Beshear elected co-chair for Appalachian Regional Commission

Brad Hall, The Times-Tribune, Corbin, Ky.
·2 min read
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Jan. 8—FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) — The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced Wednesday that Gov. Andy Beshear has been elected by his fellow Appalachian governors to serve as the 2023 Appalachian Regional Commission states' co-chair.

As part of the ARC's federal-state partnership structure, Beshear will collaborate with ARC federal co-chair Gayle Manchin and fellow Appalachian state governors to invest in economic and community growth across the region's 423 counties in 13 states. In addition to facilitating ARC investments across the region, the states' co-chair also hosts ARC's annual conference, which will take place this fall.

Beshear said he was honored to be selected by his fellow Appalachian governors. "ARC investments are building better lives for current and future generations here in Kentucky and across the ARC region. "Access to quality health care, a good paying job and clean water should not be determined by your zip code. I want to thank my fellow ARC governors for entrusting me with this role, and I look forward to continuing our important work together."

Gov. Beshear will serve as ARC's 70th states' co-chair and the first from Kentucky since his father, former Gov. Steve Beshear, served in the role in 2015.

"It is my honor to welcome Gov. Beshear as ARC's 2023 states' co-chair," Manchin said. "I look forward to continuing to collaborate with him and all of our Appalachian governors as we advance ARC's mission to bring economic parity and transformational opportunities to the region's 26 million people."

In 2022, Kentucky received $51,127,188 in ARC funding. That funding went toward projects like the construction of a water treatment plant in Perry County following last summer's flood, a new steel manufacturing plant in Middlesboro, and improvements at Breaks Interstate Park in Pike County. In the 2022 fiscal year, ARC invested nearly $240 million throughout the entire Appalachian region, which attracted an additional $1.57 billion in private investments.