InTouch with Southern Kentucky February 2020 | Page 5

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
SPEDA a key to lifting P ulaski business to a new level
A
s 2020 gets underway,
we can look back at
2019 as the year of
promise for a bright
future.
New leadership in local govern-
ment was paramount as Alan Keck
took the reins of the City of Somer-
set with a fierce determination to
move it forward.
And also the Somerset Pulaski
Economic Development Authority
(SPEDA) took flight with former
State Senator and local business-
man Chris Girdler at the helm and
a solid board of directors in place
with a vision of making Pulaski
County a better place to live, a
better place to work and a better
place to operate a business.
SPEDA and Keck got a huge
victory for the area when they
announced last month that Horse
Soldier Bourbon was opening a
distillery in Somerset. The Horse
Soldier brand not only brings new
jobs to the area — but also the
promise of tourism dollars, partic-
ularly if Somerset can eventually
be included in the famed Bourbon
Trail.
Girdler said that the Kentucky
Bourbon Trail gets around 1.5 mil-
lion visitors each year — 70 per-
cent of whom come from outside
of Kentucky, and a large portion
of that comes from outside of the
U.S.
“I don’t think the community
F ebruary 2020
By
Jeff Neal
as a whole – I don’t think we as a
whole – yet know what a tremen-
dous impact this is going to have
on our community and the Lake
Cumberland region,” Girdler said.
“I think it’s just a perfect comple-
ment.”
Pulaski County already has a
built-in tourism hook with beau-
tiful Lake Cumberland, and a
handful of spectacular seasonal
events such as Somernites Cruise
and the Master Musicians Festival.
A spot on the Bourbon Trail would
make Somerset a “destination” for
a whole new group of tourists. And
that means more revenue for the
local business community.
But SPEDA isn’t just a home run
hitter — it values the base hits
that keeps the local economy mov-
ing as well.
SPEDA hosts a mini-grant pro-
gram for local businesses and
potential businesses.
“We have had a tremendous
amount of positive feedback on
the mini-grant program,” Girdler
said.
Anyone can go to the website
and download the guidelines and
application for one of four grants
the organization will award in
April.
Each grant will be for $2,500,
with SPEDA looking to award
grants to two start-up companies
and two growth-oriented business-
es that have been in business for
more than a year.
The application deadline is Feb-
ruary 28.
Throughout 2019, SPEDA went
about other business on its mis-
sion of developing Pulaski County,
including talking about the Vir-
ginia Cinema, a possible ag expo,
land and tool auction, working to
get Continental Refinery back up
and running, and a canopy for the
judicial plaza stage.
And all of its work is done in a
transparent manner — which is
both rare and refreshing.
In short, we are looking forward
to 2020. It promises to be a banner
year for Somerset, Pulaski County
and the Lake Cumberland region.
Jeff Neal is the editor of the
Commonwealth Journal and In Touch
with Southern Kentucky.
Contact him at jneal@somerset-
kentucky.com. Follow him on Twitter at
@jnealCJ.
I n T ouch with S outhern K entucky • 5