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STRATEGIC

DOING

sit www.CommerceLexington.com and click on GET INVOLVED to find out more about the gro

To help with theBrainpower Group, con-tact Pamela Trautner at

ptrautner@CommerceLexington.com

To get involved with thePhysical DevelopmentGroup, contact HaroldTate at harold@lexingtondda.com

PROGRESS REPORT 2007

BRAINPOWER GROUP PROGRESSEarly discussion by the Brainpower Group centered on the following questions,including:

!How can we support the Fayette County Public Schools Vision 2020 initiative?!How can we develop ways for business to make high impact partnershipswith secondary teachers and students to enhance and bring relevancy to educa-tion?

! Are there ways to improve the public's understanding of the importance ofcareer/technical education as an equally valuable option for preparing people?

These discussions led the group to decide that its vision would be "To work tomake Lexington a place where talented and creative people want to live." Building uponauthor Richard Florida's use of the Three T's - Technology, Talent and Tolerance, the group decidedto expand the idea of "brainpower" by adding a Fourth T, Trades, or highly skilled, good paying opportunities, which

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 wbusinesses need in the way of a worker's skills, a program called the Lexmark Teacher Institute: "Bringing InnovationTeaching and Relevance to Curriculum" has been developed. Scheduled to be held July 30 - August 3, this weeklong pgram will allow teachers and community business partners to collaborate on how businesses use what schools are ting, real world examples that will enliven delivery to the students, and ultimately open doors to more opportunities fodents.

The Brainpower Group needs help in the following areas: (1) Can you host a group of teachers for a visit during tweek? (2) Do you know of a company that may want to be involved? (3) Are you a company that can help bring real lexamples to curriculum?

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP PROGRESSThe Physical Development committee has been working very hard during the layear since the Commerce Lexington Leadership Visit to Oklahoma City. A seriemeetings was held to gather information, concerns and existing programs thatassist the committee in developing a list of needs and desires for Lexington ansurrounding counties.

The committee then agreed that there were certain projects that needed todeveloped for Lexington that would not only help for the 2010 FEI Games, but community as a whole. Different media will be used to distribute the informatthe public, including newspaper articles, billboards, radio shows and the creatiprinted booklet that will be distributed to various political groups and interestezens and businesses. A draft copy is being developed that this committee willwith the entire Commerce Lexington Inc. group for review and input.

MORE STRATEGIC DOING GROUP PROGRESS REPORTS ON NEXT

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. Wehave reached the time to move from the talking to the walking. We all know that our actions willspeak much louder than words. This will be my goal as your chairman of Commerce Lexington.

GUY A. HUGUELET III2007 CHAIRMAN

COMMERCE LEXINGTON INC.PRESIDENT, ADECCO OF

CENTRAL KENTUCKY

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INNOVATION GROUP PROGRESSThe Innovation Group decided to focus its energy on one strategic outcome: "A more cre-ative and entrepreneurial community environment that utilizes coordinated infrastructure toencourage and develop innovation for the economic gain of the region." What will allow theBluegrass to achieve this? It is fact that smaller enterprises as a whole have a huge impact onthe U.S. economy. As group leader Tom Harris pointed out, "According to the Small BusinessAdministration, companies with fewer than 20 employees added a combined 1.6 million jobsto the U.S. work force. Businesses with 20-to-499 employees added 400,000 jobs.Businesses employing 500 or more had a net loss of 1 million jobs."

Based on that information, the group decided that the most important thing would be toenable budding entrepreneurs to quickly and efficiently find the information they need and nothave to make multiple stops to learn about licenses or financing or business planning, etc. The opportunity for a true collaborative nership between the University of Kentucky, Commerce Lexington Inc., and the city of Lexington in the area of entrepreneurial suppsoon took flight.

The Bluegrass Business Development Partnership recently emerged as a strategic one-stop, super-service provider that links a tbusiness development specialists from local government, Commerce Lexington and UK with the end user to provide assistance witthings like business and financial planning, loan programs and tax incentive information, connections to funding sources, real estatversity commercialization opportunities, and more. To further assist entrepreneurs on the front-end, a Web site is being developed www.ThinkBluegrass.com.

Success will be measured through the following baselines: The development of a consolidated resource hub that is the epicentelinks, information and networks for anyone in search of support for ideas, innovation and entrepreneurship; Number of Lexington-start-up companies; Number of contacts/referrals to the resource center; and Dollars of venture capital expended.

BRANDING GROUP PROGRESSThe 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. Regionalchambers 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 theBluegrass and is interchangeable enough to use in other communities and various eco-nomic sectors. We know through research done by the Lexington Convention & VisitorsBureau that "scenic beauty" and "the horse" are the most recognizable features aboutthis area from both residents and outsiders.

After deciding on "It's Better in the Bluegrass" as the brand theme, the BrandingGroup began a design competition earlier this year through the help of the LexingtonAdvertising Club, a regional advertising/public relations organization. Brand ideas had to be turned in by March 30, 2007. taking into account criteria that was developed by the Branding Group, a subcommittee of the group selected three finalistmost accurately reflected the research and criteria set forth. Logos needed to transcend different types of media, work well

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

offer their thoughts and opinions on the three design concepts selected. Feedback gathered during this part of the processhelp guide the group's decision to further explore one of the concepts more or consider other options.

REGIONAL COLLABORATION GROUP PROGRESSThe Regional Collaboration group has been charged with identifyingconnections/partnerships, which could ultimately produce multiple positive impactsto the Bluegrass Region. The focal point of developing these networks is the WorldEquestrian Games in 2010. In order to identify key leaders that are in fact connectedand may not even know it, the Regional Collaboration group is working to develop aSocial Network Map, which will indicate how many people or organizations operatewithin a specific area, where the gaps are, and what connections (resources) exist

that can be beneficial to the network (region).The group is developing the network map through surveys conducted of business organizations and key community le

that ask people to list the two or three people that they immediately think of when trying to solve a problem. The goal is toit easier for folks who may appear to be on opposite ends of the leadership spectrum to see what resources are availablethroughout the region that could benefit them. This will go a long way in ensuring that the Bluegrass is successful when itthe World Equestrian Games in 2010.

As the network mapping progresses, the group also intends to hold informational Town Hall Meetings throughout theregion, and later convene a "regional civic resources summit" to help people get a better understanding of what resourcesavailable, what the different groups do, and how leaders can tap into that expertise. The team hopes to identify gaps in thenetwork sometime during the summer.

sit www.CommerceLexington.com and click on GET INVOLVED to find out more about the gro

2007 STRATEGIC DOING GROUP PROGRESS REPORTS CONTINUED

join the Innovation

oup, contact Ginaeathouse ateathouse@mmerceLexington.com

assist with thending Group, con-t Shari Fiveash ateash@Commerceington.com

nt to help with thegional Collaborationoup? Contact Bernievely at blovely@wlesrice.com orrrell Ishmael atrell.ishmael@ekpc.coop