2023 Kentucky Damage Prevention Summit: A Great Success

The 2023 Kentucky Damage Prevention Summit proved to be a great success! Resulting in a very strong turnout, attendees traveled from all over the state to join us at Embassy Suites Lexington for three days focused on industry updates, networking, and safety education.

The summit was attended by damage prevention professionals from all areas of the industry, including excavators, locators, utility companies, regulatory agencies, farmers, and municipal/county employees. Attendees had the opportunity to kick off their summit experience by gathering for the official Kentucky 811 reception, networking on the green at a local golf outing, or sharpening their skills at workshops covering utility locator, OSHA competent person, or damage investigation training.

Throughout the Kentucky Damage Prevention Summit, you could find attendees exploring the Exhibitor Hall to experience hands-on demonstrations of the latest technology and create connections with vendors and other 811 industry professionals. Each day also featured several educational sessions lead by industry leaders on timely topics, including damage prevention tech, leadership, and legislative roundtables.

Kentucky 811 partnered with One Call Concepts (OCC) to provide multiple opportunities for attendees to learn more about the software KY811 made available across the state last fall – ITICnxt and Locator Tickets. Excavators, locators, and member utilities visited the Kentucky 811/OCC booth in the Exhibitor Hall to demo the software, ask questions about positive response and other popular topics, and grab helpful handouts to take with them. Many also joined the Benefits of Using OCC Technology for Kentucky 811 session, which shared how to get the most out of ITICnxt and Locator Tickets. If you weren’t able to catch a demonstration of one or both of these tools, visit Kentucky811.org/Events to sign up for a virtual training.

Finally, wouldn’t be a Kentucky event without some extra fun. A variety of contests kept the excitement going throughout the entire summit, including a TV/radio commercial idea contest and a raffle for anyone who downloaded the Kentucky811 app or followed Kentucky 811 on Facebook or Twitter. Congratulations to all of the lucky winners!

We’d like to extend a special thank you to all of the attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, and vendors who made the 2023 Kentucky Damage Prevention Summit such a success. And we hope to see you at the third annual summit in 2024!