NKY Thrives

NKY thrives reports on people and initiatives leading community and economic development for Kenton, Campbell, and Boone counties in Northern Kentucky. You can also find stories about local NKY cities and towns in the top navigation under Places.

Two NKU Fifth Third Bank Entrepreneurship Institute students receive $12,000

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Entrepreneurship

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April 21, 2009

Northern Kentucky University’s Fifth Third Bank Entrepreneurship Institute has reason to celebrate two of their students this month. Nathan Young and Eric Tanner placed first in the 2009 Kentucky Idea State "U" Undergraduate Business Plan Competition, receiving over $12,000 in prize winnings. Students from across the state competed in the second annual business concept and business plan competition in Lexington March 27-28. The competition is designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship by rewarding participating teams from the Commonwealth's eight four-year state universities. The competition places emphasis on business concepts and plans that are scored by independent judges as most likely to result in successful, high-growth ventures. The duo's business brain-storm, Renewable Horizons, would manufacture solar thermal systems for local companies wanting to invest in renewable energy. Young, a construction management major with a minor in entrepreneurship, and Tanner, an entrepreneurship major with a business administration minor, developed the idea as a way to promote renewable energy to local companies and homeowners. Both graduate from NKU in May and hope to launch their company soon thereafter. "This experience has been extremely invaluable as I have learned a wealth of knowledge about business, experiencing first-hand the trials and tribulations of writing and presenting a business plan," said Tanner. "I'm very appreciative to have had such an amazing opportunity. We owe a debt of gratitude to the faculty and staff of the Entrepreneurship Institute and to the College of Business for presenting this opportunity before us and for all the help we received throughout the process." The nationally recognized Fifth Third Bank Entrepreneurship Institute at Northern Kentucky University offers innovative educational programming to help students develop business concepts and build sustainable businesses. “This student competition is helping create a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators that will expand our base of business and provide more jobs statewide,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “The evaluations and feedback provided by the business experts who judged the event will be invaluable to the students as they move forward in developing these and other ventures.” Writer: Jeff SyroneySource: NKU

DHL will move back to CVG

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Cincy In The News

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April 21, 2009

DHL Express announced that it will move its U.S. air cargo and package sorting operations back to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The move will create an anticipated 830 jobs at the DHL sorting facility in Boone County. All DHL employees in Wilmington will be offered jobs in Northern Kentucky. To read the full article click here.

NKU and Vision 2015 join forces in an effort to bring 50,000 new jobs to the region

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Entrepreneurship

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April 21, 2009

Northern Kentucky University and Vision 2015 have teamed up in an initiative to fuel the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. Dubbed the Northern Kentucky Entrepreneurial Alliance (NKYEA), this dynamic collaboration is a key component in attaining Vision 2015 goal for the region: to make entrepreneurship and innovation one of this region’s defining features. Lining up with Vision 2015’s strategic planning for economic development, NKYEA brings together some of Northern Kentucky’s best-known innovators and business incubators in an effort to spur job growth through collaboration, communication and marketing. John Beehler, Associate Provost for Economic Initiatives and Dean of the Haile/US Bank College of Business at NKU developed the idea behind NKYEA as the central go-to place for entrepreneurship in the region. “One of the first things I did when I took the position was to take a look at the players involved with driving economic development for Northern Kentucky,” says Beehler who came to NKU from the Barton School of Business at Wichita State.” Beehler found a number of different agencies working towards creating new growth but little coordination between them. “Looking at landscape I noticed a lot of activities in agencies in region who were providing services to small businesses. When you have multiple organizations doing the same thing it can turn into competition over a coordinated effort.” With Vision 2015’s ambitious goal of creating 50,000 new jobs, Beehler determined that the only way to reach that number was through “coordination, communication and cooperation.” In December of ’08, a core group of key organizations was convened to discuss how to increase the number of small businesses and grow development for Northern Kentucky. “Our key goal is trying to get those who need help to get the help they need to launch their businesses. We need to understand what training these businesses need and figure out how to focus that effort. Economic development and entrepreneurship go hand in hand with the College of Business. I knew it would be important for me to get everyone in the same room and talking about this,” says Beehler. NKYEA’s work has already started thanks to the programs that the region has already had in place. “I’m a firm believer that regions grow by growing their own and that means fostering entrepreneurship. There’s a lot of potential in our region thanks to the fact that we already are a logistical center, a manufacturing center. We don’t have to start from scratch because there’s already a lot of activity on both sides of the river,” says Beehler. The alliance is ready to leverage those resources by identifying key targets in making Northern Kentucky a place where entrepreneurs can create and flourish. Among them include: setting up a clearinghouse for basic entrepreneurship and growth information, facilitating education, training, and mentoring for entrepreneurs and increasing the available capital to fund new and exciting projects. Another major piece of the alliance is marketing the region as a hub for entrepreneurship and leadership. “It’s not enough to have all these tools if you don’t tell anyone about them,” says Beehler. Among those who’ve joined the alliance are: NKU’s Haile/US Bank College of Business (including its Fifth Third Entrepreneurship Institute and International Business Center Global Connections), ezone Innovation and Commercialization Center (ICC), Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center (SBDC), SCORE, Southbank Partners, Tri-ED, and the Williamstown ICC. Bill Scheyer, President of Southbank Partners, said NKYEA is the type of targeted alliance the region needs. “We have needed a coordinated effort to spur entrepreneurship in this region for many years. NKYEA gives us the opportunity to work together to make this happen.” Rebecca White, Director of the Fifth Third Entrepreneurship Institute at NKU, added the alliance is a way to attract and retain some of the region’s brightest students. “As they continue their education and prepare to establish their future businesses, they can get hands-on experience with people facing many issues in establishing and growing their businesses.” Writer: Feoshia Henderson and Jeff SyroneySource: John Beehler, Northern Kentucky University

Issue 9 debate engages local businesses one month before the November vote

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Development News

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April 14, 2009

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's biggest event of the year takes place on April 25 with a kickoff in College Hill, and the organization could use your help.Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement project with an estimated 2.8 million volunteers, is aimed at boosting the quality of life in neighborhoods by planting flowers and trees, picking up litter, collecting discarded tires, painting façades, landscaping, and recyclingBecause of the massive amount of work to be done, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful program manager Josman Rodriguez says that volunteers are very much needed.Just last year, 8,352 volunteers collected 406,460 pounds of litter and debris; planted 13,500 flowers and bulbs; cleaned 578 miles or roads, streets and highways; and recycled more than 40,000 plastic bottles and more than 2,500 scrap tires."We're expecting 10,000 volunteers beautifying 90 communities, 25 parks, and 30 schools," Rodriguez says.He also says that Give Back Cincinnati, community leaders, and Cincinnati council members plan to participate, and that United Dairy Farmers is serving as a co-sponsor.To volunteer, contact Liz Bowater at (513) 352-4380 or at liz.bowater@cincinnati-oh.gov.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Josman Rodriguez, project manager/public awareness, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful

Covington’s Greenup Café getting greener

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Development News

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April 14, 2009

In an effort to integrate itself deeper into the local community, Greenup Café, at 308 Greenup Street in Covington, is beginning to incorporate several green and sustainable business practices."We're basically gradually going green," says Janna Williams, Greenup Café's new general manager. "It's a change that's being made to be more locally inclusive."On the menu, the café will be incorporating more locally-grown meats and producfrom Findlay Market, and is offering fair trade, organic coffee from Cincinnati's own Coffee Break Roasting Company.The café's on-site herb garden will be fed by a compost pile."That will give us more carrots, tomatoes, et cetera that we can use here in our space," Williams says.Williams says that they're trying to be more energy conscious by leaving lights off during the day, and are exploring ways in which they can cut down on their use of chemicals."We function on the lowest level of light that we can," she says. "If we can turn a light out, we do. Any lighting needed will be from energy efficient bulbs. As far as chemicals, we're going to have a green alternative to all of our cleaning products."Williams adds that they plan to use low-flow faucets and hand dryers in the restrooms to cut down on water and paper towel waste.On its website, Greenup Café is soliciting additional ideas on how it can operate in a more sustainable, neighborhood-focused way.So far, Williams has heard nothing but positive feedback from customers."In this economic climate, it's difficult to be green," she says. "It's an expensive endeavor. But why not pay a couple of extra dollars when you know that the quality will be amazing?"Williams says that the café is working on several community events, including a "doggy happy hour", a community movie night that could feature films from local filmmakers, and fundraisers for various area organizations.She also says that they're considering commissioning works from local sculptors to decorate the outdoor dining space."The goal is for Greenup Café to be not just a coffee shop, or a café, but a true community center," Williams says. "It's about shrinking the global level down to the community."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Janna Williams, general manager, Greenup CaféPhotography: Scott Beseler

Northern Kentucky Entrepreneurial Alliance formed

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Cincy In The News

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April 14, 2009

The Northern Kentucky Entrepreneurship Alliance, part of Vision 2015's entrepreneurial strategy for the region, has been established to market Northern Kentucky as a hub of innovation.The idea was developed by NKU associate provost for economic initiatives and dean of the university's Haile/US Bank College of Business John Beehler, who saw the need for collaboration and unity among the many entrepreneurial agencies in the area.Participating agencies include the business school, ezone Innovation and Commercialization Center, Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center, SCORE, Southbank Partners, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, and the Williamstown ICC.The alliance has begun work on key issues such as establishing a one-stop clearinghouse for entrepreneurs; facilitating education, training, and mentoring; increasing available capital; developing an entrepreneurial community, and promoting the region as an entrepreneurial hub.Read the full article here.

TiER1 Performance receives $99,982 in matching funds from State of Kentucky for Air Force project

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Innovation News

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April 14, 2009

TiER1 Performance Solutions has just landed $99,982 in SBIR-STTR matching funds from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (KCED).The Covington-based technology firm will apply the funds to R&D for "Accelerated Learning through Serious Game Technology," a project for the Department of Defense. TiER1 is conducting this program with guidance from the Northern Kentucky ezone, of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, and the KCED's Department of Commercialization and Innovation (DCI).This collaboration is another win for Northern Kentucky (NKY) and once again affirms TiER1's position as a leading voice in technological innovation."TiER1 is an innovative company with a unique and proven online training and learning solution," says DCI Commissioner Deborah Clayton. "We are pleased to partner with the ezone in providing SBIR-STTR matching funds to a Northern Kentucky-based technology company."This type of cooperation is well established in NKY. Since opening its doors in 2002, TiER1 has helped numerous commercial, non-profit and government organizations set up an array of affordable and effective learning and knowledge management solutions.Its efforts gained significant attention in 2008 when Inc. 5000 named TiER1 one of the nation's fastest growing companies for the second year in a row. Another recent accolade for TiER1 includes being named 2009 small tech business of the year by ConnectKentucky. TiER1's leadership credits the strong base of local supporting organizations and advocates for much of its success."TiER1 has received tremendous support from the Northern Kentucky ezone, where our company started in 2002,” says Kevin Moore, TiER1's Founding Partner and Chief Learning Officer. “Northern Kentucky is fostering high-technology companies in the ezone and the Commonwealth is supporting this important industry with funding through the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation.”This funding is available to all innovative firms in the NKY area. "The ezone supports high-tech companies in Northern Kentucky," says Casey Barach, Vice President, Entrepreneurship, Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation. "At a time when small, high-tech companies may be having difficulty obtaining funding, the ezone can assist them in accessing grants and funding from Kentucky."To learn more about funding for Spring 2009, for which the deadline is May 7, visit here. Writer: Jonathan DeHartSource: Cheryl Besl

NKU College of Informatics expands into brave new world

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Arts + Culture

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April 7, 2009

In speaking with Dr. Douglas Perry, the Dean of the College of Informatics, it only takes a matter of time before one begins to share his excitement for Northern Kentucky University's new $50.8 million Center for Informatics. Drawings show a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as both a new home for the College of Informatics as well as a gateway to the campus' West Quad.The 110,000-square-foot facility, designed by lead architect Goody Clancy and local architecture firm McGill Smith Punshon Inc., is made up of a central Informatics Common and "digitorium," flanked on two sides by four-story loft-style academic buildings.One enters the structure through the Informatics Common, designed to serve as an intersection between the social and digital worlds contained within the center. This space will house a "genius bar", complete with a multi-discipline technology help desk, research flex space, and a café.Within the Informatics Common sits the impressive two-story glass digitorium, the fully reconfigurable technological heart of the center equipped with audio/visual technology using high-quality LED, digital projection, and intelligent digital displays that allow users to watch, interact with, create and share information. The digitorium's transparent skin is designed to reflect the center's purpose by allowing those outside to witness human interaction, the most basic – yet most complex – of information sharing systems."With the digitorium we are going to be able to create or recreate anything digital including simulations of war rooms, gaming contests, 3D film festivals, mercantile trading houses or even a performance space," says Dr. Perry.What does the College of Informatics need with a performance space? Dr. Perry is happy to explain that his vision for informatics goes well beyond the "hardcore bit-level computer science." Although that research is important, Dr. Perry wants to reach much further… "all the way to a whole human-affected domain – including writing, communication, music, performance, even dance."Preliminary conversations have taken place with area arts leaders including Cincinnati Ballet CEO and Artistic Director, Victoria Morgan about using the College's resources in new and different ways."The digitorium will be saturated with high definition cameras that can take images of a performance, synthesize, render into a new image, and project onto the digitorium wall, all in real time. The artistic possibilities are endless," says Dr. Perry.Opening things we take for granted into a realm of endless possibility is at the very heart of the study of informatics. Dr. Perry continues, "We want to transcend the college to offer something so unique that it will draw in as many people as possible. I want people to walk in and understand immediately what informatics could mean to them."Lining the Informatics Common sits a pair of glass and metal lofts housing classrooms and labs arranged on the lower two floors, administrative functions stacked on the third floor, and faculty offices on the fourth floor.Construction of the Center for Informatics is expected to begin within the next two months, with completion occurring by July 2010.The Kentucky legislature has approved $35.5 million for the new center, with the remainder being funded by a mix of grants and private, government, and corporate funding."Currently there are very few colleges of informatics in the country," says Dr. Perry. In fact NKU can boast it has one of less than a dozen like it around the nation."The University conducted a study five years ago where they looked at the surrounding economy and area and said, 'where can we go from here?'"The study showed that NKU was already graduating a number of students in the informatics field even without a program dedicated to it."The real reason we got the program started was because of the surrounding business community," says Perry.It turns out Northern Kentucky's industries and businesses possess a very real and practical need for talent honed in programs such as these. "85 percent of our graduates stay right here," says Perry who believes the new facility will help supply the skilled workforce needed for the region's information economy by attracting and retaining artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, and scientists.Currently a leader in Kentucky's e-health network through the modernization of the delivery of health care through technology, the college is looking to expand its study of electronic information to other disciplines. A $2 million investment into a virtual "cave" will open doors to a number of area companies wanting to perform simulated market research. "Most companies, even the larger ones, can’t make that kind of investment into that kind of technology," says Dr. Perry. "We'll be the only facility in the region that will be able to offer this kind of space to a wide array of companies."Writer: Kevin LeMaster and Jeff SyroneySource: Northern Kentucky University College of InformaticsRendering provided

NKY businesses get a crack at national fame through pioneering When Work Works program

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Entrepreneurship

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April 7, 2009

This month the state of Kentucky is one of three states to kick off a statewide initiative called When Work Works, which offers the chance of prestige and national recognition for Kentucky's best and brightest empoloyers.And the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is playing an important part in this program.The NKY Chamber of Commerce and several other community organizations are joining forces as the Core Leadership Community Coalition (CLCC). Together, they are guiding this initiative.When Work Works is a community-based program that stresses the importance of workplace flexibility through a variety of educational opportunities. This is an important mission. Flexibility in the workplace is more than a fad. It's an emerging trend around the globe. "State government is extremely pleased to partner with other pioneers to develop and implement integrated workplace strategies and research emerging global trends," says Governor Steve Beshear. "Better workplace practices will help Kentucky become not only an employer-of-choice but also a state-of-choice."The program also gives employers the chance to apply for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, a feather in the cap that comes with recognition in a full-page advertisement in USA Today, the Congressional Record and other media outlets. "This is an excellent opportunity for the state's businesses to showcase their workplace flexibility practices and to get local, state and national publicity," says Jennifer Swanberg, executive director of the Institute for Workplace Innovation at the University of Kentucky. Ultimately, flexible employers make for happy employees. “Employers who create innovative workplaces with flexibility have an advantage in recruiting and retaining top talent," Swanberg says. And happy talented people are the foundation of thriving businesses. "This is also an opportunity to present the Commonwealth on a national stage as a state with innovative employers who strive to promote a culture that is supportive of employees and their families while simultaneously achieving business success," Swanberg says. Interested Kentucky employers can apply online for the Sloan Awards until April 20. Writer: Jonathan DeHart Source: Lee Ann Walton, University of Kentucky

Sample Profile

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General

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April 6, 2009

U-M grad student Traci spends her free time with music -- from smoky jazz halls to folk music mainstays to the area's best indie rock hubs.