Chamber Director, Regional Development Builds Entrepreneurial Coaching Skills

	Miller Slaughter, Chamber Director, Regional Development

BOWLING GREEN, KY-Miller Slaughter, director of regional development at the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, has been accepted and enrolled in the prestigious Kentucky Entrepreneurial Coaches Institute (KECI), an 18-month program designed to create coaches, leaders and advocates to build the entrepreneurial spirit in South Central Kentucky.

KECI is funded by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board and administered by the University of Kentucky's Extension Service in cooperation with the Center for Rural Development. The program consists of 8 two- to three-day seminars, in which 30 members of the South Central Kentucky region learn tools to coach communities and citizens to explore entrepreneurial opportunities. They attend seminars taught by what Dr. Ronald J. Hustedde, director of the Kentucky Entrepreneurial Coaches Institute, describes as the "best and the brightest in rural entrepreneurship nationally and internationally as well as those from Kentucky." Each KECI participant, including Slaughter, receives a fellowship valued at more than $18,000 to override the costs of the seminars.

"I'm honored to be a part of this Institute because of the high priority it places on growing entrepreneurs in the region. Small businesses and entrepreneurship are passions of mine, and I'm grateful that I can apply what I'm learning in the seminars to my work with the Chamber's regional partners," said Slaughter.

"We're happy to have Miller involved in such a prestigious program," said Todd Davis, Chamber Board chairman. "His involvement will enhance the Chamber's already strong involvement with entrepreneurs in the area and will help to encourage more South Central Kentucky residents to start their own small businesses."

Entrepreneurs are those who see things a little differently, who look at an empty building and see an opportunity to start a business, Dr. Hustedde explains. "They see a need in the community, region, nation or world, and they want to provide a high-quality service or product to fill that void."

Building a strong entrepreneurial culture and economy will enhance the future of South Central Kentuckians, asserts Hustedde. "By fostering entrepreneurial growth in smaller, rural communities, we are reaching a prime audience. Rural communities are less likely to attract large industries, but so many of the community members have dreams of providing a service or product. Institute participants gain the knowledge and tools to help those community members achieve those dreams."

Slaughter points out the value of having small businesses and entrepreneurs, citing research by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service. "Start-up companies account for 44 percent of new jobs in the nation. Such firms account for about 70 percent of the new economic growth in the U.S. That's a tremendous amount of money being filtered into our economy. It only makes sense to encourage entrepreneurship knowing those figures."

Dr. Hustedde agrees, explaining that many countries are already fostering entrepreneurship youth, requiring entrepreneurship classes within schools in Scotland, Canada and other countries. The Institute aims to create coaches who can instill those seeds in South Central Kentucky residents. "We're teaching these coaches to change the mentality that the majority of start-ups fail, to change mindsets that I can't do that job to I can achieve that dream."

For more information about KECI, visit www.uky.edu/AG/CLD/KECI or contact Dr. Hustedde at 859-257-3186 or Katie Ellis, program director, at 859-227-0911.

About the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce
Incorporated in 1935, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to be the 2009 Chamber of the Year, as named by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. As one of only 336 chambers nationwide to be accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the fourth largest chamber in Kentucky, the Chamber serves as a premier business advocate for its more than 1,300 partners and is the driving force for economic development in South Central Kentucky. Its primary goals are to promote growth and success in the business community, reaching its small business partners and those in large industries alike. With leadership programs, governmental relations projects, educational initiatives and involvement opportunities, the Chamber aims to support the community and its neighbors in order to enhance the business climate and continue to grow the region.