greater owensboro chamber of commerce
CHAMBER MATTERS Vol 20/Issue 6
The Chamber will host its Rooster Booster breakfast this Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 a.m. at the Owensboro Convention Center (501 West Second Street). The program is sponsored by WKU in Owensboro and will feature Paul Schiminger, advisor to the Owensboro’s Bluegrass Music Capital of the World Task Force. Reserve your spot now at www.chamber.owensboro.com or by calling the Chamber office at (270) 926-1860 by noon on Wednesday, June 1.
JUNE
2022
ROOSTER BOOSTER SPONSOR
COST IN ADVANCE: $15 for Chamber Members and $25 for non-members. COST AT THE DOOR: $20 for Chamber Members and $25 for non-members.
Owensboro’s Bluegrass Flag June’s Topic Paul Schiminger is an advisor to the since he was a teenager, having played in Owensboro’s Bluegrass Music Capital of the two regional bands over the years. Paul World Task Force. From 2015 to 2021 he was is a graduate of the Leadership Bluegrass the Executive Director class of 2015 and a of the International graduate of Leadership Bluegrass Music Music in 2018. He holds Association (“IBMA”), a B.B.A in Accounting located in Nashville, from James Madison TN. Prior to joining the University and an M.S. IBMA, Paul held various in Finance from Johns leadership positions in Hopkins University. the financial services Paul currently sits on industry, including the Steve Martin Banjo Managing Director and Prize board, and he is a Not-for-Profit Segment former ex-officio board Leader for Wilmington member of the IBMA, the Trust, the head of sales IBMA Foundation, and and marketing for Alex the Bluegrass Music Hall Brown Investment of Fame & Museum. He Paul Schiminger Management, and also served on the board Director of Advisory of My Sister’s Circle, Services for Deutsche Bank Alex Brown. whose mission is to help disadvantaged girls Aside from his financial services career, in Baltimore City become thriving women he has been involved in bluegrass music through education and mentoring.
WKU in Owensboro WKU hit the ground running as the University returned to normal operations in fall 2021 and celebrated an academic year of historic achievements. The WKU Opportunity Fund surpassed its initial $50 million goal in less than four years, and President Timothy C. Caboni announced an even more ambitious $100 million goal. So far, the fund has provided 182 endowed scholarships for Hilltoppers, fulfilling the promise of making WKU more accessible than ever before. The University also made substantial retention gains. Overall, 91% of first-time, first-year students who enrolled at WKU in the fall 2021 semester returned in the spring, an increase of two percentage points compared to the previous fall. Those participating in the University’s reimagined Living Learning Communities returned at an even higher rate, and retention among underrepresented minority students has risen by nearly 10 percentage points during the last four years. WKU in Owensboro receives tremendous scholarship support from multiple area organizations and individuals. Last year, local community donors provided $56,000 in scholarships to WKU in Owensboro students. The University’s restructured institutional scholarship model continues to make the WKU experience more accessible to more area students. This academic year, students from Daviess County were offered nearly $800,000 to attend WKU, an average of $8,000 per student. Even better, 32% of the students from Daviess County had tuition covered in full as part of WKU’s new Hilltopper Guarantee. WKU remains committed to providing a one-ofa-kind, affordable experience for students from Owensboro and beyond. Collaborations with partners across the region will sustain the life-changing effects that the University has on its students and their communities. There’s never been a better time for students in Owensboro and Daviess County to consider pursuing a college degree at WKU. Go Tops!
Leadership Owensboro accepting nominations