Commerce Lexington representatives gave Madison County Fiscal Court an update on the regional competitiveness plan on May 13, saying the nine-county Greater Lex initiative is focusing on talent attraction, site readiness and policy advocacy to increase jobs, wages and workforce growth.

The update was presented by Andy Johnson of Commerce Lexington, who said the regional effort began in 2021 and aims to make the nine-county Central Kentucky region more competitive for business location and talent. "We have reached over 3,500,000 unique individuals across the country with ads about this region," Johnson said, adding the campaign produced 6.4 million impressions and about 42,000 website visits to the talent site launched in 2024. Betsy Dexter, who Johnson said leads the talent attraction and retention strategies, joined him to answer questions about outreach and retention work.

Johnson said the regional brand — described to the court as "Greater Lex" — and the talent website (lookatlex.com) are central tools for attracting workers and informing site selectors. He told the court the region still lags national averages in prime-age labor-force growth and that the plan’s measurable goals include raising job, wage and GDP metrics to at least the national average and increasing net in-migration of workers, with an internal goal of growing the regional labor force by roughly 1,500 people per year.

The presentation summarized work completed with first-round funding: the talent website, a paid digital and social marketing campaign targeting tourism visitors and alumni, a regional jobs board that has driven more than 500 referrals to job listings, and updates to the site-selection marketing site locateinlex.com. Johnson said Commerce Lexington has engaged roughly 20 national site selectors and attended more than 10 industry trade shows on behalf of the region.

On economic development, Johnson said the organization will continue to update marketing assets and target industry audiences — including advanced manufacturing, biotech and logistics — and to pursue foreign direct investment. On policy, he highlighted the Kentucky Product Development Initiative, which he said received more than $170 million in state investments across recent cycles and has supported 15 approved projects in the region that increase shovel-ready land.

Johnson asked the court to consider continued investment in a second funding round to sustain digital outreach, site marketing and advocacy. Judge Taylor and other court members thanked Commerce Lexington for the work and for profiling Madison County on the regional platforms.

The presentation concluded with a short video of regional assets and an invitation for feedback from local officials about how the campaign can support community-level economic development work.