2015 Chamber Magazine

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Your Community.

Your College.

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individual lives touched since 1987

How many do you know? owensboro.kctcs.edu

KENTUCKY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM OCTC is an equal opportunity employer and educational institution.

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The Greater Owensboro Magazine is a publication of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce with advertising and editorial produced by the Messenger-Inquirer.

Advertising Faye Murry

Advertising Director

Krystal Caudill Tyler Edge Holly Hayden Angela Mayes Lynn Saffran Niki Riley Shelly Westendorf

Messenger-Inquirer Advertising Staff

Editorial Beth Noffsinger

Special Publications Editor

Jenny Sevcik

Photography Editor

Greg Eans Shaun Conklin Photographers

John Shelton Graphic Designer

Joy Campbell Keith Lawrence Jim Mayse Angela Oliver Stephanie Salmons Rich Suwanski Steve Vied Don Wilkins

Making

Owensboro Greater!

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elcome to Owensboro! The best small city you’ll find – named an All-American City in 2013!

We have continued making Owensboro Greater throughout the past year, and we can’t wait to see all that is in store for 2015! Here are just a few of the great things happening in our All-American City: • The brand new Owensboro Convention Center that will soon have two brand new hotels standing on each side.

• Downtown businesses thriving, growing and expanding as well as more citizens taking up residence in our downtown.

• A new hospital focused on patient care and top 2% in the nation in quality.

• Employers hiring and expanding their businesses throughout the Greater Owensboro region.

• New roads being constructed to get more people and products in and out of our community.

• Education at the forefront of all our minds, with exemplary secondary schools and colleges with diverse programs to advance our skills and workforce development.

It’s an amazing time to be a part of this community. We hope you’ll find the stories in this annual publication inspiring and a way for you to experience a small bit of all the activity in our community that we are so proud to call our own. We are honored to share it with you.

Reporters

Greater Owensboro U.S.A. is published annually by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce P.O. Box 825 Owensboro, KY 42302 This edition was produced by the Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro’s daily newspaper. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from the Messenger-Inquirer. printed by

Greenwell-Chisholm Printing Co.

Welcome to Owensboro – enjoy the time, talent and treasures of our Community!

Sincerely,

Kirk Kirkpatrick Interim Leader Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of Commerce Staff Kirk Kirkpatrick, Interim Leader Susan High, Accounting Manager Jessica Kirk, Executive Assistant

Events Coordinator Jim DeMaio, Vice President

Membership Development

Mark Martin, Vice President, Rates & Regulatory Affairs for Atmos Energy 2015 Board Chairman Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce

270-926-1860 • owensboro.com

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There’s no place like

Owensboro

at a glance . . . .

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Healthy Living Locally Grown Path to Health Senior Volunteers

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Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs Welding entrepreneurs Boosting small business Young leaders give back

Nonprofit Focus

Campus of support Helping those who help

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Living Here

Business and Industry

Drawing young professionals Building homes

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Beyond agriculture Expanding spirits 50-year vision

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Playing Here

Agencies showcase community High Flying Retail hot spots Events impact tourism Recreation menu

Learning Here

Local districts WKU – Owensboro Brescia Kentucky Wesleyan OCTC Nontraditional Students

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Owensboro

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by the numbers.

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wensboro O

at a glance

98,218 Population of Daviess County

58,416

Population of Owensboro

5%

Unemployment rate, compared to 5.9% nationwide

$47,252

Median household income

$112,400 Median home price

6.3%

Owensboro MSA gross domestic product rose from 2012 to 2013

44%

of the U.S. population is within 600 miles of Owensboro Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Annual Estimates, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates Lane Report Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs

astlen C elding W Young couple’s vision became entrepreneurial enterprise

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hough Matt Castlen graduated from Owensboro Community & Technical College with a welding degree, the then-21-year-old’s plan was to be a farmer.

He had grown up on a family farm, after all.

But after graduating from school, he and another welder were doing welding projects in a garage on the Maceo farm owned by Castlen and his wife, Laura.

“We started welding in the evenings,” Castlen said.

“One thing led to another, and (my wife and I) decided it would be in our best interest to start our own business and go from there. And it has. It’s snowballed since that started.”

The young entrepreneurs’ business has grown since the couple first started Castlen Welding & Fabrication more than seven years ago. When the company started, Castlen found a niche in doing welding projects for agriculture jobs.

He said in an early 2014 interview that there was always a shortage of somebody who wanted to do mechanical contracting for agriculture.

“Everybody focused more toward industrial and those kind of things, and there was just kind of an opening geared more toward the ag,” he said at the time, “so we just took advantage of that opportunity and grew it.”

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Since its start, Castlen Welding has grown to include agricultural and industrial welding and fabrication, commercial tank services, grain handling and steel sales and cutting service. The company builds commercial fertilizer facilities for storing liquid and dry fertilizer.

The company also builds some of its own conveying systems.

Castlen Welding outgrew its initial home on the farm, even after the garage was expanded twice. So Castlen built a facility in 2012 on Iceland Road in Maceo that could handle the larger projects the company was getting.

But just two years later, the company had again outgrown its home. In September 2014, Castlen Welding purchased the former Green River Steel property – a 91.5acre tract on U.S. 60 East – from the Owensboro Riverport Authority.

The property has access to both the railroad and Ohio River. The expansion will allow Castlen Welding to do bigger fabrication, have storage and do its grain facility work at the former steel mill site while maintaining its steel sales and retail operation, smaller fabrication and repair welding at the Maceo locale.

“We purchased Green River Steel ... to have more room for expansion,” Castlen said. “We were just kind of out of room here and were looking for something in the

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Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs

local area that would be close to the operation now. It was just a perfect fit. There is a lot of potential with that property having rail, river and highway.

It’s got natural gas and electricity, so the opportunities were endless.”

“It’s a place we’ll never grow out of, hopefully,” Jeremy Bennett, Castlen Welding’s general manager, added.

Rod Kuegel, chairman of the riverport’s board of directors, worked on the agency’s sale of the Green River Steel property. He called Castlen a “quality individual inside and outside of his business operation.”

“It’s been a pleasure to work with him because whatever he tells you is gospel,” Kuegel said, “and you can count on it.”

When the riverport authority purchased the Green River Steel property, the board considered developing a port on the east side of Owensboro.

When that wasn’t feasible, Kuegel said, the riverport decided to clean it up and make it a piece of commercial real estate.

He called keeping the former steel mill property in local hands a win-win for Owensboro and for the riverport.

The expansions at Castlen Welding have also led to job growth at the business. When Bennett joined Castlen Welding about two years ago, he was the business’s ninth employee.

The company employed about 24 full-time workers as of October 2014 – up from 17 at the beginning of that year.

Bennett first met Castlen when the entrepreneur was his customer at Fastenal.

“I was able to see all his growth,” Bennett said, “from him and one or two guys doing repairs out of his old shop to what it is now. It’s amazing how fast it’s grown.”

Castlen Welding works primarily in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee with some jobs in Ohio. Most of its clients and customers are within two or three hours of Owensboro.

Kuegel said Owensboro is fortunate to have Castlen, calling him the next Mike Horn, who founded Titan Fabrication.

Castlen “has the same ability and the same hustle and the same intelligence,” Kuegel said.

When it comes to his company’s success, Castlen first credits God for having faith in what the company is

Matt Castlen, owner of Castlen Welding & Fabrication, center, Jeremy Bennett, general manager of Castlen Welding, right, and John McBride, project manager at the former Green River Steel facility of Castlen Welding, stand together in a warehouse at the former steel facility on U.S. 60 East on Oct. 7. Castlen Welding & Fabrication purchased the 91.5–acre tract in September 2014 from the Owensboro Riverport Authority.

doing and trusting what God is doing for them.

“And second would be hard work,” he said. “Our goal is to put together an A-team with all our employees. …

Their dedication to the company allows us to take on the work and know

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we have a task force that can handle it. Being kind of specialized in the things that we do, it’s not the ordinary market that I guess that we tend to.”

Not being scared to take on something new has also led to Castlen Welding’s success, Bennett added.

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“I think that’s what helped us get into other divisions and specialize in other divisions,” he said, “because we haven’t been scared to take on projects.”

Both Castlen and Bennett said the company would like to grow jobs in the area, with Castlen saying he wants to keep serving their customers and striving to be an honest company with integrity.

“I’m on the economic development board here in Owensboro, and that’s one of my main goals is to help the economy of Owensboro and see job growth to help our community,” Castlen said.

Castlen also gives back to the community, such as giving tours of Castlen Welding to the state extension service or with a men’s group at his church.

In early 2014, he and several area men went to Haiti to dig water wells and build a church under the guidance of local missionaries David and Judy Heady. Castlen called it a lifechanging experience.

He said he would love to be able to give advice to younger people, including telling them that, no matter their dream in life, to be the best at

This warehouse sits on the 91.5–acre tract on U.S. 60 East that was purchased in September 2014 by Castlen Welding and Fabrication.

what they can do.

“God made everybody different in this world for a reason. ... I tell everybody to do the best at what they can do, and they’ll become successful,” Castlen said. “You know success is not measured in money. It’s measured in integrity and quality. I think as a whole, we try to do different things with the community.”

It’s also good for younger people to see Castlen, Bennett said.

“These younger guys coming in to see what he’s done in such a small amount of time, that’s a good motivator for younger guys and gals doing what they’re doing,” he said.

When Castlen Welding started, the Castlens didn’t have the goal of being entrepreneurs.

“Our goal was just to keep our customers happy,” Castlen said, “and that’s kind of what’s led to the growth.”

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Starting up Centre for Business and Research helping small businesses grow B y

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hen Alisha Hardison started her bakery, Dalisha’s Desserts, from her home, it gave her the space to make specialty cakes for weddings and birthdays.

That kitchen, however, didn’t give her room to grow her business.

A 2009 competition sponsored by the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. allowed Hardison to expand her business – and even add some part-time employees.

Dalisha’s Desserts won the EDC’s Emerging Ventures Challenge, which awarded a $15,000 investment in Dalisha’s Desserts and a six-month free lease in the Centre for Business and Research, a business accelerator at Ninth and Allen streets.

The Centre for Business and Research opened in 2010, and Dalisha’s Desserts relocated to the center in May 2013.

Without winning the challenge, Hardison, a certified pastry chef, said, “I’m sure I wouldn’t be anywhere. I needed the seed money to be able to move from my home into another space.

Being in this location helped me grow the location in and of itself.”

Hardison, who studied at Sullivan University in Louisville, has expanded her offerings beyond specialty cakes, offering a wide variety of desserts. She also serves lunch and now has three parttime employees – all things she would not have been able to do if she were still working from her home.

The Centre for Business and Research is designed to help entrepreneurs such as Hardison grow their businesses. The ultimate goal of the Centre for Business and Research, EDC officials say, is for businesses to grow enough that they have to move out of

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the business accelerator, making room for a new entrepreneur to launch his or her business.

“It really was created to be a support system for a budding entrepreneurial ecosystem in the greater Owensboro area,” said Madison Silvert, president and CEO of the EDC. The center is an outgrowth of Owensboro’s Emerging Ventures Suite in the Commerce Center on Third Street. That facility allows budding entrepreneurs access to integrated business services.

“There, we helped people with ideas for businesses – a place to start up,” Silvert said. “It may be one person with a laptop and an idea. As ideas became closer to commercialization, (businesses) needed a place to do it in.”

The Centre for Business and Research is housed in a 91-yearold former tobacco warehouse. The building is owned by Malcolm Bryant, and the city of Owensboro funds much of the center.

The 47,000-square-foot facility has both lab and office space, and several of the tenants are using the labs for research. The city of Owensboro provides most of the operating funds for the Centre for Business and Research, with the tenants paying a small rent to help with costs. Daviess Fiscal Court provided some coal severance dollars to help purchase some of the lab equipment.

“The goal is to keep costs low so that they can commercialize faster,” Silvert said, “and without having to do as many rounds of funding with investors.”

In the fall of 2014, there were about 14 companies operating out of the Centre for Business and Research, with tenants ranging from a graphic design business to pharmaceutical testing.

At the time, there were between 25 and 30 people working at

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A cake based on the cartoon “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” is on display at Dalisha’s Desserts.

the various businesses, Silvert said.

“It’s growing on the science side, and we knew that that would be kind of the slow build, I think,” he said. “But we’ve just added two new tenants there that are both in the science field. That side seems to be the side that is really growing right now.

I can tell you some of – at least some of the research – that went on with the Ebola treatment happened there. That’s kind of an exciting part of its history. There’s some other interesting research going on there.”

ZMapp, an Ebola-fighting compound, was being produced in fall 2014 at Kentucky BioProcessing’s AirPark Drive facility.

A Western Kentucky University molecular plant biologist is one of the researchers working out of the Centre for Business and Research and was able to validate some of Kentucky BioProcessing’s research, Silvert said.

Other activities going on at the Centre for Business and Research include work on a basil plant that expresses an antibreast cancer property.

“A lot of good research is going on there,” Silvert said.

Hollison LLC, a food safety startup, was the first company to open its office in the Centre for Business and Research. Hollison is developing technology that allows manufacturers to sample dry food for contamination, said Bo Barron, vice president of communication and collaboration for Hollison.

“We started out at a garage and ended up being the first tenants for the Centre for Business and Research,” Barron said.

Hollison provides technology to manufacturers so that they can get meaningful,

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Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs Alisha Hardison, owner of Dalisha’s Desserts, prepares a grooms cake at her bakery in The Centre for Business and Research.

Above right: Madison Silvert, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp., stands inside the Centre for Business and Research. The facility opened in 2010.

Below: Kevin Humphrey, president of Hollison LLC, a food safety solutions company, demonstrates a machine the company has created that produces a liquid sample of the air from dry particulate food pieces for the purpose of testing for food safety, in March 2014 in Hollison’s quality control and final assembly workspace at the Centre for Business and Research. Humphrey filed a patent for the process in 2006, but didn’t know how to get the concept to market and turn it into a business.

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dry samples of food to test. The companies have their own testing mechanisms in place, but Hollison provides better sampling protocols.

Take a cereal being produced, for example. As the cereal is in a huge bin going down a conveyor, the manufacturer will take a certain number of test samples, Barron said. Using these “grab” samples under current practices, if the sample comes back clean, the company will assume the entire product is clean.

If the sample comes back dirty, the product will be quarantined or reconditioned. The problem with that, Barron said, is that with dry food, the contamination will be localized.

Hollison’s technology extracts air from the product stream as the product is falling from the conveyor and into bags, Barron said. If there’s contamination, it will break off and Hollison’s technology can capture that and put it into a liquid solution to test – allowing 100 To learn percent of the product to be tested.

Hollison installs its equipment, more about which looks like a dorm refrigerator, in the Centre for food manufacturing plants. The company has clients around the country.

Business and The company had just one emResearch, 1010 ployee when it started and has since grown to six. Barron said he envisions Allen St., call the company needing more employ270-663-1239. ees as it continues to grow – positions ranging from executives and engineers to lab technicians and salespeople.

Eventually, Barron said, Hollison should grow out of the Centre for Business and Research.

“We’re trying to make that (happen) as soon as possible because that means we’re growing,” he said. “This space has certainly met our needs at this point.”

The Centre for Business and Research has been important for Hollison’s development, Barron said, because, as a startup, it has had access to lab space that it wouldn’t have had without being in a business incubator.

“It allowed us to do things we would have needed to raise a ton of money to do,” he said. “It’s shortened our timeline to get to a place where we had a product that was ready to sell. ... There is no way we could be doing what we’re doing right now if this place didn’t exist.”

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AVP/Commercial Lender er

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Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs

Guiding theway Young leaders find their place in work, community service B y

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wensboro rests on the cusp of change in many ways, and young professionals say they’re ready to lead that

change.

“There’s a sense, across the population, that good things are happening here, that it’s progressive,” said Joe Berry, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp.

Berry, a sixth-generation Owensboroan, said though he moved away to attend Transylvania University in Lexington, he wanted to start his career in his hometown.

“There’s an opportunity to make your mark in Owensboro a lot earlier,” the 31-year-old said. “I think there are a lot of young professionals here who are hungry and focused and recognize that.”

Dr. Elizabeth Mauzy Martin said working here was always her plan, as well. The Kentucky Wesleyan College and Indiana University grad became an optometrist at RiverPark EyeCare in July 2012.

“I wanted to come back to work around and serve the people I knew and grew up with,” she said.

Martin, 28, is active in the Junior League of Owensboro and the alumni committee of KWC’s All American Club.

She is also a graduate of EMERGE Owensboro, and she’s in Connecting Young Leaders of Owensboro (CYLO), a subgroup of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce that links professionals ages 40 and younger.

Many of her friends have moved to other cities, she said.

“We tend to lose a lot of my age

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Left to right, Robert Whitaker with First Security Bank, Rick Searcy, executive director of the H. L. Neblett community Center, and Kyle Aud with Independence Bank, stand outside of the Trinity Centre on West Fifth Street.

group to bigger cities, but they’re slowly trickling back because Owensboro has so much more to offer now with jobs, downtown, entertainment,” she said. “Young people will have a lot of influence over the direction the city is going.”

While many contest that Owensboro isn’t a young person’s city, Rick Searcy, who graduated from EMERGE Owensboro with Berry, said the city is rich with attractions.

“College brought me here, opportunity kept me here,” said Searcy, a Cleveland native, professed Army brat and KWC alum.

For Searcy, 35, such opportunities include a Housing Authority board seat and presiding over a local Masonic lodge.

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As the executive director of the H.L. Neblett Community Center, education is also a key part of his plans for Owensboro. Its daycare, afterschool and recreation programs serve youths ages 6 weeks to high school seniors.

“Our kids will go to college if the expectation is there,” Searcy said. “So we have to start early, giving them the tools, making sure education is something they prioritize. A lot of our kids come from a cycle of poverty, but education is a way to break the cycle.”

Kyle Aud, commercial loan officer at Independence Bank, agreed that supporting higher education is one step a city can take to improve.

The WKU grad is the BOLD (Bring On Learning and Development) Promise Scholarship committee co-chairman.

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Martin is also on the committee. The scholarship, launched by Daviess County JudgeExecutive Al Mattingly, is for residents who are not enrolled at a postsecondary institute but need Joe 12 or fewer credit hours Berry to finish their associate or bachelor’s degree or technical certificate.

Aud, 34, is also the president of the Cliff Hagan Boys and Girls Club board and was one of three locals chosen for the 2014 class of LeaderElizabeth ship Kentucky.

Mauzy “I got a lot of great Martin ideas and connections from the experience, and I’m ready to bring them back to Owensboro to see how they can help,” he said.

Aside from education, health is a chief factor in the longevity of Owensboro and Daviess County, said Robert Whitaker, a commercial loan officer at First Security Bank.

The Greater Owensboro in 2065 Summit in July 2014 opened his eyes to that.

At the summit, locals joined education, energy, transportation or health teams that will meet on their own for 10 months then reconvene in May 2015 to address their top priorities for the future of Owensboro-Daviess County.

Whitaker, the 39-year-old father of Lucy, 5 and Mark, 2, joined the health team.

“That’s who I’m thinking about when I think about Owensboro’s future,” he said. “I want it to be the best not just for them, but for everyone who lives here.

A healthier lifestyle starts with many things.”

Backpack programs, for instance, are a good way to promote healthy lifestyles among children who don’t have healthy foods to eat on the weekends.

Many churches and nonprofit organizations provide such programs.

“That’s another thing I love about Owensboro,” said Whitaker, a member of the Settle Memorial United Methodist Church’s pre-school board and president of the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro board. “I think a lot of young people come here to get involved in volunteer work.”

“There’s no shortage of opportunity to serve,” Aud said.

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Business and Industry

Diverse peration Owensboro Grain going beyond traditional agriculture B y

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owntown Owensboro has its iconic fixtures — the century-old buildings, the Blue Bridge and the refurbished riverfront.

At the downtown’s eastern edge sits another landmark — Owensboro Grain Company — that was established in 1906 by Henry E. O’Bryan.

And it’s by no accident that O’Bryan’s great-grandson, John Wright, has a clear view from his Second Street office window of what his family has built over the past 108 years on the banks of the Ohio River.

“If you can’t look out the window and see what you own and operate, you have a problem,” said Wright, who is the company’s executive vice president.

Wright, a fourth-generation family member at the agribusiness, has nurtured that philosophy into a 21st century enterprise, which now goes beyond traditional agriculture.

Along with employing 170 workers, the company relies on automated technology to provide the most efficient productivity. Automation has allowed the company to increase its soybean crushing capacity to 4,000 tons per day, equating to 40 million bushels per year.

But no longer is Owensboro Grain just about processing soybeans into animal feed and vegetable oil.

In recent years, the company has expanded into the biodiesel fuel and glycerin markets — moves that have made it

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into a global player.

Owensboro Grain still produces soybean meal — 800,000 tons of it annually — and 75 million gallons of soybean oil per year.

But Wright said the company has survived because of its vertical integrations, timely decision-making and its willingness to diversify.

In 2007, Owensboro Grain opened its biodiesel plant to tap into the renewable energy market. Seven years later, the plant pumps out 50 million gallons of biodiesel a year.

Although a glycerin plant was also on Wright’s radar, the company delayed moving forward with it until seeing improvements in the economy.

“Shortly after opening the biodiesel plant, I started evaluating a glycerin refinery,” Wright said. “But then the economic downturn that took place in 2008 sort of scared me and kept me from taking on too much risk. I put things on a holding pattern.”

Eventually, Owensboro Grain moved forward with its glycerin refinery, investing $13 million in the project. Glycerin, which is used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, is a byproduct of the biodiesel process.

Owensboro Grain began producing glycerin in January 2014 at its Ewing Road site, where the biodiesel is also made. A 31⁄2–mile underground pipe is used to pump the soybean oil from the Second Street operation to the Ewing Road refineries.

The company expects to produce 42 million pounds of glycerin per year.

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Business and Industry

“We’re not entering brand new markets,” Wright said. “These are well-established markets. We’re just a new player. People don’t know who we are and with that carries a lot of risk.”

And as a side project, Owensboro Grain has been funding a cancer research project based around the soybean plant.

Wright said the initial testing was being done with the University of Louisville, but the principal investigator has since moved to Indiana University, where the research continues.

“It uses a particular soy protein,” Wright said.

“We’ve been doing this now for five years, and it looks very promising. It has nothing to do with soybean processing or biofuel production, but it just shows how diversified a soybean can be.”

Through the company’s transformation from the industrial age to the digital age, Wright appears confident Owensboro Grain has positioned itself for the future.

He is already looking into “other opportunities” within the glycerin and biofuel markets.

But wherever the future leads Owensboro Grain, Wright remains certain that it will revolve around the soybean. “…The adage from my great-grandfather was that you stick to what you know,” he said.

John Wright, executive vice president of Owensboro Grain Company, describes a pictorial history of the company that is framed in the operation’s downtown business office .

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Roll out the bourbon barrel Barrels are packed in a truck at the Glenmore Distillery on Oct. 9, 2014 with the bulk storage tanks seen the background at the East Fourth Street facility. Plant Manager Chris Stout said Glenmore receives shipments by rail, barge and trucks.

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hanges are brewing for Owensboro distilleries.

It was announced in April 2014 that The Sazerac Company, one of the largest family-owned distilling companies in the country, would invest nearly $71 million at its three Kentucky distilleries, including Owensboro’s Glenmore Distillery.

And a month later, the North Charleston, South Carolina-based Terressentia Corp. closed on the purchase of the historic Charles Medley Distillery and will begin renovations that will bring bourbon production back to Owensboro.

Glenmore Distillery

A new 223,000 – square-foot distribution center will be installed at Glenmore along with a state-of-the-art automated storage and retrieval system and additional equipment. Improvements will be made to existing barrel houses, according to an April 16 press release.

Made to expand capacity to accommodate anticipated growth, these investments will create an anticipated 20 new full-time jobs over the next several years.

“The Glenmore Distillery has one of the largest and most modern bottling facilities in the country,” said Amy Preske, public relations and events manager for Sazerac.

They bottle and ship across the country – and sometimes the world – various spirits, she said.

Distilling operations stopped at the Glenmore facility in 1993, according to Sazerac’s website, but bottling and warehousing continued.

While previous improvements have been on a smaller scale, the current expansion is the largest investment to take place at Glenmore since Sazerac purchased the facility in 2009, Preske said.

Recent improvements have focused on productivity in the processing and tanks,

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Terressentia Corp’s TerrePURE

TerrePURE Kentucky, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Terressentia Corp., is the

Pallets of various cases of liquor are stored in a finished goods warehouse at The Glenmore Distillery and ready for shipment on Oct. 9, 2014.

company’s first foray into distilling.

CEO Earl Hewlette said the company has engaged an investment banking firm to assist it in raising capital for the renovation, “a substantial amount of money.”

They were in the final stages of that process at the end of September 2014.

At that time, Hewlette said the company had just been issued a TTB permit from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and were waiting for a Kentucky alcohol permit.

“I expect that we will shortly begin engineering the renovation, which will take several months, and sometime next year

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– and perhaps sooner – actually begin serious work on renovating the distillery to put it back into operation,” he said.

According to Hewlette, the renovation should take about 18 months to complete, and once it is, they should be able to produce 2 million proof gallons of bourbon and other whiskeys a year.

The TerrePURE process purifies distilled spirits of all types, removing the minor alcohols and byproducts of fermentation that create the burn, bite and bitterness in spirits, Hewlette explained.

An oak barrel, over time, acts like a filter, but the TerrePURE process allows them to “rapidly remove significantly more

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distribution systems and bottling line.

“Due to the growth of the industry, we knew we needed to expand our operations in Kentucky,” Preske said. “We were interested in investing in our employees and infrastructure in Owensboro due to its stable workforce.”

And, Preske said, that’s something The Glenmore Distillery brings to the community, too – a stable and hardworking workforce.

“Because of this, we want to keep investing in the Owensboro community and Daviess County,” she said. “We see great potential for both Owensboro and the (Glenmore Distillery) and see (the distillery) playing a bigger role one day within the community.

“We have discussed the possibility of one day opening the facility for tours similar to our other facilities in Frankfort and Bardstown. We’re excited about the future of (the Glenmore Distillery) and look forward to continuing our partnership with the city of Owensboro and Daviess County.”

Preske said the company anticipates being in the new warehouse in September 2015.

Business and Industry

of those bad things” from very young whiskeys, Hewlette said.

“In a very short period of time, we can take a very young whiskey and make it palatable,” he said.

The process, said Hewlette, allows them to develop their principle business, creating brands for major retailers to sell. They also export bourbon to Europe and Australia for use in creating brands for retail chains there.

Until Medley, Hewlette said they purchased their spirits from others, but the demand for bourbon has reached the point where there’s a limit for supply, which “caused us to look at the possibility of having our own.”

Hewlette said the company had a few choices when looking to expand, but not a lot.

“I don’t think there’s another distillery in Kentucky with the capacity to produce 2 million proof gallons that’s available for purchase,” Hewlette said.

They could have built their own distillery, but it would have been “a lot more expensive” to go through that process, he said.

Acquisition and renovation of the Medley distillery will total around $24 million.

“The availability of this distillery was attractive to us,” said Hewlette. “After six months of due diligence, we were convinced we understood the cost related to renovation.”

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Danny Dame stands in a bourbon warehouse at the historic Charles Medley Distillery that TerrePURE Kentucky Distillers, Inc. plans to restore and reopen. Dame is performing maintenance on the facilities to prepare for the reopening.

The Charles Medley Distillery entrance at 10 Distillery Road in Owensboro.

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esigning estiny

Owensboro Health Regional Hospital’s Pleasant Valley Road Campus opened in June 2013. The technologically advanced hospital is earning national honors for its focus on quality in key health areas. The hospital’s leaders as well as other Owensboro residents are looking ahead to ensure the community continues to make progress in improving the health and well-being of the region’s residents.

Committees are working on a 50-year plan to keep Owensboro growing and improving the quality of life in four major areas – health, education, energy and transportation.

Owensboro in 2065 groups dive into long-range plan

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reating a five-year plan can be daunting. And sometimes when individuals create their own five-year plans, the results are no more than a list of things they want to do.

But four groups of Owensboro-area residents have been meeting monthly with a leader and a discussion guide to create a 50-year plan to help the city and county stay on a forward track for economic development.

Owensboro in 2065 – the name of this 50-year economic development planning process – was launched at a July 17, 2014, summit, which the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. convened.

Following a planning guide, the four groups are analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) they see in education, energy, health and transportation.

It’s a deliberative process – first there is the SWOT analysis, then visioning to identify what they want Owensboro to be in 50 years, and finally the development of goals for each decade.

“It’s challenging, no matter which aspect of it you’re working on,” said Philip Patterson, president and CEO of Owensboro

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Health, who is leading the health and wellness group. “Trying to predict 50 years out is difficult. But really, it’s about where we would like the community to be. Where would we like the health of our community and region to be?”

The health group averaged 40-50 participants at each of its first three sessions.

“We’re saying, let’s step back,” Patterson said. “If you could resolve some or many of the issues, what would the health of our community look like?”

The health group has looked at the health department’s research as well as the community needs assessment that is conducted every three years and other data.

“Our group understands the major limiting factors we see, but that may not be the total picture,” Patterson said. “We’re looking at where committee members see us now and what kind of community we want to see for our children and grandchildren. We’re probably not going to be here in 50 years.”

Patterson has two children, who were ages 6 and 8 in the fall of 2014.

“I think people will mistake the reason I agreed to lead this group and think it’s because I’m president of the health care system,” he said. “It’s that, but more about being a parent.”

He wants his kids to live to be healthy and happy.

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A number of underlying health issues can be tied back to the three major issues of obesity, access to care and substance abuse – which includes smoking and not eating right or exercising, Patterson said.

Cardiac, pulmonary, circulatory and orthopedic issues as well as diabetes are examples of secondary health problems.

Having all of the participants looking at the issues will render good ideas, he said. And having a diverse group also is a plus.

Patterson said the planning gets a boost from Owensboro residents’ approach to the process. “One thing that helps us is that Owensboro is not limited with a ‘we can’t’ attitude. People are not afraid to say, ‘what if,’ and that’s the fun part about it,� Patterson said. “Anytime you give people the opportunity for this type of engagement, the best of people can come out.�

Terry Naulty, general manager for Owensboro Municipal Utilities, is leading the energy group of about 20-25 people. “We’re still in the initial phase of visioning to develop a view of what we want the community to look like in 2065,� Naulty said in mid-October. “Then we’ll back into it with what it will take to support that.�

Planning 50 years out has proven to be “a little more difficult than people initially thought,� Naulty said. “It’s hard to look 50 years in the future. In energy, and other areas, a lot of what we see today wasn’t even a possibility 50 years ago. It’s hard to look into a crystal ball and see what it would be like.�

The education committee has garnered a significant amount of community interest with four different subgroups meeting all at once to develop its 50-year goals. About seven to eight people are in each subgroup.

Jim Klauber, president of Owensboro Community & Techni-

cal College, is leading that committee.

The four subgroups are: early childhood development; community and technical education; changing culture and values; and pathways to baccalaureate.

Suzanne Blazar, vice president – director of personnel and training at First Security Bank, is leading the transportation planning group. Blazar said her group is thinking strategically about not just roads and interstates – but also air, rail and river modes.

Taking this big picture, long range look “is vitally important to the economic development of our community and region,� she said.

Her group will be asking questions such as: “What have we not thought about?� “What will take us to the next level?� “What will be the next transportation mode?� “What’s the end game?�

The nine-month-long process is going well, said Madison Silvert, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro EDC. “It is wonderful to see so many people engaged in the process,� he said. “Interestingly, we see other groups planning in the community, such as the Daviess County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy, planning within the framework of the 2065 planning process with the hopes that their findings can marry up with the plans of the Health in 2065 group.�

Reports will be presented at a gathering of the public in June 2015. EDC and Chamber staff will turn those reports and other feedback into a guiding document and offer the public a chance to provide comments.

The final 50-year plan should be presented no later than August 2015, he said.

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wensboro and Daviess County are home to two public school districts as well as several private schools and institutions of higher

A student walks along the sidewalk near a sculpture by artist Rusty Wallace on the campus of Owensboro Community & Technical College.

Learning Here

learning.

• Owensboro Public Schools serve about 4,665 students in kindergarten through 12th grades, as well as 400 preschool students. The school district includes one preschool, five elementary schools, Owensboro Middle School and Owensboro High School. In 2014, the Gateway Academy opened, replacing Seven Hills Alternative School, and it focuses on career and technical opportunities for its students. www.owensboro.kyschools.us • Daviess County Public Schools serve about 11,008 students in grades K-12 as well as 647 preschool students. The school district includes 12 elementary schools; Burns, College View and Daviess County middle schools; and Daviess County and Apollo high schools. It also operates Beacon Central High School, an alternative school. Each elementary school houses a preschool program. www.daviesskyschools.org • Owensboro Catholic Schools serve about 1,328 students. It operates two elementary schools, OCS’ K-3 Campus and OCS’ 4-6 Campus; Owensboro Middle School and Owensboro Catholic High School. www.owensborocatholic.org Several private schools also serve the Owensboro-Daviess County community: • Majesty Academy, preschool-12th grades, www.majestyacademy.com • Heritage Christian School, pre-schooleighth grades, www.hbcowensboro.org/ ministries/heritage-christian-school • Maximilian Montessori Academy, preschool-12th grades, www.max-academy.org/home.htm • Mary Carrico Memorial School, kindergarten-eighth grades, marycarrico.wordpress.com • St. Mary of the Woods, kindergarteneighth grades, www.stmarywoods.com • Trinity High School, ninth-12th grades, www.trinityhs.com Higher education institutions include: Brescia University, Daymar College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro Community & Technical College and Western Kentucky University – Owensboro.

Seated: Jennifer Walker-Crawford; Warsaw, Indiana; Business Administration ● Luis Becerra; Seville, Spain; Chemistry ● Middle Row: Chris Carr; Anniston, Alabama; Biology ● Rachel Keeley; Owensboro, Kentucky; Elementary Education ● Elissa Starheim; Owensboro, Kentucky; Biology ● President Barton D. Darrell ’84; Business Administration ● Logan O’Bryan; Owensboro, Kentucky; Criminal Justice, Criminology and Law ● Wei “Blair” Hu; Wuhu, China; Business Administration ● Neha Vora; Owensboro, Kentucky; Biology ● On Stairs: Seth Burnette; Union County, Kentucky; Health Sciences ● Matthew Reyer; Lester, Alabama; Mathematics ● Nix Crawford; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Middle Grades Education

The Wesleyan Way We believe “doers” change the world, and we encourage our students to “do.”

We believe a strong spiritual foundation is the compass for greatness.

We believe the unity of co-curricular passions and academic pursuits molds the person.

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We believe high character, integrity, love and competition with honor are the cornerstones of a rewarding life.

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1-800-999-0592 kwc.edu

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WKU-Owensboro first began offering classes in the city in 1969, opening its first campus in the city in 1980. Its current location opened in 2010.

Learning Here

More than 40 full- and part-time faculty teach more than 200 classes at WKU-Owensboro each year, according to the university’s website. The school is dedicated to helping residents extend their associate degrees and earn a four-year degree, the website states.

WKU-Owensboro 4821 New Hartford Road Established: First held classes in 1969, with first campus opening in 1980 Enrollment: 711 Number of Majors: More than 45 degree options (undergraduate and graduate) School’s mascot: Big Red owensboro@wku.edu or 270-684-9797 wku.edu/owensboro

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Learning Here

Brescia University was founded by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, according to the university’s website.

The Catholic liberal arts college has its roots in the Mount Saint Joseph Junior College for Women, founded at Maple Mount in 1925.

For 25 years, the school also offered co-ed classes in Owensboro, the website says, and in 1949, the two campuses were consolidated at 717 Frederica St., where Brescia is still located.

Brescia University 717 Frederica St. Established: 1950 Enrollment: 1,040 Number of Majors: 43 bachelor degrees Mascot: Bearcat; Barney the Bearcat is the official mascot.

Number of sports teams: Seven men’s teams and eight women’s teams in nine sports. admissions@brescia.edu or 1-877-BRESCIA www.brescia.edu

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Kentucky Wesleyan College has been in Owensboro for 64 years, but the school was founded more than 150 years ago.

The Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, voted in 1858 to found a college in Millersburg, and classes began in 1866, after the end of the Civil War, according to KWC’s website.

The liberal arts college moved to Winchester in 1890 before moving to Owensboro in 1951 after the city offered to raise $1 million for the school if KWC moved to the city, the website states.

The school first operated out of temporary accommodations near downtown, the website says. The permanent campus was laid out on a farm purchased south of the city, and the new campus opened in 1954.

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Kentucky Wesleyan College 3000 Frederica St. Established: 1858 Moved to Owensboro: 1951 Enrollment: 709 Number of Majors: 30 majors and 12 pre-professional programs The school’s mascot: Panther Number of sports teams: 17 (800) 999-0592 www.kwc.edu G r e a t e r

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Owensboro Community & Technical College serves students in Owensboro, Daviess County and surrounding communities in Kentucky and Indiana, according to its website.

OCTC is part of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. It has three campuses in Owensboro and one in Lewisport.

Owensboro Community & Technical College 4800 New Hartford Road Established: 1986 Enrollment: 4,297 Number of degrees and certificates available: 40 programs with 28 associate degree options, 17 diploma options and more than 34 certificate offerings. Some programs have multiple certificate options available.

270-686-4400 Owensboro.kctcs.edu Learning Here

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Learning Here

Tanya James sits in her classroom at the Audubon Area Community Center.

She is a grandmother and an employee at the H. L. Neblett Community Center and is working to get a child development associate degree.

Non-traditional students pursue college for step up B y

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anya James said she’s always had a heart for children.

“I guess it came from my mama,” she said. “She always said adults have to care for children. We have to teach them. If we want them to grow up and be productive citizens, we have to show them how.”

James, an Owensboro native, is a mother of three daughters, grandmother of 12 and a great-grandmother of four.

Between caring for her family, being active at Fourth Street Baptist Church and working at the H.L. Neblett Community Center, James said she makes studying a priority.

“It can be overwhelming, but I just have to sit back and think, I’m doing this to better myself,” she said.

James expects to complete the last 60 credit hours of her Childcare Development Associate program at Owensboro Community & Technical College in February 2015. The CDA credential will give her a boost if she seeks a position at public

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and private preschools or Early Start and Head Start programs, among other types of child care facilities.

Years ago, James worked at West End Daycare. A few years after that, she worked in a different field in Evansville, though two of her grandchildren’s needs pushed her to get back into child care.

The twin boys were born prematurely and required breathing treatments and the use of other medical devices.

“They needed more attention,” she said. “No daycare would take them, so I quit my job and decided to do something about it to make sure they would be taken care of.”

After getting the proper license, James operated a daycare for children, ages 1 to 6, in her home for 15 years.

“It was hectic, but I love children,” she said.

The CDA program includes a class on campus once a week and online classes. Getting used to college was an adjustment, James said.

“I haven’t been to school in 40 years,” the 58-year-old

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270-686-8896

wku.edu/owensboro

www.owensborocatholic.org

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I want to earn a degree close to home.

Learning Here

said, “so using computers was difficult at first, but when I get stuck, my grandkids know how to help me.”

She’s been the head teacher for the 1-year-old classes at the Neblett Center for nearly a year now. It’s fun, she said, because she knows many of the children’s parents and grandparents, so they “feel like family.”

About 15 Neblett Center employees are in the CDA program together.

The center began a tuition assistance partnership with OCTC about four years ago.

“We’ve really been pushing the program this year,” said Rick Searcy, executive director of the Neblett Center.

“We take any opportunity to strengthen our employees and help them move up, even if that means they branch out from here.”

Searcy and Carltez Hampton, the assistant daycare director at the Neblett Center, said James is a valuable part of the center’s team.

“She’s an asset, and she’s always willing to help with anything you ask her to do,” Hampton said.

“The parents love her, the kids love her, and she’s always in good spirits,” Searcy said. “Wish we had a hundred of her.”

Like James, Andrae Gilbert said readjusting to the classroom took a bit of work.

“English, math, all of that — if you’re not studying those things on a daily basis, you’ll lose them,” he said.

The 36-year-old was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, but moved to Owensboro, his mother’s hometown, at age 16.

High school here was a culture shock, he said. He wasn’t used to being in the minority.

“But I’ve always been a people person, so I can adapt to any situation and get along with everyone,” he said.

After high school, Gilbert found a job at a plant in Hawesville and only intended to work there long enough to pay off his car, then start college. A few months into the job, though, he began dating a woman who later became his wife.

“I was 21 when our daughter was born, and (my wife) already had a daughter when we met, so I stayed at the plant to provide for my family,” he said. “I wanted to take care of them.”

The couple had another daughter, but their marriage ended after six years.

Gilbert realized, he said, that going to college would also help him provide.

“Looking back, I always knew I

For more than 40 years, WKU Owensboro has been dedicated to providing access to higher education and improving the quality of life in the communities that we serve.

WKU Owensboro offers 20 bachelor’s degrees, 25 master’s degrees and 18 certificate programs. C Courses are offered in a variety of flexible del delivery options including face-toface, interact interactive video services, on demand and online.

WKU Community College Transfer Scholarship Deadlines April 1st (fall admission) and November 1st (spring admission) Con Contact us today for an academic or career advising session! care

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Owensboro

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Learning Here

Gilbert is scheduled to graduate in December 2015 with five associate degrees within the engineering and electrical technology field of study. After that, he plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in technology management. should go to college. I knew I deserved it. I wanted it,� he said. “I just had no clue what I wanted to study.�

After leaving the plant, Gilbert worked temp jobs until June 2012, when he enrolled at OCTC. “I can remember being 6 years old and taking apart a socket,� he said. “I got in trouble for it, but I’ve always wanted to know how things work, take things apart and put them together, just to see if I could.�

Gilbert is scheduled to graduate in December 2015 with five associate degrees within the engineering and electrical technology field of study. After that, he plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in technology management from Western Kentucky University.

Initially, he said, the college classroom was intimidating because he was often the oldest student — and sometimes the same age or older than his professors. “I was OK after the first semester,

though,� he said.

When Gilbert isn’t working full-time as a shift manager at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, he’s likely studying at Starbucks and thinking about his ideal career, which would involve traveling for various projects. He’d also like to see more minority students study engineering and technology, he said.

And he encourages his three teen daughters to stay focused on higher education. “I talk to them about college all the time because those four years of high school will go by quick,� he said. “It’s not enough to have a high school diploma anymore, so I try to make sure they keep their wheels turning.�

Daviess County Public Schools Kentucky District of Distinction 1622 Southeastern Parkway P.O. Box 21510 Owensboro KY 42304-1510 Visit us online: www.dcps.org

For information about DCPS: (270) 852-7000 or contact@dcps.org

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continued to grow, with vendors selling healthy produce and other locallyraised items from the parking lot of Owensboro Christian Church as well as other satellite locations.

The Owensboro area also offers opportunities for residents to give

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back through volunteering, another activity that can help people stay healthy.

People looking to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle can find many ways to do so in Owensboro and Daviess County.

www.owensboro.kyschools.us

450 Griffith Ave., Owensboro, KY 42301 (270) 686-1000 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

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Healthy Living

here are many opportunities for residents to pursue a healthier lifestyle in Owensboro and Daviess County.

The city and county both have extensive parks systems, and many of those parks feature walking trails.

These trails include the 15-mile long David C. Adkisson Greenbelt Park, which links many neighborhoods and parks along its route.

Local runners, walkers and cyclists can often be found using these paths as well as the wooded Rudy Mines Trails at Ben Hawes Park in western Daviess County.

Owensboro Health Regional Hospital opened its new, state-of-the-art campus in eastern Daviess County in 2013. In 2014, it began participating in the Owensboro Regional Farmers Market by offering Harvest Days on Tuesday afternoons during the summer.

And the local farmers market has

Living

35

Bushel baskets of vegetables are on display at Cecil Farms’ vendor booth during the Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market in the parking lot at Owensboro Christian Church.

Healthy Living

H me Grown Farmers Market operates about six months of the year B y

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S

ally Nash, like many residents who were born and raised on farms, has worked a vegetable garden for much of her life. She and her husband used to raise enough produce so that they would have some items to can and freeze.

But that garden became a source of income for the family more than a decade ago. After their tobacco quota was reduced, Nash thought she could sell some of her produce for extra income.

And what started as a way to have a little more spending money has turned into a full-time job from April to October. Nash Produce is one of the vendors who participates in the Owensboro Regional Farmers Market.

When Nash, whose farm is near Pleasant Ridge, first started selling at the farmers market, she said she realized the produce she was bringing “wasn’t a drop in the bucket of what I could do.”

“We’ve gotten a little bigger each year,” she said. “We now have a little over 10 acres dedicated to produce. ... We pretty much grow everything.”

The Owensboro Regional Farmers Market has grown over the past decade, providing residents with plenty of vendors and the chance to shop locally.

Its main home over the past several years has been the parking lot of Owensboro Christian Church at 2818 Old Hartford Road. The farmers market starts meeting there on Saturday mornings in April, where vendors first sell flowers and bedding

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plants before the early spring produce begins to come in.

From June until the end of October, the farmers market is open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at Owensboro Christian Church. In 2014, it had satellite locations during the week at New Life Church at 400 Crabtree Ave., Nona’s Downtown Market at 126 E. Second St. and Owensboro Health Regional Hospital at 1201 Pleasant Valley Road.

Suzanne Cecil White, president of the farmers market and a vendor with Cecil Farms Produce, said there was a great response to the 2014 farmers market.

“Looking back over the season, I felt really good about the farmers market,” she said. “I think all the vendors would agree it was a successful season.”

The farmers market board will meet during the winter to discuss its satellite locales.

“I definitely believe we’ll be working with the hospital with their Harvest Market again,” White said. “We’ll definitely be at Owensboro Christian. The rest we’ll have to discuss.”

White called the growth of the farmers market exciting and a lot of fun.

Owensboro Health Regional Hospital’s Harvest Market launched in June 2014, meeting on Tuesday afternoons through the first Tuesday in September.

The market featured farmers market vendors as well as educational programming on healthy eating and exercise demonstrations, among other activities.

There was also live music.

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Patterson said.

“With the mission statement, it’s not just to heal the sick,” he said.

“That’s the first part of it; the second phrase within it is to improve the health of the communities we serve.”

Owensboro Health integrated health and wellness education into the Harvest Market. It also hosted programming on how to be a master gardener as well as having the Owensboro Police Department’s D.A.R.E car on scene so officers could talk to children about the importance of staying away from drugs.

Harvest Days also featured healthy snack samples, baby food making demonstrations and discussions on how to get more water into children’s lives.

“For a first-year event, I was very proud of the success we had,” Patterson said, “and the partnerships that we forged, I think was really important. I think we will continue to have (Harvest Market), and we will grow with it and try to figure out new and unique ways to enhance the first year’s success. ...”

The farmers market is also a way

In Owensboro, Look Up with us.

China Newton teaches her grandson Noah Bowman, 6, how to read the hanging scale at the Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market in the parking lot at Owensboro Christian Church, 2818 New Hartford Road. The Newtons were selling a VARIETY of vegetables and flowers.

Healthy Living

Philip Patterson, president and CEO of Owensboro Health, said that when he joined the OH team in 2013, he was asked where he would like to see OH adapt or change as a health system.

Owensboro Health has played a role in the active lives of Owensboro-area residents through such initiatives as the Owensboro Health Healthpark, sponsoring local races and the health system’s Get Movin’ Challenge, a contest that encourages teams of participants to do at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise daily.

“One area I saw where we probably had a hole was in a greater role in providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables to our community with the addition of education,” Patterson said.

Some residents, he said, shy away from fruits and vegetables because they are concerned about the cost, they’ve never been introduced to them or they are concerned that their children won’t accept fresh produce into their diets.

The Harvest Market allows OH to integrate its mission statement into its community service more,

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Healthy Living

for residents to support the local economy, according to several vendors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People need to know where their food comes from,â&#x20AC;? Nash said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If they can get it local, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better. I mean itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fresh. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picked the day before. Go to the supermarket, it may have been there a week or longer. It may have been in cold storage for two weeks before they ever put it on the shelf, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already old or what I consider old. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just not going to taste the same. So freshness is better, and it does help support our local economy. If they spend their money with us, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to in turn spend it here for what we need.â&#x20AC;?

The farmers market also gives people the opportunity to meet their grower, White said. During the farmers market season, vendors will sell products ranging from fresh produce and plants to meats, milk, eggs, homemade goat milk soaps and baked goods. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just fruits and vegetables,â&#x20AC;? White said. There are â&#x20AC;&#x153;so many different things that people produce locally.â&#x20AC;?

Doug Martin began selling produce at the farmers market about eight years ago after being laid off from his job. He lives on a farm, and his father was a soil science professor at N.C. State University, so he had grown up around gardening. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the first things you learn is to plant stuff â&#x20AC;&#x201C; donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just go plant the garden, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it. Plant all the way through July to get stuff to come in right now,â&#x20AC;? Martin said in October 2014.

Among the most popular items each year are tomatoes, corn, watermelons, green beans, okra and squash, which sells well all year long, Martin said.

The farmers market is important, he said, because it gives people access to fresh fruits and vegetables instead

Sally Nash removes fresh corn from the back of a truck to stock a display table during the Owensboro Regional Farmers Market in front of Owensboro Christian Church. Nash and her husband, Earl, run Nash Produce at the market.

of getting produce that was shipped to the state.

There is also a camaraderie among the vendors and the customers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every vendor here has got customers that will just buy from them,â&#x20AC;? Nash said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and that makes you feel real good that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do that. ... There are customers that are loyal to you, and we all enjoy that. (Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve) got to build a customer base, and it takes time to do that.â&#x20AC;?

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Path to health

B e t h

W

N o f f s i n g e r

hen the first phase of the David C. Adkisson Greenbelt Park opened in 1998, it was a 21⁄2-mile path used by walkers, runners, bikers and

skaters.

That inaugural section connected Shifley Park on Bittel Road to the Joe Ford Nature Center at U.S. 60 West.

Then-Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, who attended the dedication, said in 1998 that other cities needed to follow Owensboro’s example with a multi-use path.

“Every progressive community should have a greenbelt for joggers, bikers and skaters,” Henry said, according to the Messenger-Inquirer. “This is a quality of life issue.”

In the nearly two decades since the first leg of the Greenbelt was dedicated, the length of the path has more than quintupled in size. The Greenbelt is now about 15 miles, linking neighborhoods as well as some city and county parks along the way.

It extends from Millers Mill Road on the east side of Daviess County to the Joe Ford Nature Center on the west, with portions of it maintained by the county, though most of it is a city of Owensboro park.

“It’s great for the community,” said Dr. Andrew Thompson, an Owensboro dentist who lives near the Greenbelt. “I feel like it connects a lot of the different neighborhoods, which is nice. I think it’s a great amenity.”

On a given day, stretches of the 10-foot wide Greenbelt are used by walkers, runners and cyclists. Thompson and his family typically access the Greenbelt section that is near Brookhill subdivision near Fairview Drive. Thompson, who ran cross country in high school, continues to use the Greenbelt for running.

Though the Greenbelt is close to neighborhoods, parts of it feel like it’s far from the city because it is surrounded by cornfields, Thompson said.

He and some of his friends run the Greenbelt together several days each week. It’s safe, Thompson said, and they don’t have to worry about traffic. Regular Greenbelt users often see the same faces of fellow exercisers, he added.

“I think Owensboro is a really active community,” Thompson said.

The Greenbelt is in close proximity to much of the Owensboro-Daviess County community because it has some connectors that tie into area neighborhoods, said Amanda Rogers, manager of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

There are plans to expand the Greenbelt. City officials told the Messenger-Inquirer in the fall of From left, Dianne Kirkpatrick, Jeff Hocker and Denise Martin enjoy an after-lunch walk among the changing fall colors along the Adkisson Greenbelt between Fairview Drive and Millers Mill Road.

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Healthy Living

Greenbelt gives walkers, runners and cyclists a place to exercise

B y

Healthy Living

2014 that there are plans to add a section of the former U.S. 60 bypass to the Greenbelt.

City Manager Bill Parrish said previously that he expected to recommend including funding for the expansion in the 2015-16 city budget that will start on July 1.

When the U.S. 60 extension opened in the fall of 2014, the city received a half-mile section of the old bypass from the traffic signal at Kentucky 603 to the new U.S. 60. City officials want to convert the two lanes on the west side to a two-way city street. The two lanes on the east side, which is a bit more than a half a mile, will eventually become part of the Greenbelt, the Messenger-Inquirer reported.

There are also plans to expand the county’s portion of the Greenbelt.

Ross Leigh, director of the county’s parks and recreation department, said the county government plans to use some federal funds to connect Owensboro Health Regional Hospital’s campus on Pleasant Valley Road to Yellow Creek Park on Kentucky 144.

Though that trail will be about 2,300 feet long, it is planned to be the first leg of a 3.75-mile trail that will link the Greenbelt to Yellow Creek Park and the hospital.

Leigh called the Greenbelt a “no-brainer.”

“It’s got very practical applications to link folks between their residence and other necessities. ... It’s got a very practical application to be able to reduce congestion,” he said. “ ... Then you have the health benefit.

Obesity is the No. 1 health epidemic. I would hate to know what the average size of citizens would be if it weren’t for these amenities, these recreational amenities, to be able to get out and ride bikes, be able to walk, get fit and get healthy.”

David Powers, who works at Western Kentucky University-Owensboro, credits the Greenbelt with helping him stay fit. He enjoys biking the Greenbelt.

“There for a long time, most of this summer, I was on it probably every day,” Powers said. “I use maybe a 10-mile stretch of it, I suppose.”

Powers described the Greenbelt as being safe with beautiful scenery and the chance to see wildlife as well as a place to socialize with others using the fitness trail.

“I’m just so happy that Owensboro has it,” Powers said.

Larry Leach of Owensboro enjoys the afternoon with a bike ride along the Greenbelt between Old Hartford Road and Byers Avenue. “I’m out here every day.” Leach said. “ This past week has just been the best weather, ever.”

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Healthy Living

Pay back Seniors Ruth Girtman and Jim Foster give a good portion of their time by volunteering at the Elizabeth Munday activity Center. Girtman works in the gift shop and Foster delivers meals.

Seniors find joy in volunteering B y

A n g e l a

O l i v e r

F

or many, retirement is the gateway to a life of leisure.

For others, though, working every day doesn’t end with retirement.

“You have to keep going,” said Ruth Girtman, 87.

“You have to be doing something, keeping your body stirred up.”

Girtman has frequented the Elizabeth Munday Activity Center since 2005. She and her late husband moved to Owensboro in 1967 as part of his Navy assignment. Now, she volunteers at the center’s gift shop five days a week.

According to the U.S. Census online, 15.2 percent of

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Daviess County’s population is 65 years or older, as of 2012, the latest data year available. That age group is 14 percent of Kentucky’s population and 13.7 percent of the national population, the data states.

There are 35 million Americans ages 65 and older, with ages 85 and older constituting the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, according to the National Institute on Aging. That number is expected to double in the next 25 years.

Higher life expectancy – it reached age 78.8 in 2012, a record high – comes from many factors including environmental influences, medical advances and changing insights about lifestyle, the institute states. And, of course, physical activity.

The Elizabeth Munday Activity Center offers exercise options including treadmills and light cardio classes that use such equipment as exercise balls to help with coordination and

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Healthy Living

resistance cords. The classes are led by volunteer instructors.

The center also partnered with the YMCA’s Silver Sneakers program last year to offer tai chi classes. All of the center’s exercise programs are free to seniors ages 60 and older.

“Our classes are low-impact, but I think our participants get a lot out of them as far as maintaining their reflexes, toning (and) core work,” said Heather McGarvey, activities director.

Jim Foster said he gets plenty of exercise as a volunteer for the Munday Center’s Meals on Wheels program.

“I love it because it’s a service people really need,” the 82-year-old said. “I always have a little conversation with the people I deliver to. Sometimes, we’re the only people a lot of them see all day.

They’re lonely, or they can’t get out of the house. So it’s important to make sure we show up.”

Foster, a Philpot native who worked 22 years each at Colonial Baking Co. and the Medley Distillery, has volunteered at the Munday Center for 13 years. He unlocks the center’s doors and turns on the lights each morning.

“A lot of our regular people are always asking what they can do to help,” McGarvey said. “They want to be involved, and they really take ownership of this place.”

McGarvey said Owensboro is a good place for the retired population because of the fairly low cost of living and the convenience in getting around town.

“It also still has a taste of southern charm and hospitality,” she said.

Girtman and Foster said the social options at the Munday Center help, too.

“There’s plenty to do, and it doesn’t cost anything to come here,” she said.

“It’s a good place to meet people,” said Foster. “I’ve made a lot of friends here over the years.”

Plans are underway for the Munday Center’s new facility at West Parrish and Hickman avenues. The center is currently at 1620 W. Second St. in what used to be Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The school, built in 1936, has gone without upgrades since 1982.

The senior population is growing, so the Munday Center’s space needs to, McGarvey said.

Contributions from the Daviess County Fiscal Court, the city of Owensboro and grants will fund the nearly $9 million, more than 28,000-square-foot facility.

“I’m happy with what we offer now, but I’m excited about how much more we’ll be able to offer in the new building,” she said. “We expect to see a boom in attendance.”

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WFC has served community for more than 65 years

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he Wendell Foster’s Campus for Developmental Disabilities has flourished for more than 65 years in Owensboro because of the support from the community, volunteers, foundations and a dedicated organization that seeks to provide individualized supports, therapy and training to empower people with developmental disabilities.

WFC has been recognized throughout the state and has received many deficiency-free surveys conducted by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Division of Healthcare Facilities and Services.

It reaches thousands of people annually in 34 Kentucky counties, southern Indiana and Tennessee with numerous services that include residential options and outpatient services, such as physical and occupational therapy, speech and communication therapy and assistive technology evaluations and products.

“We serve a medically fragile people who, for the most part, need regular care, if not constant care,” said WFC’s Executive Director Carrie Blackham. “We also serve a lot of families whose family members live at home and receive our outpatient services. As parents age, it becomes difficult for them to take care of a child who is disabled.”

WFC offers an intermediate care facility with four, 16-bed cot-

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Teresa Clark, an occupational therapist at the Wendell Foster Center, works with 2-year-old Levi Goodall on Oct. 13, 2014 at the Triplett Street facility.

tages for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who require 24-hour supervision.

“The people who live there typically need someone who oversees their medical care, and Wendell Foster’s provides that 24-hour nursing staff,” said Cindy Parish, WFC vice president of Community Living Options.

“Most of the people who live in the intermediate care facility have multiple disabilities. They use a wheelchair for mobility and require assistance to complete just about every daily living task. Many have difficulty communicating, and about one-third receive nutrition through a tube.”

WFC offers an alternative residential option for 24 people who don’t require round-the-clock medical care but need some assistance with communication, for example, or to complete some daily living skills. It includes three-bedroom homes where the people live together with staff supervision and 24/7 support.

“The difference is that it doesn’t have licensed nurses, so if someone gets sick, they go to the doctor,” Parish said. “It’s a typical home-like setting, and it’s run like a home.”

The supports for such community living also include a person-centered plan based on outcomes that the person wants to achieve.

“We have one man who wants to be a gardener, so we’ve put a plan into place so that we can make that dream come true for him, and if not the whole dream, then at least part of it,” Parish said.

Another option is the Michelle P. program that provides

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Butch Freels makes coffee on Oct. 13, 2014 at the Wendell Foster Center on Triplett Street.

services for those people who want to remain in their own home or with family.

Supports include, for example, helping them with grocery shopping, teaching meal preparation or teaching how to do laundry.

“Sometimes, it’s just getting out and socializing, exploring the community and making friends,” Parish said.

WFC’s Outpatient Therapy Department includes the Western Kentucky Assistive Technology Center, the Kelly Autism Program and outpatient services such as physical, occupational and speech therapies, among others.

“We serve people with many different types of diagnoses – autism, developmental disabilities, a sensory processing disorder, or a problem with speaking, an articulation disorder,” said Kelly Turnham, WFC’s vice president for outpatient services.

Cindy Huston, the WKATC coordinator, said her program is a lending library of assistive technology equipment that allows consumers to come in and try out devices on a short-term basis to determine if it’s an appropriate device to purchase.

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The Kelly Autism Program includes an after-school program and summer camp for youngsters 5 years old and up and supported employment for older individuals.

“When we work with the children, we’re working on their development of social and interpersonal and life skills,” Huston said.

WFC, at 815 Triplett St., has a yearly budget of about $14 million with about 88 percent of that going to serve people who require intense 24-hour supports and nursing care.

WFC employs about 270 people in a variety of positions from housekeeping to professional therapists, as well as approximately 10 physicians and other professional consultants.

“Our goal is to improve every person’s quality of life and level of independence,” Turnham said.

Physical Therapist Ryan Kizer evaluates 6-month-old Zoe Browning for torticollis symptoms on Oct. 13, 2014 at the Wendell Foster Center. Kizer said torticollis can affect a person’s head shape, so during his evaluation he checked Zoe’s head for asymmetry.

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hen a stroke left Dianne Morris’ husband on a slew of new prescriptions and left her off of work for a week to care for him, the couple learned that full-time income isn’t always enough.

“We needed his medicine, but with me missing work, couldn’t afford it,” said Morris, whose husband also has macular degeneration.

Their income was considered too high when they sought help from social agencies, though their friends and coworkers were able to raise enough money for the Morrises.

The experience led Morris and Cathy Alverson to establish Working Hands in October 2013. The nonprofit organization provides emergency funds for working people and families when they’re short on rent, utilities, medicine or other things.

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President’s Place.

The center, at 2400 Friendship Drive, is operated by Audubon Area Community Services and was built in partnership with the Wabuck Development Co. and Homeland, Inc. It opened in January 2013.

“It was the brainchild of Ron Logsdon,” said Dawn Phillips, the center’s coordinator. “He wanted it to be the hub of nonprofit organizations.”

Logsdon was the executive director of Audubon Area Community Services from 1971 to 2010. Though he died of a heart attack in December 2010 and didn’t get to see the result of his vision, Phillips said the Logsdon Center has taken off.

Its nonprofit office features 12 private cubicles that nonprofits can rent for $25 per month or $250 per year. The nonprofit’s work must help a disadvantaged group of some kind.

The center provides phone lines and locked filing space, and renters pay for copies and long distance calls as

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Dianne Morris, president and founder of Working Hands, smiles from the nonprofit’s office space at the Ronald Logsdon Community Center on Oct. 6, 2014. The community center has space for 20 nonprofit organizations to have a cubical for their business. For $250 a year, the nonprofits have their office space with a desk and chair, a phone and computer, access to WiFi, a copier, a printer, a scanner and fax services. The also have access to the facility’s meeting room and multipurpose room.

viduals or groups that are not nonprofits. It offers a fireside lounge and library, conference rooms and full kitchen, all of which have been used for meetings, receptions, parties and other events.

In keeping with Logsdon’s hopes for more collaboration among nonprofits, Phillips said, the center also hosts

Nonprofit Focus

needed. They also have 24/7 access to the nonprofit area.

Phillips said in 2014 that the nonprofit space had room for eight more cubicles, but it hadn’t secured funding to install them. Most of its support for the nonprofit space comes from the Public Life Foundation of Owensboro.

The Logsdon Center now opens its rental space to indi-

Dawn Phillips, right, the community resource coordinator at the Ronald Logsdon Community Center, and Dianne Morris, president and founder of Working Hands, talk on Oct. 6, 2014 at the Friendship Drive facility. Working Hands is one of several nonprofit organizations that have office space at the community center.

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The Logsdon Room at the Ronald Logsdon Community Center is a large conference room that is available for rent to the public for events such as wedding receptions and conferences, said Dawn Phillips, community resource coordinator at the center.

To learn more about the Ronald Lee Logsdon Community Center, contact Dawn Phillips at 270-852-6529, 270-929-1980 or dphillips@audubon-area.com.

The Ronald Logsdon Community Center has cubical space for 20 nonprofits in the Friendship Drive facility.

Nonprofit Focus

Community Coffee from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on the last Thursday of each month, January through October.

Averaging 30 to 45 people per month, Community Coffee features a different “spotlight sponsor” each month and includes coffee, a paid breakfast option, a presentation by the sponsor and a rundown of upcoming nonprofit events.

“It’s great for networking,” Phillips said. “People mingle and share ideas. Some people learn about things they wouldn’t ever know about.”

Morris said Community Coffee has taught her a lot about running a nonprofit.

“I jumped into this with my heart, that’s it,” she said. “I didn’t have the experience, so I had so many questions.

Dawn has been very helpful.

She and (Community Coffee) have introduced me to people and resources I didn’t know existed.”

Working Hands started at Morris’ kitchen table. Since moving to the Logsdon Center, the organization has gained 501(c)(3) status and forged a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, as well as expanding its services to include a pantry and clothes closet housed at Zion United Church of Christ.

“It’s been quite an experience,” she said.

In Daviess County, one in nine people are employed by a nonprofit organization, Phillips said. The Logsdon Center targets smaller and grassroots nonprofit organizations.

With work space covered at an affordable cost, she said, the directors can focus more on the services.

“Nonprofits are very important to the area,” she said.

“Everyone is connected to a nonprofit in some way, and we just provide a few things to keep them going.”

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Settling Down Chandler Park Apartments on Ralph Avenue will have offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments once all 320 units are complete.

Chandler Park, downtown living both draw young professionals

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inding housing is probably at the top of the to-do list for most young professionals as they enter the work force.

Some will want to rent for a few years as they save up for their first home.

Chandler Park Apartments, one of the newest complexes in town, offers plenty of space for young professionals and young families who are ready to plant their roots in Owensboro.

And some young professionals are making their homes in downtown Owensboro, where they can walk to restaurants, bars and stores.

‘A place that Owensboro has needed’

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Chandler Park Apartments opened on Ralph Avenue, just off Kentucky 54, in 2014. The complex was developed by Bowling Green-based Chandler Property Management, and it is the company’s first community outside of the Bowling Green market.

Mike Simpson, president of Chandler Property Management, was familiar with the Owensboro market because he has family in Owensboro. He said he and his business partner, David Chandler, felt like Owensboro was a good place for a development since there is so much going on in the city, including the recent downtown improvements and the new Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, which opened in June 2013.

Simpson and Chandler spent two years periodically visiting Owensboro to look for potential locales.

“Just driving the area because of my familiarity with the area, we knew the corridors we wanted to research,” Simpson said. “But finding 17 acres, which is about the amount we would need, can be a little bit difficult. We were fortunate to find the former Splash Swim Club – (that) gave us a lot of what we needed.”

Chandler Park Apartments will have one-, two- and threebedroom apartments once all 320 apartments are complete. The

Josh and Brittany Whitman moved into Chandler Park Apartments and are excited not only about the spaciousness of the apartment, but also its close proximity to shopping areas on Kentucky 54.

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Jessica Massengale, a veterinarian, moved to Owensboro in June 2014. Originally from Paintsville, Massengale went to veterinary school at Auburn. She had a preceptorship at Wills Animal Hospital and now works full time at the clinic.

“When I heard about Chandler Park and the brand new apartments, I was really excited about that,” Massengale said. “It seemed very upscale, not like anything else I’d seen in Owensboro.”

Massengale has a third-floor apartment that features vaulted ceilings and is a little more than 1,000 square feet. Both bedrooms in her apartment have their own bathrooms. The kitchen has a tile backsplash and faux wood floors.

“It feels more like a home than an apartment,” Massengale said. “It feels bigger with the vaulted ceilings.”

Josh and Brittany Whitman moved into their second-floor apartment in the fall of 2014. The couple moved to Owensboro with their son, Sebastion, after Josh Whitman was hired to be the director of tennis for the Owensboro-Daviess County Tennis Association.

The couple agreed that Chandler Park Apartments was a good fit for a young family.

“It’s really nice,” Brittany Whitman said.

“Everybody is really friendly.”

Brittany Whitman said her favorite part of the apartment is the kitchen while Josh Whitman likes the open floor plan. He said the walls are also nice because you can’t really hear noise from the other apartments.

“The good thing about Owensboro is the cost of living is really reasonable,” Josh Whitman said. “Coming into a new place like this is great. It just makes things a little bit easier as far as transitioning from one city to the other. ... I think this is the place to be. It’s new, it’s reasonably priced. You just can’t beat the area as far as school districts and attractions for you and your family to do stuff.”

Preserving ‘a downtown feel’

Brian Epling, an Owensboro High School class of 2003 graduate, returned to Owensboro in August 2013 after taking a job in the city. The attorney had been living in Lexington, where he graduated from Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky College of Law. He moved into a condo he rents in the Inquirer Lofts above Simply Chic at Third and Allen streets. The one bedroom, one bathroom condo features a large great room that shares space with the kitchen, which has a tile backsplash and granite countertops. There is hardwood flooring

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first building opened in September and includes 12 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units. The second building was open by October 2014, and Chandler Park is expected to be completely open by May 2015.

Simpson called the response to the complex phenomenal. The luxury apartments feature 9-foot ceilings, granite kitchen countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Other amenities include an on-site car wash that is free to residents, a clubhouse with a flat screen TV and a fitness room.

The swimming pool was slated to be open by the spring. There is also a dog park.

Chandler Park Apartments is near the David C. Adkisson Greenbelt Park, and the property management company will be building a walking bridge to connect the complex to the trail.

The complex is walking distance to some shopping and restaurants on Kentucky 54.

Simpson said Chandler Park Apartments is promoting a lifestyle through its apartments and amenities, and many of those amenities are attractive to young professionals who want to meet people and stay active.

“I’m just confident it’s a place that Owensboro has needed for some time,” Simpson said, “and we’re just very excited to be there.”

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throughout much of the condo, and the bedroom windows are nearly the length of the wall.

Epling said he wanted to live downtown because he knew there were many new developments there since he had graduated from high school.

He had visited Gambrinus Libation Emporium, one of the many locales that are walking distance from his condo, before returning to Owensboro. The new Owensboro Convention Center and hotels added to the appeal of living downtown, Epling said.

“When I was living in Lexington prior to this, for part of the time, I lived near downtown and really liked it,” he said. “I like being able to walk to places – that’s one of the things that attracts me to the downtown living area.”

Another perk is being able to walk to his job.

He said he believes some of the real estate work taking place in the downtown area is geared toward attracting young professionals who aren’t looking to purchase a home. And Epling does recommend downtown living.

The downtown development is a draw for people considering moving to Owensboro, Epling said.

“I think there are some interesting things that are coming out that are going to really

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Local attorney Brian Epling enjoys downtown living with his greyhound, Ollie, in a loft apartment above Simply Chic.

attract people,” he said.

When Epling was growing up, he said he remembers visiting downtown just to go to dinner. Many of the buildings at that time had broken or boarded up windows, he said.

He described the area around Second and Third streets as beautiful.

“And I think a lot of the developers are trying to preserve a downtown feel, which is nice, I think,” Epling said. “That’s not just for me, but for a lot of younger people. (They) want a downtown that they can go to a bar, go to a good restaurant, do some shopping, that kind of thing.”

Services & Amenities

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Resort-style swimming pool Fitness Center Tanning Services Car care center with vacuum and high pressure sprayer Direct access to Greenbelt Direct access to local shopping, dining and entertainment Garages available Pet friendly 24-hour maintenance Community events

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Feeling at home New houses are packed with amenities B y

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Deciding where to develop a new subdivision typically comes down to location.

Martin said he looks at trends and where people are moving when deciding where to develop new homes.

Wynthrop Ridge is adjacent to an existing subdivision, and it’s not too far from the MidAmerica AirPark, where there is a lot of construction taking place. Two US Bank Home Mortgage call centers opened in the park in recent years.

“Most people want to live close by to where they work,” Martin said.

Scott Jagoe, a partner and coowner of Jagoe Homes, said his company looks at areas that have access to services and shopping, good traffic patterns, utilities to and from the lots, and ease of access.

Walkability in the community is also important.

Living Here

hile downtown development has been at the forefront of Owensboro planning over the past several years, it is not the only part of town where growth is taking place.

Area home builders continue to expand the market for new homes in Owensboro, with some companies building subdivisions on the outskirts of the city. Builders continue to produce houses in established subdivisions, as well, creating a variety of new home options in several different price ranges.

Paul Martin Builders and Jagoe Homes are both developing new subdivisions that will feature new houses in 2015.

Wynthrop Ridge, Paul Martin Builders’ newest neighborhood, will be just outside of the city limits on Owensboro’s west side. The subdivision near Kentucky 56 is adjacent to Bellevue Baptist Church’s property.

Houses will be in the 1,500- to the low 2,000-square-foot range and cost between $160,000 and $220,000.

Jagoe Homes is developing the subdivision 4200 off of Old Hartford Road. That subdivision will feature 39 houses ranging in price from the high $200,000s to $400,000. The subdivi-

sion will be on the lot of the former Darnek Club, and the neighborhood takes its name from Darnek’s former address, 4200 Old Hartford Road.

In the fall of 2014, Paul Martin Builders was working on the infrastructure of its newest subdivision. By mid-October, construction had started on the sanitary sewer, underground wiring and other aspects of the neighborhood itself with some home foundations ready to be poured.

“This will be my 43rd year building and developing,” said Paul Martin, president of Paul Martin Builders. “I enjoy working with people, seeing their dreams realized about something they want to build. I enjoy giving someone an everlasting quality of home.”

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“It could be topography that you’re looking for,” Jato build. The pre-sale allows the future homeowners to goe said. Schools play a big role, he added. select the colors and features they want in their home, The first homes in Jagoe’s 4200 subdivision were Jagoe said, though the company also sells move-in expected to be completed in mid-winter. Several of the ready homes. houses were already reserved.

Besides the 4200, Jagoe Homes is continuing to build The neighborhood will have both single and two-story in Deer Valley on U.S. 231, Whispering Meadows off of homes. Jagoe called them “move down” homes, meanKentucky 56, Lake Forest and Springhurst. ing they are being geared toward empty nesters.

Popular new home features, Jagoe said, include New home building usually takes between 90 and 120 craftsman exteriors, transitional designs throughout the construction days, Martin said. He anticipated the first cabinetry, ceramic showers, a lineal design, hardwood Wynthrop Ridge residents would move in sometime in floors, granite countertops and large windows.

January 2015.

Buyers are also looking for homes with covered patios Martin and Jagoe both agreed that one advantage of in the yard. new homes is that they are more energy efficient than “Our starts and completions are up year over year,” older homes. HVAC systems that will help keep monthly Jagoe said. “You may find that different for the total gas and electric bills lower are being installed. permit numbers in Daviess County, but we’ve seen an “The houses we’re building are going to be all brick,” increase in the amount of construction and homes we’ve Martin said. “Then you’ve got the opportunity to add been building over the last two years.” some of the more modern conveniences.”

One of the newer amenities that Paul Martin Builders is installing in its homes is tankless water heaters.

There are other advantages to purchasing new homes, Martin said. They require less maintenance, he said.

“A lot of people are using ceramic tile floors and wood floors because carpet wears out more readily,” Martin said, and materials are going to last longer.

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Owensboro

Promoting

Agencies work together to showcase community B y

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eastern Daviess County.

The EDC has partnered with the RiverPark Center during the Kentucky Association of conomic development and quality of life Economic Development Conference to provide come together in Owensboro as leaders of a great entertainment experience for conference the arts, business and tourism industries attendees, Silvert said. meet regularly to discuss ways they can In 2014, the agency’s office served as an help each other to promote the community. adjunct gallery of the Owensboro Museum of Last year, the Owensboro-Daviess County Fine Art for the eighth year.

Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Greater “We all have our roles to play, and our own Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and the song to sing, but we do it from the same sheet Greater Owensboro Economic Development of music,” Silvert said. “It is a level of cooperaCorp. “made the conscious decision to co-brand Madison Silvert tion that is not only refreshing, but is also a big ourselves,” EDC President Madison Silvert said. contributor to Owensboro’s recent success. We “We wanted anyone within or without this are so much more than the sum of our parts community to see us as having a common when we work together.” purpose and a common vision,” he said. “The One of the first meetings Amy Jackson, the relationship that the three of us have is strong former president of the Chamber of Commerce and only getting stronger. We have different who became Owensboro region president for roles to play, but we all earnestly strive for the First Security Bank in October 2014, had when Owensboro region to progress.” she started at the Chamber was with local deSilvert said, “We work with other groups, veloper Malcolm Bryant. such as the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, the “He explained to me his vision for the chamInternational Bluegrass Music Museum and the ber, EDC and CVB,” she said. “Each is an imporRiverPark Center in other ways. First, we protant leg of the economic development stool of mote them frequently, specifically because they Owensboro. are major contributors to a quality of life with Amy Jackson “We all have to be very strong entities in orwhich few smaller communities can compete.” der for the stool to be its strongest self. But we In the past year, Silvert said, the EDC has all have to be in balance and coordination with each other partnered with ROMP, the International Bluegrass Music for the stool to be its strongest self, as well. It is something Museum’s annual fundraiser and music festival, to promote I’ve never forgotten.”

Owensboro in a unique and personal way by providing fesShe said that the Chamber and EDC “call each other tival-goers with the ability to charge their portable devices. sister organizations, and we take credit for each other’s The annual festival is presented at Yellow Creek Park in

Playing Here

work. I like that many people don’t know the “We each have different target groups we difference between the Chamber and EDC. It work to reach, but there is overlap, too,” she really means that we aren’t territorial; we are just said. “That entrepreneur with a business being focused on doing the right things to help our sought after by the EDC and the professional community grow and prosper.” being recruited to relocate here by the Chamber Jackson said in mid-2014, “When the CVB are also visitors we are trying to attract. The was reworking their brand and website earlier three organizations are co-branded and work to this year, Madison and I were primed and ready support each other in any way possible.” to bring our organizations along in our co-brandWetzel said, “This is a great time for tourism ing. It was something that we had already set in our community. We have leaders with vision the stage for, and when we were ready to go, who support our efforts through infrastructure we rolled it out in less than 30 days – a testaimprovements and programming to make our Shannon Wetzel ment to the strong support and belief that the community more attractive to visitors. We have three organizations work well together.” passionate locals volunteering to create events She said, “The other organizations are critilike the International Bar-B-Q Festival and Friday cal, too. And the crossover of board members After 5, which bring many visitors. We have keeps everyone on the same page. Many people three first-class museums, our new convention serve on multiple boards, which helps keep center, the RiverPark Center and many other things tied together, too.” attractions beyond what is typical for a town our Jackson said she hasn’t seen much turf size.” protection among the groups.

Working relationships continue to improve “We all have to raise our own money, be true each year, said Roxi Witt, executive director of to our own mission, but know that we do it betthe RiverPark Center. ter together than in conflict,” she said. “Our work “The RiverPark Center benefits by working with the EDC, CVB, RiverPark and Friday After with the other groups tremendously,” she said in 5 has been easier than I imagined in the last October. “For instance, the CVB has been very Roxi Witt two years. Everyone has the best interest of the active promoting our events and just last week Greater Owensboro region in mind.” helped us with ‘Welcome to Owensboro’ bags Shannon Wetzel, executive director of the CVB, said for our golf scramble.” that organization’s goals in promoting Owensboro and DaShe said, “We work with the Chamber and EDC to help viess County align closely with those of the Chamber and with recruiting businesses and employees by giving tours the EDC. and helping promote the whole arts community. Friday

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Terry Lee & the Rockaboogie Band rocks the crowd with the Elvis Presley song “All Shook Up” at RiverPark Center’s BB&T Plaza during Friday After 5 in June 2014.

After 5 is centered around RiverPark Center but run by its own board. We meet with them regularly and work out any issues early.”

Friday After 5 is Owensboro’s summer series that features free concerts on numerous stages on

Friday nights at the RiverPark Center and Smothers Park.

Witt said, “I truly believe that each organization recognizes that we’re more creative and stronger when we work together. There’s much more to agree about and much

more discussion about the goals to be met, rather than who will get the ‘credit’. The organizations have different strengths, different staff, different volunteers and different goals, but we are all working to improve this place we call ‘home.’”

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“We see the Chamber, EDC and CVB working together to promote Owensboro as a valuable asset,” said Kirk Kirkpatrick, executive director of Friday After 5 and inKirk Kirkpatrick terim leader of the Chamber.

“They each work separately, but they also work together. They focus on one mission — to bring more people to Owensboro.”

One out of six of the visitors to Friday After 5 is from out of town, Kirkpatrick said.

That means the free summer concerts downtown are promoting the community along with the other agencies, Kirkpatrick said.

“Are there other opportunities for synergetic partnerships?” he asked.

“Yes. Finding them and the resolve to follow through to generate success is the challenge all of these public agencies face. We have more

Owensboro mayor Ron Payne, center, and Owensboro Museum of Fine Art Director Mary Bryan Hood, along with others, admire the new sculpture titled “Charms” during the Owensboro Board of Commissioners’ public art unveiling ceremony at McConnell Plaza in June 2014. This was the first installation of art that was part of the RiverArtes: The Art of Placemaking project. The piece was created by Birmingham, Alabama, artist Dee Dee Morrison.

in common than not, and with the renaissance we’ve recently experienced in Owensboro, I’ve felt more of a sense of a willingness to partner than in the past.”

Dean Dennis, general manager of the Owensboro Convention Cen-

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A server walks in between rows of preset tables in preparation for the gala at the owensboro Convention Center in january 2014.

ter, said his agency is always looking at ways to work together with the other groups. The Owensboro Convention Center opened in February Dean Dennis 2014.

“I haven’t experienced any turf issues of any kind,” he said. “We look for ways to participate in existing events or perhaps create new ones that benefit the community.”

President John F. Kennedy is credited with saying, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

“That certainly applies to how the various agencies in Owensboro work to bring visitors to our community to benefit the region,” Dennis said.

“Owensboro has recently spent millions developing their infrastructure for tourism and travel and plans to spend at least another $10 million to $12 million on the (planned) bluegrass music center.

“These investments are very real economic generators for Owensboro, now and into the future.”

Air travel gaining altitude at Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport

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rowth has been the byword at the OwensboroDaviess County Regional Airport since early 2009, due in no small measure to its two commercial carriers – Allegiant Air and Cape Air. Allegiant Air began regular, nonstop flights to Orlando, Florida in early 2009. The airport got another boost in December 2011 with the start of Cape Air’s low-cost, federally subsidized flights to and from St. Louis under the Essential Air Service program.

Working in tandem, the two carriers have pushed boardings past the 30,000 mark a year.

Long-gone are the days when the airport struggled to reach 10,000 boardings a year necessary to qualify for $1 million each year from the Federal Aviation Administration for capital improvements. It has surpassed the 10,000 mark each year since 2009.

Adding to the airport’s capability, its main runway was lengthened to 8,000 feet, and its terminal was expanded and renovated at a cost of $2.8 million in 2012, adding 8,500 square feet to the 14,000-square-foot facility. No less important – the FAA’s air traffic control tower contract at the airport has been funded through September 2015 and also underwent a $600,000 renovation.

The airport works hard to maintain strong relationships with Allegiant and Cape Air, Airport Director Bob Whitmer said. The airport assists Allegiant with a longterm fuel agreement and does all the ground-handling for the flights, he said.

Owensboro is at the top of Allegiant’s list to receive another Florida destination, Whitmer said. He added that

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Allegiant expects 90 to 95 percent capacity on its flights, which the Owensboro airport has been hitting.

“A lot of residents in the region see a real value in the airport from a personal standpoint,” Whitmer said.

“We’ve never had this kind of connection to destinations non-stop. Allegiant is well known for low fares. It’s a model that sets them apart from other airlines. It’s not the answer for the business traveler, but it flies a few times a week to 14 vacations spots. We’ve been able to benefit for these past five and a half years.”

The airport is attracting vacation travelers from a widening region, Whitmer said.

Passengers prepare to board a flight leaving the OwensboroDaviess County Regional Airport Oct. 2, 2014.

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Passengers disembark from Allegiant Air flight 715 from Orlando’s Sanford International Airport at the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport.

ridership in October trending up 8 percent.”

Bonney said Cape Air flights in and out of the Owensboro airport are, on the average, 56 percent full.

“There’s plenty of room for growth,” he said. “Cape Air continues

to grow the Owensboro market. We hope to continue providing the service and look forward to providing it for years to come. ... It’s a great service, and we have great confidence in what we are doing. We are delighted to see ridership continue to grow.”

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“We’ve become a real gateway for the region,” he said. “We are even drawing from Nashville. A family of four can save $500 driving to Owensboro. We’re very fortunate to have a very financially stable airline.

Several are teetering. But Allegiant is the most profitable in the United States.”

Whitmer confirmed that Allegiant’s Owensboro flights have healthy passenger loads for its 166-seat MD 80 and 177-seat Airbus A320 jets.

“We have a very strong passenger loads routinely; it’s way up there,” he said. “Allegiant demands that. Every airport the size of Owensboro is chasing Allegiant, and we have them here. We made it possible for them to get reasonable fuel costs. Our airport supplies all the personnel for them.

“Allegiant has no employees here.

We handle it all. We de-ice, inspect the planes, make sure the passengers are secure.”

Allegiant Air is pleased with its Owensboro location, Brandon Myers, public relations specialist for the airline, said.

“The Owensboro market is performing well for Allegiant, and we are pleased with our service there,” Myers said. “We look forward to continued operation at the airport and providing Owensboro residents with low-cost vacations to Orlando.”

Cape Air has two or three Owensboro flights a day to and from St. Louis, using nine-seat planes.

“We’re very fortunate to have such a customer-oriented airline,” Whitmer said of Cape Air. “We had some bad experiences in prior years with commuter carriers. Cape Air has been a very accountable airline to work with. I hope it’s been good for them. I hope they stay. They do tremendous advertising. It’s steadily growing in numbers.”

Andrew Bonney, senior vice president for planning for Cape Air, said the commuter airline has been successful in Owensboro.

“Cape Air in Owensboro is doing well,” Bonney said in early October 2014. “We’ve seeing a great uptick in ridership. The last couple of months have been some of our best. August was 705 passengers, and July was our best month at 791. We’re seeing

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Hundreds of people gather in Smothers Park to watch the fountains come alive at the re-opening of the downtown park in August 2012.

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hile big events continue to bring visitors to Owensboro, tourism growth is being seen in areas that city residents might not expect.

Tourism officials are seeing local events, such as Friday After 5, drawing more out of town visitors and believe there’s equal potential in other traditional events.

Meanwhile, sports tourism continues to be a strong draw, although officials have to look for new kinds of sporting events to keep ahead of other cities that are delving into sports tourism.

Beck Glenn, marketing coordinator for the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the organization measures an event’s tourism impact through the number of hotel beds that are occupied during the event.

While big events, such as the International Bar-B-Q Festival and the Big O Music Fest, are positive for tourism, smaller events are starting to have an impact, as well.

“With the opening of Smothers Park, we’re actually seeing a

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lot more visitors coming to Friday After 5 and other free events,” Glenn said. “We’re seeing a lot of people turning it into a weekend getaway.”

Barbecue is a tourist draw for the city, even beyond the barbecue festival.

“Barbecue restaurants are a big attraction,” Glenn said.

“People are coming here specifically to eat in our barbecue restaurants.”

The RiverPark Center is already bringing in people from outside the city, and Glenn said there is a potential for the RiverPark Center to be an even bigger tourism draw.

When Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, The Buckinghams and The Grass Roots played the RiverPark Center in 2014, “one-third of the ticket sales came from outside” the area, Glenn said. The center’s Broadway series also has the potential to bring in visitors, according to a survey CVB officials conducted during the 2014 Kentucky State Fair.

“A lot of people were really interested in RiverPark’s Broadway series and said it was very comparable or better than what

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One of the city of Owensboro’s newest recreation attractions opened in 2014.

The Travis Aubrey Skate Park opened in June 2014. The park was named for the 18-year-old Aubrey, a skateboard and BMX rider who was a vocal proponent for the park and was killed in a vehicle accident in 2012.

The skate park is a 14,000-square-foot facility at Chautauqua Park. The concrete skate park features ramps, rails and a big bowl for bicyclists, skateboards, rollerbladers and scooter riders to use.

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they had locally,” Glenn said of the people surveyed at the fair.

While it might not fit the textbook definition of “tourism,” conventions also accomplish the goal of bringing visitors to town. Glenn said the new Owensboro Convention Center downtown is drawing people to the city.

“They’re not only bringing in conventions and conferences, they’re hosting events,” Glenn said. “That’s definitely a major impact, as well.”

Because the CVB currently only measures an event’s economic impact by looking at the number of hotel rooms booked, the impact of some events is hard to calculate, Glenn said.

For example, many of the people who attend ROMP, the International Bluegrass Music Museum’s annual festival and fundraiser at Yellow Creek Park, camp in the park, she said.

“They bring in 20,000 people, and they’re creating an economic impact we can’t measure,” Glenn said.

Jared Bratcher, the CVB’s director of sports marketing, said the economics of sports tourism – beyond hotel rooms booked – can be hard to determine. But Bratcher said CVB officials expected to exceed 2014’s revenue projections for sports tourism.

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Spectors line the edge while watching skateboarders, kick scooters and motocross cyclists enjoy ramps, half pipes and other obstacles in June during the grand opening of the Travis Aubrey Skate Park in the northwest corner of Chautauqua Park. The 14,000-square-foot, $800,000 facility is named in honor of an 18-year-old local skateboard and BMX bike enthusiast who was struck by a vehicle on his way home from a City Commission meeting on Sept. 28, 2012. Funding for the skate park was approved during that meeting.

In 2014, the CVB was helping with 63 tournaments in the city, although Bratcher said there are some tournaments staged without the organization’s participation.

The organization estimated a $25 million economic impact from sports tourism in 2014, he said.

“Assuming all those larger tournaments (occurred), and it’s hard to rain out a football tournament, we’re going to go over $25 million in sports tourism,” Bratcher said in early October.

Baseball and softball tournaments make up about 75 percent of the city’s sports tourism, but the market for those tournaments is becoming harder to attract as more cities build tournamentworthy ball fields, he said.

Because of that, CVB officials are looking to the next generation of sporting tournaments, Bratcher said.

“We’re going to be working on some indoor soccer,” he said. “Of course, the new tennis house will be open soon. Officials are also looking at Pickelball tournaments and Futsal. Pickelball is a cross between tennis (and) badminton, while Futsal is similar to soccer, except played on a smaller field, with fewer players and a shorter playing time.”

The Owensboro-Daviess County Tennis Association partnered with the city and county governments and Owensboro Public Schools to build the new tennis complex at Shifley Park. It also received a grant from the William and Marilyn Young Charitable Foundation to help build the complex.

It has six indoor courts, nine outdoor courts, bathroom facilities and a paved parking lot on Bittel Road.

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Gracie Cummings, 9, looks at one of the fountains at Smothers Park on Oct. 17, 2014.

Elaine Stroman and Kenny Sheppard, of Bowman, S.C., walk hand-in-hand one August day in 2014 near Smothers Park in downtown Owensboro.

Sarah Wedding, 4, comes down a slide on Oct. 17, 2014 in Smothers Park’s Lazy Dayz Playground.

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mong the variety of downtown offerings is Nona’s Downtown Market, a conglomerate of Kentuckymade arts, crafts and foods.

Hearty and sweet smells of freshly baked bread, local produce and flowers float out of the market’s open doors, beckoning visitors. Sunlight brightens the inside. The shiny newness of it all is something Abby Meyer said she hope never wears off.

“It’s exciting,” said Meyer, who works at Wheatgrass Juice Bar & Kitchen Store in the market. “The environment is really positive, it’s relaxed, and it’s just cool to have something like this in Owensboro.”

The slice of big-city has appealed to many local shoppers, but Nona’s reach has stretched beyond the

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Owensboro city limits, Meyer said.

“In the beginning, it was mostly local people, but social media has helped us bring in out-of-towners,” she said.

The 2,500-square-foot market, on the first floor of the four-story, $3 million Court Place development at St. Ann and Second streets, opened April 1, 2014.

The juice bar is one of about 40 vendors, which include Diane’s Bakery Delights, Petal and Pine Floral Design, Kentucky Sweet Peace Candy, German Roasted Nuts, Old Hickory Bar-B-Q, various local farms and Meltdown.

Suzanne Padgett and Dawn Whitt enjoyed their Meltdown ice cream, served in pushpops, one fall afternoon.

“I work (in Owensboro) one or two days a week, and this is one of my favorite stops when I’m here,” said Whitt, who lives in Calvert City.

“It’s neat to see all of these things from Kentucky in one place,” Padgett said. “It’s great that local artists have this outlet.”

Supporting local artists, chefs and crafters was a chief goal of owner Maria Kelly’s.

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“Community unity is important to me,” she said.

Kelly, a Boston native with a background in sales for major corporations, moved to Owensboro in 1995. She said offering space for entrepreneurs who might not be ready for or interested in a store on their own was also important.

“One woman even makes birdhouses to pay her way through college at Murray (State University),” she said. “I love that.

Sometimes people just need a platform.”

Kelly called her grandmother Nona, Italian for grandmother, and kept her in mind when planning the market.

“When you go to your grandmother’s house, she never brags about her own things, she shows off others,” Kelly said. “That’s what I wanted to do here. My

dream was to get a bunch of people who are artsy and crafty and cook well and put them in one place. It turned out to be larger than I thought.”

With about 85 percent of Nona’s inventory made or grown in Owensboro, the market is certified Kentucky Proud by the state’s department of agriculture.

Meyer said she appreciates the focus on the commonwealth.

“It lets you know what Kentucky has to offer,” she said.

“Owensboro didn’t have a health food or natural food store like this.”

The college sophomore said the job has also been a learning experience as juice bar owners Shauna Dever-Jones and Mitchell Jones have taught her how to make certain drinks and the positive effects the ingredients have on one’s health.

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Handcrafted items are also a big seller at Peacocks and Pearls boutique, said owner Deanna Johnson. These bracelets are made by an artist in Owensboro.

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Saturdays, a free group exercise class outside of Nona’s every Saturday morning, Meyer said.

Kelly cheerfully greets customers and chats with them as they shop around. Customer experience rather than customer service, she said, is her focus.

“The biggest challenge is getting people used to shopping downtown and making it a destination,” she said. “But Owensboro has been great.”

A few miles from downtown, many retailers are taking stake in Kentucky 54.

“This is where Owensboro is going and anyone who’s smart knows that,” said Deanna Johnson, owner of Peacocks & Pearls Boutique.

The boutique, at 3811 Kentucky 54, opened in March 2013. A residential and commercial boom in the area pushed Johnson to choose it.

The boutique’s quaint, rustic feel hints at Johnson’s childhood on her family’s farm in Philpot. Her father and uncle helped her build a few pieces, including display tables and the checkout counter.

“Some of this is my dad’s old barn wood,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Though she has a background in owning a commercial and residential cleaning service, Johnson said fashion has always been a hobby. She named the store after her favorite animal and her favorite accessory.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to it, just that I’ve always loved peacocks and their colors, and pearls are so timeless; you can wear them with everything,” she said.

Freshwater pearls are a big seller at the women’s boutique, along with Dear John denim, and Bobi and Veronica M apparel. Peacocks & Pearls

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also carries handbags, shoes and other accessories, as well as clothing sizes 0 to 16 and extra small to 2X in some styles.

Pieces range from sequined cocktail dresses to tribal print sweaters to casual T-shirts and jeans. Megan Rittmeyer, an Owensboro Community & Technical College student and sales clerk, said she appreciates the quality of the clothes without typical boutique prices.

“The clothes are high-end, but this is one of the only boutiques that is affordable for a lot of people,” she said.

Dresses are in the $40 to $100 range with tops in the $25 to $70 range, jeans at about $75 and jewelry from $18.

Offering comfort is also a goal, Johnson said.

“Most of our items are soft and easy for moms who want to be stylish but comfortable when they’re out with their kids,” she said. “I’m all about comfort, even for how I want people to feel when they walk in.

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Peacocks and Pearls’ sales associate Courtney Biggs straightens items on Oct. 10 at the Kentucky 54 boutique.

They can come in sweats, no makeup, whatever. Everyone is welcome.”

Their children are welcome as well.

“We have coloring books, crayons and Play-Doh so people don’t have to feel worried about their children when they try on clothes,” Johnson said. “I love children; I’ll hang out with them while you shop around.”

Courtney Biggs, a Western Kentucky University-Owensboro student and sales clerk, said she loves fashion.

“This is a great job,” she said. “In high school, we didn’t have boutiques like this. We had to go to Lexington or Louisville. So it’s good to have this in town.”

Johnson chooses from markets in Las Vegas and Atlanta and hopes to add New York to the list in 2015. And she has other plans for the year.

“We may expand. We hope to double in size,” she said. “And I’m definitely staying in this area. It works, you know; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

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Conventional Growth

Gala attendees arrive for the Owensboro Convention Center’s grand opening on Jan. 31, 2014. The gala kicked off three days of events for the $39.5 million facility.

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he Owensboro Convention Center kept its calendar full in 2014 — its first year of operation. In just its first 275 days of business, the convention center hosted events ranging from conventions and concerts to meetings — and even a visit from a former president.

“It’s going great,” said Dean Dennis, general manager of the Owensboro Convention Center. “Things couldn’t be going better. It’s hard to believe all the things that we have done in that short of time. We really have hit the ground really running in terms of all the various events that we anticipated for this venue and certainly, we’ve had almost every event type you could possibly imagine in this venue.”

The Owensboro Convention Center opened with a gala celebration on Jan. 31, highlighted by a performance by country music star Sara Evans. That weekend featured a variety of events open to the public, as well, including a concert by The Willis Clan and Marty Brown on Feb. 1 and a Super Bowl party on Feb. 2.

Since then, the Owensboro Convention Center has hosted a variety of vendor shows, flea markets, meetings and conventions. Some of these have been one-day only,

and others are multi-day events that help create room nights at Owensboro hotels.

It has also created its own programming — such as its OCCtoberfest, a take on the traditional Oktoberfests held annually — and many of those convention center created events will be hosted annually.

The center hosted former President Bill Clinton when he came to Owensboro to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes in October 2014. Convention center officials had about a week to prepare for the event, Dennis said.

The Daviess County Democratic Party reserved the event hall a week before the rally — but convention center staff didn’t learn it would be hosting the president until four or five days before the event.

Dennis met with the Secret Service for three hours on Oct. 19 for its first logistics meeting, and the rally was held two days later.

Madison Strobel, marketing and public relations manager for the convention center, said planning for the Clinton visit showed how quickly the convention center can react and adjust for an event.

“That came along very quickly,” he said. “It was very successful. We were able to prepare everything they needed.”

Dennis said the Clinton visit gave great exposure to both Owensboro and the convention center.

“We were pleased to have that in our list of events,” Dennis said. “It’s always good to have a former president visit your venue, for sure.”

That political rally was hosted in the Owensboro Convention Center’s Exhibit Hall 1. The convention center has more than 92,000 square feet of space for events, including the 45,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 30,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space and 17,000 square feet for pre-function activities.

The convention center has also hosted weddings, and it has an inhouse chef and kitchen staff to prepare meals for its various events. The convention center also houses the Big E Cafe, which is open daily for lunch.

The Owensboro Convention Center’s construction was funded by the city of Owensboro and Daviess County Fiscal Court, and the city owns the facility. The city hired Global Spectrum to manage the center, and Dennis is a vice president with that company as well as general manager of the center.

The Owensboro Convention Center was packed in march 2014 as shoppers hunt for bargains from 240 vendors set up at the Owensboro Flea Market. That flea market was the first of five planned for the year and organizers hoped to draw in 5,000 to 8,000 customers. The event will run though Sunday.

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Owensboro Mayor Ron Payne said the convention center’s first year has exceeded his expectations. Having the center means the city is back in the convention business after losing many of the conventions it had hosted when the Executive Inn Rivermont hotel and convention center closed in 2008, he said.

“I have been extremely pleased with how innovative Global Spectrum has been about putting on events and sponsoring them” themselves, Payne said.

The convention center has created shows to complement existing Owensboro events, such as hosting the “Better Your Backyard Outdoor Living and Gardening Expo” during the International Bar-B-Q Festival in May. “I know Owensboro is radiating life,” Payne said. “We’re open for business. ... There’s a vitality here that we haven’t seen in a long time.

The convention center is a part of it.”

The convention center has more multi-day conventions on the calendar for 2015 and 2016, with some groups returning to Owensboro after

leaving town with the closure of the Executive Inn. “We’ll see more in ‘15 than we have now only because we have a year’s worth of growth, a year’s worth of sustainability under our belts, if you will,” Dennis said.

The Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront opened to the east of the convention center in January 2014, and the new Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront will open to the west of the center in the first quarter of 2015. Having the sec-

ond hotel, convention center officials said, will help the center attract larger events.

Strobel said the first year at the convention center flew by.

“I think we’ve been very successful,” he said. “We’re learning as we go along, but it has been a great experience. I think Dean mentioned how proud people are — you see it on their faces or their eyes when they come in the building. ... I think it’s been an incredible success story. There’s so much more to come.”

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hen groups are looking for a venue to host a convention or other special events, they often want a facility with easy access to hotels for their attendees.

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Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront

Owensboro’s newest hotel is being developed by LinGate Hospitality and Riverfont JAM. LinGate also operates the Courtyard by Marriott hotel on Kentucky 54, as well as several hotels in other states.

The 123-room, full-service hotel will feature meeting rooms, an indoor swimming pool and fitness center. The Holiday Inn will be home to Another Broken Egg, a national restaurant chain.

The Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront is the first hotel to house an Another Broken Egg franchise. The restaurant will serve breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner along with providing room service to hotel patrons.

Claude Bacon, vice president for administration, sales and e-commerce for LinGate, called the restaurant a real asset to the hotel and the community.

“They will enter the food scene in a very positive way,” he said. “They’ll make a significant impact on the food scene for Owensboro.”

LinGate officials are putting a large emphasis on what the courtyard of the hotel will be like, said Ruth Ann Dearness, general manager of the Courtyard

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Marriott. She will be general manager of the Holiday Inn when it opens.

“Everything (outside) is going to be geared toward the hotel guests and people who are walking onto the riverwalk into the hotel,” she said.

Construction on the $15 million Holiday Inn was initially slowed because of weather, but by late October, progress at the hotel was going great, Bacon said.

And officials have big expectations for this hotel, Dearness said.

“When you’re doing something that you have so much of a vested interest in because it’s in your hometown where your corporate office is located, … you set your own expectations high for the product you’re going to deliver,” she said.

Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront

The 150-room Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront opened in January 2014, and its amenities include Blossoms Apparel and Gifts, Changes Spa/Salon and Lure Seafood and Grille, all of which are locally owned.

The hotel was developed by the Mal-

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colm Bryant Corp., which also operates the Hampton Inn Owensboro South on Salem Drive. The downtown hotel features an indoor swimming pool and fitness center.

“Our guests returning to Owensboro or visiting for the first time to the Hampton Inn & Suites-Waterfront have seen a community that has discovered a renewed strength in its downtown,” Malcolm Bryant, president of the Malcolm Bryant Corp., wrote in an email.

The Hampton Inn and Suites is going to try to connect with Owensboro’s festivals more, Bryant wrote, and blend its offerings with the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Bryant wrote that the proposed International Bluegrass Music Center is key.

The center, which was still in the fundraising phase in October 2014, will be built at Second and Frederica streets.

“It will be one of our entertainment anchors and will be a constant as people consider visiting and moving to the community,” Bryant wrote. “We must get this done and do it well. We need to develop signature weekends around entertainment in the community as people consider where to spend their time.”

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Organic Entertainment Interest in botanical garden is growing year-round B y

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ABOVE: Insects land on the bloom from one of about 34 varieties of sunflowers growing in a research plot at the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden.

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here’s no such thing as an off season for the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden.

“We have a wealth of resources here at the garden; some of them are yet to be fully tapped, so we keep going all year to make sure we use them,” said Susie Tyler who directs the garden with her husband, Bill.

The garden sprouted from the mind of former Daviess County extension horticulturist Mike Klahr, who first mentioned it to his master gardener class in 1993. Though dozens of people, planning committees and donors, contributed to the garden’s opening, many credit its success to the Tylers.

Bill, a third-generation physician whose grandfather practiced medicine on horseback, and Susie, who retired as director of Owensboro Parks and Recreation, donated eight acres of land for the garden, and later, another acre for the parking lot.

Within the garden are about a dozen memorial, themed or specialized gardens, including a rose garden, fruit and berry garden, Moonlite Children’s Garden and the Mary Takahashi Japanese Memorial Garden.

It also features a playhouse, the Bill and Marilyn Young Educational Classroom, and a conservatory, which opened two years ago.

“This is a learning garden,” Susie Tyler said. “There are a lot of opportunities for people to explore new things.”

The garden’s “Walk & Talk” luncheon series is one way people explore. It features a different speaker each month, and 2014’s lineup included former Kentucky Wesleyan College President Craig Turner’s “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways: Literature and Gardening;” “All the Kitchen’s a Stage”

by Ben Skiadas, managing partner of Lure Seafood & Grille; and “Puttin’ on the Ritz – Vintage Lawn and Garden” featuring quirky Palestine, Illinois-based folk artist Steve Meadows, as well as an auction of vintage yard furniture repainted by local artists.

“That was a lot of fun,” Tyler said. “It was very different, very playful.”

The garden landed on the Southeast Tourism Society’s 2014 Top 20 Events for its Dazzling Daylilies Festival, which brings hot air balloon rides to the city in June, along with 500 varieties of daylilies, a daylily showcase and sale, a lantern launch and music.

While the garden’s long-standing events such as the Valentine’s Day dinner, Mother’s Day brunch and Father’s Day pancake breakfast were successful, Tyler said, new events came along in 2014, including Independence Day in September, which invited families who might not be able to afford it otherwise to visit the garden for food and games at no cost.

The annual Scarecrow Festival will now be merged with the family event, which had a patriotic theme and featured rides on the Independence Bank train.

“We were expecting about 200 kids; we had 450,” Tyler said.

“It was a huge success.”

The garden has another special tie to local children through its soup day for the Goodfellows Club. Various organizations, churches and businesses host soup days in November and December to raise money for the club, which provides clothes, shoes, coats, dental care and a Christmas party for underprivileged children.

After 10 years of soup days, the garden has decided to take another route to help raise money.

“Every year, our soup day has been well-attended,” Tyler said. “People believe in the Goodfellows Club, and they have

stepped up for our new idea, ‘Game Time for Goodfellows’” Various people, such as garden board members and regular supporters, will host sports-themed parties, likely with soup on the menu, at their homes during the season. Attendees will be asked to provide donations to the Goodfellows Club at the parties.

“Some will be simple, some will go all out with decorations, but we’ll remind everyone to bring their checkbook,” Tyler said. “We’re just excited to be in service to the Goodfellows again. The kids deserve it.”

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Aside from its events, the garden lends a hand in research. For six years now, Elmer Gray, professor emeritus in agriculture at Western Kentucky University, and his graduate students have maintained a sunflower plot at the garden. A baby corn plot was added this year.

Area families can grow both crops to replace income lost from the buyout of small-scale tobacco bases in Kentucky about eight years ago, according to Gray.

The garden also offers a peek into history with its Country Doctor’s Office, an 1890s home from which Bill Tyler’s grandfather, W.L. Tyler, practiced medicine; and a ticket booth from Curdsville’s Ellendale Fair, which ran from 1894 to 1898, reportedly bringing thousands from across Kentucky.

The booth is currently being reconstructed. Both buildings were moved to the garden with the help of garden member and longtime Daviess County farmer Bill Kuegel.

This purple orchid was one of many of the colorful flowering plants on display during Western Kentucky Botanical Garden’s “Orchid Show.” The show ran in conjunction with the “Bee Mine” Program for children.

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The garden is in the process of adding old medicine bags and other artifacts to display in the doctor’s office.

“We’ve found people who could take on the challenge of reconstructing historical buildings; it’s a delicate job,” Tyler said.

Many also use the garden for weddings, portraits and other private events.

“It aligns with our goals of offering experiences, meeting spaces, both indoor and outdoor, and a unique setting for events to large groups as well as the leisure traveler,” said Darren Peach, sales director at the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

When the Tylers owned WeatherBerry Bed & Breakfast, they’d ask guests what they like to see when they travel.

The most common response was about quality-of-life activities, such as a botanical garden.

“The botanical garden is a unique feature for a community of our size,” said Shannon Wetzel, executive director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “When we speak to travelers coming into the downtown visitor center, we find the garden is one of the main attractions they are looking to experience while they are in Owensboro.”

Wetzel said she also enjoys the garden on her own time.

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Dr. Bill and Susie Tyler pose for a portrait at the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden. Susie and Bill Tyler are the gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s directors.

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Gary Dunlap walks to the top of US Bank’s hot-air balloon during the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden’s annual Dazzling Daylilies Festival.

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rom beautiful parks to annual festivals, Owensboro has much to offer in the way of entertainment and recreation.

Bluegrass music is celebrated each year at the International Bluegrass Music Museum’s annual ROMP: Roots and Branches festival at Yellow Creek Park.

The Big O Music Fest brings country music fans to Reid’s Orchard each year.

The International Bar-B-Q Festival is among Owensboro’s oldest festivals and it showcases Owensboro and Daviess County’s barbecue tradition.

The city’s Smothers Park in downtown Owensboro provides a space for visitors to play, walk or even have lunch. The park, overlooking the Ohio River, is also a popular spot to watch vintage airplanes during the annual Owensboro Air Show, and it hosts the city’s Trail of Treats in October.

Ben Hawes Park features golf courses, a playground and wooded biking and hiking trails. A new, indoor tennis complex and skate park have expanded Owensboro’s recreational offerings.

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The following list highlights some of what Owensboro has to offer for fun and play.

Edge Ice Center – A recreational ice skating center. 1400 Hickman Ave.

Adkisson Greenbelt Park – A 15 mile paved path in the community.

Adkisson Greenbelt Park links neighborhoods, parks and schools.

Horse Fork Creek Soccer Complex – The park includes nine soccer fields and a walking trail. 3005 Fairview Drive.

Ben Hawes Park – The park features an 18-hole regulation golf course, a nine-hole par 3 golf course and a driving range. Other features include: public archery range and Rudy Mine Trails for hiking and mountain biking. 400 Boothfield Road

Kendall-Perkins Park – A twoacre neighborhood park. Home of the annual Dust Bowl basketball tournament. West Fifth Street.

Combest Pool – An Olympicsized municipal pool. 1530 McJohnson Ave.

Moreland Park – A 17-acre city park. West Parrish Avenue.

Panther Creek Park – A county park with trails, ball diamonds and more. 5160 Wayne Bridge Road.

Owensboro Health Healthpark – A 110,000 square-foot exercise facility, The facility also offers a wide range of therapeutic services. 1006 Ford Ave.

Smothers Park – Home of Lazy Dayz playground and the Charles Shelton Memorial. 199 West Veterans Blvd.

Cravens Pool – A municipal pool on the west side of Owensboro. 2815 Cravens Ave.

English Park Boat Ramp – The ramp features a wide ramp, reserved parking for trailers and a dock. Hanning Lane.

Hillcrest Golf Course – A yearround nine-hole municipal golf course.

4346 Old Hartford Road.

Legion Park – A 23.75-acre city park. Byers Avenue.

Owensboro Family YMCA – Two facilities, at 900 Kentucky Parkway (full family facility) and at 650 Chuck Gray Court (adults only with childcare available).

Owensboro Softball Complex – Located in Jack C. Fisher Park, the complex features four lighted softball fields. 3900 West Fifth Street Road.

Owensboro Sportscenter – The Sportscenter is a 5,500-seat auditorium and arena. 1215 Hickman Ave. Owensboro Tennis Center – Features nine lighted outdoor courts and six indoor courts. Home to the Owensboro-Daviess County Tennis Association. The center is at Shifley Park on Bittel Road.

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Thompson-Berry Soccer Complex – An 11-field soccer complex with picnic areas and concession facilities. Raven Drive off U.S. 60 West.

Travis Aubrey Skate Park – A 14,000 square-foot skate park. Located in Chautauqua Park. 1301 Bluff Ave. Waymond Morris Park Football Complex – Includes four lighted football fields. 5200 Todd Bridge Road.

Yellow Creek Park – A 152-acre county park that includes a pioneer village. 5710 Kentucky 144.

Owensboro Museum of Science and History – The museum is the home of the SpeedZeum, an auto racing exhibit, the Coal Mine Gallery and the Wendell H. Ford Government Education Center. It has some permanent galleries and the PlayZeum, an indoor playground.

122 East Second St. www.owensboromuseum.org or (270) 687-2732.

Owensboro Symphony Orchestra – The OSO season runs from September to April and includes a selection of classical music, opera and pops music. The symphony also stages its annual “Holiday Pops” concert in December, and it hosts

its annual “Concert on the Lawn” at Kentucky Wesleyan College each August. Its Owensboro Symphony Academy provides private lessons and a Kindermusik program. The OSO is also home to the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra.

211 E. Second St. www.theoso.com or (270) 684-0661.

RiverPark Center – This performing arts center hosts its annual Broadway series, summer movie series, concerts and other special events. It also hosts children’s programming for school groups.

101 Daviess St. www.riverparkcenter.org, or (270) 687-2770.

Local groups Back Alley Musicals – This community theater group presents several musicals each year. It performs at the RiverPark Center.

International Bluegrass Music Museum – The museum features exhibits of bluegrass memorabilia and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. The museum also hosts music lessons, a music camp and other special events, including ROMP: Bluegrass Roots and Branches Festival in Yellow Creek Park. 207 E. Second St. www.bluegrassmuseum.org or (270) 926-7891.

Owensboro Convention Center – A downtown convention center, featuring 92,000 square-feet of meeting room, exhibition halls and ballrooms. 501 West Second St. www.owensborocenter.com or (270) 687-8800.

Owensboro Dance Theatre – ODT’s company and apprentice company present at least two performances annually, including “The Nutcracker,” at the RiverPark Center. It also offers programming in the school systems. Its home studio is Johnson’s Dance Studio, 2705 Breckenridge St. www.owensborodancetheatre.org or 270-684-9580.

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Owensboro Museum of Fine Art – The museum’s features include permanent exhibits, such as the stained glass collection; new exhibits are staged regularly. The museum also features a children’s art laboratory and is home to the annual “Holiday Forest” Christmas tree exhibit. It also hosts occasional free arts camps for children. 901 Frederica St. www.omfa.us or (270) 685-3181.

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Theatre Workshop of Owensboro – A community theater, TWO presents locally produced comedies, dramas and musicals, as well as hosting drama camps for youths. Operates both the Trinity Centre and the TWO Opryhouse. 407 W. Fifth St. www.theatreworkshop.org or (270) 683-5003.

Western Kentucky Botanical Garden – A large botanical garden that hosts special events, community festivals and exhibits. The garden also offers rental for special events. 25 Carter Road. www.wkbg.org or (270) 852-8925.

Annual Events All-American Fourth of July – Independence Day celebration in Smothers Park and downtown Owensboro, including music by area musicians, a performance by the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra and a fireworks display over the river. www.owensboroparks.org.

Big O Music Fest – Annual country music festival, held at Reid’s Orchard in eastern Daviess County. www.bigomusicfest.com.

Bridge Day – A September downtown festival held on and around the Glover Cary “Blue” Bridge. Last year’s events included a 5K run.

Daviess County Lions Club Fair – Held each July at the Lions Club fairgrounds in Philpot. The fair includes rides, pageants, exhibits, food, music and events in the arena. www.daviesscountyfair.com.

Dazzling Daylily Festival – A summertime event featuring hot air balloon launches and balloon rides, food, music and activities at the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden. www.wkbg.org.

East Bridge Art and Music Festival – Held downtown each September on the same day as Bridge Day, this festival celebrates art and music. It includes regional artists, live music and a chalk art contest. It was created by Studio Slant, a local art gallery. www.eastbridgeart.com.

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Friday After 5 – A weekly series of free summer concerts featuring stages on the RiverPark Center’s BB&T Plaza and courtyard as well as in Smothers Park. Gospel on the River is held several weeks inside Cannon Hall of the RiverPark Center. The series usually runs from mid-May through August. www.fridayafter5.com.

Holiday Forest – An annual exhibit at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art. The exhibit features Christmas trees and decorations designed by regional artists, civic groups and schools. www.omfa.us.

Holiday Stroll – Downtown event, featuring music, holiday decorations and other activities. Local stores and restaurants participate.

Typically held the first Saturday in December. www.visitowensboro.com.

Independence Bank Fireworks Festival – Daviess County’s fireworks display at Panther Creek Park. Typically held July 3. www.daviesscountyparks.com.

401 W. 2nd Street 270-228-4567 270-685-2005

Owensboro, Kentucky 98

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Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade – Typically held the Saturday before Thanksgiving in downtown Owensboro, the parade is the beginning of the holiday season in Owensboro. www.ChristmasParade.net.

Owensboro Dust Bowl – A nineday basketball tournament, which the state Department of Travel lists as one of the oldest basketball tournaments in Kentucky. Held in July in KendallPerkins Park.

Owensboro Multicultural Festival – Offers a unique blend of cultures each August to educate and celebrate the community’s diversity. Held at First Presbyterian Church. www.firstpresbyterianowensboro.com.

Owensboro Regional Farmers Market – Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from spring to early fall at Owensboro Christian Church, 2818 New Hartford Road. It usually has satellite locations, as well.

Owensboro Symphony Orchestra’s Concert on the Lawn – Held each August on the lawn of Kentucky Wesleyan College on Frederica Street. www.theoso.com.

Reid’s Orchard Apple Festival – Includes rides, games, food and activities at Reid’s Orchard, a more than 140-year-old orchard in eastern Daviess County. The festival is usually held the third weekend in October.

4812 Kentucky 144. www.reidorchard.com.

ROMP: Bluegrass Roots and Branches Festival – The International Bluegrass Music Museum’s four-day festival in Yellow Creek Park.

The event is usually held in June and attracts international bluegrass artists. www.rompfest.com.

Veterans Day Parade – Owensboro’s oldest parade. It was created in 1918. Veterans, motorcycle units, marching bands and others participate in this downtown parade that is usually held the Saturday before Veterans Day. Voices of Elmwood – Hayrides through Elmwood Cemetery, where actors portray figures from the region’s history who are buried in the cemetery.

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Owensboro Air Show – Held in October in 2014, the air show brings stunt pilots, parachute teams, jets and vintage warplanes to the riverfront for a Saturday performance. The event also features a Friday airplane exhibit, including air performances by pilots, at Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. www.owensboroairshow.com.

Owensboro Dragon Boat Festival – Scheduled for Aug. 22, 2015, the Dragon Boat Festival is a competitive race where teams strive to paddle their Chinese dragon boats to victory. www.owensborodragonboat.com.

OR

International Bar-B-Q Festival – Held the second weekend of May in downtown Owensboro, the festival is a giant cooking contest where both large church teams and small backyard cooks compete to see who can serve the best barbecue. The festival also includes rides, music, games, a street fair and other activities. www.bbqfest.com

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Advertiser index Ashley-Worth, LLC.......................................................... 7 Associated Engineers, Inc............................................ 92 Audubon Area Community Services ............................ 45 Audubon Federal Credit Union . ................................... 81 BB&T ............................................................................ .68 Bella Ragazza Boutique..............................................…71 Brescia University ........................................................ 35 BridgePointe Church ...................................................... 1 Century 21 Partners . .................................................... 57 Century Aluminum ........................................................ 24 Chandler Park Apartment Homes................................. 60 Children’s Advocacy Center ......................................... 47 City of Owensboro ......................................................... .3 Courtyard by Marriott ................................................. 103 Danco Construction Inc. . ............................................. 93 Daviess County Public Schools ................................... 34 Daviess County Teachers Federal Credit Union .......... 91 Daymar College ............................................................ 34 Edward Jones .......................................Inside back cover Elder Advantage, LLC . ................................................. 42 Farm Credit Mid-America ........................................... 38 First Security Bank . ..................................................... 15 Glenn Family Services ................................................. 17 Good, Dr. Richard C. ................................................. .. 11 Green River Appliances .............................................. . 10 Greenwell-Chisholm ...................................................... .2 Greg’s Collision Center & Auto Sales Inc...................... 13 Gulfstream Enterprises ..............................................…39 Hagans Outdoor Equipment . ....................................... 91 Haley McGinnis Funeral Home . ................................... 23 Hampton Inn ............................................................... ..98 Hartz Contracting, LLC................................................ 104 Helton Insurance Agency Inc. ..................................... .90 Hermitage Care and Rehabilitation Center.................. 88 Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront ............................ 103

Home Builders Association of Owensboro .................. 57 Homes by Benny Clark . .............................................. .64 IGA................................................................................ .20 Independence Bank . ................................................... 21 James H. Davis Funeral Home .................................... .26 Just Rennie’s Cookie Company .................................. .87 Kentucky Wesleyan College ......................................... 27 Kroger ........................................................................…96 L. Steve Castlen Realtors ............................................ .54 Marcus W. Bosley and Associates, Inc. ......................... 7 Martin Custom Building Inc. .................................. .58, 59 Mayfield Hodges Automotive Services, Inc. ............... 79 McCarty’s Towing and Automotive .............................. 90 Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn . ................................................. 85 Murphy Appliance and Electronics Company . ........... 80 Murphy Excavating ..................................................... . 84 Murphy Sewing Machine Co. ...................................... 92 Myriad CPA Group ....................................................… 95 Nick T. Arnold Jewelers ....................................... .. 68, 77 Norman King Electric ................................................... 17 O’Bryan Contracting and Leasing, Inc. .......................... 9 Old Hickory Bar-B-Q ................................................... 80 Ole South Bar-B-Q ....................................................... 82 Owensboro Catholic Schools . .................................... 33 Owensboro Community & Technical College ............................................................... Inside front cover Owensboro Convention Center . ..............................… 73 Owensboro-Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau . ........................................................................ 90 Owensboro Dermatology ........................................…. 40 Owensboro Health Regional Hospital ................................................................... 52, 53, Back cover Owensboro Municipal Utilities . ................................... 66 OMUfibernet ................................................................ 67 Owensboro Museum of Fine Art ................................ . 79

Owensboro Public Schools ....................................... .. 35 Patti’s ReSale ............................................................… 81 Pay Day Payroll ........................................................... . 20 Peacocks & Pearls Boutique ....................................... 97 Physician’s Affiliated Care ........................................... 43 RBS Design Group ...............................................…… 47 Real Hacienda Mexican Restaurant ............................ 75 Real Living Home Realty ............................................ . 62 Republic Bank ..........................................................… 92 RiverPark Center . .....................................................… 74 Rose Realty . ............................................................…. 62 Settle Group of Hilliard Lyons . .................................... 99 Shogun of Owensboro . .............................................…80 South Central Bank ..................................................... 19 Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline ............................ 48 Spudz-N-Stuff . ........................................................... . 78 State Farm Insurance, Daniel Dick .............................. 94 Storm Insurance .................................................…… 102 Tapp Motors . ...........................................................…. 82 The Crème ................................................................... 78 The Pearl Club of Owensboro ..................................... 86 The Summit . ................................................................ 86 Thompson Homes, Inc. ............................................... 62 Tire Mart ....................................................................... 85 Titan Contracting and Leasing Company, Inc. . .......... 13 Tom Blue Furniture & Sleep Shop ................................ 87 Tony Clark Realtors, LLC. ........................................... 56 Trisons .......................................................................… 91 Twin Rivers Nursing & Rehabilitation . ........................ . 45 U.S. Bank ...........................................................…. 37, 48 U.S. Bank Home Mortgage......................................…. 48 Ward Family Dentistry, P.S.C. ..................................... . 45 Wendell Foster Campus for Developmental Disabilities ....................................................................................... 50 Western Kentucky University – Owensboro ................ 33

CALL US FOR YOUR FREE QUOTE TODAY • Home Insurance • Life Insurance • Business Insurance

• Auto Insurance • Health Insurance • Crop Insurance

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Doc Harris • Jason Stoermer • Tom Roberts • Melanie Hardesty Allison Kimberlin • Scott Stoermer • Jennifer Farmer

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Jackie and Gary Clark, along with their 1-year-old granddaughter Lily Hall, cruise in the Clarks’ homemade quadracycle around Smothers Park in the summer of 2014. Gary Clark said he found the plans for the quadracycle on the internet and decided to build it because, “It looked neat,” he said. “And when she came along,” Jackie Clark said in reference to Lily, “he revised it and made room for her.”

3120 Highland Pointe Drive Owensboro, KY 42303 270.685.4140

Owensboro Riverfront 701 West First Street Owensboro, KY 42301 270.683.1111

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LinGate Hospitality Hotel Development, Management, Investment www.lingatehospitality.com

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St. Stephen Cathedral Restoration

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INDUSTRIAL - COMMERCIAL MEDICAL - INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH

Third Baptist Church

Brescia University

Daviess Co. Public Library

United States of America, Inc.

General Contracting Design/Build Construction Construction Management Services Renovations/Conversions/Expansions Pre-Engineered Buildings Engineering/Architectural/Design Services

Southern Star

Owensboro Municipal Utilities

Considering A New Facility?

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BUILDING THE LANDMARKS OF OWENSBORO FOR OVER THREE DECADES

1855 Old Calhoun Road • Owensboro (270) 926-6554 • Fax (270) 685-2854 www.hartzcontracting.com The Heartford House

Green River District Health Dept.

First Security Bank

Old National Bank

CONCRETE & EXCAVATION SPECIALIST Curbs • Sidewalks • Pavement

Foundations & Slabs • Retaining Walls Tilt-Up Panels • Basements • Bridges Culverts • Catch Basins • Equipment

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Owensboro Grain Co.

www.edwardjones.com

Meeting on your schedule, not ours.

Face-to-face meetings. One-on-one relationships.

How did Edward Jones become one of the biggest ďŹ nancial services companies in the country? By not acting like one.

With more than 10,000 offices. Including the nine in Owensboro.

Call or visit any of our nine financial advisors in the Owensboro area. To find an Edward Jones office near you, call 1-800-ED-JONES or visit www.edwardjones.com.

Member SIPC MKT-8275-A-AD Š 2013 EDWARD JONES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Husbands need mammograms, too.

Mammograms save wives.

Mammograms also help you stop worrying about the “what ifs” of breast cancer so you can focus on what really matters. Stay on top of your breast health at several Owensboro Health locations throughout the region.

If you’re 40 or older, talk with your doctor about a mammogram. Then, call 844-50-MAMMO to schedule your screening. 3-D Technology Now Available!

Learn more at OwensboroHealth.org * Healthgrades America’s 100 Best™ Hospital 2013-2014