Good morning #ChamberWorld! It's going to be a great day!
Indiana’s First Regional Digital Inclusion Plan Launches in Southeastern Indiana
The Southeastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (SIRPC) in partnership with the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) today announced the launch of Indiana’s first regional digital inclusion plan.
The SIRPC regional digital inclusion plan is designed to bridge the digital divide by making broadband existent, affordable and accessible for all people in the Southeastern Indiana (SEI) region. This initiative is a direct result of the State of Broadband Report that PCRD conducted in 2019 on behalf of SIRPC and their respective community foundations.
“SIRPC works to improve the quality of life within Southeastern Indiana,” said Mary McCarty, SIRPC executive director. “It is our goal to assist in the development of a thriving economy within our nine-county region, and the digital inclusion plan is an integral part of this strategic effort. Our organization is thrilled to have the opportunity to move forward with the very first regional digital inclusion plan of this kind!”
Along with SIRPC and PCRD, the regional digital inclusion taskforce was a key player and driving force behind the development of this plan. The taskforce was composed of local elected officials, local economic development organizations, and community foundation representatives. The taskforces worked together from January to October 2021 to develop the first draft of the plan.
The goals of the plan include:
Build/upgrade affordable, scalable, and future proof broadband throughout the community and improve adoption.
Ensure all residents have reasonable access to quality, affordable, and reliable devices as well as a trusted technical support to maintain, upgrade, and use these devices.
Provide a perpetual digital literacy ecosystem—multi-faceted across multiple technologies—offering support and equitable access to people of all ages and abilities for the region’s digital activities.
Include connectivity, devices, and digital skills into local and regional community and economic development strategies through public private partnerships, coordination, and assessments resulting in a sustainable digital equity ecosystem.
In addition to the plan outlining goals and strategies to move the region toward digital inclusion, it also provides a snapshot of the digital inclusion conditions in the region. For example, roughly 95% of housing units in Dearborn County had access to 100/20 Mbps while less than 2% had access to this same speed in Ohio and Switzerland Counties.
The SIRPC board endorsed the plan on March 9. The next steps will be to strategize with the digital inclusion county ambassadors to develop an action plan to achieve the goals within the next five years.
“Digital inequalities affect businesses, organizations, residents, and workers alike and if not addressed, may place a region at a competitive disadvantage, commented PCRD director, Roberto Gallardo. “I applaud the SIPRC region for taking the initiative to place their region at the forefront of digital inclusion.”
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) also provided additional funding to University Centers across the country thanks to the CARES Act passed in March 2020. As part of this effort, PCRD collaborated with the SIRPC to develop their regional digital inclusion plan.
The full SIRPC regional digital inclusion plan can be viewed at: Southeast Indiana Regional Planning Commission – Digital Inclusion Plan (sirpc.org).
The
Week Ahead: Administrative Professionals Week and Day
Today is Tuesday, April 26, and yesterday, we marked National Telephone Day. This
week, from April 24-30,
also marks Administrative Professionals Week.
Coming
up later this week, we will celebrate Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, April 27, National Arbor Day on Friday, April 29, and National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on
Saturday, April 30.
Company to build on Kentucky’s logistics
strength with Calloway County investment
FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 26, 2022) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated Paschall Truck Lines
Inc., a nationally recognized truckload carrier based in Murray, as the company
broke ground on a new headquarters office in Calloway County, an $8.2 million
investment that will create up to 150 full-time jobs.
“Paschall Truck Lines is the latest
Kentucky company to grow its presence in the commonwealth,” Gov. Beshear said.
“I am thrilled to see additional job creation in Western Kentucky, particularly
from an employer that has such a long history of success and growth in our
state. Congratulations to the company and everyone in Calloway County on
today’s groundbreaking.”
PTL leadership broke ground on a
28,000-square-foot facility in the Murray West Industrial Park. The project is
expected to create up to 150 office and administrative roles and will support
the company’s customers, which include household names such as Procter &
Gamble, Walmart, Home Depot and T.J. Maxx. Work on the project will begin
immediately, with the new location expected to be operational by October 2023.
“Paschall Truck Lines Inc. has
looked forward to building a new company headquarters on the north side of
Murray for many years,” said Chuck Wilson, senior vice president and treasurer
for PTL. “We appreciate the support of the City of Murray, the Murray-Calloway
EDC and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without which this project would not have
been possible. As a 100% employee-owned company with many Murray and Western
Kentucky based employee-owners, we believe the new headquarters facility will
serve the needs of the company, its employee-owners, our customers and Murray
and the region for many years to come.”
PTL has roots in Murray dating back
to its opening in 1937, originally operating as a less-than-truckload carrier
with a single truck. The company has since grown into a national truckload
carrier with more than 1,100 tractors, 3,200 trailers and over $260 million in
annual revenue.
PTL contributes to Kentucky’s
logistics and distribution sector, which since the start of the Beshear
administration has announced more than 4,000 full-time, Kentucky-resident jobs
across more than 80 facility expansion and new-location projects with $563
million in private-sector investment in the commonwealth.
Calloway County Judge/Executive
Kenny Imes said he has seen the company exhibit continued growth over the
years.
“As a lifelong resident of Calloway
County, I have seen PTL grow into a company that is leading the way in
transportation throughout North America. They have always been successful and
now they are building a headquarters that will make us all even prouder,”
Judge/Executive Imes said. “They are a shining example of the very best in
their industry and to make it even better, they are owned by the people who
actually do the work. I congratulate PTL for their many years of success
and their very bright future in our community.”
Murray Mayor Bob Rogers said the
project solidifies the future of one of the community’s longstanding employers.
“PTL has been a strong part of the
Murray community for over 80 years and has grown from one truck to now being
one of the top transportation companies in the country serving the U.S., Canada
and Mexico,” Mayor Rogers said. “Today, we are celebrating their new
headquarters operation. This will cement the strong relationship we have and
ensure that PTL will remain in Murray and the commonwealth for many decades to
come. We know the value of PTL to this community and we appreciate that the
bright future of the company will be guided from here.”
Murray-Calloway Economic
Development Corp. (MCEDC) Chairman David Graham noted his own history with the
company.
“As a former employee of PTL and
now chair of the MCEDC, it pleases me greatly to see this new investment in our
community,” Graham said. “This new headquarters operation will mean that the
company, which was founded here, will stay here and continue to grow for many
years. This project would not have happened without PTL and the City of Murray
working together to address issues that could have made the project unfeasible.
This is a great day for the employees of PTL and our community as a whole.”
PTL’s investment and planned job
creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state
builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
The recently released Site
Selection magazine’s annual Governor’s Cup rankings for 2021 placed Kentucky
atop the South Central region, and third nationally, for qualifying projects
per capita.
Gov. Beshear recently announced
that on Jan. 28, S&P Global Ratings revised Kentucky’s financial outlook to
positive from stable and affirmed its “A-” credit rating. S&P cited a
reduced reliance on one-time items to balance the budget and a higher balance
in the state’s rainy-day fund as primary factors influencing the change.
That follows a 2021 during which
the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books.
Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2
billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record
18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Kentucky’s average
incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before
benefits, a 9.4% increase over the previous year.
In recent months, the commonwealth
has seen its two largest economic development projects in the state’s history.
In September, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated
a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin
County. About two weeks ago, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision
AESC to announce
a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. The
announcements solidify Kentucky as the national leader in EV battery
production.
