard about the successes and challenges in NKY from the Kenton County Judge Executive, NKY Chamber of Commerce, and Southbank Partners. Conversations continued to flow over refreshments at the networking reception at DBL Law Firm and cohorts experienced a bold and energizing presentation from Tom West on the City of Covington’s Economic Development wins for the city. The evening kept getting better with a private B&B River Boat Dinner cruise and karaoke competition hosted by friend and classmate Julie Kirkpatrick- the Northern Kentucky CVB President & CEO. Tonight, they were all winners!
The first stop on Thursday took the class to the gracious Kim Webb with the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, where the class learned about the challenges and opportunities of fellow citizens struggling with homelessness. It was inspiring to see the positive outcomes the team has for so many people. Participants then boarded the bus to visit the beautiful Childrens Home of Northern Kentucky to learn more about the national statewide crisis surrounding the lack of access to mental health treatment. The CHNK works closely with state leadership to create paths for mental health treatment, and they should be applauded for the progress they have made and will continue to do. CEO Rick Wurth gave inspiring words on how the class could help do more for the most vulnerable kids in our Commonwealth. We experienced the magic of resistors and heard from HR on the history of the Post Glover Company. The bus then made its way to the famous Hofbräuhaus for a traditional lunch and where they heard about the regional partnership approach to workforce challenges. They finished with the second to last class panel featuring those in business and concluded the day with a tour of the exciting Newport on the Levee- getting a taste at how both locals and tourists can spend their days shopping, socializing, and eating with a magnificent view. Just when they thought that the view of the city couldn’t get better, they finished the evening at the home of classmate Robert Simmons for a dinner and viewing party for the Ravens-Bengals game. This unique Covington home has arguably some of the best views of downtown Cincinnati. His family was so gracious, and his son hosted with a fun dice game to cap off the evening!
Though it was raining on Friday morning, the trip was still full of exciting and bright developments at the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Leadership Kentucky friend Seth Cutter, Vice President, Public Affairs led a CVG Campus Tour including Amazon, DHL, and a stop at the FEAM hanger to see just how BIG of an impact that facility is having on the area. There are many great examples of cross-sector collaboration and private public partnership that were weaved throughout all the speakers and stops that were experienced during this Leadership Kentucky session. The class wrapped up the entire week with a final class panel focused on economic development. This turned into a spirited discussion on how the class could use its collective influence to continue to improve our state after the last session next month in Lexington.
