HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Governor Andy Beshear traveled to the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce where he joined Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, local officials, educators, business leaders and parents to rally support for the “Pre-K for All” initiative, which aims to advance the commonwealth’s public education system and job growth.

“Access to quality child care and preschool opportunities are critical for Kentucky to ultimately advance educational attainment levels in all grades and to allow more parents to participate in the workforce,” said Scott Davis, chair of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. “We know that children in early-learning environments frequently have better academic achievement and better language development skills. Also, a higher percentage of them are more likely to graduate high school and attend college. Furthermore, ensuring that more Kentucky children have access to early-learning opportunities can play a significant role in closing the socio-economic gap between those who have financial means and those who do not.”Beshear helps break ground on $20M facility in Muhlenberg County

During his remarks, Governor Beshear mentioned key points that support how children, families and businesses will benefit from the initiative.

This is what is in his intiative:

• Increases Kindergarten readiness for all Kentucky 4-year-olds. 
  • According to KY Stats, more than half of Kentucky’s children – 53.8% – are unprepared when they show up for their first day of kindergarten.
• Eliminates child-care deserts. 
  • According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, 79 of Kentucky’s 120 counties – nearly two-thirds – don’t have access to enough child care to serve every family who needs it, with the majority of those located in Eastern Kentucky.
• Boosts parents take-home pay. 
  • A long-term study from Yale found that providing pre-K increased the earnings of parents and caregivers by nearly $9,000 annually, a trend that held for at least six years. This amounts to $54,000 for Kentucky families as their kids grow.
• Saves Kentucky families out-of-pocket child-care costs.
  • By reducing child-care costs, Pre-K for All will ease financial strain for hard-working families and strengthen the foundation of Kentucky’s economy.
• Grows Kentucky’s labor force by 40,000 to 70,000 Kentuckians. 
  • According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, over time, Pre-K for All is projected to grow Kentucky’s workforce by up to 70,000 people.
• Grows Kentucky’s economy. 
  • In addition, a study from Yale shows that every dollar invested in pre-K generates $10 that cycles through the state economy.

Gov. Beshear stressed that Pre-K for All is a nonpartisan issue, noting that 18 states – including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and West Virginia – offer pre-K access for all 4-year-olds.

“They have gotten it done, and so can we,” the Governor said in outlining his plans.

As part of the initiative, Gov. Beshear issued an executive order creating the Team Kentucky Pre-K for All Advisory Committee, comprising 28 leaders from across the commonwealth.

By Jana Garrett Eyewitness News

Local business, education, and economic leaders are stepping up efforts to expand early childhood education access in Owensboro, calling it essential infrastructure for families and the workforce. That push aligns with a statewide initiative backed by Gov. Andy Beshear, who stopped by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce on Friday to rally support for his “Pre-K for All” plan.

Alongside Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and a few local speakers, Beshear called the proposal a critical step to boost workforce participation, support working families, and ensure Kentucky’s youngest learners enter kindergarten ready to succeed.

Beshear noted that 18 states, including Alabama and Georgia, already offer pre-K access for all 4-year-olds.

“They have gotten it done, and so can we,” he said.

The Governor’s plan would expand early childhood education options statewide, tackling what supporters say is a pressing need. Beshear said state data shows that more than half of Kentucky children — nearly 54% — are not prepared for kindergarten when they arrive for their first day.

Business and economic leaders in Owensboro said the benefits reach far beyond the classroom.

Claude Bacon, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, said record economic growth means the region must invest in its people to maintain momentum.

“Pre-K access helps parents stay in the workforce, sets children up for long-term success and strengthens our community as a place to work, raise a family and build a future,” Bacon said.

Candance Castlen Brake, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, said local leaders have long recognized child care as vital infrastructure, not a luxury.

“Our chamber knows that child care is an economic infrastructure piece. It is not a frill. It is infrastructure, just like a highway is,” Brake said.

Small business owner Clay Ford, a fourth-generation partner at E.M. Ford Insurance, said investing in early education helps companies attract and retain top talent.

“The only reason we’ve been able to be in business for 100 years is because we have fantastic people on our team,” Ford said. “Pre-K for All will make our Kentucky opportunity more attractive, our employees’ lives less stressful, and instill confidence in their children for a lifetime of success in school and beyond.”

Coleman said the program would close gaps that trap too many children based on where they live. She said that prison populations are forecast using 3rd-grade literacy rates, and that readiness for kindergarten is the biggest predictor of future reading skills.

“Would you rather your tax dollars be spent building preschools or building prisons?” Coleman asked the crowd. “The time for pre-K in Kentucky is now.”

According to the Governor’s office, Pre-K for All would also:

• Eliminate “child-care deserts” in 79 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
• Save families an average of $54,000 over time in child-care costs.
• Grow the state’s workforce by up to 70,000 people, based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
• Generate $10 in economic impact for every $1 invested in pre-K.

Beshear has signed an executive order creating the Team Kentucky Pre-K for All Advisory Committee, which includes bipartisan leaders from across the state.

He urged supporters to continue talking about the initiative in churches, schools, and community groups and to learn more at preKforall.ky.gov.

“This is a step we must take to boost our economy, strengthen our workforce, better educate our kids, and put more money in the pockets of hard-working Kentucky families,” Beshear said.

By John Kirkpatrick The Owensboro Times

Leadership Owensboro, a professional development and community learning program sponsored by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, is taking nominations for its 44th class.

Ashtin Warren, the chamber’s director of talent programs, said, “The Class of 2025 included 34 graduates. For the Class of 2026, we anticipate accepting between 30 and 35 participants. While previous class sizes have typically been around 30, increased interest and demand have allowed for an opportunity to welcome more participants.”

Since 1982, more than 1,000 people have participated in the program.

Applications for the Class of 2026 and more information about the program are available at chamber.owensboro.com/leadership-owensboro.

Self-nominations are accepted as well as nominations for other people.

The program offers nine full-day sessions on topics such as economy and innovation, education, healthcare, local government, justice, arts, culture and philanthropy and human needs and services.

The monthly classes are held from September through May.

“The sessions offer unique perspectives of the inner workings of our community while encouraging diversity of thought, leadership development and community engagement,” Warren said.

She said, “This immersive program is designed to explore key community issues, strengthen leadership skills, and empower participants to work collaboratively to improve the quality of life in our region. Along the journey, the program offers opportunities to forge lifelong friendships, cultivate valuable professional networks, and gain insights into the needs of the community.”

Completed nomination forms can be emailed to Warren at awarren@owensboro.com or delivered in person to the chamber office, 200 E. Third St.

Warren said applications will be emailed to all nominees beginning June 30.

They must be submitted no later than July 29.

Several classes have worked on major projects for the community.

For instance, the Class of 2021, began an effort to raise the profile of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Moneta Sleet Jr. in the community.

That led to the creation of Monetta Sleet Jr. Park.

By Keith Lawrence Messenger Inquirer

J. Todd Inman returned to his hometown Thursday morning, sharing emotional stories of tragedy, service, and leadership drawn from his work with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Inman was the featured speaker at the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Rooster Booster breakfast.

Inman, a former State Farm agent in Owensboro and now a board member with the NTSB, gave a heartfelt and often somber keynote, weaving together his local roots with his national responsibilities investigating some of the most devastating transportation incidents in recent history.

“There’s something to be said about being around people that you really have loved and cherished for a long period of time,” Inman said. “It’s good to be home.”

The Calvert City native and longtime Owensboro resident took the audience on a journey back to 2002, the year he graduated from Leadership Owensboro — a program he credits with helping launch a path that led to serving in top federal and state government roles, including Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation under Elaine Chao and later as Secretary of Management in Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But much of his speech centered around his current role on the NTSB and the emotional weight of serving as the agency’s public face during crises, such as the deadly January crash between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over Washington, D.C.

“I was on call that day,” he said. “I could see the airport from my home. When the fire trucks started coming across the bridge, I knew something was wrong.”

Inman described racing to the scene, overseeing recovery operations, and briefing grieving families.

“Some of my most humbling moments in the last year have come with the NTSB,” he said. “Unfortunately, what we do typically happens during the worst moments of others’ lives.”

He recalled briefing more than 150 family members of the crash victims in person, on his birthday, in Bethesda, Maryland.

“I didn’t have answers,” he said. “But they wanted to be heard.”

As an NTSB board member, Inman helps lead investigations into aviation, highway, maritime, pipeline, and rail disasters. He emphasized the agency’s independence and its mission to determine the cause of accidents and prevent future tragedies. Since its creation, he said the NTSB has issued more than 15,000 safety recommendations, with about 80% implemented.

“We don’t do it for politics. We don’t do it for headlines,” Inman said. “We do it to save lives.”

He also stressed the importance of public service, noting that opportunities to lead often come unexpectedly — and urged the audience to be ready to answer the call when it comes.

“Leadership isn’t reserved for the few,” he said. “It’s waiting for the willing.”

Inman closed his remarks by addressing the Leadership Owensboro Class of 2025, who were honored at the breakfast. He gave each graduate a challenge coin inscribed with a quote that’s become a personal mantra: “From tragedy, we draw knowledge to improve the safety of all.”

“That journey started just like yours,” Inman said. “Working hard, setting down roots in Owensboro. You never know when that call will come — but be ready when it does.”

By John Kirkpatrick The OwensboroTimes

J. Todd Inman hadn’t been a National Transportation Safety Board member a year when a commercial airplane and a military helicopter collided in late January over Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.

But Inman, a former Owensboro insurance agent, was one of the NTSB members who responded to start investigating the midair collision that took the lives of 67 people.

On Thursday, Inman spoke publicly for the first time about the crash as the guest speaker for the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Rooster Booster breakfast.

Before going into detail about the role he took in aftermath of the crash, Inman spent time talking about how serious transportation safety is taken when it comes to protecting the public.

“…Transportation safety doesn’t sound flashy but it’s one of the most important things we invest in,” Inman said. “Every time you or your family drives a car, step on a plane, boards a train, you’re putting your trust, your life in the fact we did our job — that we designed the system that’s safe for you.”

Inman, who is originally from Calvert City, operated a State Farm insurance office in Owensboro from 2000-2017.

In 2017, Inman left Owensboro to become a director at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Inman also served as the DOT’s director of operations and as a deputy chief of staff before becoming DOT chief of staff in 2019.

Inman described his brief time with the NTSB as having “humbling moments” as he has investigated multiple fatal crash sites over the course of the past year.

“…It’s very tragic when you have to look at this as the final resting spot for people,” said Inman, as photos of various crash sites were displayed. “But you want to try to figure out how do you stop that from happening again. I’ve looked out over accident sites and locations and thought how do we fix this. We don’t do it for politics; we don’t do it for headlines; we do it for prevention, for saving lives.”

The NTSB has five members who are nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. And when crashes occur that require federal investigations, members are asked to “launch” to the site.

For Inman, it was on Jan. 29 at 8:48 p.m. when he received what he described as “the most impactful call of my life.”

A video of the radar showing the American Airlines flight and the Blackhawk helicopter heading toward each other was then played to the Rooster Booster crowd, along with other footage that captured the explosion after the midair collision and the wreckage falling into the Potomac River.

Inman, who lives in Arlington, Virginia across the Potomac, said it hadn’t been since September 2024 that NTSB members received a call about coming to investigate a crash.

But on that January night, Inman said “that call did literally happen outside my door.”

Inman, who decided to “take the call” and launch, told the audience that the D.C. crash along with others he’d investigated had affected him and that he has received counseling “for self-help.”

“That night in D.C. … I saw things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” he said. “I’ve been told they’ll be with me for the rest of my life.”

The crash then became not only a national story but also global one.

Inman became the NTSB’s spokesman, placing him in a position he had never been in before.

After the speech, Inman discussed with the Messenger-Inquirer how he dealt with being that spokesperson.

“No one can be prepared for that; we do trainings and mock interviews and briefings,” he said. “Board members don’t launch unless they launch with another one. So you have an idea but this scale was so much larger.”

And because there have been multiple plane and helicopter crashes since the D.C. one, air safety has been in the spotlight.

Inman, however, maintained that “aviation is the safest it’s ever been.”

“…What has happened is that a number of high-profile events have increased everyone’s interest, attraction and news media attention to it.”

By Don Wilkins Messenger Inquirer

The Western Kentucky chapter of the American Red Cross received a $5,000 grant Thursday morning to help the agency continue providing assistance after this year’s catastrophic floods.

The grant was presented by officials from NextEra Energy Resources, a renewable energy company with projects in Kentucky and Daviess County. Officials presented the donation at the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s office.

Jennifer Barnett, executive director for the Red Cross’ Western Kentucky Chapter, said while the agency’s immediate disaster response is complete, the Red Cross is still working with families who are receiving recovery assistance.

“We still have 29 families” receiving help with recovery, Barnett said

In terms of the amount of assistance needed, both eastern and western Kentucky were considered “level 5” responses because of the extensive need after the flooding, Barnett said.

The recent tornado in London is also a “level 5” response, Barnett said.

The donated funds were through the NextEra Energy Resources Foundation.

Officials at the presentation included, Barnett, Candance Brake, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and state Rep. DJ Johnson, an Owensboro Republican.

Jarrett Daniels, NextEra’s community engagement manager, thanked Johnson and lawmakers for working with the firm on initiatives.

“Your commitment to partnering with us … (has) played a vital role in bringing clean energy to Kentucky,” Daniels said. The grant “represents a deep commitment to the region. We hope this donation helps provide immediate relief … to those who have been impacted.”

“Having someone approach us and say ‘we want to help’ means so much,” Barnett said.

Amanda Paez, a NextEra communications specialist, said the company provides grants for assistance throughout the United States.

“The community has been great to us,” Paez said. “We always want to be a good neighbor. Where we can, we want to extend a hand.”

By Jim Mayse Messenger Inquirer