Chambers of Commerce talk goals, advocacy efforts in Legislative update

The Christian County Chamber of Commerce was host to some big named guest speakers Thursday morning for their Legislative update breakfast at the James E. Bruce Convention Center. 

One of those guest speakers was Ashli Watts, the President and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber, who highlighted their advocacy efforts on not just the state level but the federal level as well, along with what they’ve managed to accomplish.  She says the Kentucky Chamber was able to save businesses a hefty amount of money, pushing for the passage of bills that would help businesses and advocating against bills that would hurt them.

Looking to the future—with a budget session in store for the Kentucky General Assembly when they reconvene in January—Watts say there are ten key points the Chamber is focused on seeing improve in the Commonwealth.

Also in attendance at the breakfast was Kevin Courtois, the Executive Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the United States Chamber of Commerce. He says many of their goals at the national level are not dissimilar to those at the state level—though one thing they hope to see soon is real reform to the country’s immigration system.

Wrapping up the event, Christian County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Taylor Hayes says there’s a lot of advocacy and work that goes on at all levels of government that many never see.

One thing the Kentucky Chamber is looking to get off the ground in the coming months is the Military Hiring Academy, where business leaders would receive training to learn about transitioning outgoing service members back to civilian life, along with best practices to get them back into the workforce, including in the area around Fort Campbell.