Commerce Lexington updates Madison County on regional competitiveness effort, cites digital reach and talent campaign

Andy Johnson, senior regional economic development representative with Commerce Lexington, updated the Madison County Fiscal Court on May 13 about the regional competitiveness plan that covers nine counties around Greater Lexington.

The presentation summarized work since 2021 to create a coordinated strategy for job and workforce growth and described marketing and advocacy steps intended to promote the region to site selectors, industry targets and prospective workers.

The plan’s leaders told the court they are emphasizing three measurable goals: raise jobs, wages and gross domestic product to at least the national average; increase regional labor‑force growth (with a local goal of about 1,500 net new residents per year); and sustain state and federal advocacy for infrastructure and housing. “We are growing jobs. We are doing great in this area,” Johnson said, adding the region still needs to grow its labor force to match employer demand.

Johnson and Betsy Dexter, who the presentation identified as leading talent attraction and retention work, described three campaign components: a new talent website (lookatlex.com), a digital recruitment campaign and a resource hub for employers and education partners. Johnson reported campaign metrics for the first six months: the digital program reached about 3,500,000 unique individuals and produced 6,400,000 impressions; the talent site recorded about 42,000 visits; and “over 500 people have followed links on the jobs page” to local job listings.

The presentation also reviewed updates to the regional job‑attraction site (locateandlex.com), outreach to more than 120 national site selectors, attendance at industry trade shows and plans to focus on industry targets such as advanced manufacturing, biotech, logistics and professional services. Johnson said the region will continue to pursue foreign direct investment and to refine digital marketing assets, including a video project highlighting the nine counties.

Johnson told the court the initiative is funded by a mix of business and government contributions and said the annual regional funding for the project is $1,600,000. He asked local governments to consider committing to a second round of support to continue the campaign.

Magistrates and the judge acknowledged the work and thanked Commerce Lexington for the update. No formal county action was requested at the meeting; Johnson asked for feedback and continued partnership as the campaign proceeds.

Local officials may review the Commerce Lexington materials, and the organization plans further briefings and events for county stakeholders in 2025.