BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- From helping land a Sears store to federal money for new runways, local leaders say U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford has always tried to help Northern Kentucky with economic development.
Friday, during one of his last visits to the region as a senator, Mr. Ford recalled that in the early 1970s he was asked to help attract Sears to the Florence Mall, which was in the planning stages back then. He also helped secure funding to build exit ramps off Interstate 75 near the mall.
"I knew some people with Sears . . . was able as governor-elect to make some phone calls and help them bring in Sears as an anchor," he said.
But among Mr. Ford's greatest contributions is the millions of dollars he steered to the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport.
"The airport is the engine that is driving the economy up here," said Covington attorney Bill Robinson, a Chamber of Commerce leader and member of the Kenton County Airport Board.
"And Wendell Ford has long been the sparkplug for that engine. He's always understood economic development, and that has helped Northern Kentucky in many ways over the years."
Mr. Ford isn't ready to say goodbye to Northern Kentucky just yet. But he's close.
Mr. Ford, an Owensboro Democrat, will retire at the end of this year after 24 years serving Kentucky in the U.S. Senate.
The 74-year-old Mr. Ford is expected back in the region to speak at the Aug. 24 annual dinner of the Northern Kentucky Area Development District and to campaign for two Democrats running for Congress, Scotty Baesler of Lexington and Ken Lucas of Boone County.
Mr. Baesler, a U.S. House member, is running for Mr. Ford's seat against Southgate Republican Jim Bunning, also a U.S. House member. On Friday, Mr. Ford said his goodbyes to about 100 members of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon at the Metropolitan Club.
Afterward, Mr. Ford -- who also was lieutenant governor and governor before being elected to the Senate -- talked with reporters about the profound changes he has seen in Northern Kentucky over the past 30 years.
"There's just been so much growth . . . going on all the time, it's phenomenal," Mr. Ford said.
Mr. Ford credited much of Northern Kentucky's dynamic economy to the Tri-County Economic Development Corp., or Tri-ED, the 11-year old agency charged with bringing businesses and jobs to the area. Just this week, Tri-ED announced that Cincinnati's Gibson Greetings Inc. will move to Covington. Last month Ashland Inc., another Fortune 500 company, announced it, too, will move to Covington.
"I think Tri-ED was one of the main things that started cooperation -- and that was Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties getting together," he said. "That was very important."
