If you haven’t heard, Aquatic Resource Center is expanding and building a new 20,000-square foot facility in the Owensboro!

Eric Thomas and his team at Aquatic Resource Center travel the country designing, building, and maintaining amazing aquatic systems. Thomas spent over a decade in the aquatic hobby testing different methods and theories before joining the industry and founding Aquatic Resource Center in 2016. They focus largely on zoos, aquariums, and other commercial installations. One recent project they are responsible for is the Penguins of Patagonia exhibit at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, IN (see photos below). 

Their new location will be located at the intersection of Southtown Boulevard and Carter Road, and their hopes are to be all moved in by the middle of the year. We are proud of them for growing and for their investment in Owensboro/Daviess County!

For more information on this company, visit their website at aquaticresourcecenter.com

In this study, the top 50 cities with the strongest manufacturing economies were ranked, based upon four primary factors: the growth rate of manufacturing output, manufacturing output per capita, the location quotient for manufacturing workers, and the growth rate in manufacturing jobs. A score of 0-100 was assigned to each city based on these factors, with higher scores being ranked more highly.

Owensboro’s growth rate of manufacturing output was 3.5%, manufacturing output per capita was $16,126, the location quotient for manufacturing workers was 2.0, and the growth rate in manufacturing jobs was 4.4%. This left Owensboro with a total score of 40.8/100, placing us number 16 out of the top 50 cities. The highest ranked city was Elkhart, IN with a total score of 68.9/100.

The image featured is a graphic of the top 10 small, midsize, and large cities where manufacturing is booming. The cities were segmented by metropolitan statistical area population, with small (<150,000 population), midsize (population between 150,000 and 500,000), and large (over 500,000 population) cities. Owensboro was ranked number 10 out of the top 10 small cities where manufacturing is thriving. 

For more information on this study, visit advisorsmith-com.cdn.ampproject.org.

The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation (GOEDC) and the Owensboro Small Business Development Center are working together to bring a “Shark Tank” style pitch competition to the Owensboro, Daviess County community on May 5, 2022. The Greater Owensboro Pitch Competition, or GO Pitch, will feature residents of Owensboro and Daviess County pitching their best business ideas to Owensboro’s sharks, local entrepreneurs, community stakeholders, and investors.

“This is an exciting way for Owensboro and Daviess County to showcase the great entrepreneurial ideas that come from our community,” said Jamie Johnson, Center Director at the Owensboro Small Business Development Center. “This should be a really fun event, with local teams pitching their start up or next great business idea to Owensboro’s sharks, who will then be asking questions and giving feedback.”

GO Pitch is now open for submissions. Anyone that would like the chance to pitch in front of the sharks on May 5^th can fill out the Intent to submit form on the GO Pitch website. All submissions will then be asked to provide a business plan by April 1^st, 2022. A committee of local community stakeholders will review the business plans and select the top five to pitch at the competition.

The businesses that pitch will be eligible to win a first-place prize of $5,000. Second place will receive $2,500. There will also be a, “Crowd Favorite” award of $1,500 picked the day of the competition by the audience.

“The GOEDC believes there is a growing entrepreneurial community in Owensboro,” stated Brad Davis, Vice President of Business Development at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation. “We are hoping that the GO Pitch competition along with the prize money offered will continue to build and nurture that community of entrepreneurs.”

Visit edc.owensboro.com/gopitch for additional details, eligibility requirements, and submission information. For additional questions, please contact Jamie Johnson at 270-709-2338 or jamie.johnson@uky.edu or Brad Davis at 270-926-4339 or bdavis@owensboro.com.

Thank you to our community partners – the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, Visit Owensboro, the City of Owensboro, and Daviess County Fiscal Court.

Big Rivers Electric Corp. officially broke ground on their new 47,000-square-foot Headquarters facility on W 2nd Street in Owensboro yesterday. 

The construction will consist of a four story building and 129 parking spaces. The economic impact from this project is substantial, bringing in more than 100 new jobs to the city. This relocation from Henderson is expected to have an $80 million impact on the Owensboro-Daviess County community.

The City of Owensboro will provide incentives to offset the projected $10.8 million building cost, including a full rebate of the downtown property purchase price. Construction of the new Headquarters facility is scheduled for completion in late 2022. 

The first in-person Biz Buzz event, since the start of the pandemic, was held last week in Sun Windows’ new Showroom and Conference Center. Morgan Russelburg, Director of Career Services at Brescia University, was the guest speaker at this event. Morgan went over the Handshake platform which is the online recruiting platform for higher education students and alumni that all four of our colleges and universities use.

The Handshake platform stores student information such as resumes, cover letters and university transcripts. Students build online profiles using their own information and list their academic interests. Employers can review these profiles and post jobs or internships for free. Handshake is a fantastic resource for our employers to find potential employees and is the number one site for college kids to find a job.

If this interests you and you want more information, visit their website at www.joinhandshake.com.

It’s that time of year! Don’t forget to support your local businesses this week for the Shop Owensboro 2021 event, held and sponsored by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and Independence Bank. This local shopping event started at the Owensboro Convention Center, where participants could pick up their free Shop Owensboro bag via drive-thru and shop local businesses all week long (Nov. 27 – Dec. 4). The bags are limited to 500 and contain maps with participating stores, Shop Owensboro BINGO cards, coupons, special offers and discounts and hidden gift certificates from the stores.

Don’t forget that by supporting your local shops, you are also supporting your community which is especially important during these times. On average, 48% of each purchase at local independent businesses is recirculated locally, compared to less than 14% of purchases at chain stores. That 48% is used to help support our public schools, parks, roads, sidewalks, etc.

Small businesses also make a huge economic impact. Since 1995, more than half of the U.S.’s jobs were created by small businesses. And according to the SBA, since 1990, big businesses eliminated 4 million jobs, while small businesses added 8 million jobs. The more you shop at a local store, the more potential job opportunities you could help them provide. 

It’s the end of a great 2020-21 year for the Owensboro Kentucky Small Business Development Center Office, and the rankings are officially in!

The rankings are as follows:

We are thrilled to announce that Owensboro, KY has been chosen as the next location for the Spring KAED Collaboration Conference in April of 2022! We are grateful for the opportunity to share our community with those attending.

For dates and more, please watch the video below. 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is currently updating the Kentucky Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan (LRSTP), which will help set the course for Kentucky’s transportation system through 2045. As part of the process, the state has designed a 5-minute survey that allows anyone who lives or works in Kentucky to offer their thoughts on what the state’s transportation priorities should be and how it should spend its transportation funds. 

KYTC needs to hear from as many people as possible to ensure every voice has a chance to be heard, so be sure to share with your friends, family, coworkers, etc.

The survey can be found at gettheretogetherky.org