Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce

Meade County Tourism   |   Meade – Brandenburg Industrial Development   |   Meade County Government   |   City of Brandenburg    

CHAMBER INTRODUCES MICROGRANT MEADE

The Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce was fortunate enough to raise an excess of funds in 2022 with their Chamber Banquet. There will be an annual $8,000 that will go to scholarships, but there is an excess of $5,000 in funds remaining. They will be using that to micro-fund small and start-up businesses in our area.

This program works in two ways.

  1. To give small one-time funding to Meade County businesses in need
  2. Provide funding to hopefully help businesses from closing their doors due to an unexpected expenses

Who can apply?

Businesses have to be geographically located inside Meade County, KY. They do not have to be a member at the first request of funding, as this is a needs-based service. They do however have to be a member when making a second funding request. Businesses can only request funds once every 3 years. These grants are meant to be a support for struggling or startup businesses not a source of revenue.

Year One

Use $5,000 to fund microgrants, that way the Chamber Scholarship fund is at the same level as in 2021. We will open the application period in July and continue until funds are exhausted.

To be funded business will have to provide a letter of need, a business plan with a budget to show how the funds will be used, invoice/proof of price for a requested item if applicable, and an in-person interview. Interviews will be done by a  group of community partners. They will make the determinations. Funding will be made in one part and there will be a reporting requirement. Reporting will have a grace period of 14 days past the due date. This will allow for project tracing and success reporting. This first year will be geared towards needs-based grantmaking. Cost of relocation to a larger facility, salaries or raises, trips, events, or nonpriority funding will not be granted. Max funding per applicant is $1,200.

Year Two

Any funding that exceeds the $8,000 will be put back into the microgrant program. Any funding that was not allocated in 2022 will be put back into the microgrant program. The Chamber will adjust the program as needed, but the three-year rule will stay. This will allow for as many businesses as possible to receive support.

MC Chamber begins work for new Business and Innovation Center

The Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce (MCACC), Meade County Tourism (Tourism), and the Meade County Brandenburg Industrial Development Authority (MCBIDA) have begun work to procure funding for a Business and Innovation Center in Brandenburg, KY. The potential Business and Innovation Center will consist of offices for MCACC and MCBIDA, a Meade County Welcome Center, a conference room, computer lab, classroom, banquet hosting space, and incubator space. The incubator space will provide short-term leases for a new business to get established in the community for $1 per month. As of publication, they have applied for $997,000 in grant funding from USDA Rural Development, $124,000 from the Meade County Fiscal Court in ARPA funding, and would also self-fund $100,000. If funded, this project would cost $0 to members and $0 in Meade County Tax Revenue. This grant was also written and budgeted in-house at a cost of $0.

DETAILS

Securing a Business and Innovation Center is critical for the success of creating long-term high wage jobs in our area. The ultimate goal for developing a Business and Innovation Center would be to raise the income of everyone in Meade County across the board by attracting high-wage industrial employers to the area. This would also increase civic development, decrease the poverty rate, increase tax funding to the local school system, and create a need for smaller support businesses.

MCACC, Tourism, and MCBIDA currently share a smaller building with two offices, a lobby, and a small conference room. There is no facilitator space and all programing must be conducted offsite. Both parties will contribute differently to the establishment of a rural jobs accelerator program. MCBIDA will work directly to attract industry clusters to Meade County while MCACC will work to expand the capacity of the local workforce and prepare workers for high-wage jobs.

Upon the completion of a Business and Innovation Center, the Chamber would take their existing programs and build upon them for rural job acceleration. This would include a program called Meade County Works. Meade County Works would replicate Goodwill Works. Based upon Meade County Works’ potential metrics would create a pipeline of employees for high-wage jobs, provide space for employers to interview and test potential employees, and attract regionally needed subsidiary employers directly to Meade County. MCACC would also work directly with new and expanding industries to develop employees specific to their needs. Meade County Works could be started immediately upon completion of building construction, earlier if the outside locations are available.

These programs would also pull high-skilled individuals that work outside of the county back into the local economy. Currently, 80% of our working population commutes to outside locations for employment. Meade County Works would operate in conjunction with MCBIDA’s industrial clustering and will increase wage the income of everyone in Meade County across the board by attracting high-wage industrial employers to the area. This will create employment competition but also increase disposable income to fund small businesses’ wage increases. In return, Meade County will also see increased tax funding for civic development, increased tax funding to the local school system, and a large-scale increase in the middle class across all districts of the county. This funding would create an infrastructure to establish a future where the next generation can live and work comfortably in Meade County.

NEED FOR FUNDING

MCBIDA, MCACC, and Tourism are not revenue-generating organizations. MCBIDA does not generate a profit and does not have any direct employees. MCACC is a not-for-profit organization and has to spend all of its revenues every year. Meade County Tourism does not have any direct funds, it is funded via approved reimbursements. Its $30,000 annual budget has to be spent or lost each year. None of the organizations receive special taxing district funds and could never fund this project without grant or ARPA funding assistance.

WHAT WE PROVIDE

MCBIDA has brought into Meade County capital investments of over $2 billion. Over 1,200 construction jobs, over 780 new jobs, an estimated $56,289,835 in recurring payroll, and an average hourly wage of $34.70 for new employees. Meade County’s current hourly wage is $13.74. Tourism in Meade County generates over $30 million in annual local spending and contributes directly to over 200 jobs. MCACC helps facilitate retail growth in the community and small business growth. MCACC provides the largest scholarship fund in the county by giving $8,000 annually and assisted in raising over $125,000 in funds for nonprofits in 2021 alone. In 2023, the MCACC will also start working as a microgrant provider to aid struggling businesses in our community from going under.

The funding for this project will also be a one-time expense and no further requests will be made to support the Business and Development Center’s operations. This funding will also require financial reporting to show that every cent is being spent on the items listed in the grants and nothing else.

WE HAVE NOT SECURED THE FUNDS

At this point, the funds are only secured upon receiving the USDA Rural Development Grant since it comprises 80% of the funding. If this grant is not secured, the $124,000 from the Fiscal Court will not be awarded for the project. This is an annual grant that awards up to $2 million per applicant for an innovation center to create high-wage jobs for a community with a high poverty rate, Meade County has been verified as a need area and is eligible for funding. The Grant opportunity window closes in May 2022.

If you have any questions in regards to this funding reach out exclusively to Executive Director, Annie Hamilton at 270-422-3626 or via email at director@meadekychamber.org. No other individuals will be answering questions.

Welcome to Brandenburg Family Focused Healthcare

On April 22, the Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce and Family Focused Healthcare held a grand opening ribbon cutting. Brandenburg’s newest doctor’s office is led by Meade County’s first “homegrown” paramedic. Rebecca Ohanian-Samarin began as an EMT and then became a paramedic for Meade Co. EMS. she served in this capacity for 17 years.  Later she went into nursing and obtained her Nurse Practitioner license. Ohanian-Samarin has worked in Radcliff for the last 9 years. She decided to open her own practice back to Meade County, as she has been a resident since 1994. Her experience is in Family Practice, Mental health, and emergency services.

Rebecca Ohanian-Samarin, “I look forward to serving the people of Meade County and the surrounding communities.”

Family Focused Healthcare is located at 664 Bypass Rd., Brandenburg, KY. If you would like to know more you can reach them at 270-422-4000.

Join us for our Work Ethic Job Fair

Are you looking for great talent that is also local? Are you hiring for Manufacturing, Construction, Business, Marketing, IT, Agriculture, Family and Consumer Science, Education, Engineering, or Healthcare? Then sign up HERE. We are wanting to provide our High School graduates with opportunities for their graduating pathways. This means that the students that you are interviewing will have education or experience specific to your business. If you would like to know more you can contact Annie Hamilton at director@meadekychamber.org or call the Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce at 270-422-3626.

2022 Chamber Banquet Raises over $13,000 for Scholarship Fund

Correction: We did not have our full totals in and due to a miscalculation our accurate total is $13,800!!!

Our 2022 Annual Chamber Awards Banquet was held on March 24. During the event, we took the time to award some of our outstanding members and raise money for our scholarship program. We want to thank everyone that took the time to nominate some very deserving businesses and individuals in Meade County.

Our big winners that night were: Outstanding New Business – The Venue at Roberts Family FarmSmall Business of the Year – A Robin’s Nest Gourmet HotdogsBusiness Member of the Year – The Main Street CreameryOutstanding Service to the Community – Meade County SchoolsThe Jim Kimbell Award for Longstanding Support of the Chamber – Barbara ProffittThe MCACC Visionary Award – David Pace
The night was a tremendous success in more ways than one! Through the very charitable donations of our members, we were able to raise over $5,000 more than we did in 2021. This will continue to fund our scholarship programs well into the future.

First, we would like to thank all of our members that donated silent auction items. Thank You: Brandenburg Telephone Company, Ruff to Pawsome Grooming Salon, WesBanco, The Cecilian Bank, The Meade County Sheriff’s Office, Judge Executive Leslie Stith, the Meade County Detention Center, Adam Foushee, Nucor Steel Brandenburg, Cox’s Variety, Ray’s Ford, Webb’s Butcher Block, NextEra Energy, Monument Chemical, Haydon Materials, the Meade County Area Extension Office, Meade County Bank, Barbara Proffitt, and Meade County Tourism.

We want to thank Matt Pike for being our very exciting Live Auctioneer, David Pace for being our MC for the evening, Skywork Production for photographing the event, The Italian Farmhouse for providing an amazing dinner, and R&S Cake Designs for the cupcakes.

The big auction winners were Cox’s Variety Store which purchased a Buttermilk Falls Pavillion which will carry their name, Tony Brown Chevrolet who got a basket with over $200 in local business gift cards and a personalized piece of the first steel beam to be produced at Nucor Brandenburg, and Johnny Jacobs who won Barbara Proffitt’s Italian Creme Cake.
All of the proceeds from this event go directly to fund our High School Senior and Adult Continuing Education Scholarships. Using the proceeds from last year’s banquet we will fund three $1,000 High School Scholarships and two $1,000 Adult Scholarships this year!


We hope to do so much more next year since our preliminary total was $13,800 raised!!!
We are very overwhelmed and humbled by the spirit of giving that permeates through Meade County. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all so much, and thank you for supporting us in everything that we do.