Guest column by Kenny Rambo
With the arrival of the BlueOval SK Battery Park and the thousands of new jobs, tens of thousands of new residents and millions of dollars in new payroll it will bring along, it is clear that no one living in Hardin County today is from the community we will see emerge in the coming years. But it is clear to me that Hardin County is not the kind of community that responds to major developments by asking “Now what?” Rather, we have consistently exhibited a proactive approach to economic growth, always positioning ourselves strategically to harness the benefits of new developments.
As President and CEO of the Elizabethtown-based public relations, marketing and digital firm Heartland, me and my team are consistently working with regional clients at the intersection of community, economic and workforce development. This is precisely why we deemed it essential to convene our key regional clients that recently commissioned the comprehensive economic impact study, conducted by the Louisville-based consulting firm, L.B. Schmidt & Associates. This project was spearheaded by the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce, Baptist Health Hardin, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College and the Elizabethtown/Hardin County Industrial Foundation as well as other local businesses like Heartland to examine the effects BlueOval SK will have on our region. With the insights this study provides on the anticipated growth our region will experience, it in many ways provides a road map for local businesses and organizations to strategize their own growth in alignment with the evolving local economic landscape. Such a roadmap is important to not just Heartland, but to our many regional clients as well. Since our establishment in 2006, Heartland has actively been involved with the ever changing economic landscape in our region, with the primary aim of assisting our clients in adeptly responding to these developments. In fact, the inception of our firm by U.S. Army veterans Beth Avey and Conrad Curry was significantly accelerated by providing support to local businesses and organizations navigating the complexities of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) processes, which were having a substantial impact on operations at Fort Knox during the formation of our company. The BRAC 2005 initiative acted as a catalyst for significant transformations at Fort Knox and its surrounding areas, ushering in approximately 5,000 military and civilian personnel, along with contractors, to the region. This not only increased the number of professionals in our community but also injected a significant dose of diversity into our local economy.
Expanding upon the achievements stemming from BRAC, Heartland sought out further opportunities to bolster economic progress. One notable endeavor was our backing of the Y.E.S. for Economic Success group, which tirelessly lobbied and gathered the necessary signatures to initiate a special election in 2011 aimed at expanding alcohol sales in Elizabethtown, Radcliff, and Vine Grove. Since residents voted “yes” in the wet-dry special election, it has become clear that this initiative brought about significant business development in the region, exemplified by the abundance of transformation we have seen in downtown Elizabethtown in the last decade. I bring up this initiative as it is an excellent illustration of our community’s ability to respond to and build upon regional growth, a capability that will be increasingly crucial as we witness the impacts of BlueOval SK. Complementing an already thriving advanced manufacturing sector, BlueOval SK promises fresh opportunities for retaining and attracting talent to our region. Moreover, it further offers the youth growing up in our community today the prospect of
envisioning their future careers right here at home. While we celebrate our ongoing economic expansion, it’s imperative that we look ahead and explore the full range of achievements we can attain through BlueOval SK. Instead of asking “How will BlueOval SK change Hardin County” collectively, our primary question should be, “What can Hardin County become as a result of this opportunity to position us well for our next big economic win?”
Kenny Rambo serves as President and CEO of the Elizabethtown-based marketing, public relations and digital firm Heartland. In this role, Kenny helps clients build meaningful brands and deliver consistent messages with a focus on strategic outcomes.
Column was published in the News-Enterprise on September 4, 2023
