The BE NKY Growth Partnership team received several awards recognizing the successes of the company as well as individual team members.
Duke Energy recognized BE NKY, in partnership with Boone County, with the Duke Energy Partner Achievement Award for both organizations’ unwavering support for economic development. Duke Energy bases this award on the number of requests for information they received this year from all communities they serve in the Greater Cincinnati region, along with ongoing partnerships on existing sites.
The entire team at BE NKY Growth Partnership was named “Workforce Team of the Year” by the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board. This award honors a team that “works tirelessly to understand the regional workforce ecosystem, recognize potential impactful collaborations and champion workforce initiatives that will ‘move the needle.’”
In late 2023, as part of a Community Competitive Initiative, BE NKY leaders and board members met with more than 100 business executives at over 40 companies to ascertain their perspectives on the region’s competitiveness and the outlook for their business.
BE NKY also hired Economic Leadership to benchmark Northern Kentucky’s economic metrics against peer cities. This led to the release of “Navigating Change & Charting a Course to a More Competitive Northern Kentucky,” a five-year strategic analysis that identified five critical needs for the region’s continued economic success and recommended strategies for improvement.
The Cincinnati Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s Blacksmith Awards honor the best of the Cincinnati region’s public relations community. BE NKY was recognized with a 2024 PRSA Award of Excellence for Community Relations for the BE NKY Community Competitive Initiative.
CEO Lee Crume was one of 39 finalists for the Cincinnati Business Courier’s C-Suite Awards, which recognize top executives for their leadership and performance at Greater Cincinnati businesses and nonprofits.
Since becoming CEO in 2019, Crume has led the BE NKY team in exceeding the company’s targets for capital investment in 2021, 2022, and 2023, raised more than $4.6 million for BE NKY’s Build + Elevate NKY Investor Campaign, and grown the company to 16 employees. Crume was also named to Cincinnati Magazine’s “Cincinnati 300” list of the region’s top business leaders.
Cincy magazine named Vice President of Economic Development Kimberly Rossetti as one of its 2024 Power 100: Rising Stars. This award recognizes the future business executives and community leaders of the Greater Cincinnati area who are continuing to reach new heights in the impact they are making within their organizations and the community. Consultant Connect also chose Kimberly as one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers of 2024.
Since 2020, Rossetti and her team have 97 projects, representing nearly $1.2 billion in capital investment and 7,189 new jobs announced. She is the vice chair of the board of directors of the Kentucky Association for Economic Development and will become chair in December. She is also a Class 46 graduate of Leadership Cincinnati.
Client Relations Manager Devon Greco won the Outstanding Public Service Award in the Young Professional category from the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. This award recognizes her accomplishments during her five-year career with BE NKY, which includes winning nearly 40 projects, representing more than $500 million in capital investment and 2,278 new jobs.
Greco is also a graduate of the Leadership Northern Kentucky class of 2023 and was voted by her peers to serve as the class vice president.
“The team at BE NKY Growth Partnership works incredibly hard to bring opportunity and prosperity to Northern Kentucky. I am proud to see the Greater Cincinnati community recognize our team for their efforts,” said Crume. “The team at BE NKY is well deserving of these recognitions and I know we will continue to make impactful changes in our region.”
About BE NKY Growth Partnership
BE NKY Growth Partnership, the economic development company for Northern Kentucky, provides businesses with the expertise they need to build opportunity in Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties. We attract new business and elevate what’s already here to create innovative, forward-thinking, and attractive environments for companies and community success. We serve Northern Kentucky so that our community thrives through the creation of good jobs and a growing and diverse economy. We believe in Opportunity and Prosperity for All Northern Kentuckians. Visit www.BE-NKY.com for more information.
