BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CRESTVIEW HILLS -- The people who laid out a vision of what Northern Kentucky could look like in 20 years knew many residents wanted more education. They just didn't know how many.
Leaders of Forward Quest, the company charged with implementing that Quest vision, outlined at a forum Tuesday the two years' worth of work since the vision was unveiled. One of the highlights is the response to education initiatives.
Almost 100 people registered for the second year of classes at the Urban Learning Center in Covington. The program tries to eliminate hurdles to college courses for people in low-income areas.
The project is a partnership of Forward Quest, Northern Kentucky University, Thomas More College, Covington Independent Schools and the Covington Community Center.
"We were overwhelmed with the amount of interest," said Mike Hammons, the president of Forward Quest who spoke at Tuesday's Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce forum.
Sixteen people took part the first year.
The classes at John. G. Carlisle Elementary School include courses in English, study skills, algebra and sociology. Child care is offered and a computer workshop, tutoring and computer lab also are available.
Education is one of the key components in attracting companies to Northern Kentucky, said Danny Fore, the new president of Tri-County Economic Development Corp. (Tri-ED), the company that recruits businesses to Northern Kentucky.
Mr. Fore said the Quest blueprint played a significant role in his taking the Tri-ED job. The plan provides Northern Kentucky with consistency in where it wants to go.
"Most communities have a difficult time with this," he said. The competition for those firms amounts to placing communities across the country in competition with one another as products, he said. The variables those products offer, their schools, their roads, their quality of life, determine who wins the jobs.
"Quest by its very nature gives us the vision to create a total, quality product," he said.
Forward Quest leaders also said the reason the number of directors has been more than doubled was to bring in new blood. Six of the seven founding directors were past chairmen of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Eight were added in July.
"Since (the first) day, if we have had any one negative comment it's been "You're really just chamber-driven,' " said Forward Quest board Chairman Frank Sommerkamp.
Those original board members eventually will become emeritus directors.
"They gave us a boost in the community, a certain amount of credibility, of visibility that we might not have otherwise had when we got started," Mr. Hammons said.
Mr. Sommerkamp also announced that the Forward Northern Kentucky campaign, which helps pay for Quest efforts, is within $88,000 of its $3 million goal.
