Laura Emberton Owens, secretary of the Kentucky Education Cabinet, presented the Barren River Workforce Investment Board with $50,000 Friday to develop a labor study for the Barren River Area Development District.

Owens, 48, a Glasgow native, told BRADD’s luncheon audience that Gov. Ernie Fletcher backs the project and urged counties to stick together to recruit industry, as competition has become increasingly global.

The BRADD Regional Labor Market Survey will be conducted by Atlanta-based Site Selection Services in partnership with Norcross, Ga.-based Business Facility Planning Consultants within 90-120 days, said George Leamon, director of the work force board.

Leamon and Scott Luth, director of the Glasgow-Barren County Industrial Development Economic Authority, pitched the data-gathering idea to Owens in Frankfort about four months ago.

The $80,000 study will be augmented by commitments totaling $30,000 to $10,000 from the Barren County Industrial Development and Economic Authority; $10,000 from the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce; $5,000 from the Logan Economic Alliance for Development; and $5,000 from private contributors, according to Kentucky’s Education Cabinet.

Leamon said the additional commitments from the Warren, Barren and Logan groups are for individual county surveys. Major components of each county’s employment base, including industrial, retail and other sectors, will be reviewed.

The four reports will highlight specific concerns to companies thinking about locating or expanding in respective areas. The reports will also recommend key features about an area to note in economic development and &#8220other appropriate marketing programs by the three participating counties and their allies,” according to a project outline.

After officials in the three counties and BRADD have reviewed the initial surveys, a team of site-location professionals will visit the region and present their findings at BRADD and other locations, according to Luth.

&#8220The primary use will be for the existing industry base,” Luth said, noting the surveys may also be of interest to potential employers.

Glasgow Mayor Darrell Pickett said the surveys are needed because the region’s work force has changed significantly over the years, and some fields that used to be stable are quickly losing that characteristic. It can reveal which fields younger generations intend to pursue in an effort to keep them in the region upon graduation, he said.

&#8220(The survey) lets us feel the pulse of an area,” Owens told the audience.

Prior to her appointment as education secretary in 2004, Owens served on Glasgow’s City Council and was an educator for nearly 25 years. She taught high school in Warren and Barren counties and was a part-time professor at Western Kentucky University.

Although she now lives in Frankfort, Owens said she has strong ties to southcentral Kentucky, which she says is known across the state for its diverse social culture. Her father was born in Monroe County, she grew up in Metcalfe County, and she lived in Barren and Warren at various times.

&#8220Every time I come down to Bowling Green, the growth amazes me,” Owens said.