Opportunity Tour Highlights How Kentucky Businesses Drive Growth

The role businesses play in expanding economic opportunity was the focus of a series of conversations across Kentucky this week as the U.S. Chamber’s Free Enterprise Express Opportunity Tour made stops in Northern Kentucky, Lexington, and Louisville.

In Louisville, Kentucky Chamber Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Kate Shanks and U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President of Policy Jonathan Burks joined local business leaders for a discussion about what businesses need to compete, invest, and continue growing.

Affordability remains a concern, Shanks said, and recent Kentucky polling found that just over half of Kentuckians believe the American Dream is attainable.

Shanks and Burks discussed how economic growth can help improve that outlook and why it is important for people to see the connection between strong businesses and the opportunities available in their communities. Burks said the tour highlights how the freedom to compete and innovate enables businesses across the country to respond to challenges and better serve the people and communities around them.

Kentucky business leaders at the Louisville roundtable also shared how businesses are responding to workforce needs across the state.

Chamber Executive Committee Member Amy Luttrell of Goodwill Kentucky said a strong business community opens doors for people who have struggled to enter the workforce, including many of the people the organization serves.

“A strong economy fueled by a strong business community is about the best thing that can happen to the people we assist because it means more opportunity for them,” Luttrell said.

Chamber Board Member John McGibbon of Messer Construction also pointed to workforce as one of the biggest challenges facing employers, particularly in the skilled trades.

“My belief is with the free enterprise system, we are allowed to innovate with our imagination,” McGibbon said. He pointed to partnerships between employers and nonprofit organizations as a way businesses can help bring more people into the workforce and create pathways into long-term careers.

The Opportunity Tour is part of the U.S. Chamber’s broader effort to hear directly from businesses across the country and bring what they are hearing back to Washington.

“We will continue to champion the principles of free enterprise and help people understand the essential role businesses play in strengthening our communities and creating opportunity,” Shanks said.

Learn more about the U.S. Chamber’s Opportunity Tour here.