Chamber's Annual 'Fly-in' to Washington This Week

Business, government and community leaders are getting ready to leave for their annual Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce trip to Washington, DC.

The "Fly In" is September 12 and 13, and those who participate will have the opportunity to meet with members of Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation, agency officials, Congressional staff, and legislative experts to discuss important federal policy issues impacting the region, state and nation.  

“We have 51 local community leaders on our trip this year. This is the largest attendance since the Chamber began coordinating the trip 15 years ago,” said Sandra Wilson, President of the Paducah Chamber.   

Attendees represent a diverse group from various sectors of the local economy including government, banking, healthcare, non-profit, education, contractors at the DOE site, railroad, riverport, river industries and professional services. Local elected officials attending include State Senator Danny Carroll, Paducah Mayor Brandi Harless and Commissioners Sarah Stewart Holland and Sandra Wilson; McCracken County Commissioners Bill Bartleman and Scott Wathen; and Ballard County Judge Executive Todd Cooper.      

Meetings are scheduled with Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, and Paul Dabbar, Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science, who is responsible for Environmental Management, which includes the Paducah DOE site. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will be the featured speaker at the Congressional Reception hosted for members of Congress and their staffs and other invited guests. Congressman James Comer is the featured luncheon speaker. Other speakers include Senator Rand Paul; Congressmen Andy Barr, Brett Guthrie and John Yarmuth from Kentucky and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Chair of the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, from the Oak Ridge, TN area. Additional meetings will be held with the National Endowment for the Arts; Americans for the Arts; Federal Aviation Administration; and Maritime Administration.  

This year's priorities for the group are projects associated with the Department of Transportation; the continued cleanup work at the Paducah DOE site; continued funding for the Kentucky Lock project;  Barkley Regional Airport, and a request for a Center of Excellence designation from the Department of Transportation for West Kentucky Community and Technical College, which currently offers maritime workforce training and degrees in Maritime technology through its Inland Logistics and Marine Institute.