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Wayne Foster is a consultant in the field of economic development. He is President of Commonwealth Research, Inc. The company is engaged in project locations, formulation and implementation of community economic development programs, financial packaging and business research. He is currently serving as a consultant with the Jessamine County Economic Development Authority and serves as its President.

He is also President of the Kentucky Institute for Economic Development and has served in that capacity since 1986. KIED, Inc. is one of 19 comprehensive economic development training programs in the nation accredited by the International Economic Development Council and designed to provide instruction for professionals and volunteers in the economic development profession.

Wayne has been involved in economic development for 32 years. He began his economic development career in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was involved in project locations for Dobbs Houses, Inc., a regional restaurant chain. In the interim, he has worked for local, regional and state level economic development organizations, both private and public.

He is a member and past president of the Kentucky Industrial Development Council, and a member of the International Economic Development Council and Southern Economic Development Corporation for more than 20 years.

Prior to entering the field of economic development, he taught economics at several colleges and universities in the south. He has an MBA in economics and finance from Memphis State University (now known as the University of Memphis).

Gene Royalty was born in 1930 in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.  His parents, Hollie G. and Emma Sallee Royalty, were well known and devoted citizens in the community.

Gene initially planned to follow in the footsteps of his father – a small business owner with investments in tobacco warehouse and a grocery store.

At age 21, he started his first enterprise, G & H Furniture Showrooms.  “G” was for Gene and his older brother James Huntley, was the “H”.

As the business grew and thrived, Gene became more and more involved in other community activities, serving on the boards of two local banks and chairing a committee to restore nearby Shaker Village.

Soon, this smart, rising young business leader turned his attention to the larger picture of jobs and economic growth in his home county.  A conversation with then lieutenant governor Wilson Wyatt was a turning point.  Jobs required companies and companies required industrial parks, he soon discovered.  “I just got involved and have been doing so ever since,” he says.

Gene organized Mercer County’s first industrial authority and was its chairman from 1961 to 1988, a period that saw the arrival of such companies as Hitachi, which remains an expanding and crucial part of the county’s economic success.

His devoted but voluntary efforts on the part of his community did not go unnoticed outside of Mercer County.  Governor Wallace Wilkinson tapped him as the administrations Secretary for the Cabinet for Economic Development.

Though reluctant at first, telling Gov. Wilkinson “he wasn’t looking for a state job that what he really wanted was to do something for the community.”  But Gene discovered that Wilkinson was “a determined type individual.”

In 1988, Gene Royalty found himself traveling the world, and selling companies on the many attributes of the Bluegrass State, the way he had sold them on Mercer County.

When Wilkinson’s term ended, another state agency needed a marketing expert, and Gene stayed on in Frankfort to serve as the Executive Director of Markets in the Department of Agriculture.

With tobacco waning, it was critical time for Kentucky, and through three administrations and three agriculture commissioners, Gene played a key role in helping Kentucky farms find new and innovative cash crops.

Gene retired from state government in 2002, but not from economic development.  At nearly seventy years of age, Gene thought it time to return to Harrodsburg – not to retire mine you but to explore more work and more opportunities in his hometown.

To no one’s surprise, a county to the south wanted to snag one of the state’s most seasoned and effective advocates of business and industrial growth.

“We were having our annual Chamber of Commerce banquet and I invited some people from Frankfort to attend the meeting,” recalls Russell County Attorney, Don Byrom.  “I gave Gene a call and said come a little early, I want to show you something.”

“I knew what they wanted,” Gene later said.  “They wanted me to run their Economic Development office.”

Gene’s accomplishments as executive director of the Russell County Industrial Development Authority alone would merit his induction into the hall of fame, wrote Greg Jones, in the nomination form.  Under his leadership, the county gained more than 550 new jobs over $87 million in new business investment – plus more than 200 new jobs in major expansions of established businesses.  For a small community like Jamestown, these numbers are significant.

Gene Royalty has worked tirelessly for the advancement and economic success of his community and for the state of Kentucky his entire life.  And it was always a labor of love.

Marvin E. “Gene” Strong, Jr. served as Secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development for 14 years, working for three Kentucky Governors. During his tenure more than 274,500 new manufacturing and supportive industry jobs were created, the total estimated capital investment in the state increased by more than $34.5 billion and Kentucky was consistently ranked as one of the top ten states in new job creation, investment and business retention.

As the “face of Kentucky” in Japan for 25 years, Jiro Hashimoto has had an enormous impact on the Commonwealth. Working with seven Kentucky Governors he has assisted over 110 companies in relocations and expansions resulting in more than 28,000 jobs created.  Just a few of the key projects that Mr. Hashimoto has worked on include Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Toyota Motor  Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, Kito USA, and AKEBONO Brake.  These numbers are a true testament to Mr. Hashimoto’s dedication and commitment to Kentucky.

Jim is retired as an economic development field representative and project manager for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) working in the Kentucky region since 2005.   The KAED Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the Economic Development profession.  Martin was recognized for using his knowledge, expertise and perseverance to make projects work and is noted to be a “can do” person.

Governor Collins’ visionary leadership continues to bring exceptional opportunities to Kentuckians – and to make Kentucky a force in both the American and global economy.  She dedicated her persistence, sincerity and common sense to winning Toyota (any many others) in order to bring well-paying jobs and bright futures for Kentucky families.  She remains at the forefront, reaching to secure relationships to the corners of the globe – all for Kentucky.

Governor Collins was at the helm of one of the most successful economic development events in history – and that’s just one part of her story.  It was a day of first in 1983 when Martha Layne Collins placed one hand on her grandmother’s Bible and took the oath as Kentucky’s 57th Governor.  The first woman elected to Kentucky’s highest office and the only woman governor in the US at the time, Governor Collins was to become the first woman elected to chair a major political party’s national convention.

Collins began her career as a teacher.  Elected clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1975, lieutenant governor in 1979, Collins was elected governor four years later.   Governor Collins’s focus would not be about the ground she was breaking but about opportunities for Kentuckians.  And making Kentucky a driving force – literally – in the American and global economy.

Before Toyota Motor Manufacturing announced plans to open a manufacturing facility in the US, Governor Collins and her team were building a relationship with this major Japanese automaker.  It would take persistence, humility, an armload of facts and the right deal to win.  Collins knew Kentucky had the teamwork Toyota required.  Add in a hostess willing to wait and greet them at the airport, who charmed her guests with fireworks lighting up the night sky behind the Capitol and the beginning of a beautiful relationship was assured.

Twenty years later, Toyota would establish itself as a corporate leader in environmental issues and outstanding community partner.  Toyota’s selection of Georgetown as the site of its first North American manufacturing facility brought thousands of well-paying jobs and led to dozens of automotive suppliers bringing tens of thousands of new jobs.  Later, Toyota chose Kentucky for expansion and as the home of its North American headquarters.

Toyota wasn’t the only economic development achievement of Collins’ term.  Many new companies and groundbreakings came to Kentucky during her administration and she worked for new educational opportunities.

Any way you look at it, Governor Martha Layne Collins contributions are groundbreaking.

Growing up in Eastern Kentucky, this economic development professional understood first hand the importance of a job. He helped created thousands of them across the state. For advice on a project, economic development professionals across the state turned to the man they call “the guru.”

With a diverse career spanning more than three decades, there were few economic development challenges Gilliam hadn’t faced. He began his economic development career in 1969 as a research economist at Spindletop Research Inc., in Lexington, where he helped prepare reports on banking regulations and in the coal, horse racing and restaurant industries. Gilliam moved from the private sector into public service in the ‘70s – starting as city manager for Winchester – an exciting time in economic development. As manager of the Kentucky Appalachian Program, he administered the Appalachian Regional Commission investment program and developed numerous policies with far-reaching impact throughout Eastern Kentucky.

As director of community development for the Bluegrass Area Development District in the late ‘70s, Gilliam helped communities create and expand industrial site development projects. Winchester, Stanford, Lancaster, Stanton and Richmond – all benefited from Gilliam’s drive in helping establish industrial development authorities. He devoted nearly two decade to leading economic development efforts in Winchester-Clark County (1987-1992), then in Prestonsburg-Floyd Count (1992-1994) and finally in Frankfort-Franklin County (1994-2004).

Gilliam was a major force in bringing in some 46 industries that created more than 3,000 jobs and millions of dollars in investment. Passionate about his profession, committed to leadership and generous as a mentor, Gilliam has had an impact that will be felt for generations.

From the small community of Blair, Gilliam knew that every job could change lives. His inclination toward public service was fostered at Berea College and its values of helping others. The bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics he obtained from Berea College obviously formed a strong foundation for a future devoted to community development.

He played a key role in developing Kentucky’s first Strategic Economic Development Plan. Gilliam helped found the Kentucky Institute for Economic Development, where community representatives learn basic principles of economic development, from organization to marketing. A member of the Kentucky Industrial Development Council, he served as president in 1987.

Gilliam served as the executive director of the Capital Community Economic-Industrial Development Authority in Frankfort until his retirement in 2004.

A native of Hopkinsville, her career started in 1944 when she went to work at radio station WHOP where 20 years later she was general manager of the station and owner of WNVL in Nicholasville. She also worked as national sales manager for five CBS stations.

It was in that capacity that she began opening doors previously closed to women. In conjunction with her work, she joined the Business and Professional Women’s Club, (B&PW) beginning with the Hopkinsville B&PW and leading to positions on the state, national and international level. In 1961 she was elected as national B&PW president.

Three presidents appointed her to prestigious posts. President John F. Kennedy appointed her to the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1961. In 1964 she served on the Kentucky Commission on the Status of Women that would later evolve into the Kentucky Commission on Women. In 1967 President Lyndon Johnson appointed her as the only woman to the 12-member National Advisory Committee on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the Executive Committee of the White House Conference on Balanced Growth and Economic Development.
She became the first female state commerce commissioner, appointed by then Gov. Edward T. Breathitt. By the end of her four-year tenure as commerce commissioner, 150,000 new jobs had been created, unemployment in Kentucky was cut in half and personal income had increased by 30 percent. It was during that time that she was instrumental in bringing the Phelps Dodge Co. to Hopkinsville and in the development of the first Pembroke Road industrial park where a street is named in her honor. Business Week magazine referred to her success as “the Pedenblitz.”

In 1968 she opened her business, Peden and Associates and spent the next three decades successfully locating businesses and industries in Kentucky.

In 1969 she was appointed to the board of directors of Westvaco Corp., now MeadeWestvaco Corp, becoming one of the first women in the nation named to a Fortune 500 company board of directors. In 1968, Peden made a bid for the U.S. Senate and was the first woman to be nominated for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. She addressed the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but in the fall narrowly lost her Senate bid to Marlow Cook by 30,000 votes in an election with more than one million votes cast.

In 1996, while still working in a male dominated field, she was the first woman designated “Master Professional” by the Industrial Development Research Council, the world’s preeminent association of corporate and real estate executives and development professionals. Through her work and also pleasure, she had visited seven continents and more than 200 countries. She is also a former president of the Kentucky Derby Festival. In 2003, the Kentucky Commission on Women named her as a Kentucky Woman Remembered, and her portrait hangs in the east wing of the Kentucky capitol with other distinguished Kentucky women.

When she died in 2006, the economic development industry lost a true pioneer and Kentucky lost one of the its greatest promoters. Katherine Graham Peden was a true “first lady” of economic development who always put her beloved Kentucky first.