Emerging in Eastern Kentucky

According to a recent video both written and produced by Governor and Pikeville native Paul Patton, 67,000 adults living in Kentucky's Appalachian area are either unemployed or underemployed. Another 15,000 are available if the jobs are present, says the tape. Like other areas weaning themselves from tobacco sales, this region is weaning itself from dependence on the timber and coal industries. Since Daniel Boone first came to the area in 1767, Appalachia's population has grown to half a million. Its 7,500 square miles (19,425 sq. km.) of forests, mountains and small towns are closely bounded by Interstates 75 and 64, and traversed by an increasingly efficient transportation network of parkways and expanding U.S. highways.
        Leading the way among new employers in the region are customer service call centers, a growing business sector around the world. Among the organizations that have located in the state are Sykes Enterprises, which has opened two facilities in Hazard and Pikeville; Image Entry (and sister company National Order Processing) with operations in six Kentucky cities; Millennium Teleservices, with operations in four locations; and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which opened a call center employing 300 people in Barbourville, named recently by Yahoo! Internet Life as one of the "best-wired" small cities in the nation.
       

Quality of Life Part of Quality Work

"One of our great selling tools is our people," says Gene Strong. "Legislation continues to be passed in every session to look for better ways to provide a workforce that can compete with anybody in the world."
        Kentucky's workforce ranks as more productive than average -- in fact 13 percent better than the national average as measured by value per dollar of production wages. In a 1996 survey of manufacturers, Kentucky ranked 12th among the 50 states in value added per dollar of production wages in manufacturing.
        There are other sectors that have been booming as well, including some are surprising. A surge in the advertising business in Louisville has brought about a 23 percent increase in gross revenues since 1995, luring talent away from the industry's hot spots.
        "There is a lot of interest in relocating here from California and from large metro areas like Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta," says Loree Holland of the Advertising Club of Louisville, "areas where talented people may be looking for a lifestyle change."
        State officials have that specific balance of lifestyle health and economic health in mind as well. "A lot of it is locally driven," says Gene Strong. "What is it we want to look like in 20 years? The governor has talked about how important it is to preserve this quality of life. The state's share of the tobacco settlement money will be helpful in that regard. He's putting a task force together to prepare a proposal for smart growth for the 2002 session of the General Assembly. Through this process, we can preserve and protect the quality of life we all have enjoyed for so many years."
        One of Gov. Patton's foremost selling points, reiterated on the local level by chambers of commerce, is the reeling in of talented Kentuckians who've moved elsewhere and might be ready for a homecoming. But even newcomers, whether they're from Texas or Tokyo -- often feel like they've come home.
        "People love Kentucky," says former governor Collins. "I've always said if I could get them to come here and look at us, we stand better than a 50-50 chance."
        "We've tried to develop relationships and partnerships, and that's helped our consistency across the board for third and fourth locations by companies," says Gene Strong. "It's about taking care of the companies that you keep."