Vol 15/Issue 6
greater owensboro chamber of commerce
JUNE
CHAMBER MATTERS 2017
Chamber crafts new employee leadership program Alorica employees participate in hybrid Leadership Owensboro program
T
he Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce is providing a two-week sample of what the Leadership Owensboro program is like for a group of Alorica employees. The class started on May 15 for a preselected group of 65 Alorica employees. “Alorica asked us to design a condensed version of the Leadership Owensboro program. Officials told us they are invested in Owensboro and that they want their employees to have a greater understanding of our community so they can best serve its members,” said Jessica Kirk, Executive Director of Leadership Owensboro. Normally, Leadership Owensboro is a program that meets once a month and lasts almost a full year. Community members apply in late summer and start in September. Each class day is designed to study a different aspect of Owensboro. There is a community services day, an education day, a healthcare day just to give a few examples. “I can’t say thank you enough to our members and community leaders for volunteering their time to make this experience possible
for Alorica. To my knowledge, this abridged class is something that’s never been done before,” Kirk said. John Malloy, Senior Site Director of Alorica, said, “This condensed version of Leadership Owensboro allowed our team members to gain first-hand experience of real situations that residents of our community face on a daily basis. I was humbled, honored and amazed to see this incredible team offer immediate support, volunteer hours and donations for the community partners we visited. Our team would like to thank all of the community partners, businesses and school system representatives that allowed us the opportunity to be a part of their day offering invaluable insight and experience; they truly make a difference every day and are very special people.” Malloy said the company would like to thank Jessica Kirk and
Candance Brake for their effort, time, flexibility and determination to get this accelerated course version rolled out for us. “We always say we would like to give back to our community, and Leadership Owensboro shows everyone can make a difference if
you try,” said an Alorica employee who is going through the program along with Malloy. “Being active in your community can provide an opening experience that can create inspiration within ourselves.” Other employees who are also
Boulware Mission — A home for new beginnings
Boulware Mission is a faith-based homeless shelter that has been serving Owensboro and its surrounding counties since 1921. Boulware not only provides emergency shelter services; but even more importantly, addresses the root causes that have led our clients into homelessness in the first place. Our Self Sufficiency program assists individuals with job skills, education, financial literacy, substance abuse treatment, healthy living, general life skills, faith-building, and much more ... providing our clients with the tools they need to become independent, contributing members of our community. We are committed to ending homelessness, instead of managing it, one person at a time. The services provided by Boulware Mission are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Boulware provides clients with three meals per day, snacks, emergency clothing, personal hygiene items and case
management services in a safe and supportive environment. Boulware primarily serves the Green River Area Development District
(GRADD) of Western Kentucky which includes the counties of Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union and Webster. The shelter is
located in Owensboro. boulwaremission.org 609 Wing Avenue Owensboro, KY 42303 (270) 683-8267
going through the program said, “This opportunity was a humbling, eye opening call to action for all of us. The experience was the epitome of our vision; making lives better one interaction at time,” and “Our helping hands can create happy hearts.”
Chamber will press on after taxes increased On May 17, the Owensboro City Commission passed the largest across the board tax increase in our community’s history. The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce released a One for One Proposal which underscored a series of reasons why the increases are not business-friendly and are bad for the working people in Greater Owensboro. Hundreds of hours from volunteer business and community leaders were dedicated to understanding the current financial situation at city hall. Even though large taxes were passed, our work and involvement resulted in increased public awareness and lower increases than were initially proposed. Our mission is to
Ransdell to speak at June Rooster Booster Dr. Gary Ransdell, the president of Western Kentucky University will be the speaker at June’s Rooster Booster Breakfast, sponsored by Western Kentucky University — Owensboro. Randsell was named the ninth president of Western Kentucky University on Sept. 12, 1997. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from WKU in 1973 in Mass Communications, a Master of Public Service degree in Public Administration in 1974, and a Doctor of Education degree from Indiana University in 1978. Ransdell re-joined WKU as president after serving four years as vice president for administration and advancement and seven years as vice president for Institutional Advancement at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. The WKU Board of Regents and Ransdell are leading the campus through a dramatic transformation from a university of regional importance to a leading American university with international reach. Since 1997, WKU enrollment has swelled from 14,500 to 21,000, and annual graduation numbers have grown from 2,500 to 4,200.
Ransdell and his wife Julie have been particularly engaged with students learning in other countries. They have traveled with students taking course credit in England, France, Italy, China, Ecuador, Africa, Scandinavia, and Iceland. During his tenure, WKU’s athletic programs have won more than 100 Conference Championships. WKU also leads Conference USA in academic performance. He served as President of the Sun Belt Conference in 2000, and completed in 2013 a four-year term on the BCS Presidents’ Oversight Committee. Ransdell successfully negotiated a move to Conference USA in 2014. In 2014-15, WKU set a C-USA record with eight conference championships. WKU Football has won two consecutive bowl games and ended the 2015 season ranked #24 in the final AP poll. Ransdell has chaired on the Board of Directors of the Louisville Branch of the St. Louis Eighth District Federal Reserve Bank, has served on the Board for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, the Board for the Inter-model Transportation Authority of South Central Kentucky, and has chaired the Warren
County United Way Campaign. Ransdell currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) which operates the global Semester at Sea (SAS) program. Ransdell and his wife met, dated, and were married while at WKU pursuing their undergraduate degrees. They have two sons, Patrick, who graduated from WKU in 2002, and Matthew, who graduated from WKU in 2006. Both Patrick and Matthew were lettermen with the WKU baseball team. Patrick and Brooke (WKU ’04) were married in August 2004, and are the parents of Walker and Collins Ransdell, WKU classes of 2029 and 2033. Matthew and Sandra were married in April 2014, and both practice law in Tampa, Florida. Further evidence that Gary and Julie are “all in” for WKU is Spirit and Diddle, their yellow lab and English cocker spaniel.
provide leadership, advocacy and member services that foster growth and economic prosperity for our region. We commit to stay true to our mission and to continue to advocate for our members and for the community at large. If you would like to join our chamber, please call us (270) 926-1860.