FORT MITCHELL, Ky.  – Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore and the fiscal court have appointed City of Florence Mayor Diane Whalen and Dinsmore partner Lewis Diaz to the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp. (Tri-ED) board of directors.
Whalen will begin a one-year term on July 1, 2021, when City of Fort Mitchell Mayor Jude Hehman’s term on behalf of Kenton County ends. Whalen was elected to the city council in 1997 and she has been elected the mayor of Florence, one of Kentucky’s fastest-growing communities, in consecutive terms since 1999. The city’s economic development strategy focuses on creating a diverse economy that supports long-term sustainability by building stronger relationships and working with the existing start-up and entrepreneurial community.
RELATED: Top Women in Business 2021: Diane Whalen
Diaz, partner in Dinsmore & Shohl LLP’s Covington, Ky., office, was appointed to fill the seat previously held by John Hawkins, president and CEO of Management Professional International (MPI) Consulting. Diaz is a member of Dinsmore’s nationally ranked public finance practice, which closed 243 financings totaling $5.94 billion in 2020. Active in the community, Diaz serves as the vice chair of the board of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission and chair of the board of regents of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky.
The Boone County Fiscal Court re-appointed Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) CEO Candace McGraw to a new two-year term. McGraw and Diaz’s terms will expire June 30, 2024.
Tri-ED is governed by a 23-member board of directors comprised of business and community leaders, who are unpaid volunteers. The Boone, Campbell and Kenton County Fiscal Courts each appoint four members of the board of directors from their respective counties. On an annual rotating basis, one county fiscal court nominates a mayor from its county to a one-year term. The seven additional board members are approved by the nominating committee – including the judge-executives from Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, board chair, vice chair, treasurer and secretary – and then considered and appointed by the full board of directors.
Tri-EDÂ serves as the primary economic development company for Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, providing marketing, business retention and expansion services for the region.
Click here for more Kentucky business news.
