VOICE-TRIBUNE JANUARY 2024

JANUARY 2024

Celebrating 75 Years

Racing Louisville FC’s New Coach, Bev Yanez Ordinary Angels: Remembering Louisville’s “Snow Baby”

Roots firmly planted in the future.

Radical innovation characterizes the all-new GranTurismo, but the principle behind that evolution has remained constant since day one. Because icons aren’t born overnight.

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Happy New Year! Welcome to the 75th-anniversary kickoff of VOICE-TRIBUNE! In 1949, a brilliant man started a never-ending journey that forever changed St. Mathews and Louisville. John Henry Harralson Jr. brought The New Voice, The Voice of Louisville, or the Voice Tribune to life. Being one of the first, if not the first, society publication to include names of fellow citizens, The New Voice celebrated the movers and shakers that Louisville has to offer. Today, we continue to honor what he started.

Over the last month, I am excited to share with you that VOICE-TRIBUNE accompanied me on a lifelong dream and a goal I wanted to achieve: finishing going to all 7 continents by the age of 30 — the last being Antarctica. VOICE-TRIBUNE has been read and heard worldwide, and now, three different VOICE-TRIBUNE publications have made it to Antarctica. While on the Ponant’s boat Le Commandant Charcot, I set the publications down several times, only to have it disappear and be s potted in someone’s hands, Retrieving the publications became a fun and delightfully nerve-racking task,as I knew I needed to take photos and videos to prove that Louisville’s VOICE-TRIBUNE had made it to Antarctica. Let’s just say by the end of the trip, everyone on board got to learn about what Louisville has to offer — not just the many types of whales, seals, and penguins that posed with VOICE-TRIBUNE. The legacy of the VOICE-TRIBUNE lives on through its vast history and talented staff members. That’s why we are dedicating this volume of the VOICE-TRIBUNE to them: John Henry Harrolson Jr., Earl Cox, Carla Sue Broecker, Lucie Blodgett, and Lori Roth. For the next year, we will publish 75th Anniversary features every month in the VOICE-TRIBUNE to continue to celebrate more and more people who contributed to this vast wealth of knowledge of Louisville. I invite the public to contact us at info@voice-tribune.com to help make sure their VOICE is celebrated, especially if they have been involved in the past 75 years of our company’s history.

I also invited the public to stay tuned for our huge 75th celebration Gala that will be held in June 2024. We are planning to raise funds to have the entire history of VOICE-TRIBUNE archived online and accessible to the public. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor a year of the VOICE-TRIBUNE. Cheers!

Amelia Frazier Theobald

JANUARY 2024

PRESIDENT/CEO, AMELIA FRAZIER THEOBALD MANAGING EDITOR, AMY BARNES OPERATIONS MANAGER, MARY ZOELLER CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, JULIE KOENING EDITOR, RAGAN VAN HECKE DIRECTOR OF EVENTS, CHIEF EVENT PHOTOGRAPHER, KATHRYN HARRINGTON CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ANNABELLE KLEIN EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHER, MATT JOHNSON EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, ALISHA PROFFITT FASHION STYLIST, ASHLEA SPEARS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: RUSS BROWN, ALISON CARDOZA, JACOB GLASSNER, MCKENNA GRAHAM, LEELAND HALLETT, KATHRYN HARRINGTON, KEVIN MURPHY WILSON, SCHMITT FAMILY, ASHLEA SPEARS CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: ZACH CAHILL/RACING LOUISVILLE FC, AMY GRANTHAM, GIOIA PATTON, BILL WINE, CHRIS WITZKE, MARY ZOELLER FEATURES THE SEEN-UNSEEN WORKS OF MARY ZOELLER I USED TO BE A KING: A CONVERSATION WITH GRAHAM NASH UOFL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAL HAS A NEW LOOK BUT SAME WINNING HABIT RACING LOUISVILLE’S NEW HEAD COACH, BEV YANEZ, IS A “LIFER” IN SOCCER VOICE TRIBUNE’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE OUR VOICE THROUGH THE DECADES: ARTICLES FROM THE AGES THE UNFORGETTABLE FIVE: TRIBUTES BY FORMER VOICE-TRIBUNE EDITOR JACOB GLASSNER JOHN HARRALSON JR.: LIVING LEGEND THE IRREPRESSIBLE CARLA SUE BROECKER 25-YEAR “ONE MAN SPORTS DEPARTMENT” EARL COX LUCIE BLODGETT: THE SOUTHERN BELLE ON THE SOCIAL SIDE LORI ROTH (KOMMOR): BRINGING STYLE TO VOICE-TRIBUNE A LOUISVILLE LEGACY: CELEBRATING THE ICONIC PAT’S STEAK HOUSE SNOW BABY: THE SCHMITT FAMILY STORY CELEBRATING 34 YEARS AT THE FORUM AT BROOKSIDE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SARA SHAW SHARES HER INSIGHTS ON SENIOR CARE MILESTONE WELLNESS: HAPPY AND HEALTHY IN 2024 IN THE STYLE LOUP: TIMELESS – MENSWEAR EDITION OCCASIONS & CELEBRATIONS 75 YEARS OF SUSAN’S FLORIST KATHRYN HARRINGTON & MARSHALL FERGUSON WEDDING SOCIETY BACCHANAL; A SHOPPING EVENT WITH LA FUORI; SIGNATURE CHEFS; SALUTE TO WOMEN; CHARTER COLLECTORS DINNER; GILDA’S NIGHT; EXPRESSIONS OF HOPE GALA; ONE MANDEE SHOW; LOUISVILLE TOURISM ROSE GALA; AFTER HOURS AT THE SPEED; ALBERTA O JONES PARK RIBBON CUTTING; ALBERTA O. JONES PARK RIBBON CUTTING; SNOW BALL; PELO WEST GRAND OPENING; REPEAL DAY CELEBRATION; REPEAL DAY CELEBRATION; MARTINIS AND MISTLETOE; PERSPECTIVES SHOW OPENING ON THE COVER VOICE-TRIBUNE ARCHIVAL VOLUMES WITH VINTAGE CAMERAS AND TYPEWRITERS.

The Seen-Unseen Works of Mary Zoeller By: Leeland Hallett Photos by: Matt Johnson & Mary Zoeller VOICE-TRIBUNE’s Operations Manager’s Creative Works Have Decorated Louisville for Decades ”From drawing, painting, large scale murals and faux finishes to set design, prop creation and restoration work, nothing is off limits for multimedia artist Mary Zoeller. Chances are, if you’ve lived in Louisville long enough, you have likely encountered her work: in the theater, at the opera or on the inside or outside of a building wall. Perhaps you have even visited a home where her mural work or faux finishes adorn the walls. Below, Zoeller talks with the VOICE-TRIBUNE team about her background, inspiration and her expansive catalog of works.”

When did you discover your artistic interests?

“I grew up loving to draw and paint and build things.

My oldest brother and middle sister both went to Louisville Art School, and I admired them both. They probably remember a pesky little sister asking them too many questions. But they were patient and good siblings and taught me a lot; including the most important trait an artist can have, passion.”

“When I was preparing to go off to college I decided I had to be more ‘practical’ when choosing my major. So, instead of fine arts I chose to get a degree in Theater. In retrospect that was not ‘practical’ at all but everything that stemmed from that has certainly fed my soul.”

“For my master’s degree I chose to attend the music school at Indiana University-Bloomington. What a wonderful place it was for learning the craft. I specialized in scenic design and painting but had to take classes and do practicums in all the different backstage theater disciplines: lighting, costuming, tech, stage management, scenic art. (I am not leaving sound design out of this. At the time there was little sound design with ballet and opera. Opera singers are almost never ‘mic’d’ and dancers rarely speak). All the disciplines worked in each other’s fields, so we all had a working knowledge of what went into everything. I was also required to take many fine arts classes. All of those things gave me a strong foundation for my career in all the directions it has taken me.

Who are your mentors?

“At Indiana University, my mentors were Charles David Higgins (scenic designer, master scenic artist) and Harold Mack (technical director, scenic designer). They were both taught scenic design and the tradition of Italian Scenic painting by Cesare Mario Christini (an opera set designer and former Head of the Department of Scenic Design at IU’s music school).”

“I worked more for David than Hal as I concentrated on scenic painting and design as a discipline and David was the master scenic artist. I gradually became one of the charge artists on the paint floor when I became an assistant instructor. My abilities as an instructor were perhaps not the best. We always were done well and on time, but my nickname became ‘The Paint Nazi’. I swear, I am a much nicer communicator now.”

After college, you started to discover your own technique. Tell us about your process. ”So, when I got out of college, I had this discipline that used paint in a very opaque way. When I was painting scenery this was fine but as I started to branch out into doing faux finishes, murals, photographic backgrounds, and some prop work for industrials and such, my approach started to change. As I pursued those I learned new techniques that caused me to also change the way I painted scenery. The use of many layers of translucent color brought true depth when I had to paint things like wood and marble. I would start with a base layer that was opaque and then build every layer after that with translucent color. Usually topping it off with a clear coat that I might tint as well.”

“I really do love to paint. I can draw and have used 3-D pieces in work I do for myself. Over the years all the techniques I’ve learned have filled my virtual toolbox so that now when I look at the next thing to work on or create I just rummage around in that toolbox till I find the right tool.”

“Anyone using the creative process will understand what I mean when I talk about becoming lost to all the outside world when you are working. My pal Amy said I called it ‘super concentration’ which is pretty apt. There must be some load of feel-good hormones being released when you go to that place. I recommend a visit to everyone!”

Your work spans a variety of mediums. Are there any you haven’t tried?

“I thought about welding a lot of times… I had this thing I wanted to do with dancing fairies that you’d need to know how to work with metal. I haven’t done glass blowing; I’ve done very little printmaking. But at the end of the day, it goes back to passion. Each of the mediums I haven’t tried take time and commitment to master. It is the great tragedy of life that we have so much to experience but limited time and resources.”

“When I was younger I used to have a hard time starting work that was my own personal project. So many possibilities, sources, and places to look, see and talk about. Setting limitations was an important key for me in that area. And It’s odd because scenic design and painting has always had so many boundaries. It took me way too long to transfer that thinking over. Finally, I realized the simple solution of,‘just choose’.”

“In theater there are always limitations on time and money. So, at some point, I, as the charge artist, would have to say,“OK, this is done, it’s time to move on.” We could have always done more but there was a skill in managing the time and money that existed. Those are limitations you don’t necessarily have when creating your own work. It’s a relief to be painting and to know I can stop, look at the work, walk away, come back at a time of my choosing. It’s a different world for sure.”

Tell us about some of the places your work has been shown, commissioned or staged.

“I’ve done most of my work in this region: Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Minnesota, for example. I painted a show that was shipped to Korea. I have really enjoyed doing work for children. I worked for a long while for Stage One Children’s Theater when Moses Goldberg was the director. That was a fun, and very talented, group of people. I designed

quite a few operas for Kentucky Opera’s touring company for local schools. My favorite was a design for “The Toy Shop” that toured in elementary schools. I still have drawings some wonderful teacher sent me that the children created.”

“I’ve worked for the Louisville Ballet and the Kentucky Opera on and off for about 35 years. I wore many hats during that time and worked on dozens of productions, such as Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, The Barber of Seville, and Coppelia. I think my longevity at the Opera especially was due to the influence of Moritz Von Bomhard (Late Founder of the Kentucky opera). Early in my career I saw him looking over some of my work onstage and overheard him say quietly to himself,“Finally we have someone who can paint scenery.”

“It’s also been a privilege to work for Wayne Hettinger at Visual Presentations. During that partnership I worked on projects for the Louisville Zoo, Pegasus Parade and many others. I even got to paint Santa’s throne for Light up Louisville. I believe they still use that throne for Santa.”

“Other professional projects I led were for homes, businesses, and government. One that comes to mind was for the city of Shelbyville.

I won a bid to design and paint the banners that hang off the Corman Railroad bridge in downtown Shelbyville.”

“I had a nice run of painting photographic backgrounds. My favorite one of those has to be the one John Lair commissioned when he did Mohammed Ali’s official portrait. Mr. Ali is one of my heroes.”

“There were also quite a few projects done at the then named Louisville Science Center, now the Kentucky Science Center: background for the animatronic dinosaurs, and for the under the sea exhibit with all manner of sea creatures, the child’s play area, the outer space area and my fave; the tiny background for fossilized dinosaur poo in the women’s bathroom (that one may still be there).”

“I also had a nice stint working at the Louisville Palace doing repairs and restoration work. Quite a bit of the Palace is decorative plaster.

I was able to teach myself how to repair that. Thank you, internet! Once I learned how to do that I realized I could use those same skills to repair broken art objects. Restoration work is very satisfying though I do joke that you only know you’ve done a great job when people have no idea you did anything.”

What works are you most proud of?

“That’s tricky due the breadth and scope of my career. Probably the nicest thing I have ever done is a tropical/temperate rainforest mural inspired by my client’s worldwide travel and love of the natural world. I took a lot of pride researching and studying for that project and, with the help of my painting pals, the end result was beautiful.”

“The projects I’ve worked on that were focused on children were greatly satisfying; especially when those young critics liked what I did.

Wandering back to one of the projects for the Louisville Zoo, I was commissioned to produce the Emerald city for their Halloween Party. I got to take my son to that event and got a solid ‘WOW’ so that was a definite high point. I have some personal work that I rather like too. In fact, there is a piece that hangs behind me in my office that I have great attachment towards. It is a simple piece with the phrase “Heads you Lose” on it. I made it as a reminder to keep myself from overthinking things.”

“To finally answer your question, I have to say a proud moment was during the Kentucky Opera’s production of The Mikado. I was able to work closely with Shōzō Satō, a Professor Emeritus of Art & design at the University of Illinois, and an expert on Japanese ink painting. I was called a “Genius” by Professor Satō in reference to my ability to emulate authentic Japanese Ink painting while only using Paint and western style brushes. It was a real compliment to hear that from a master of the craft.”

Can you share with our readers what your son said to you about your work?` “He said to me,‘You’ve lived an incredible life, and you’ve impacted the city of Louisville for decades.’ It’s a funny thing about your own life: you’re so close to it you can’t possibly see it all. It’s always been just what you do.’ As it is for most people I expect. I do know I have been extraordinarily lucky to have worked with so many very talented and lovely people all through the years. I hope they know how grateful I am.”

“It’s rather a guilty pleasure to know more people have seen my work than most artists could ever wish for. That’s a bit cool. And to know I have brought some beauty and enjoyment into people’s lives, even anonymously, that’s pretty darn satisfying too.”

To learn more about Zoeller’s works, visit www.mmzstudios.com.

I Used to be a King: A Conversation with Graham Nash

By: Kevin Murphy Wilson Photos by: Amy Grantham

Graham Nash is a best-selling author, respected visual artist, steadfast activist, and a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee for the influential music he made with the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. What’s more, he holds a special place in history as the only rock star associated in a big way with both the British Invasion of the mid-1960s and the Laurel Canyon scene of the early 1970s. His songs such as “Teach Your Children,”“Wasted On The Way,” and “Marrakesh Express’’ have left an indelible mark on millions. Even so, Nash has never been content to merely celebrate his storied past. We caught up with the extremely active 81-year-old icon by phone to discuss his latest solo album, his passion for preserving the CSN and CSNY archives, and the singing siblings from Kentucky who put him on a musical path in the first place many years ago.

VT: Our mutual friend, music photographer Jay Blakesberg, said that he considers himself a visual anthropologist. Your book, A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash, is a powerful reminder that you’ve actually been working in this medium longer than you’ve been making music. So, what drives your work in this area, and what was it that initially attracted you to the camera?

Graham Nash: “My father turned me on to the magic of photography when I was about ten years old. We were very poor as a family. We had what was called a ‘two up, two down’ house — two small rooms downstairs and two small rooms upstairs. My father would take a blanket off my bed and put it against the window to block out the light. Then he’d put a blank piece of paper into a colorless liquid and…wait, wait, wait...until an image appeared out of nowhere, and it was magic. And that magic has never left me. I never want to do pictures of kittens with balls of wool. I won’t shoot an image that matches my couch. I’m not one of those photographers.

I’m looking for surreal moments that happen in front of me, and they seem to happen in front of me all the time.”

VT: What can you tell us about the two men from Kentucky — Phil and Don Everly — who inspired you and [Hollies co-founder] Allan Clarke to start singing in harmony?

Graham Nash: “It’s probably a four-part story. The first part is me listening to [the Everly Brothers’ hit single] ‘Bye, Bye Love’ when I was 15, and it changing my life. The second part was when I saw them perform in Manchester in 1960 and met them that night on the steps of the Midland Hotel. The third is them wanting to record some Hollies songs and us making an album with them [in 1966] called Two Yanks in England. And the fourth part is me singing live onstage with them in Toledo, Ohio in 1992.”

VT: On your stunning new solo LP, Now, you reconnected with Allan Clarke to pay homage to another early influence with the track, “Buddy’s Back.” What is the story behind that one?

Graham Nash: “I wrote that one with Allan in mind. I mean, obviously we were the Hollies. We loved Buddy Holly. Buddy was ‘one of us.’ He wore a suit and tie and glasses. He wasn’t larger than life like Elvis. And his songs will last forever. Allan and I were like 4,000 miles apart when we were recording, which was a fascinating experiment. But you know, you still have to start with a good song.

No amount of technology is going to turn a bad song into a good one.”

VT: Outside of adding more music to your already expansive catalog, you have also busied yourself lately with preparing archival releases such as the 50th anniversary edition of [CSNY’s classic album] Déjà Vu. For that one, you unearthed a number of nuggets including a recording of just you and Neil Young running through an early version of his song “Birds.” Given the popularity of these historical releases, do you plan to continue poking around in the vaults?

Graham Nash: “Absolutely. In fact, I was in Oakland with my close friend Joel Bernstein recently. Joel is an archivist and was also a guitar tech for [Bob] Dylan, Joni [Mitchell] and Prince. We spent a couple of days going through outtakes of CSN live and we identified 44 things that we’ve never heard before that knock me on my ass. They’re just fantastic. We’re kind of taking our time with it, but

this is something that could potentially be ready for release in the summer [of 2024].”

VT: On your current storytelling tour, you’ve been giving audiences a glimpse behind the metaphorical curtain of your life as a songwriter. A lot of folks are probably surprised to learn that it was Jerry Garcia [of the Grateful Dead] playing the pedal steel parts on “Teach Your Children” and “I Used to be a King.” What do you remember about those sessions?

Graham Nash: “It was amazing. When he did his first take for ‘Teach Your Children,’ I said,‘Jerry, that was incredible, the way you learned my song as you were listening to it.’ And he said,‘Well, I made a couple of mistakes, can I do a second take?’ And I said,‘Of course you can, but I’m never going to use it because the feeling you put into my song just now, having never heard it, was fantastic.’ We did eventually go back and repair his two one-note mistakes, but what you hear is basically his first take.”

VT: From this vantage point, what advice would you give to your younger self or to someone just starting out?

Graham Nash: “I think you have to follow your heart. Your heart knows what’s right. Your heart knows what’s wrong. Your heart knows when you make a good choice, and your heart knows when you make a bad choice. Life is a series of choices you can make, and it seems like I’ve made some good choices.”

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UofL Women’s Basketball Team Has A New Look, But Same Winning Habit By: Russ Brown Photos by: Matt Johnson Louisville’s women’s basketball season to this point can be best summed up in a single sentence: New look, same old results.

That’s one way of saying that despite having eight new faces — six transfers and two freshmen — and only four returning players, the No. 19 Cardinals (11-2) look as if they’re poised to continue their unparalleled success under coach Jeff Walz.

They are well on their way to their 14th consecutive 20-win season under the 52-year-old Walz, who is far and away the program’s all-time “winningest” coach with a 441-124 record going into this year, including 40-14 in NCAA Tournament games, the fifth-best winning percentage among active coaches at .741.

He is the only coach in the nation to have taken his team to the past five Elite Eights. Under Walz’s guidance, UofL has also been to three other Elite Eights, 12 Sweet Sixteens, four Final Fours and two national championship games. And don’t forget about the four straight ACC regular season titles from 2018-2021.

But this is a different kind of season for Walz because he’s never had to restock with so many new players and blend them into a winning unit with the handful of returnees after losing six players from last year’s 26-12 team to graduation and five others to the transfer portal. The departures included Mykasa Robinson, who set a program record for games played at 162 and the top three scorers who combined for 40 points per game.

Walz pursued some blue chip high school prospects, but lost out to colleges offering bigger NIL deals. So he brought in six transfers he felt could make a significant impact immediately, most of whom had winning experience.

Three of the newcomers were all-conference players last season: Kiki Jefferson (Sun Belt Player of the year at James Madison), Jayda Curry (Pac-12 at California), and Sydney Taylor (Atlantic 10 at UMass). Point guard Nina Richards started the past two seasons at Florida, and Hennie van Schaik, a 6-3 native of the Netherlands, led Cal-Bakersfield in both scoring (11.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg).

However, Jefferson, Richards and Taylor each played in the NCAA Tournament just once, while Curry and van Schaik never made it to the Big Dance.

UofL’s familiar faces are senior guards Eylia Love and Merissah Russell, sophomore forward Nyla Harris and senior forward/center Oliva Cochran,

Sydney Taylor, a grad transfer guard from UMass

a pre-season all-ACC choice.

So Walz naturally expected some growing pains, and although the record-approaching midseason doesn’t show it, that’s what he has gotten, reflected mostly in inconsistency, both within games and from one game to the next.

“You’re going to see some moments of great,” Walz told Louisville fans at the annual Tip Off Luncheon.“And then you’re also going to see moments of,‘Who are they?’ OK? We’re trying to get more than just moments of great, and I really believe with the way they work, we will.

This ballclub is going to be a much better team in January and February. But I will be highly disappointed if we don’t compete at a high level.”

“I think we see spurts of what we can be, and plays and possessions and kind of runs of it,” Curry said.“But we’re just trying to work on putting together a full 40 minutes of it.”

The Cards thrive on balanced scoring, defensive intensity and toughness. They average 11 steals per game, which is third in the ACC, and they have outrebounded opponents by nearly 12 per game, also third. Walz puts a premium on depth too. No player is averaging more points than Jefferson’s 12.1, and six are contributing eight or more and nine players are averaging 15 minutes or more per game. None of the five starters average more than 25 minutes.

“You know what you’re going to get with us,” Walz says.“It’s one thing we hang our hat on and we take a great deal of pride in. You are going to see a hard-playing basketball team that will go out there and compete and play for each other. It’s not just about scoring points. It’s about, are you willing to sit down and defend. These young ladies work as hard as anybody I’ve seen so far in our 17 years. I’m very impressed with the chemistry we have, the attitude they come to practice with each day, and the way they treat each other.”

“Coach Walz holds us to a very high standard,” Russell said.“We love him, and he’s a great coach.

And he cares about us women, not just as basketball players. And we have the best fans in the country; they give us an extra boost.”

While UofL doesn’t have any high-scoring stars, its most invaluable player is Olivia Cochran, who is the most experienced player and, with her thorough knowledge of Walz’s system and how he coaches, has taken on a leadership role this year. Cochran started 38 games last season, averaging 8.4 points on 50 percent shooting and leading in rebounds at 6.5. This season, she is averaging 11.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg and shooting 49 percent.

Junior forward Hennie VanSchaik from the Netherlands is helped off the court after suffering a minor injury

“O’s three years are Elite Eight, Final Four, Elite Eight,” Walz said during the ACC Tipoff.“She’s gotten better and better each year.

“She’s a kid who there’s a lot now that’s being put on her because, from year to year, the expectations have increased. She has been doing

Sophomore forward Nyla Harrison, who played in all 38 games last season

Nina Rickards, a grad transfer guard from Florida

a great job of handling those. So, as we go through this year, I think she’s going to see that a lot of the attention from opposing teams is going to be on her.”

“My coach is depending on me, so I feel like I have to step up and show that he can trust me,” Cochran said. UofL’s best victories heading into its ACC schedule at Miami on Dec. 31 were against No. 21 Gonzaga (81-70) on a neutral court, a road win at then-No. 19 Ole Miss (64-58), a home victory against No. 23 and undefeated Washington (59-51) and a hard-fought battle against Kentucky (73-61) in the KFC Yum! Center. Its losses were to Alabama (78-73 and at No. 19 UConn (86-62).

We’ll learn during UofL’s rugged ACC schedule if another deep run in the NCAA Tournament is in the Cards. The league is one of the deepest, if not THE deepest, in the country.

“It’s one of the best I’ve seen from top to bottom,” Walz said.“I’m looking at our schedule and it’s like, where are the wins?”

Nearing the end of the non-conference schedule in late December, there were seven ACC teams ranked in the Top-25 — NC State (3), Notre Dame (14), Virginia Tech (16), UofL (18), Florida State (22), Miami (24) and North Carolina (25).

“We’ve got to be tough,” Cochran said.“The ACC is a hard conference and we play for a tough coach, so we can’t be out there being weak.”

“I think even our bottom teams can beat anybody else’s top teams in other conferences,” Russell said.

“There’s never a game where you can think,‘We’re going to walk in and beat somebody easily’ and think we can’t give effort every time.”

In ESPN’s early Bracketology predictions, Louisville is projected as a No. 5 seed.

“Would I say we’re a Final Four team right now? No, I don’t think we are,” Walz said shortly before the season got underway.“But come January and February, I think we could surprise some people just like we did this past year.”

Given UofL’s achievements under Walz, the only surprise would be if the Cards aren’t considered a dangerous contender in March Madness.

Kiki Jefferson, a grad transfer guard from James Madison

Rickards and Taylor head up court as Harris awaits their arrival

Veteran UofL women’s coach, Jeff Walz

Four UofL players compete for a rebound, including senior forward Olivia Cochran (44), who has started 121 games during her Cardinal career; grad guard Nina Richares (15); and freshman forward Elif Istanbulluoglu (far left) of Istanbul, Turkey.

Racing Louisville’s New Head Coach, Bev Yanez, is a ‘Lifer’ in Soccer By: Russ Brown Photos by: Zac Cahill/Racing Louisville FC

Credit Beverly “Bev” Goebel Yanez’s mother, Toni Goebel, for her daughter’s lifelong love of soccer that led to Bev being promoted to head coach of Racing Louisville FC in November. Some explanation is in order, of course.

Because Bev was a self-described “incredibly hyperactive child,” her mother, in seeking an outlet for her child’s energy, signed her up for a soccer team as a 5-year-old. As Bev grew older and other sports became available, Toni would ask her if she wanted to try any of them, and the answer was always the same: “I want to stick with soccer.”

“She told me I just had a smile on my face [about soccer],” Bev said in a recent interview with VOICE-TRIBUNE.“It was something I always enjoyed doing.”

And at 35 she’s still smiling as she prepares for her first season as a head coach after what many would already consider a full career and an impressive resume in soccer encompassing youth leagues, high school, college and professional levels.

A California native who grew up near Los Angeles, in Moreno Valley, Yanez has had success both as a player and coach. After becoming the first-ever National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) pick from the University of Miami, she helped her team to the best regular season record twice and was a finalist for league MVP honors. Her playing career included stints in Australia, Finland and Japan, winning championships at every stop.

After retiring from playing, Yanez worked three years in the National Women’s Soccer League as an assistant coach, spending two seasons with NJ/NY Gotham FC, before moving to Louisville early this year and helping Racing reach the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup final. She has also worked as a coach in the youth soccer ranks, including the U-15 U.S. Soccer Youth National Team as well as the COPA world-class soccer training center in the Bay Area.

Yanez recalled that she has loved the soccer environment and what it has to offer from the time she became involved, and it has never waned.

“It’s the whole idea of the ability to make friends and share that passion and commonality and success,” she said.

“And getting the opportunity to work with and meet players from different cultures that you wouldn’t necessarily have taken the time to get to know. That was definitely a piece for me even at an early age. I felt like I had a circle of people.”

As the top assistant to former Racing head coach Kim Bjorkegren, she was a popular choice to replace her former boss as the franchise chases its first-ever NWSL playoff berth in its fourth season.

“I am ecstatic to have Bev as our head coach,” captain and midfielder Jaelin Howell said in a news release.“She is exactly what our club needs in order to be successful. We already respect her so much as a coach and person.

Beyond that, I believe some of her biggest attributes are her professionalism and tactical knowledge of the game.

We can’t wait to get to work for her.”

Defender and vice captain Abby Erceg added: “Bev was incredible to work with during the 2023 season, and her passion for the game as well as her commitment to the players was deeply appreciated. I believe she can take us to the next level and help this team reach the true potential we all believe is there.”

From a conversation with Yanez, it’s easy to see why she is being welcomed so enthusiastically. She’s dynamic,

Racing Louisville FC Head Coach Beverly Yanez

spirited, personable, passionate about soccer and, as Erceg noted, committed to helping her players, as well as being an outstanding communicator. In her short time with Racing, she became known for her dedication to individual development, a positive relationship with the players and her attention to detail.

Racing Louisville general manager Ryan Dell describes her as “tactically sound and innovative,” with “immense potential” for guiding Racing to a championship.

Yanez said she first started thinking about a coaching career while she was playing in Japan in her mid 20’s and noticed that many of the 16 to 17-year-olds she was playing against were much more technically and tactically advanced.

“I wanted to coach and educate because I wondered how many people out there were lacking in so many areas of their game like I was,” she said.“And that’s really when I committed to it. It was a transition I was really excited for and ready for.”

Yanez says her coaching philosophy is simple, ranging from the technical aspects of soccer to the interactions with her players.

“I want to play the game the right way,” she said.“I want to be the best coach I can be. I also want players to feel that they’re invested. I want to take the time to build those relationships with them to understand what their education processes are like. It’s investing in who they are both on and off the pitch [field] and what their learning capabilities are. I think that’s the framework.”

We need to know what’s too little and what’s too much and make sure there’s a clear understanding that I have their best interests at heart. I care about them,

Yanez with daughter Noemi

their growth and their development,” said Yanez.

As far as next season is concerned, Yanez doesn’t speak in specifics, but said she wants to set the tone early of what the expectations are and build on last year’s team that contended for a playoff spot but fell short.

“It’s an absolute privilege to be in this position,” she said.“This team is incredibly good in multiple aspects. This industry has its highs and lows very naturally. So it’s important and the people around me that I’m building with to make sure everybody’s bought in and that we stay the course. That’s going to be the most important thing for us this season.”

Yanez had close ties with Louisville even before she took the assistant coaching job. She is married to her Moreno Valley High School sweetheart, Othaniel, who is a former University of Louisville soccer player and coaches at the Louisville FC Academy.

“We have shared a love for the game for so many years,” she said.

She also has a fondness for her new hometown.

“On my first visit, I was completely ecstatic about the experience,” she said.“We all know the food’s fantastic.

And the people are incredibly kind. This city means a lot to me. This club means a lot to me.”

Along with her demanding responsibilities as a coach, Yanez must balance those duties with her family. Her oldest daughter, Naomi-Rae, is three and youngest daughter June was born in November. Othaniel’s mother helps with childcare.

“I would be lying if I said it’s easy,” Yanez said.“But I have a good support group with the team and at home.

My husband is very supportive of my aspirations in this industry.”

She plans to occasionally take both girls to games, and she also lets Naomi-Rae run around the field after some training sessions.

“When (Naomi-Rae) sees our team logo anywhere, she always points and says,‘That’s mommy’s work,’” Yanez said.“She loves being around here, loves the game, loves kicking the ball, and watches games with us on TV.” Sounds like there’s another energetic soccer player on the rise in the Yanez family tree.

NWSL SCHEDULE WILL START MID-MARCH Racing Louisville’s full 2024 schedule is still to be announced, but a number of details are already known heading into the new year. Next season opens March 16 and finishes with the NWSL Championship game on Nov. 23. With the addition of expansion sides Bay FC and Utah Royals FC, each of the 14 NWSL teams will play each other twice for a total of 26 regular-season matches – 13 home and 13 away – over a seven-month campaign. Eight teams will qualify for the playoffs in an expanded field, with the post season set to start the weekend of Nov. 9-10.

The NWSL will take a break from regular-season action during the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. After the league’s mandatory midseason break from July 8-14, no league games will be played between July 15-August 18. During the month-long Olympic break, all 14 NWSL clubs will participate in an international tournament that starts July 19-21.

The new schedule framework comes as the NWSL enters a new media rights agreement that will show 118 matches across four platforms: Prime Video, ESPN/ABC, CBS and Ion Network.

Yanez with Uche Kamu

Yanez with Jaelin Howell, a midfielder and team captain.

VOICE-TRIBUNE’s 75th Anniversary Tribute We’re turning 75! VOICE-TRIBUNE is now celebrating our diamond anniversary. This has us excited to look back upon our history from a weekly community newspaper to the events that led our publication to become the iconic luxury magazine it is today.

While we will be rolling out historical pieces from past publications throughout the year, we selected a few special pieces to appear in our Historical 75th Celebration January Volume.

First, we’ll take a look at our history from past decades, as published from our prior VOICE-TRIBUNE archives. Then, we’ll showcase some memorable features we have covered throughout the years, with a focus on articles past. Finally, we’ll honor the “Unforgettable Five,” a tribute to several standout VOICE-TRIBUNE contributors from the past several years — as told through former VOICE-TRIBUNE editor Jacob Glassner.

We hope you enjoy taking this walk with us down “memory lane,” and we look forward to sharing much more from archives during our 2024 anniversary celebration.

Cheers!

The VOICE-TRIBUNE TEAM

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John Harralson Jr.

By: Jacob Glassner

September 9, 1927 – March 30, 2022

John Harralson didn’t snap pics or shoot photos. He “made pictures.”

And in his 40-plus years with The Voice-Tribune, he made thousands of pictures of just about everyone who was anyone in Louisville — at parties and fundraisers, balls and galas, club meetings and political gatherings. Whatever the event, Mr. Harralson was there, camera and reporter’s notebook in hand, making pictures. If he wasn’t in a tuxedo, he was wearing a white shirt with a black jacket and khaki pants.

John Harralson owned The Voice from 1987 to 2005. He bought The Voice of St. Matthews in 1987 after it went bankrupt and renamed it The New Voice. He wanted it to be a community paper with lots of positive news and photos, like the paper he grew up reading in Central City, Kentucky. The Voice grew under Harralson’s guidance, and in 1994, he renamed it The Voice-Tribune to keep it from being confused with a New Age publication.

Sometimes Mr. Harralson’s photos stirred controversy, like the time he ran a photo from a wild party with a woman who appeared to be topless in a hot tub. Luckily, the photo was out of focus just enough to obscure the important parts. (Taking in-focus photos wasn’t always Mr. Harralson’s strong suit.)

When I was Voice-Tribune news editor, my favorite photo Mr. Harralson ever turned in was one he actually didn’t make. It was a photo of him in his tuxedo with a blonde model in a black dress hanging seductively off his shoulder at the Barnstable Brown Derby Gala.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“That’s Kid Rock’s girlfriend,” he said.

“Who shot the photo?” I asked.

“Kid Rock,” he replied.“Me and Kid Rock have become buddies. He said he wanted to take my picture this year.”

Barnstable Brown is one of the hottest tickets around, but I never had to request press credentials for Mr. Harralson. He knew the hosts, and they gave him free range of the party. In fact, I never really had to request any credentials for Mr. Harralson.

When Churchill Downs upped security at the Kentucky Derby, the other photogs I sent to the event were pretty much limited to shooting in the Paddock or on the red carpet. Mr. Harralson saved me by coming in on Monday with a bunch of photos from Millionaire’s Row. How’d he get access?

(Then Kentucky Senate President) David Williams found out Mr. Harralson wasn’t able to get upstairs, so he sent a state trooper down to escort him up.

John Harralson seemed to know everyone . . . and everyone seemed to know and like him. I once covered a fundraiser where I shot a photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao. They both asked me,“Is Mr. Harralson still shooting photos?”

When Mr. Harralson owned The Voice-Tribune, it was headquartered in an old building in the 3800 block of Shelbyville Road. Mr. Harralson’s office was packed floor to ceiling with newspapers, mail and other junk. It got so bad that he abandoned the office completely, and moved to an office in another part of the building.

That second office was soon packed too, so he often worked into the wee hours of the morning at the receptionist desk that faced Shelbyville Road.

He was a night owl — usually staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning. One night he fell asleep in the chair at the desk (which was pretty common for him), head tilted back and mouth wide open. A worried passerby called the police to alert them there was a dead man at The Voice!

Nope. The rumors of his death were exaggerated.

I sometimes arrived at the office in the morning to find Mr. Harralson sound asleep in a chair. I never mistook him for being dead.

The man just kept going and going, making pictures well into his 90s at Rotary Club Meetings, Louisville Boat Club events, Republican fundraisers (he was an ardent Republican), Society of Colonial Wars meetings, and probably an occasional hot tub party.

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Carla Sue By: Jacob Glassner

If you mention the name Carla Sue in Louisville social circles, there’s no need to say a last name. People will know you’re talking about the one and only Carla Sue Broecker.

With her whimsical glasses and Cheshire Cat grin, Carla Sue is a Louisville institution. A socialite of socialites.

When I worked at The Voice-Tribune, the general manager referred to her as the “queen.” When Carla Sue graced us with her presence to drop off her column, we were greeted with a big “heelllloooo” that echoed down the halls.

Carla Sue wrote her Partyline column for The Voice for close to 50 years. Each week, she talked about the comings and goings of the ‘who’s who’ of the Louisville social scene — some of whom also went by single names: Woo, Sug, Cissy. She gushed about cocktail parties, progressive dinners, intimate gatherings, galas and fetes — many at estates that had names instead of addresses.

I often wondered how she had the time and energy to go to three or four parties in a week. Parties exhaust many folks, but I think they energized her because she loves people. She likes meeting new people and having drinks with ones she’s known for decades.

And people are what make parties great.

“In the best parties, the mix of people is the most important thing,” she said in a 2018 Voice article.“It can be a hog-calling contest, and if you have the right people there who are fun, delightful people, it will work.”

Whether a party was great or not so great, Carla Sue always put a positive spin on her coverage. In the days before social media, Carla Sue had an extensive list of people she called friends. And she often called on those friends to help support charities that were close to her heart — like the Louisville Deaf Oral School, now Heuser Hearing and Language Academy. She Ran Fabulous Finds, a resale shop to benefit the school, for more than 20 years.

Carla Sue wrote her first column for what was then The Voice of St. Matthews when she was 10 years old. It was a riveting article about a Sunday bridge party and dinner held by the ladies of Springdale Presbyterian Church. The Voice publisher was a family friend and gave Carla Sue the opportunity to write.

She continued writing articles for The Voice until she married Brad Broecker in 1961. She took some time off after getting married, but she started writing her weekly column, Partyline, in the late 1960s after raising her two daughters, Leslie and Amy. Even though The Voice went through several ownership changes over the years, the Partyline continued on as a fixture of the paper.

But Carla Sue didn’t just write about parties. She wrote a weekly travel column when she and Brad took months-long world cruises. I never knew where she was going to be next. One week she’d be reporting from Bali and the next week it’d be Vietnam.

Carla Sue wrote her final column for The Voice in 2018.

“I loved writing for The Voice. It was a pain in the ass sometimes, but I honestly loved doing it,” she said.“I met wonderful, fun people, and of course, the eccentric ones, too.”

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Earl Cox

Story of a Lifetime

Earl Cox By: Jacob Glassner

March 25, 1930 – December 13, 2016

Earl Cox used to say that if a sports columnist wasn’t pissing off some people, then he wasn’t doing his job.

While running The Voice’s one-man sports department for 25 years, Earl never missed a chance to piss off some people while writing his opinions on UK and U of L sports in his weekly column.

When Earl Cox joined the staff of The Voice in 1987, he was already a legend in Kentucky sports, having just finished a distinguished 33-year career at The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times.

Cox was the sports editor of The Voice for 25 years until he retired in 2013 at the age of 83. Each week, he cobbled together a collection of local and national sports stories and photos to fill his four-page sports section. He wrote most of the stories himself, but he had some regular contributors, like John Asher, who was the face of Churchill Downs for many years.

I got to know Earl while working as The Voice’s news editor from 2005 to 2011. Earl’s desk was littered with newspapers and media guides piled in stacks two feet high. He had just enough space for an old Macintosh computer where he did his writing. If you had a sports question he didn’t know off the top of his head, he’d quickly find the answer in his desktop “library.”

Earl didn’t “Google” things; he knew them. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of Kentucky sports. And he called many sports legends his friends: UK basketball’s Ralph Beard, Muhammad Ali (Earl still called him Cassius), Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall, Denny Crum, Howard Schnellenberger, broadcaster Cawood Ledford, Paul Hornung and the list goes on and on. Earl himself was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

High school sports were always close to Earl’s heart, and he tirelessly supported the guys and girls playing on dimly lit grass fields and in creaky gyms. He knew how much it meant to a high school kid to see their name in the newspaper. Earl even arranged to publish the photos of all of the city’s National Merit Scholars each year.

Earl said he’d sometimes get startled to see a big guy come barreling toward him in a parking lot or at a store. Invariably, though, the man would say: “Mr. Cox, thanks for writing about me in the paper.”

In his decades as a sports columnist, Earl never missed a column — even after having open heart surgery and a lung operation.

During my tenure at The Voice, he had an excruciating case of shingles that went on for months, but he fought through it and never missed a deadline. Any suggestion to take some time off would be met with a gruff retort: “Dammit, I’m fine.”

Earl had a tough persona, but I saw a man who cherished his family and doted on his grandkids, a man who worked tirelessly at a job he loved.

One of Earl’s great pains as he got older was writing about the passing of so many of his friends. One day after writing two or three tributes to dead friends, he told me,“The good die young and SOBs live forever.”

“So what does that make you?” I asked.

He flashed a wry grin and proclaimed: “An SOB!” Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Lucie Blodgett The Southern Belle on the Social Side

Lucie Blodgett

By: Jacob Glassner

December 7, 1927 - April 1, 2020

Readers of Lucie Blodgett’s The Social Side column missed out on one piece of the story that couldn’t come across on a printed page: her Southern accent.

Lucie was what I imagine Scarlett O’Hara would have been like in her 80s. Born and raised in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Lucie moved to Louisville in the 1950s, but she brought her Southern charm — and accent — with her.

When I was news editor of The Voice-Tribune, Lucie usually pulled up to the office in her red Cadillac on Monday morning to type her column on an old IBM electric typewriter — one of the metal ones that hummed and weighed about 20 pounds. The clackety clack of the typewriter filled the office, and it made me feel like I was in a newsroom from the 1960s.

When she was done with her draft, she edited it . . . with scissors and a pen. She cut out sentences and taped them together, and then added handwritten notes. She labored for hours choosing just the right word or phrase. And then she sorted through the photos she snapped, carefully labeling them. By the time she turned in her article, it was a scroll sometimes close to three feet long that I had to decipher and retype. I tried, but failed, to convince Lucie to use a computer.

Due to the size of The Voice office, I overheard most of Lucie’s phone calls as she followed up with her sources.

“Louise, you’re a sweetheart.”

“Inez, do you know the name of that darling man at the party?”

Fabulous, precious, wonderful — Lucie was the queen of superlatives. And her accent made her compliments even more flattering.

But sometimes, her accent led to misunderstandings.

Once, while writing about a hotel pool filled with mosaic tiles, Lucie called the hotel and left a message: “How many tals are in your pool?”

The next morning, I had a voicemail from the hotel: “We use about 150 towels at our pool on a normal day.”

I’m not sure why Lucie was writing about swimming pools that day, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary. Her column often deviated from writing about charity fundraisers and garden parties.

She wrote about monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani and Thomas Merton. She wrote about her brother who was killed at the Battle of Tarawa. She wrote about photographing Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. And just about every spring, she wrote about the forsythia bushes when they bloomed yellow — accompanied by a photo she took of a forsythia.

Lucie studied photography at the Missouri School of Journalism, and her skills as a photographer took her on many adventures. One of her photos even won Photo of the Year in Look Magazine.

She fell in love with Louisville in 1953 after covering the Kentucky Derby for The Jackson (Mississippi) Daily News and soon secured a job as a photographer for The Courier-Journal.

She wrote her first column for The Voice in 1979, after taking a break from journalism to start a family. Lucie often wrote about charitable organizations, and some that were near and dear to her heart included: The Healing Place, Kentucky Harvest, The English Speaking Union, and Speed Art Museum.

Above all, Lucie loved meeting people — and writing about them. She might have played loose with the facts sometimes, but she wanted nothing more than for people to love and enjoy her column as much as she loved the people she wrote about.

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Lori Roth Lori Roth (Kommor): Bringing Style to VOICE-TRIBUNE

Lori Roth By: Jacob Glassner

When Lori Roth (formerly Kommor) started working at The Voice-Tribune in 2008, she didn’t even get a desk.

Lori set up office in a conference room (that also served as a break room) after publisher Tracy Blue recruited her to serve as chair of The Voice’s annual Best Dressed of Louisville event.

Best Dressed was The Voice’s signature event, a charity gala and runway show that culminated in awarding five women (from a pool of 50-plus nominees) the crown of Best Dressed of Louisville. Best Dressed later expanded to include men and couples.

Chairing the event was probably akin to being the mother of the bride of triplets getting married on the same day. But Lori handled the pressure in stride.

“Best Dressed was the event of the year,” she said.“People loved it.”

At one especially memorable Best Dressed event, 21c Museum Hotel founders Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown were named best dressed couple.

They strutted down the runway to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”— Steve flicking playing cards to the audience.

Lori later became The Voice’s style editor. She wrote a weekly column where she highlighted the latest clothing and accessories from local boutiques.

And she attended countless social events as an ambassador for The Voice.

“I was constantly out in public,” she said.“It was a busy, fast life.”

Some of Lori’s favorite events included Raise the Barre, a benefit for the Louisville Ballet, and the Speed Art Museum Ball. But nothing compares to her love for the Kentucky Derby and the events leading up to it.

“The Oaks and Derby are my all-time favorite events,” she said.“The Derby lights up our city. It should be on everyone’s bucket list.”

The Voice had a close relationship with Churchill Downs, and it was there for Churchill’s first night racing event. Churchill also served as the presenting sponsor for Best Dressed for several years.

For a time, The Voice helped produce Churchill Downs Magazine, and through that relationship, Lori helped out on a photo shoot with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. The horse seemed to pose for photos.

“It was like I was in the midst of royalty,” she said.

Lori left The Voice in 2016, and looking back, she said,“I didn’t fully appreciate it all while I was in the middle of it.”

She especially enjoyed spending time with Sports Editor Earl Cox before his retirement in 2013.

“Earl was a legend,” she said.“I just so admired him.”

Lori added that The Voice took a leap forward when it switched from being a broadsheet newspaper to a magazine in January 2015. The look and feel of The Voice matured after the switch, but it stayed true to its roots as a community publication.

“The Voice was loved,” she said.“People loved getting their picture in the paper. People vied to get in.”

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A Louisville Legacy: Celebrating the Iconic Pat’s Steak House By: McKenna Graham

Photos by: Matt Johnson

Walking through the heavy wooden doors into the cozy space of Pat’s Steak House at 2437 Brownsboro Road feels a bit like coming home. Chances are if you’re a born and raised Louisville native, you may have memories of special nights with families and friends here — and in every way Pat’s not only brings the class, history and prestige of an old school fine dining experience but also the warmth and comfort of a family establishment. Of course, Pat’s also sees its fair share of out of towners over the course of the year, especially at Derby time, not even taking reservations each year until April 1st because of high demand. Since 1958, Pat’s Steak House has been serving classic American fare with some Irish favorites in a fascinating historic building.

Owner Pat Francis is a friendly and personable gentleman. No stranger to hard work, he is often seen wearing an apron, coming straight from trimming the hand cut high-quality steaks for which his restaurant is best known. He is not the kind of owner to let others do the heavy lifting and credits his father Michael Francis, who previously owned the restaurant, for teaching him everything he knows about this admirable work ethic saying,“My dad worked day and night and that’s what he taught us. He said hard work never hurt anybody.” But Francis also credits the restaurant’s crew of equally dependable friends and family, many who have been working side by side for years or even decades.“It’s a lot of teamwork,” he says,“I got a great group of people who have been helping me for a long time. I’m very fortunate.”

This Louisville establishment comes from humble beginnings, a true American success story. His father’s mother was originally from Galway, Ireland, arriving in America when she was only 14 and later dying in childbirth leaving behind two young sons and a daughter.

The children were sent to live at St. Joseph’s orphanage while their father worked on the railroads. During their younger years, Francis’s uncle and his father, Michael, learned to cut meat by working at the Fischer Packing Plant, before opening the restaurant known as Min’s Steak House in 1958. After Pat Francis purchased the restaurant from his father in the late 1970’s he changed the name to Pat’s Steak House and for several years faithful patrons referred to it interchangeably as both Min’s and Pat’s.

These days the restaurant with the iconic green Z shaped sign emblazoned with shamrocks has settled nicely into its not-so-new name, and though the 1800’s era building has gradually expanded to accommodate its successes not much else has changed over the years. The walls of the establishment are completely covered with artwork and old photographs, some of the Louisville area, some from Ireland and many gifted by customers. A person could spend hours lingering over the fascinating imagery here and all untold stories these photos might hold. The building, which was originally a stagecoach stop built in the 1800’s, has been expanded from a single dining area and bar to nine dining areas and three bars, seamlessly integrated into the original building. Francis comments it was important that the additions capture the historic feel of the original structure.

The menu too has held steady with the Lady Fillet continuing to be the best seller, alongside other favorites such as oysters, shrimp cocktail, baby frog legs and his grandmother’s own recipe for Irish meatloaf. As far as dessert, Francis points to the Irish Whisky Cake as being a favorite. More “recent” menu additions such as steak sliders, seafood platters and baked salmon are still cause for surprise in loyal patrons, though it’s been nearly 25 years since they were added “You’ll have customers asking ‘Pat when’d you put salmon on there?’ because a lot of them don’t look at the menu. They know what they want when they come in here,” explains Francis.

One notable change occurred about 14 years ago when the restaurant switched from its cash only policy to accepting credit cards. It was Michael Francis’s belief that credit cards would ruin this country that kept the policy in place for so long, encouraging customers to spend only within their means. In more recent years Pat Francis was urged by his children to open up other payment options because of the inconvenience it caused for large parties and conferences visiting the city. So after many years the ATM that sat by the

doorway was removed — though many customers still prefer to pay cash.

Francis is often asked by families if it is alright to bring their children and he says,“Before we’re a steakhouse, we’re a family restaurant.

Without a doubt they’re more than welcome here. They’re the next generation. We need them!” He has seen four generations walk through his front door, and no doubt his establishment will be around for many more.

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Snow Baby: The Schmitt Family Story On January 17, 1994, 3-year-old Louisville child and “miracle baby” Michelle Schmitt needed a life-saving liver transplant. The call came; the organ donation was available, and her family needed to fly her to Nebraska as soon as possible. However, the entire I-64 interstate was shut down, covered in a very unexpected 17 inches of snow.

Several in Louisville’s community sprung into action, coming together to get “Snow Baby” Michelle Schmitt to Omaha to receive her life-saving transplant.

The story of the family is now chronicled in an upcoming movie, “Ordinary Angels,” starring Hilllary Swank, which will debut February 23.

Below is the story of the Snow Baby and her family, as told by Michelle’s sister, Ashley, who suffers from the same rare condition.

The definition of a hurdle is an obstacle or difficulty. To say that my family has overcome many hurdles is an understatement. What started out as a happy family of three: a mother, father, and daughter, soon transformed into a different kind of family of three; leaving just a father to raise his two daughters alone. Each family member is stricken by grief from loss, illness, financial burdens, and more. But with each hurdle the Schmitt family faced, they got through them together, along with help from some Ordinary Angels they encountered along the way.

When I was born, the doctors diagnosed me with a liver deficiency called biliary atresia. They told my parents (Ed and Theresa Schmitt) that I would need a liver transplant to survive, and quickly. At the time, they did not do pediatric transplants in Louisville, so my parents went to visit a few transplant centers to see which would be the best fit for us. One of the last places they visited was the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. They felt at home right away, and knew this was the place. There, I had to go through some testing and blood work to get added to the transplant list.

While waiting for a liver transplant, my parents visited a genetic doctor to see if this could happen again. Afraid that I might not have much longer to live, they contemplated having another child so that I could at least meet that child before I succumbed to my disease.

But they wanted to make sure that a second child would not be born with biliary atresia as well — if they did choose to have another.

The doctor said it was 99.9 percent unlikely to happen again, and along came Michelle. Not long after Michelle’s birth, she started showing signs of liver failure. Doctors started the process of getting Michelle on the transplant list next. Our mom had to quit her job and stay home to take care of us.

On October 1, 1991, my parents received a call that a liver was available for me. At the time, we didn’t have a lot of money. Our dad was working multiple jobs to make ends meet, but between the medications we each had to take and the doctor’s visits, it was hard to keep up with the bills. As you can imagine, they didn’t have extra money laying around for a private plane to get to Omaha. Our dad called his parents, Earl and Barbara Schmitt, to see if they could help. They wrote a check so we could get to Omaha for my lifesaving liver

transplant. After receiving my transplant, I was a healthy and normal 3-year-old. For the first time ever, I was able to eat and play with a normal amount of energy. Now we just had to wait for the call for Michelle to receive hers.

Over the next year, our mother had been sick off and on with sinus issues. Her doctor recommended getting a sinus scrape done. The procedure went well, but she was not regaining consciousness. The doctors were running every test they could think of to see what was going on. Finally, an infectious disease doctor came in and diagnosed her with Wegener’s disease. At this point she was in multi-organ failure and there was nothing more they could do. After six weeks of watching his beloved wife not waking up from a “simple procedure,” he finally had to say goodbye. My dad was now faced with the reality that he would be raising two daughters alone, and not just two normal daughters; two critically ill daughters; a daughter who just had a liver transplant and a daughter who was waiting to have her liver transplant. My dad called upon his parents, and they stepped in to help him raise us. This turned out to be the best decision he ever made, because I got to grow up with my grandparents, too.

Time went by, and each day we were waiting for the phone call that a liver was available for Michelle. On January 17th, 1994, the city of Louisville woke up to 17 inches of snow. I remember Michelle and I being excited to see the snow and to go out and play in it. The phone rang and my grandma answered. It was the call we had been waiting for; the transplant center in Omaha was calling to say there was a liver available for Michelle. But the city was shut down; no one was able to come in or get out. I remember seeing a reporter on the news standing in the middle of I-64 because it was vacant. Grandma called her friend and hairdresser Sharon Stevens (now Evans), to see if she could help. Sharon had previously helped to raise money for my family due to the financial strain of the medical bills from Michelle and I, as well as from when our mother was in the hospital. Sharon started calling around to local news stations and radio stations to put the word out.

[Pastors] Bob Russell and Dave Stone offered the Southeast Christian Church parking lot on Hikes Lane for a helicopter to land to take Michelle to the airport to get on a private plan that was generously donated by Jim Patterson. Now there was a call out for people to bring their shovels and help shovel the parking lot so the helicopter could land. People from all around came and started shoveling the parking lot. Meanwhile, WHAS-11, a local news station, came to our house in a 4-wheel drive. One of the people in the SUV was Beth Murrell. They loaded up the SUV with me, Michelle, Grandma, and Dad. My Pappaw stayed behind to take care of our dog Bitsy as well as the house.

When we got to the Southeast parking lot we were humbled and overwhelmed by the sea of people shoveling snow. Sr. Pastor Bob Russell and Pastor Dave Stone greeted us as we exited the car. The helicopter only had room for two, so Grandma opted to ride with Michelle. Beth Murrell said they would do their best to try and get Dad and I to the airport and meet them so we could

Ashley Schmitt

ride in the plane to Omaha. As the helicopter took off, the crowd cheered. Beth Murrell and WHAS-11 were able to get Dad and I to the airport in time before Grandma and Michelle took off. Beth Murrell flew along with us to stay in contact for updates, and she even helped watch me so my Dad and Grandma could be with Michelle at the hospital. After Michelle recovered from her transplant, she became a lively 3-year-old just like I had. She had color in her skin, energy to play, could eat and drink normally, and could finally smile and be happy!

With all the media coverage, we eventually were able to meet Michelle’s liver donor family, The Friesen’s from Wichita, Kansa. Orin and Bekki had a 7-year-old son named Brian who had passed away from a brain aneurysm on January 16th, 1994. Not long after Brian passed, Orin and Bekki would find drawings and notes around the house regarding Jesus, Heaven, and a grave site. Over the years, we have kept in touch, and both families have traveled to see one another and spend time together.

We were able to receive a lot of financial help before, during, and after our transplants, from Sharon doing fundraisers to Kosair for Kids helping with medical bills. There were hundreds of “Ordinary Angels,” aka ‘normal’ people that went out of their way to show us support after our liver transplants.

Growing up, Michelle and I lived relatively normal lives — as much as we could. We did get sick easier than most kids due to the anti-rejection medications we were on lowering our immune system. What may take a child 2-3 days to get over, it would take us a week or more — and sometimes, a hospital stay to get over. Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville became our second home at times. We both had more than our fair share of hospital stays as kids, but that never slowed us down. Our Dad and Grandparents went above and beyond to give us a happy life. From vacations to birthday celebrations, and holidays, they always tried to make it fun.

A doctor in California reached out to our pediatric gastroenterologist in the early 2000’s. She had heard about Michelle and I and wanted to test us for Byler’s Syndrome. It was unheard of for one family to have two children with biliary atresia. She tested me, Michelle, and Dad. Since our mother had passed away, the doctor was unable to test her. It took a while for the results to come back, but she confirmed that Michelle and I both had Byler’s Syndrome, which is a genetic disease that causes liver damage at birth. Although our parents did not have it themselves, they both had the gene for it, which caused us to have it. Talk about one in a million. Byler’s syndrome is rare and only happens in 1-in-50,000 to 1-in-100,000 births.

In January of 2003, Grandma ended up getting sick, and was hospitalized. Our grandma had COPD and asthma and it had gotten worse over the years. She eventually ended up passing away on January 17, 2003. I didn’t remember Mom much, and Michelle remembered her even less. Grandma was like a mother to us in many ways; Michelle even grew up calling her “Mama.” Losing her was hard for both of us, but I knew it was my time to step up and help take care of Michelle. I was just 14 years old, and Michelle was 12 years old. We continued and enjoyed life as grandma would have wanted us to do. Eventually, we both received our drivers’ licenses, went to prom, graduated high school and college; Michelle with a bachelor’s degree and I with a Masters.

In January of 2011, almost 20 years after my liver transplant, I started to become very sick and was hospitalized for four weeks. My kidneys were starting to shut down. One of the anti-rejection medications I had to take for many years after my liver transplant had caused a lot of kidney damage. We knew this could happen, but we didn’t know it would be this soon. While I was in the hospital, the goal was to get me hydrated, get my kidney working a bit better, and they eventually put a fistula in my arm to prepare me for dialysis in the future. After a month in the hospital, I was able to go home. Before I got sick, I was in grad school working towards getting my MBA in business healthcare management. I had to put that on hold. At the time, I was working as a pharmacy technician at Kroger Pharmacy. I took some time off work, but when I did go back, it was a lot harder standing up for long periods than I thought it would be. My experience with organ failure was different this time around. I didn’t know what it was like to experience liver failure because I was so young. Here I was at 22 years old, and I felt like I was in my 80’s. I needed help getting up; it was hard to stand for long periods of time or walk long distances. I was throwing up regularly, and I didn’t have much of an appetite. I remember my 23rd birthday and how it was a struggle just to get out of bed that day because of the pain. We went to an Italian restaurant where I barely ate anything, and I love Italian food! I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself anymore, I had lost so much weight.

My best friend Crystal, who Michelle and I went to elementary school with, volunteered to get tested to donate a kidney to me. She used to joke with us,“If you ever need a kidney, I’ve got two!” We used to laugh, but now it was a reality. She contacted the transplant center and started going through the process to get tested. We had to wait for them to come back to see if we were a match. On June 2, 2011, I received a call from the nurse coordinator at the transplant center letting me know that I was officially on the transplant list. We celebrated and started the waiting period. Even if you have a potential live donor, they still put you on the transplant list.

On June 4, 2011, I received a call from the nurse coordinator at the transplant center around 2AM telling me I needed to get to the hospital because there was a potential deceased donor’s kidney available. Dad drove me to Jewish Hospital; this time we didn’t need a plane to get to a transplant center. On the way, I was thinking that this kidney probably won’t be mine.

They warned us that we could get called in several times, and the kidney may go to someone else. I was mentally preparing myself for that; after all, it had been less than two days since I had been on the transplant list.

We got to the hospital, and they admitted me right away.

They performed tests and took bloodwork to confirm I was well enough to receive the transplant. Around 10AM that morning, the transplant center called me and said the kidney was going to be mine. My dad and sister started crying and I just smiled, happy that I was getting yet another chance at life. The surgery went well and the next day,my dad said how much better I already looked. As time went on, I could tell a huge difference of how I felt from before and after the transplant. It truly was a new lease on life.

About a month and a half after my kidney transplant, Michelle started to get sick. She had a seizure due to her electrolyte levels being so low; she had to be rushed to the hospital. She eventually came to, but her kidneys were now shutting down. They started the process of getting her on the transplant list. Crystal again stepped in and got retested for Michelle. Eventually her results came back, and they were a perfect match! The transplant center scheduled their surgeri Michelle and Ashley

Ashley Schmitt

es to be performed on November 1, 2011. Both of their surgeries went well, and Michelle looked better the next day just like I had. She was up and eating and ready to go. Crystal took a couple days to get up on her feet, but that’s because it’s always harder on the donor as they are getting something taken out of them. Once Crystal was up and about, the first thing she wanted to do was to see Michelle.

Her parents helped her down the hall to Michelle’s room. It was a special moment for both Michelle and Crystal. Our experiences were just two of many examples of how the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates and Donate Life Kentucky Trust have worked to make this life-saving gift possible.

I went back to finish my MBA three months after my transplant and graduated in 2013. Just a year after my transplant, I was able to meet my kidney donor’s family! Natasha Murrel died in a boating accident at Taylorsville Lake. She was studying to be a nurse and expressed that she wanted to be an organ donor one day. Her mother, Donna, donated her organs, and I ended up with her kidney.

Crystal and Michelle surprised me with a birthday dinner party and invited Donna and her oldest grandson, who was Natasha’s son.

It was my first time meeting them and it was a special moment. There are no words I can ever express for their loss. Natasha made a difference in my life and those around me.

Pappaw ended up getting sick and having a mini stroke in 2016. He eventually passed away on October 16, 2016, just a day after his 85th birthday. Grandma and Pappaw both meant a lot to Michelle and I. They helped our dad raise us. Pappaw played a big part in Michelle and I believing in God and going to church. He was a jokester, nice, and he spoiled his grandkids. He treated everyone with respect no matter their race, religion, background, or what they looked like. When Pappaw made us a promise, we knew he would keep it; it may take him a while, but he always followed through. He taught us both how to ride bicycles and taught me how to drive. He will always have a special place in my heart, and I only hope I’ve made him proud over the years.

Michelle went on to work as a medical assistant for the Novak Center here in Louisville, which is a pediatric doctor’s office. She even got to work with some of the doctors that took care of us when we were younger. She loved her job and loved seeing the kids come in every day, getting a sense of fulfillment, as if it was her turn to help other kids that had illnesses. She ended up getting married to a wonderful man named David in 2015. They later bought a house and adopted two dogs, Chewie and Reesie.

On May 7, 2021, Michelle passed away at the age of 30 from a stomach aneurysm. It was quick and sudden, a shock to us all. Over the years, Michelle and I had been through a lot, but I never worried about one of us dying, because we always somehow made it through.

At her visitation and funeral, we had several people come up to us and say,“I know you don’t know me, but I shoveled snow that day in the church parking lot.” So many people came to pay their respects to Michelle, the “Louisville Snow Baby.” This is what she was referred to throughout her life, and so many people would recognize her as just that. We would often be out in public, and someone would walk up to us and ask us if she was the “Snow Baby.” Once replying “Yes, I am,” some of them would share their stories about how they shoveled snow during that snowstorm in 1994, and she got to personally thank them for saving her life.

In 2021, I was able to purchase my first house. I have been working my way up for nearly nine years now at Onco360 (a mail-order Oncology Pharmacy) and am now a Senior Manager. I absolutely love my job, and not many people can honestly say that. I also have a beautiful dog named Winter. She’s a 9-year-old lab/pit mix, and she’s the sweetest scaredy-cat dog you’ll ever meet.

I am truly blessed to be on the receiving end of all the people who have helped my family over the past 35 years. I wish I had the opportunity to thank each and every person, and to give back as much as I have been given, though I give as much as I am able both in time and money.

God has performed so many miracles for my family over the years. He used ordinary people working like angels to orchestrate each of them. The movie about my family,“Ordinary Angels”, will be coming to theaters on February 23, 2024. We hope that it sends a message about faith, community, and organ donation. Without those three things, Michelle wouldn’t have lived 30 years, and I still wouldn’t be here today.

Be an “Ordinary Angel” Become an organ donor

Come visit and help us celebrate our anniversary!

Frazier History Museum is where the world meets Kentucky!

FrazierMuseum.org | 502.753.5663 | 829 W. Main St., Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Scan QR Code To Get A $20 Membership For Our 20th Anniversary

Happy and Healthy in 2024

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By: Alison Cardoza Photos by: Matt Johnson

Happy 2024! You are on the run...literally and figuratively.

It’s up to you to plan your day ahead of time. Does it include the gym? Do not allow a busy lifestyle to whisk you away from health and wellness. Incorporate your workout everyday before or after work, or in between your kids activities. Weaving exercise into your daily routine will become natural over time. It’s a proven fact that exercise will reduce stress levels. We all need that, especially after the holidays. Exercise will burn calories. Exercise will lower your chances of heart attack and stroke. It’s imperative to make exercise a habit.

Just like you brush your teeth and shower everyday, exercise daily.

What is in your gym bag?

At the beginning of each week, prep your workout bag so it is in your car, ready to go for the week. Pack pairs of athletic shoes, socks, shorts, long workout pants, and a sweat-proof top. Healthy snacks such as dried fruit and nuts, water bottle, music to stay motivated, and a health journal to record your exercises and eating for the day. Journaling is a healthy way to release and reduce mental stress, unload thoughts, and keep track of your eating. Journaling helps monitor your exercise and holds you accountable in a positive way. It allows you to process and release your emotions personally.

Make the most of your workout Once you walk through those gym doors, you are halfway there. Getting to the gym and pushing yourself through a workout is not only physical, but mental. Once you enter the facility, take a deep breath, and get to work. You have come this far, so release tension mentally and physically. As a trainer, I witness many multitaskers on the recumbent bike plugging away at work calls or messaging clients. Challenge yourself to dedicate thirty minutes, technology free, and let your body go. We live in a world where multitasking is a must and has become a part of our everyday lives; however, it does not always do our mind and body good. Keep the phone in your locker…unless used for music…and get into the zone.

Protein after a workout After you have completed your workout, grab a protein snack. Protein will help rebuild the muscles that you just engaged and fatigued. Fueling your muscles with protein will enable your body to recover faster, heal, and build strength.The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) for protein is 0.36 grams per pound. This is the amount of nutrients you need to meet your basic nutritional requirements. To determine your daily protein intake, you can multiply your weight in pounds by 0.36. Some of my favorite protein snacks after a workout are hard boiled egg, chicken salad, chocolate milk, yogurt, and peanut butter and banana.

Alison Cardoza, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and Fitour Group Exercise Instructor at Baptist Health Milestone Wellness Center. B.S. Exercise Science and Sports Medicine/ Health Promotions from University of Louisville. Former UofL Ladybird and NFL Colts Cheerleader.

The Bitter and the Sweet: Kentucky Sugar Chests, Enslavement, and the Transatlantic World 1790–1865 reexamines the iconic Kentucky sugar chest

Planning, research, and development for this exhibition was supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

within the broader, intertwined historical contexts of the Atlantic economy, the vicious human toll of enslavement, and the complex transportation and merchant systems that brought sugar to Kentucky from the West Indies and sugar-growing regions of the Americas. Sugar furniture and related objects, artwork, tools, and archival materials will reflect the bitter reality of sugar production and trade from New World beginnings to the end of the Civil War.

Exhibition season sponsored by: Cary Brown and Steven E. Epstein Sociable Weaver Foundation Debra and Ronald Murphy DAV FAM Art Fund

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LEARN MORE WWW.SUSANSFLORIST.COM (502) 635-6351

Celebrating 34 Years at The Forum at Brookside Executive Director Sara Shaw Shares Her Insights on Senior Care

By: Amy Barnes Photos by: Matt Johnson

From Her Humble Roots in the Kitchen To Her Role as Executive Director, Shaw shares her passion with VOICE-TRIBUNE readers.

Tell us about your career progression from working in the kitchen to becoming Executive Director.

“My first job, as a junior in high school, was with a senior living community as a server. I absolutely loved working with seniors, the stories of their lives and things they had seen and done were intriguing to me. While I was in college, at the age of nineteen, I began working here at The Forum at Brookside as a server in the dining room, and I’ve been here ever since! Over my 34 years I have worked in many departments in several roles, such as Medical Records, Activities, Staffing, Admissions and Administrator. I truly have enjoyed every role and the opportunities I have had to advance to my current role as Executive Director. I have been in this role since 2018 and I love it!”

How did your degree in business administration impact your career at The Forum?

“I completed my degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2004, then passed the exam for the long-term care administrator license soon after. My degree prepared me to be an effective leader through clear communication, clear expec­tations, a strong work ethic and the desire to never stop advancing. Life is ever changing and we should learn new things and grow on a daily basis.”

What have you learned through your experience at The Forum through your interactions with residents?

“I have learned that every interaction you have is meaningful – it can be either a good experience or a not so good one. But it means something – why not make it a good experience for someone who may not be living close to their loved ones, or is getting accus­tomed to a new living situation, or going through something you know nothing about? Working with seniors all these years has been a pleasure for me. Senior living is where my heart is.”

The Forum’s employees seem to have a high level of longevity among the senior care community. What, given your experience, is the secret to having such a special team?

“The Forum at Brookside Team is remarkable! In any given month, we may celebrate 100 years of service to our residents. Our leadership team of nine has over 120 years of service. Longevity makes a difference – it shows stability, commitment and a passion for service to our residents and their families. The culture at The Forum at Brookside has always been one of hospitality,

service, and engagement with our residents, which created our Forum Family. When I meet with potential team members, I always explain that we are here to build relationships – with your fellow team members, the residents, family members and vendors.”

What are your goals as Executive Director, and how do you see senior care progressing over the next few years to a long-term outlook?

“I believe that retirement communities like The Forum at Brookside will advance and thrive. People are living longer as they are focused on both physical and mental health, and they will want to remain active while enjoying all the amenities that are offered!”

“My main goal is to continue The Forum traditions of providing beautiful grounds, experienced engaged team members with a smile on their face every day, the very best of programming and activities for all around wellness, top-of-the-line dining and a community that people are proud to call home.”

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In the Style LOUp

Timeless – Menswear Edition

By: Ashlea Spears Photos by: Matt Johnson Hello loves! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. I really hope you took a leap of faith in some new styling ways as well. Doubled down on sequins, added a leather piece as a classic staple, added a color pop more often, added in more jewelry, played around with print mixing — did you? I sure would love to hear about the risks you took. Let me know at @inthestyleloup on Instagram, or email me your style adventures or questions at inthestyleloup@gmail.com.

As we head into this new year, let’s turn our focus on the essentials in our closets. Those that exist and those that need to be added.

Let’s focus on the quality, the mainstays, the timeless. That’s what this month is all about: Timeless style; and that will always include, and dare I say, begin with menswear. As we take this year to look back over the years of VOICE-TRIBUNE, there is one thing that has held true, and that is menswear and suiting. Over the years there may be slight changes to the length and the silhouette, but the pieces never change. If those pieces are quality and made well to fit, they will last forever.

What I mean by staple pieces are the following, and things I’m quite certain exist in just about every closet, men’s and women’s. A blazer, a white dress shirt, a nice belt, trousers, a leather shoe — and in this scenario, I’m going to go with a pair of loafers. The few items I’d like to add are a leather bag, a pair of well-fitting denim, and an accessory. Men, it’s cufflinks and a tie clip for you. Ladies, in your case — a pair of silver or gold earrings. For the next additions, keep up with me over on @ inthestyleloup. I still have lots to share.

When I think of menswear, my mind immediately goes to Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, and even Chanel. I am a woman after all — and she and Elsa Schiaparelli really pushed the limits for women in suiting. I absolutely cannot leave out Yves Saint Laurent. So for instant inspiration, I encourage you to learn more about their history, and of course a simple image search to start.

I’ll dive more into that in future articles and on social media.

This month, I’d love to shine a light on a friend of mine, and a face I’m sure a lot of you know ( especially our male readers), and that is Chris Burns from Rodes. We had the best time catching up about this topic and styling some great looks you’ll see on the following pages. All looks are shoppable at Rodes. All Chris’s looks are chosen and styled by him, and the lovely Vanessa was styled by me. We hope you enjoy the ensembles!

So without further ado, let’s get to know my friend and guest stylist this month, Chris Burns. I hope our interview inspires you on your journey as we begin this new year and make those choices for quality and timeless wardrobe additions.

Ashlea: What are five things in your closet you couldn’t live without?

Chris: Navy suit, white/blue dress shirt, dark blue jeans, brown loafers, and a nice brown belt.

Rodes Clothing Consultant Chris Burns, with VOICE-TRIBUNE model Vanessa Smith.

Mr. Jim Hines, Rodes Clothing Consultant for 57-years.

Ashlea: What is something you’ve always wanted? Do you have it? If not, why?

Chris: A velvet dinner jacket to wear for black tie and semi-formal occasions.

I will eventually design one via ‘made-to-measure’, but just haven’t had the right occasion to wear it yet!

Ashlea: For someone starting to really build up a wardrobe, what do you invest in first?

Chris: A dark suit (navy or charcoal preferably), solid dress shirts (white or light blue), a high quality pair of brown dress shoes, a brown belt to match, and a good pair of dark denim.

Ashlea: Reverse last question: you have a great wardrobe, but you’re ready to downsize. What item do you part with first?

Chris: Ties. As much as I love neckwear, the tie is becoming less important by the day as we transition to a more casual wardrobe.

After that, get rid of anything that doesn’t fit correctly. Fit is king!

Ashlea: What are you excited for in Men’s Fashion in 2024?

Chris: The proliferation of unique layering pieces such as lightweight jackets, safari coats, and shirt jackets (aka “shackets”), the increasing emphasis on double-breasted suits, sport coats, and blazers, and finally the continued rise of luxury sneakers as a menswear mainstay.

Ashlea: What do you miss in menswear that may not be a priority, or forgotten, that you wish would trend again?

Chris: Suits and ties. As sportswear grows in importance, the classic suit and tie has become less essential to a gentleman’s wardrobe.

Personally, I love the look and message of a nice suit and tie, and think that it deserves its time to shine, particularly for a special occasions such as a wedding or an interview.

Ashlea: What are your three favorite brands?

Chris: Isaia, Canali, and Zegna. They are our three most important brands at Rodes, and each exudes a particular aspect of Italian menswear that initially drew me into the menswear business.

Ashlea: What gets you most excited about style?

Chris: Trying new things and allowing style to be an expression of creativity! You can express so much with your sense of style without even saying a single word.

Ashlea: Timeless style to you means______________.

Chris: Investing in core pieces that will last a lifetime, no matter the occasion! At Rodes we preach wardrobe flexibility and sustainability, and the garments we carry are meant to last as long as the gentleman needs it, from the fabrics themselves, to the styling and applicability to real-life uses.

fashion forward without spending a fortune.

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The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

-Oprah

Honor Your Friends and Loved Ones in VOICE-TRIBUNE’s Occasions & Celebrations section.

Engagements & Weddings Promotions & Successes Milestones & Events In Memoriam For more information, contact Julie@voice-tribune.com

75 Years of Susan’s Florist

By: VOICE-TRIBUNE

The Susan’s Florist story began in 1948 with Jacob and Marie Susemichel. Jacob was the superintendent of the Adath Israel Cemetery, where he and his wife, Marie, maintained several greenhouses that provided plants and flowers for the cemetery’s landscape. Jacob and Marie decided to build a florist across the street from the cemetery and quickly grew a loyal customer base. They named it Susan’s Florist, a moniker of the family name, and it has remained to this day.

Jacob and Marie managed the florist for many years, ultimately passing the shop onto their son, Elmer Susemichel. Elmer and his wife, Fern, greatly expanded the shop’s delivery coverage by becoming one of the first florists to join the Derby City Floral Delivery System. This allowed them to send floral arrangements to all of Jefferson County. Elmer and Fern’s creativity shined through in their everyday designs. A design in particular that they called ‘Mum Menagerie’ (pictured here) encapsulates their unique spin on floral arrangement. These arrangements were made from mums, and sometimes carnations, and designed to look like a variety of fun creatures such as a Louisville Cardinal Bird, a Kentucky Wildcat, a clown, and more. To this day, Susan’s Florist has kept Elmer and Fern’s distinctive touches in their everyday creations.

Today’s owner, Amy Streeter, has kept the originality of Susan’s Florist alive. After years of designing weddings and events out of her own home, Amy decided to fully venture into the floral business and bought Susan’s Florist in 2002. In September of 2022, Amy celebrated 20 years of ownership with a proclamation from Mayor Greg Fischer, officially declaring September 2nd, 2022 ‘Susan’s Florist Day.’ Amy is a Kentucky Master Florist.

She designs florals for events ranging from simple birthday parties to black tie galas. Amy’s love of cultivating joy and beauty through floral design is something that we know will continue to inspire the community.

“Susan’s Florist is extremely honored to be a part of all of life’s ups and downs,” said owner Amy Streeter.“The community that continues to support us throughout various life changes will be something we are always thankful for. Over the years, many customers have come into the shop and asked about the “Robert” signage you see floating around here in Susan’s Florist,” she said.

Robert is Amy’s second son who tragically passed away in August of 2018.“We memorialize Robert in everything we can at the shop and in our daily life. The support that family and I, and Susan’s Florist as a whole, received when Robert passed away was incredible,” said Streeter.“We continue to feel that support,and that is something we will never take for granted. Susan’s Florist will always aim to reciprocate the same feelings of hope and love we received during that time, back into our community. We will remain a pillar to support those celebrating life, struggling through loss, and everything in between.

Our hope is that we continue to provide joy to the happiest of moments and a glimmer of beauty in the saddest.”

Amy and her team design everything from clients’“just because” arrangements to the big, the bold, and the glamorous. They can be found on the design floor at Susan’s, surrounded by a sea of floral clippings as the team puts their hearts into each creation.

“At Susan’s Florist, we use flowers to communicate when our words fall short,” said Streeter.“Love and pride go hand in hand as each arrangement exits our doors, so you can be certain that the greatest care went into creating your unique design. Our clients can attest to the creativity, passion, and thoughtfulness that goes into the entire experience, and that is something that we will continue to strive for.”

“On behalf of the entire Susan’s Florist family, thank you,” said Streeter.“We will never be able to convey our complete gratitude for the unwavering support, but we plan to spend the next 75 years trying to do so!”

Kathryn Harrington & Marshall Ferguson

Photos by: Brooke Nicole Photography

Congratulations to VOICE-TRIBUNE Director of events, chief event photographer, Kathryn Harrington, and her husband, Marshall Ferguson, who tied the knot last October.

Incorporating meaningful touches like a very special family heirloom and a sentimental family lake house, this long-time couple is happy to share their love story with our readers.

How did you meet?

Kathryn: “We first met in 2012 at the University of Louisville. I had just transferred from WKU, and my roommate introduced me to the Delta Upsilon fraternity, in which Marshall was a member. We were friends for two years before we started dating in 2014.”

Marshall: “We met each other as students at UofL. I was in a fraternity and Kathryn knew some of the other members, so we ended up meeting through mutual friends.”

Tell us about the proposal, or the moment you decided marriage was the next step.

Marshall: “The proposal was planned in only a month or so, and went perfectly. I found a ring on etsy that both I and Kathryn’s best friend thought Kathryn would love, and worked with Kathryn’s best friend to set up a surprise. I proposed on my birthday, and I used that as a cover for the proposal. We were at Kathryn’s parents’ home for a ‘birthday dinner’ when I surprised her with the proposal.”

Kathryn: “It was in the summer of 2020, and I remember the plan that night was that we were going over to my parents’ house for his birthday dinner. We walked around back, where I saw a path of rose petals that led into the shape of a heart in the backyard. It took me a minute to process what was happening and I realized there was an orchestral version of Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ playing on a speaker; it was genius (I love grunge).

My best friend and a few members of both of our families were there, and after the proposal we had a great dinner prepared by my dad, and ate in the backyard. The proposal was amazing, and it was so special because we got to spend a lot of time with our families, which had been difficult at that time, with the pandemic in full swing.”

Where/when was your wedding?

Marshall: “We got married on October 28, 2023 at Kathryn’s family lake house on Kentucky Lake in western Kentucky.

Kathryn really wanted to get married at the lake house, and it turned out to be the perfect place for the perfect day.”

Kathryn: “I’ve always imagined myself getting married at my parents’ lakehouse, and when Marshall proposed, we both just thought it was the perfect place. The backdrop of the lake is beautiful, and having it there just made the whole day more laid back. We got really lucky with the weather. The entire day the forecast was 70-80 percent chance of rain, but it held off until about 9:30, when everyone was leaving.”

Who were your vendors?

Kathryn: “Almost all of our vendors were local to Marshall County. Our officiant was Dr. Susan Berberich. She’s been one of my mom’s best friends for as long as I can remember and is practically family. Our event planner, Cari & Co, is located in Calvert City. The Flower Pot is also local to Marshall county and created all of the floral arrangements. My amazing sister-in-law made our orange dreamsicle wedding cake for us, and made about 140 cupcakes for everyone. Our amazing photos are by Brooke Nicole Photography, who is local to the Louisville and New Albany area. Our musician was Kathy Gardner, a local violinist from Paducah. Our beautiful invites were from Cartwheels Papers

& Gifts in St. Matthews. Our caterer was A&B Barbecue.”

“I got my shawl from a shop on etsy several years ago, and my dress from Leatherhead on Bardstown Road. I was actually there on an assignment for VOICE-TRIBUNE to get some photos of [owners] Lynn and Nick. I saw the dress as I was getting ready to leave, and it just clicked that it was my wedding dress. A few of my bridesmaids were surprised when I told them I had found my dress. I kinda skipped the whole ‘say yes to the dress thing’ with my bridal party. And Marshall’s suit was courtesy of Kohl’s.”

Where did you honeymoon, and/or plan to honeymoon?

Marshall: “We planned on a relaxing hiking trip at Red River Gorge. However, while we were stopped at home in Louisville between the wedding and the honeymoon, I hurt my foot, and we ended up bailing on the honeymoon altogether. It was still nice to stay at home and relax as newlyweds.”

Kathryn: “We eventually want our honeymoon to be a big trip trekking around Europe.”

Did you incorporate any family legacy, honorary memories or significant heirloom pieces into the event?

Marshall: “We had a memorial table with pictures of family members who have passed away.”

Kathryn: “I wore my great grandmother’s wedding ring. My mom usually wears it, but lets me wear it sometimes for good luck.”

November 4, 2023

BACCHANAL Photos by Kathryn Harrington and Chris Witzke

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he Speed Art Museum hosted its annual Bacchanal party. As the museum’s premier exhibition, Stories Retold: American Art form the Princeton University Art Museum, celebrates the past, this year’s Bacchanal aimed to look towards the future. The event featured performances by the Va Va Vixens and Top Shelf, a live Theramin maestro, endless hors d’oeurves and sweet treats.

Lisa Frye and Lola D. Licious

Alicia Capece and Mallorye Cheers

Mark and Melissa Roth

Salem Vytch Tryells

Damaris Philips and Darrick Wood

Mallorye Cheers

Darrick Wood, Damaris Phillips, Don Phillips and Blue Palmoutsos

Brett and Samantha Corbin

Amy Leffler and Lauren Pachl

Maggie Hay and John Grisanti

Brent Dierson and Billy Watkins

Heather Zamanian and Calvin Haycraft

Cheri Collis White and the Va Va Vixens

Justin Owens and Amanda Riff

Trevor Gingrich and Audrey Ernstberger

Chris McConnell and Anna Erwin

Matt Coleman

Ian and Meagan Slaughter

Jim and Stephanie Weaver

Alon Maxwell and Jim Gillespie

Kris Thompson

November 9, 2023

A SHOPPING EVENT WITH LA FUORI

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

lasscock Too hosted a Shopping Event with La Fuori and Courtney Buchignani. Guests were invited to shop late at the store until 8pm and enjoyed refreshments and light bites.

Melanie Tate, Courtney Buchignani, Kathy Kunau and Lucie Stansbury.

Amelia Theobald, Terryl McCray and Courtney Buchignani

Amelia Theobald, Tami Dillion, Mike LaFountain, Jeff Hunter and Whitney Graham

Tami Dillion and Whitney Graham

Terryl McCray and Courtney Buchignani

December 5, 2023

REPEAL DAY CELEBRATION

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

ourbons Bistro hosted a Repeal Day Celebration featuring Old Forester with a number of events to celebrate the day Prohibition was lifted. The day began with a parade beginning at the Wine Rack and culminated at Bourbons Bistro where Old Forester Brand Ambassador Ian Sulkowski led a guided immersion into the brand’s bourbon expression. Later in the evening guests enjoyed special Prohibition cocktails, complimentary culinary delights and a secret speakeasy experience.

John Vidal and Ian Sulkowski

Jill Jarrett, Matthew Porter, Randy Blevins, CJ Full and Colleen Hardin

Steve and Julie Lange

Aaron Almon and Brian Patterson

James Case and Hal Ginsberg

Amy and Phil Herp

Linda Miller and Ginger Kilgore

Kim Behrle and Yulia Morozova

November 9, 2023

SIGNATURE CHEFS

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he march of Dimes hosted the Louisville Signature Chefs Auction at the Omni Louisville Hotel. Led by Chef Joshua Moore of Volare Italian Ristorante, Signature Chefs featured over 30 of Louisville’s best chefs from restaurants across the city. The annual event supports the March of Dimes work to nourish all aspects of motherhood and ensuring all moms have access to care.

Adam and Casey Kelly with Stoess Austin Baker and Olivia Deckard with Mesh

Danny Estapa, Erin Estapa, Jill Soderquist, Sue Schick, Shannon Majors and Corey Blakey

Josh Moore and Jon Dubins with Volare

Jacob Brockman and Rick Warren with Rickhouse Barbeque

Stephanie Fridrich, Debbie Reuss, Karen Smith, Heather Bauer, Raegan Stremel, Katie Floyd, Lana Fazio, Wesleigh Wethington and Susan Strack

Chef Ronnie Dunning with Le Relais

Gustavo and Karina Reyes with Gustavo’s Mexican Grill

Dustin Stevens and Phillip Cherry with Four Pegs

Kyle Fields and Ethan Ray with Crushed Ice

Brianna Trevison, Chef “Smooth” Allen Hubbard with Martini Italian Bistro

Dan O’Connell, Samantha Gustinis and James Dutton with River House

Charles Benson, Ming Pu and Jack Rosado with Brooklyn and the Butcher

Serge Katz, Carlos Delgado and Justin Ruffra with Flavaville

Dalton Snider, Michael Bowe and Travis Dingess with Red Yeti

Executive Chef Henry Winston Wesley III and Jamie Esterly with Le Moo

Chef Clay Elliott with Black Jockey Lounge

Dakota Jackson and Susan Bellucci with Vincenzos

November 10, 2023

CHARTER COLLECTORS DINNER

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he Speed Art Museum hosted its 40th Annual Charter Collectors Dinner. Charter Collectors are instrumental in acquiring major American and European sculptures, paintings and works-on-paper for The Speed Art Museum’s collection. Members participate actively in the process by joining Museum Curators in visiting art galleries across the country and by voting on acquisitions at the annual dinner.

Mary Helen Myles and Lisa Barr

Kaye Bowles-Durnell with Kate and Harry Talamini

Libby and Jim Voyles

Laura Santoni and Jackie Rosky

Paul Keith and Lois Louis

Jamie Paradis and Shelly Kamei

Susan Ford and Sarah Keith

Jessica Wissing and Michael Robards

Catherine Surratt, Erika Holmquist-Wall and David Ratterman

Fred Siegel and Pat Ballard

Raphaela Platow and Lisa Barr

Sara Garden Armstrong, Jane Welch, Ed Schadt and Carol Hebel

November 10, 2023

EXPRESSIONS OF HOPE GALA

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Photos by Gioia Patton

he Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana hosted the Expressions of Hope Gala at the Mellwood Art Center. The theme for the evening was Back to the Future for a Cure and guests were encouraged to come dressed in their best 80s prom attire. Attendees enjoyed dinner, drinks and dancing as well as live and silent auctions.

Kylie Nichol and Erika Furlong

Jill and Matt Innes

Miss Kentucky USA Ambassador Morgan DeChene was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was 11years old

Emily and Derek Sherrell

Jeff Johnaon

Jeff Johnson, Kim Brooks and Lane Frost

Beth Stivers, MS, Executive Director for Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana and Ashley Jackson

Ambica Tumkur and Alan Henry

Cortney Johnson, MS, Director of Development and Community Relations at EFKY

Haley Thaxton, Kathleen Beachy, Fernanda Zuniga and Maggie Hackmiller

Mimi Miller, Sharon Miller, Alicia Barnett and Stacey Featherstone

Susie Basham, Meghan DeChene, Sandy Allnutt, Sarah Arvin and Morgan DeChene

Connie Hayes-Badon with her daughters Sydney and Samantha

Abbie Helton and Natalie Schuminski

Alison and Tyler Sherrell

Ellen Sherrell and Emily Sherrell

November 10, 2023

GILDA’S NIGHT

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Photos by Bill Wine

ilda’s Club Kentuckiana hosted the 19th annual Gilda’s Night. The evening supported those in the Louisville community impacted by cancer and featured cocktails, dinner and an auction. The event also honored the dedication, love, leadership, guidance and support of Annette Grisanti and Dr. Michael Kemper.

The cocktail reception included music by Napoleon Edmondson and Rick Pendleton.

Stephen Lewis, Douglas Riddle, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and event auctioneer Kevin Harned

Marsha Segal, Harriett Behr, Joyce Jennings and Melanie Tate

Honorary Chairs Dr. Michael Kemper and Annette Grisanti

Dr. Mark Wourms and Patty Johnson

Karen and Ken Savitz

James and Catherine Darmstadt, Kelly Maxwell and Jonathon Raley

Mickey Brown, Karen Savitz,Tabb Ormsby, Julie Hohmann, Michele Oberst, Honorary Chair Annette Grisanti, Kelly Maxwell, Felisha Dowdy and Lindy Street

Marsha Segal, Howard and Leslie Cantor with Harriett Behr

Honorary Chairs Dr. Michael Kemper,and Annette Grisanti with Cindy and Hunt Rounsavall

Howard Vogt with Madeline and Jerry Abramson

Judy Shapira and Murray Rose

Event emcee Shannon Cogan and Jonathon Raley

Bill Menish and Kevin Harned

Mackey Middleton and Lauren Hayes

Monika and John Miller

Kevin Dunlap and Gerina Whethers

Mike and Brittany Lutke

Gail Tway and Scott Simmons

Patty Johnson, Madeline Abramson and Sarah Martin

Susan Sweeney Crum, Judge Derwin Webb and Dr. Aimee Green- Webb

Patty and Tim Coury, Lynne Meena Honorary Event Chair Annette Grisanti

Carolle Jones-Clay and Ken Clay

November 8, 2023

A SALUTE TO WOMEN

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he Hortense B. Perry Foundation, Inc., Spalding University and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority hosted a Salute to Women and Emerging Leaders. The event honors and recognizes women for their dedication, passion, vision and many contributions that have helped grow Louisville’s businesses.

At the annual event, the Salute to Women Entrepreneurs and Emergent Leaders honors and celebrates women who have demonstrated leadership in academic, government, corporate, small business and nonprofit-sectors.

Lynda Conley, Elmer Lucille Allen and Lonnie Ali

Lynetta Crawford, Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lonnie Ali and Cheryl Guess

Lonnie Ali, Elmer Lucille Allen and Dr. Tori Murden McClure

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Lonnie Ali, Elmer Lucille Allen, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

Back Row: Dr. Rita G. Greer, Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Christie McCravy, Alexis Mathews, Cheryl Guess, Dr. Tori Murden McClure and Elmer Lucille Allen Back Row: Diane Whitlock, Dr. Teresa Walker, Councilwoman Paula McCraney, Lonnie Ali, Michele Harbin, Tawana Bain and Joann James

Tawana Bain and Lonnie Ali

Dr. Tori Murden McClure and Councilwoman Paula McCraney

Elmer Lucille Allen and Dr. Tori Murden McClure

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Diane Whitlock, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Joann James, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Dr. Teresa Walker, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Michele Harbin, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Tawana Bain, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

Dr. Ronnita Usher, Lynetta Crawford, Councilwoman Paula McCraney, Dr. Rita G. Greer, Christie McCravy and Cheryl Guess

November 11, 2023

ONE MANDEE SHOW

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he Loft at Biscuit Lounge hosted a live taping of Mandee McKelvey’s first ever comedy special for streaming distribution.

Produced by local Louisvillian Divinity Rose, the One Mandee Show has won Best of Fringe twice.

Guests enjoyed drinks, a gala style red carpet and, of course, a ton of laughs.

Divinity Rose

Mandee McKelvey

Lew Fox

China Lacy

Tara Bassett and Summer Dickerson

Ian Bottomley and Carol Finck

Akua Guthrie

Krista Matheny and Mindy Barakauskas

Tony and Leslee Minzenberger Young

Albert Bryant and Sharon Larue

Suzanne Koehne and Gloria Berry

Paula Logsdon, Debra Orah Brownstein and Leighanne Logsdon

Robert and Jenna Stewart

Beth Pinotti and Ruby Brown

Julia Naiditch and Tommy Davis

Stephanie Wagner, Ashley Lee and Amy Kingman

Marybeth Orton and Brian White

Akua Guthrie, Porscha Moberly and Renita Allen

The Barry Wooley Team

November 16, 2023

LOUISVILLE TOURISM ROSE AWARDS GALA

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

ouisville Tourism held its annual gala and ROSE Awards at the Louisville Palace. The ROSE Awards, which stands for Recognition of Service Excellence, are given to those in the industry who have dedicated themselves to careers in tourism. The awards were offered in Hotel Services, Attractions, Culinary Arts, Dining + Spirits, Transportation and Tours, Event Services, and Rising Star. Guests enjoyed an evening of hors d’ oeuvres, cocktails, and live band performances.

Tabath McNulty, Christine Scheffler and Andrea Martinez

Simone and Cameron Mangold

Rachel and Mayor Craig Greenberg

Stacy and Justin Ennis

Kat Flaherty and Joshua Dillender

Keana Glenn and Kevin Kilgore

Jeff Thompson, Darryl Anderson, Natasha Elliott, Tyra Hinkle and Carlos Gil with The Seelbach

Bertha Anderson, Yvonne Monteiro and Regina White

Jocelyn and Rachel Thomas

Annette Mandle-Turner and Terry Mandle

Annetta Jackson and Kevin Kilgore

Jeanne Hilt with Paristown and David McGuire with Stonewear & Co.

Greg Mann and Billy McNeill

Mick Sullivan, Katie Lowe, Erine Sato, Amanda Egan, Mindy Johnson and Andy Treinen

Rachelle Wilson, Liz Burgess and Charlie Cronis

James and Ami Shavez

Daniel and Rich Julian

Nikki and Richard Wadlington

Tabath McNulty and Christine Scheffler

Greg Delancey, Michael Cregan and Courtney Woeste

Ryan Cozort, Qiana Willis and Courtney McKinley

Lynn Farrow and Susan Kaelin

November 17, 2023

AFTER HOURS AT THE SPEED

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he November After Hours at the Speed theme was A Celebration of Stories Retold: American Art from the Princeton University Art Museum. The evening featured art making, gallery talks, an author talk with Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin, and the premiere of the chamber opera by composer Nathan Felix The Artificial Heart. The satirical opera is inspired by Robert L. Tools who had the first fully self-contained artificial heart transplant in Louisville in 2001.

Donnie Jackson, Megan Barlow and Amanda Haas

Rhonda Simpson and Laura Robinson

Hillery Borton and Jenn Thompson

William Joiner and Gianna Bennett

The Artificial Heart composer Nathan Felix

Megan Barlow

Peggy and Rob Karmen

Moses Winn and Aaron Bush

Max Schowalter and Quintin White

Tyler Blackwell, Erika Holmquist-Wall and Catherine Surratt

Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin

Chris McConnell and Anna Erwin

Jodi Kobernick and Helene Greenstein

November 18, 2023

ALBERTA O. JONES PARK RIBBON CUTTING

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

ity officials, community partners and Louisville residents gathered for the grand opening of Alberta O. Jones Park in the California Neighborhood.

The new outdoor space opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the transformation of nearly seven city blocks of vacant property into a vibrant public green space that features walking paths with fitness stations, picnic shelters and grills, an outdoor classroom, pollinator garden, free 5G Wi-Fi and a music themed playground. Under the leadership of the nonprofit Parks Alliance of Louisville and a community driven planning process, residents made decisions on all aspects and amenities of the park as well as the naming of the park after Alberta Jones—a pioneering Louisville attorney and civil rights champion.

Flora Shanklin

K. Shaver and Nan Spalding

Owsley Brown III, Brooke Brown Barzun, Augusta Brown Holland and David Johnson

Maria Irvin, Andrea Overton, Markesha (Misty) Smith, Ruby Holt and Nicole Merriweather with The Sparrow House

Flora Shanklin and Brooke Pardue

Beverly Chester Burton, Ruby Hyde and Keturrah Herron

Anne Monell and Kevin Lynch

Lynn Kelly, Valerie Maron and Piper

Mayor Craig Greenberg

Owsley Brown III, Councilman Phillip Baker, Elmer Lucille Allen and Josh Bleecker

Elmer Lucille Allen and Gill Holland

Stephanie Laughlin, David Johnson, Clay Kelly, Erin Wagoner, Paul Maron, Wesley Sydnor and Dr. Clay Vostic

November 18, 2023

KTO ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

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Photos by Matt Johnson

he Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners, Inc. held their thirty-fifth annual awards dinner at the Kentucky Derby Museum. The evening featured a dinner and awards ceremony and honored Martin A. Maline as the Warner L. Jones, Jr. Horseman of the Year.

Patty, Emma and Tom Drury with Charlotte Kaufman and Melissa Trew

Carol Hebel and Laura Nicholson

John and Belinda Stone with Dee Asher

Chauncey Morris and Ted Nicholson

Travis and Sheree Foley

Travis and Patsy Foley

Loren Hebel-Osborne and Coleen Walker

Kathy W and Cathy Shircliff

Kate Ashton Alex Foley and Jennie Rees

Lynn and Gwynne Harpring

Vickie and Sheree Foley

Mary Jane Mascarich and Howard Meyer

November 18, 2023

SNOW BALL

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

osted by Norton Children’s Hospital, the 34th annual Snow Ball gala was held at the Omni Louisville Hotel. Part of the annual Festival of Trees and Lights, the gala is one of the largest annual fundraisers for Norton Children’s Hospital. The second floor of the Omni was transformed into a magical winter wonderland and the event featured cocktails, dancing, live entertainment, a gourmet dinner, and a live drawing of the Home & BMW raffle winners.

Lynnie Meyer and Shannon Cogan

Christian, Allison, Cathy and Russ Cox

Becca MacGilvray and Jeremy Van Meter

Alex and Joanna Nolan

Lisa Stemler, Michele and Tim O’Hern with Joyce Meyer

David Cecil and Ilana Kogan

Anne Cannon, Kathy Cox and Heather Singleton

Ellen and Keri Durrett

Ebony and Derek Bell

Jesse Jenkins, Mimi Hwang and Jung Oh Whang

Jackie Moran, Kristin Raw, Supra Parthasarathy and Mary Fallat

Weldon and Meagan Mauzy, Katerra Reynolds, Anthony Mathis Jr., Carmen Mathis and Anthony Mathis Sr. with Cathy, Russ, Allison and Christian Cox

Ryan and Suzanne Kingery with Martha Davis and Mike Foster

Deb and Paul Elsey

Lynnie Meyer and Jon Cooper

Elizabeth Lanning with Andrew and Meredith Koone

Lenae and Kenny Kavanaugh

Shannon Cogan

Evan Spalding and Judge Jessica Moore with Ashley and Brian Butler

Mary Gregory, Penny Berry, Sandy McAlpin and Donna Banks

Eric Stout and Toni Allen

Tony and Elita Roberts, Dr. Stephanie Altobellis and Duane Parker

Meagan and Weldon Mauzy

Andrew and Meredith Koone

Brandy Cummins, Brandy Hawkins and Martina Bright

Deana and Mike Paradis with Hunter and Scott Weinberg

Janet and Darrin McCauley

Maria Wilson, Betty Sallengs, Daniel Gilvin and Adam Hall

December 2, 2023

LOTS OF LIGHTS PARADE

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

ouisville residents gathered at 6th and Jefferson Streets for the annual Light Up Louisville celebration and the Lots of Lights Parade. The parade featured dozens of groups donning Christmas decorations and ample amounts of Christmas lights as they sang and danced down Jefferson Street, aka Santa Claus Lane.

December 2, 2023

PELO WEST GRAND OPENING

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Photos by Gioia Patton

elo West Spa hosted its grand opening inside the Galt House Hotel. Located on the 17th floor of the East Tower, the spa offers hair and nail services, facials and massage services.

Rachel Heideman and Jessica Bryant

Tori Haggard and Charleston DeVaughan

Kaitlyn Hubert, Dan Marino and Tiffany Marino

Trace Miller, Annabelle Savage, Paige Daniels and MaKayla Barker

Kaitlyn Lacy, Emily Strafer and Joan Strafer

Abril Lewis

Artist Jason Lois

Erin Cox and Que Workman

Lydia Lee and Lex Mitchell

Olivia Watson

Nema Etebar and Debra Locker Griffin

Kim Bianconcini, Jennifer Kramer, Lori Tyra and Robin Colvin

Kyle Coones and Hannah Pohl

Kennetha Malone, Tamika Roberts and Lee Ann Dickerson

Pelo West staff members Mecha Clark and Alex Johnston

Jermaine and Sharonda Sutton

Kaitlyn Hubert

Karen Bowman and Ruth Trautwein

December 7, 2023

MARTINIS AND MISTLETOE

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he KMAC Contemporary Art Museum hosted its annual signature holiday shopping event, Martinis & Mistletoe. The event featured a wide selection of holiday gifts and specialty holiday cocktails for guests to enjoy.

Kevin Wilson, Joey Yates and Alice Alt

Yano Touma, Rob Crady, Melanie McCoy, Chase Speiden, Michelle Staggs and Joey Yates

Brooke McAfee with Titos Vodka

Hunter Kissel and Kevin Wilson

Patty Johnson and Melody Masoud

Mallory Quisenberry

Ron Gurgol and Wende Cudmore

Jim Oxyer and Ken Baker

Andrew and Nelle Spendlove

Susan Bennett and Dr. Donald Bennett

Deanna Poelsma and Becca Otis

Candace Weber and Emily O’Dell

Gina Del Negro and Sophia

Ken Clay and Carolle Jones-Clay

Dawn Cherry and Anastasia Austen

December 8, 2023

PERSPECTIVES GROUP SHOW

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Photos by Kathryn Harrington

he Moremen Gallery hosted the opening of the Perspectives 2023 group art show. The show consists of works by over 30 Black Artists from the Louisville and surrounding region.

The show includes established and emerging artists with a wide range of styles and media.

Perspectives will be on view through January 2024.

Dr. Jabani Bennett, Jameson Bennett and Meagan Turner

Ton’nea Green

Shauntrice Martin

Mary Welsh and Christina Howard

Sandra Charles

Kenyatta Bosman

Tomisha Lovely Allen and Ton’nea Green

Cedric Michael Cox

Dafri

Eugene Thomas

Licia Priest

Wilma Johnson Bethel

Darryl Tucker

Gregory Chaney and Larry Muhammad

Kenyatta Bosman and Licia Priest

Thank you to our sponsors for your continued support: Aesthetics in Jewelry American Red Cross Barry Wooley Baptist Health Milestone Wellness Center Bittners Bluegrass Motorsports Dolfinger’s Details Frazier History Museum Heitzman Traditional and Deli Highlands Funeral Home Kentucky Select Properties Laura Rice Liquor Barn LouCity Louisville Zoo Private Flite Racing Louisville Sassy Fox Susan’s Florist The Forum at Brookside Volare

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JANUARY 2024

VOICE-TRIBUNE

VOL. · 44 NO. 17