Kentucky Portable Assistance Program

The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) is submitting a proposal for the Office of Small Business Development Centers Portable Assistance Program, Funding Opportunity No. OSBDC – 2019-04. Through this Funding Opportunity, the SBA seeks to make grants to SBDC Lead Centers to serve economically distressed areas. Projects under this award must provide technical assistance and/or training services to small businesses in communities that are economically impacted as a result of a recent business or government facility down- sizing or closing, known as a “Qualifying Event.” These Qualifying Events must demonstrate negative impacts of job losses or small business instability in the SBDC Service Area. If funded, the KSBDC will dedicate these funds to developing and delivering an Artisan Outreach program to continue to build on Kentucky’s growing creative economy. Kentucky’s creative industries play an important role in building and sustaining the economic vibrancy of the Commonwealth. This industry creates jobs for Kentuckians who spend money locally, pay taxes and contribute to the quality of life in their communities. This program will build upon existing partnerships with local artisan and community organizations and leverage on newly developed relationships throughout the state. Although the primary geographic focus will be in Eastern and Western Kentucky, the program will be available throughout the state as needed. The continued loss of coal jobs and the subsequent downsizing to the secondary businesses in the Eastern and South-Central Kentucky regions combined with major industry closures in the Western and Eastern parts of the state make Kentucky an ideal location for this award. The KSBDC has identified the following recent industry closures as a basis for this funding proposal: County Company Name Employees Event Date Boyd AK Steel -Ashland Works 260 Closure 11/4/19 Calloway BRIGGS & STRATTON CORPORATION 628 Closure 9/27/19 Hart HOLLANDER SLEEP PRODUCTS, LLC 208 Closure 8/21/19 Simpson Harman International 158 Closure 8/2/19 Warren Union Underwear Company/ Fruit of The Loom Pulaski New Vista Behavioral Healthcare, Inc 100 Layoff 7/22/19 Laurel CONDUENT State & Local Solutions, Inc Pulaski 132 Layoff 6/1/19 Madison BrightSpring Health Services\ CAKY of Somerset Calloway Kentucky River Foothills Development Council 97 Layoff 4/21/19 Rockcastle Perry Murray State University 93 Layoff 4/19/19 Oxford Government Consulting Pike 142 Layoff 12/31/18 Magic Mart Store #650 44 Layoff 12/14/18 Magic Mart Store #960 68 Layoff 11/23/18 29 Closure 10/1/18 31 Closure 10/1/18 Warren US BANK -Bowling Green 100 Closure 9/28/18 Fulton Prairie Farms-Fulton 52 Closure 6/30/18 Boyd 113 Closure 3/10/18 Hopkins KES Kentucky Electric Steel 99 Closure 2/14/18 Hopkins THOROUGHFARE MINING LLC Hopkins County Coal Madisonville Office 427 Closure 2/14/18 Taylor Ohio Clarcor Air Filtration-Campbellsville 119 Closure 2/12/18 Ohio Armstrong Coal Prep & Dock Facility McCracken 12 Layoff 12/8/17 Daviess Equality Boot Surface Mine Martin LATA SHARP REMEDIATION SERVICES LLC 61 Layoff 12/8/17 Daviess Engineered Plastic Components, Inc. 0 Layoff 10/19/17 Clark Booth Energy 68 Closure 10/18/17 McCracken BIMBO BAKERIES USA INC Pulaski LEDVANCE LLC-Winchester 217 Closure 9/30/17 AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation Knox 111 Closure 9/8/17 Knox General Electric Company Somerset Warren 54 Closure 9/1/17 Benore Logistic Systems, Inc. Conduent Incorporated 76 Closure 6/30/17 Penske Vehicle Services Inc. 63 Closure 5/26/17 82 Layoff 4/23/17 62 Layoff 4/12/17 1 Layoff 4/1/17