NKY and CVG prepare for Candace McGraw’s departure in 2025
The buzziest buzz around the region has to do with the impending departure of superstar Candace McGraw from the top spot at the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. True to her leadership style, Candace announced her intent to retire early enough to assure a smooth transition—and the thoughtful selection—of her successor. Succession planning was already underway. She isn’t leaving until June 2025, and she will assist the airport board as needed in making sure the right person ends up at the helm. She has already put a terrific executive team in place, and she has set a high bar for succession.
Candace has been a model leader in every way. Her announcement came on the heels of an amazing report from CVG about its economic impact on the region—$9.3 billion in 2023. That’s up from $3.5 billion in 2012.
She has represented the airport—and our region—spectacularly. She is the first woman chair of Airports Council International. Its board consists of 28 leading airport CEOs from around the world. She is chair of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the Kentucky Economic Development Partnership, as well as a number of other local and regional boards and advisory groups. She was the first woman to chair the Commercial Club of Cincinnati—and she has earned a whole slew of awards and honors.
But mostly, she is the best of the best—and a very good friend to the region. She and her husband, who is already retired, live in Union.
Nobody believes she won’t be missed, and all are hoping she’ll stay engaged in the home region she has enthusiastically embraced.
Short Takes
Kentucky Heritage Council added three NKY properties to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. Administered by the National Park Service, this is the official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Places qualify if they are 50 years old, physically intact and have historic significance.
They are Fort Thomas Women’s Club (Campbell County), Terrace Gardens (Campbell County), Magnus Metal Company Building (Kenton County) and a boundary increase of the James Dinsmore House (Boone County.
The city of Dayton dedicated its Berry Street Connector, a road project more than 10 years in the making that reconnects the city to the Ohio River and its newest residential neighborhood on the river, Manhattan Harbour, to the Central Business District. Mayor Ben Baker praised the “direct connection” for providing residents and visitors access to walking and biking trails and making downtown more accessible.
Two Northern Kentuckians have been awarded Kentucky Arts Council’s Emerging Artist Awards—each of which includes a $1,000 grant—for excellence and creativity in the literary arts. They are Haley Crigger for fiction in Park Hills and Emily Borst for playwriting in Crescent Springs.
The Detroit Lions didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, but that shouldn’t get in the way of your pride in one of Covington and Northern Kentucky’s true success stories. Derrick Barnes is the linebacker for the Detroit Lions whose game-stealing interception of Tampa Bay’s play won that contest for his team. Barnes grew up in Covington, attended Glenn O. Swing Elementary School (they celebrated a Lions Spirit Day) and played football at Hoy Cross High school, where he also played basketball and ran track. He has fond memories of his days at the Boys & Girls Club in Covington. What a great role model for all the kids in the region.
Judy Clabes is former editor of The Kentucky Post and now editor/publisher of the NKyTribune.com. She is a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and of the University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni. She and her late husband, Gene, are the parents of two sons and grandparents of five.
