2016 Greater Owensboro Chamber Magazine by Messenger-Inquirer

GREATER

wensboro 2016

A publication of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and the Messenger-Inquirer

Fuel Owensboro’s Workforce

Owensboro Community and Technical College is the region’s largest provider of workforce training. Since 2000, OCTC has awarded credentials for: 1,826 Electrical Technology 824 Welding Technology 673 Automotive & Diesel Technology 597 Industrial Maintenance Technology 523 Registered Nursing 223 Surgical Technologists 1,933 Certified Nurse Aides 209 Air Conditioning Technology 495 Computer & Information Technologies 777 Engineering & Electronics Technology 21,000 Incumbent Worker Trainings 3,086 AA/AS Transfer Degrees Since the economic downturn of 2008, the Kentucky Community & Technical College System has lost $38.5 million in state appropriations with fixed costs increasing by nearly the same amount. Join business and industry leaders across the state in asking Kentucky’s legislature to restore a portion of our state appropriation cuts to “Fuel the Force.” Learn more at fueltheforceky.com.

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GO BUSINESS . FOURTH QUARTER 2015

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wensboro 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 EDITORIAL

Meghann Richardson, Special Publications Editor Jenny Sevcik, Photography Editor PHOTOGRAPHERS

Greg Eans Mike Clark

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Maegan Saalwaechter REPORTERS

Bobbie Hayse Keith Lawrence Jim Mayse Angela Oliver Austin Ramsey Stephanie Salmons Steve Vied Don Wilkins 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 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE STAFF

Candance Brake, President & CEO Susan High, Business Manager Jessica Kirk, Executive Director Leadership Owensboro/Programs & Events Manager Shelly Nichols, Membership Development Manager Daniel Deno, Membership Services Specialist 270-926-1860 • chamber.owensboro.com

WELCOME TO GREATER OWENSBORO! The best small city you will find. We have continued making Owensboro greater throughout the past year, and we cannot wait to see all that is in store for 2016! Here are just a few of the things happening in our All-American City: • Our new Owensboro Convention Center with two brand new hotels standing on each side flanked by a breathtaking riverfront park. • Downtown businesses and residences thriving, growing and expanding. • Tremendous growth in the innovation and research and development sector. • Sports and recreational events and activities for every age and interest. • Owensboro Health Regional Hospital’s phenomenal new campus focused on patient care is ranked in the top 2% in the nation in quality. • Job growth, businesses expansion and income growth exceeding our peers. • New transportation networks being constructed to get more people and goods in and out of our community. • Education is at the forefront with exemplary primary and secondary schools and world-class colleges and universities with diverse programs to advance our higher education as well as workforce development and training opportunities. • An arts, entertainment and dining scene unparalleled in communities our size. It’s an amazing time to be a part of this community. We hope you find this annual publication inspiring and a way for you to experience a small piece of our community that we are so proud to call our own. We are honored to share it with you. Sincerely, Candance Castlen Brake President and CEO J. Adam Hancock CPA, 2016 Chair, Board of Directors

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CONTENTS

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Business & Industry

Page 8

Businesses of the Year

Page 22

Living in Owensboro

Page 30

Healthy Living

Page 36

Education

Page 46

Worship and Religion

Page 58

Transportation

Page 66

Community Involvement

Page 70

Volunteer Opportunities

Page 73

Convention Center

Page 76

Shopping Here

Page 82

Eating Locally

Page 86

Arts & Entertainment

Page 92

Advertiser Index

Page 106

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wensboro AT A GLANCE 58,374 Population of Owensboro

98,275 Population of Daviess County

4.2% Local unemployment rate 5.5% nationwide

$46,555 Median household income

$102,300 Median home price

14.8 minutes Average commute to work 6

Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census Annual Estimates, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Messenger-Inquirer file photo

Jamie Boone, left, and Jamie Fulcher, both with SignPros, position gold lettering onto the front window of a downtown business across from the Daviess County Courthouse.

SIGN of the TIMES Fulcher grows business into full-service sign shop BY DON WILKINS

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

n less than five years, SignPros owner Jamie Fulcher has gone from designing banners in his house to owning a full-service sign shop with six employees. “By next year, I hope to be owning my own shop,” said Fulcher, who is now renting a converted airplane hanger inside the MidAmerica Air Park. Fulcher’s customers are mostly

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local businesses, but he has started receiving orders from across Kentucky and into Tennessee. “It’s through the Internet, but it’s also word of mouth,” Fulcher said. “… A lot of it is our customers are telling other people. When someone says, ‘Oh, we’re going to open this new store in this strip center,’ and then they’ll say, ‘you need to call Jamie when you get ready for your sign.’ ” Fulcher, a 43-year-old Henderson

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Photo by Greg Eans

Bob Fisher, a fabrication manager with SignPros, works on a channel lettering sign for a gas station in SignPros’ MidAmerica Air Park facility. The sign employs LED lighting.

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Bob Fisher, front right, installs a strand of LED lights as Jamie Boone, next to Fisher, production manager with SignPros, and Jamie Fulcher, owner of SignPros, install a new face and upgrade the electronics for a sign at Haley McGinnis Funeral Home & Crematory.

native, graduated from Murray State University with a bachelor’s degree in advertising. Fulcher’s business roots, however, come from his family. He grew up with parents who owned a plastics business in Madisonville. He said it was learning how to run a business at an early age that helped

him when he decided to start his own sign shop. “Being a small business, I do everything,” Fulcher said. “I do 95 percent of the artwork.” Fulcher also employs a production manager, Jamie Boone, and a fabricator, Bob Fisher, who focuses mainly on the lighted signs.

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Fisher, a Brooklyn, New York, native, said he has 42 years of experience in the sign business. “I got into this because I was an artist,” Fisher said. “If you can think of it, we can do it and make it from scratch. We can weld, cut and fabricate. There aren’t many shops that can call themselves total manufacturers of signs.” Starting out, Fulcher was mainly creating banners and car graphics through vinyl and electronic printing. But since adding lighted signs to his repertoire, Fulcher said it has been “a game-changer” for his business. He said the average cost of a lighted sign runs between $3,500 and $4,000 versus a banner that retails between $100 and $150. “We’re averaging 10 to 12 percent growth every year,” Fulcher said. “This year we’ve gotten really busy with the lighted stuff. We’re looking at a $65,000 to $75,000 increase in sales over last year.” The next step for SignPros is to add corporate accounts that would involve designing signs for

Photo by Greg Eans

Sarah Gish applies vinyl letters to a sign for a client at SignPros in MidAmerica Air Park.

their franchises. Some of SignPros’ local productions include the signs of Wasabi 54, Haley McGinnis Funeral Home & Crematory and Great

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Harvest Bread Company. “It’s neat to drive down the street with my kids and go, ‘See that sign?’ And they say, ‘You did it, right?’ Yes, I did.”

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Photo by Greg Eans

Jason Kyle, left, and Eric Kyle, brothers and co-founders of Red Pixel Studios, stand in the conference room of their business at 111 East 3rd St. The business offers Web, print and app development, as well as logo design to help brand businesses.

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Owensboro brothers find success in Red Pixel Studios BY ANGELA OLIVER

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

hen Eric and Jason Kyle decided to become their own bosses, they had some doubts. “I was apprehensive about leaving my job; my wife and I had a newborn at that time,” said Eric Kyle, the oldest of the brothers. But, the men followed their instincts and launched Red Pixel Studios in 2001. The first few months were in Eric Kyle’s home, though they soon moved to downtown Owensboro. The brothers said they hope 111 E. Third St., their third downtown

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location, is their final move. “We want this to be our resting spot,” Jason Kyle said. “Or, it better be since we just bought it.” They laughed and gelled well in the conference room of their second-floor office, pleasantly lit by sunlight. Red Pixel Studios offers web, print and app development, marketing and logo design to help with branding and identity. Having started the app side of the business in 2009, when it was still new, the company is also revving up its proximity detection and beacon technology services. When they started the company,

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they cracked open the Chamber of Commerce directory and gained customers by calling down the list. “By the time, we got to the Hs, we had to stop because we were getting too much work,” Jason Kyle said. “Well, 12 to 15 clients at that point, but that was a great start for us.” Now with a client base of about 200, including many it started with, Red Pixel serves mostly small businesses. About 40 percent of them are local — Owensboro Municipal Utilities, E.M. Ford, Friday After 5, Daviess County Public Library, The Miller House, Riney Hancock CPAs and the Kyles’ alma mater, Brescia University, among them — and about 60 percent of them range from across the U.S. to Europe and other places abroad. The company has expanded to a staff of seven — the Kyles; developer, app whiz and Brescia University alum Pablo Gallastegui; web developer and server technology specialist Andy Goodaker; developer and programming expert Gustavo Molina, who works from Argentina, and graphic designer and corporate identity master Amanda Shanks. “We have so many skill sets under one roof,” Jason Kyle said. “Everyone is talented, everyone is an idea generator. We work, not as bosses, but as a team. We’re a good team.” The Red Pixel philosophy is to “do what we promise and try to produce better quality than expected,” Eric Kyle said. “The client can be very hands-on or very hands-off. We want them to tell us where we fit in their plan, and we adapt.” Though the computer technology industry isn’t what most think of when they think of Owensboro, the Kyles said they hope to see the industry grow locally. “We’ve been in Owensboro all our lives and have no plans to leave,” Eric Kyle said. “Yes, it has its problems here and there, but it’s a great place to live and have a business like this.” “If we’re able to open up opportunities for kids who are

interested in technology, we will,” the father of three girls, 14, 11 and 8, continued. “I say to my girls all the time, technology and computer programming has been a boys club. We want to see them change that.” That’s part of the reason Red Pixel offers hands-on internships, the brothers said. The company also offers a grant for nonprofit organizations to win free website design and development. Since the downtown revitalization, the Kyles expect similar companies to start or come to Owensboro down the line. “We love working downtown,” Eric Kyle said. “People have responded so well to the revitalization, it feels good to be part of the atmosphere.” And they don’t mind the competition. “Technology and business changes every year,” Jason Kyle said. “Competition is good because it gives the customer a choice. Our goal is to keep our clients happy, and we hope they’ll see that.” Beside that, they realize Red Pixel can’t specialize in everything. “If you have too many services, too many specialties, it’s hard to be the best at all of them,” Jason Kyle said. “We’ve whittled down to the services we’re really strong on, and that’s why we have repeat clients and referrals.” Eric, with a background in information technology and publishing, and Jason, who got his start in print-related marketing and corporate identity development, have had a love for art and computers since they were kids.

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“Jason and I tinkered with programming at an early age,” said Eric Kyle, remembering the original Apple Macintosh computer. “It was the dawn of desktop publishing. It was still a cut-and-paste world.” The Owensboro Catholic High School graduates — Eric in 1988, Jason in 1992 — spent a lot of time in the Messenger-Inquirer newsroom with their father, Bill Kyle, who was a photographer and graphic artist there. That experience also kept their interests in print work. Their father also often jokes about them working together. “He can’t believe we still do,” Jason Kyle said. “Working with family can be tough for a lot of people, but we’ve always been close, even with four years age difference. ... We both have common sense, interests in design, the art world, the business world. And we know we can count on each other, so we wouldn’t have it any other way.” Though the brothers are excited about Red Pixel’s future, they will pass the torch some day. “We don’t want to work hard all our lives,” Eric Kyle said. “We want to be able to take care of our families, and we want the same for our staff; they’re the people who stuck with us.” Jason Kyle is also married and has a son, 11, and daughter, 9. “We’ve been able to make this an educational experience for our interns,” said Jason Kyle. “So, we hope the next generation will stay in Owensboro and keep clients coming back. It’s something we’re very proud of.” 2 0 1 6

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GROWING BUSINESSES

Greater Owensboro EDC encourages entrepreneurs BY ANGELA OLIVER AND KEITH LAWRENCE

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

n area with a healthy field of entrepreneurs has a lot to be proud of, said Joe Berry, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. “This region has long held entrepreneurship as a focal point of economic development,” said Berry,

who is also the director of the local office of the Kentucky Innovation Network. Jeff Stucke, president and CEO of Happy Matters Inc., said, “The construct of happiness goes far beyond our modern day understanding. Aristotle’s definition of human flourishing is a much better representation of what authentic happiness is.” Through Happy Matters, an

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Evansville-based company, Stucke, a longtime mental health professional, and Michele Myers, vice president of client relations with a background in management and marketing, offer seminars, consulting and training centered on positive psychology. “Success is measured on performance, and science shows that happiness increases human performance,” Stucke said. “A positive brain state maximizes performance, 2 0 1 6

LeAnne Shockley, left, and Joe Berry talk about Global Entrepreneurship Week from outside Berry’s office at 200 E. 3rd St. Shockley is the vice president of area operations with Junior Achievement of West Kentucky, and Berry is the vice president of entrepreneurship at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

no matter the venue, whether you are an athlete, sales rep or entrepreneur. ... By moving our brains from a negative or neutral state to a positive one, we experience more happiness and this unlocks our brain’s capacity to think creatively and cooperatively. And as happiness increases, so does resilience.” In addition to faith and family, Berry said, most entrepreneurs have “earned success” at the top of their list of what drives human happiness. “Earned success stands out, not because of wealth,” he said, “but because individuals who work hard know what they can earn and that they can feel proud that they really worked for it.” The local Kentucky Innovation

Network and the Henderson Chamber of Commerce partnered earlier this year for a business boot camp. “We take very seriously the workforce pipeline and realize we have to instill entrepreneurship from an early age,” Berry said. ENCOURAGING YOUNG MINDS In 2015, the EDC joined Junior Achievement of West Kentucky for its second annual Hot Chocolate Challenge. Six teams of four to six students in fourth and fifth grades run hot chocolate stands on the Owensboro Convention Center lawn. All three school districts were represented, and the children kept their earnings. “It’s interesting how elaborate some of their marketing is,” said LeAnne Shockley, JA’s vice president of area operations. For instance, Estes Elementary School, last year’s winner, developed an app that scanned QR codes on the hot chocolate cup. Once scanned, the

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patron could see a student reading a story aloud on the app. “I love that they try to involve everybody. Only so many can be on the team, but in that case, the students who weren’t on the team still got to participate by reading.” Leadership Owensboro participants and other volunteers mentored the children during the challenge. Berry said he was impressed with the children’s ideas last year. “It’s amazing how quickly they can recognize a problem and correct it,” he said. “Children are natural problem-solvers. They’re making decisions based on how many people are around, how long it takes to make a cup, all the market conditions around them, which is what entrepreneurs do every day.” Such hands-on activities are needed to keep the field alive, he said. “We have to teach the principles of business ownership,” Berry said. “It’s not anyone’s fault, but the usual thing kids are taught is they can be a lawyer or a doctor, or otherwise work for someone else, but they’re not taught or encouraged to become business owners. If we reach one or two kids with that, it’s a big step.” EXPANDING BUSINESSES Though agriculture, food and health care fields have been frontrunners of the area’s entrepreneurship field, Berry said, life science and plant-based pharmaceutical businesses are emerging, led by advances at Hollison and Kentucky BioProcessing. He doesn’t see entrepreneurship in Daviess County slowing down any time soon. “Owensboro has a competitive advantage. People are moving to cities but the cost of living is so high,” he said. “Here, we’re blessed because we have all the amenities of a major city, but a lower cost of living for those who don’t want to live in a large metro. “There’s space and opportunity here,” he said. “There’s always a pressing need to be innovative, and there’s someone in this building who can help you get started or 2 0 1 6

Chris May, left, and Terry Cooney, owners of May Electric Co., stand inside their business’ new location in the former Progress Printing building at 1750 W. Second St. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

help you find out what to do to make your business better. We want to see entrepreneurs succeed.” LOCAL SUCCESS STORY May Electric will celebrate its 57th anniversary in January. But Chris May, the company’s president, says it feels like a new company since its move from 601 Triplett St. — where it was located for 52 years — to the former Progress Printing building at 1750 W. Second St. earlier this year. “It’s really enjoyable getting a fresh look at the business,” he said. “It’s like starting over again. I’m excited on Mondays because I get to go to work. I’m here a lot of times on Saturday and Sunday because it doesn’t feel like work.” The move more than doubled the company’s space — to 3,000 square

feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of warehouse. May Electric has been primarily involved in high-voltage industrial work for the past 30 years. But it plans to move gradually into the commercial building field.

“My father, Robert May, started the business in January 1959 on Fourth Street,” Chris May said. “When he moved to Triplett Street in 1963, there were just three people in the company.” May Electric had a staff of 18 people

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in January and it has 23 today, he said. “I expect us to continue to grow,” May said. “But we’ll do it the old-fashioned way — without grants or tax deductions. Our target is 25 to 30 employees.” When Robert May retired in 1982, his children Chris, Mark, Vince and Marti May, took over the business. When Vince May retired in 2011, Terry Cooney bought his share of the business and became a partner. In July 2014, Mark May retired, and Chris May bought his shares. Marti May retired in December, and Cooney bought her shares. That left the company with two partners instead of four. “We decided we’re going to move to the next level,” Chris May said. “You get comfortable with what you’re doing. But Terry brought a new perspective. We’ve been primarily in industrial work, high-voltage, all within 50 miles of Owensboro. But Terry wanted to expand into the commercial and service field. We’ll do everything from changing light bulbs to 15,000-volt service distribution.” In a way, that’s returning to the company’s roots. Robert May, who helped wire the lighting on the Glover H. Cary Bridge in the 1940s, started his company by wiring houses and doing small commercial work. In the 1970s, he got into industrial work, quarries, coal mines and oil fields. Chris May, who’s been with the company since 1977, will continue to handle industrial accounts, and Cooney will work with commercial and service accounts. “We’re focused on what it’s going to take to get and keep the best employees,” May said. “There aren’t a lot of kids going into this field today. We wouldn’t be where we are without our employees and customers. We want to keep them satisfied. We’re nothing without our employees. We’re more indebted to them than they are to us.” “We’re booked out for the rest of the year,” May said. “For us, the economy went south in 2011. But we’re much stronger now. Hard work pays off.” G R E A T E R

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A Great Place to Bank. A Great Place to Work.

For the second year in a row, Independence Bank has been named one of the Best Banks to Work for by American Banker magazine. In 2015, Independence Bank is ranked 14th in the nation – and is the highest-ranked bank in Kentucky. Although we are proud to make the list, we are most proud of the difference we’ve been able to make in the communities we serve. It’s how we’ve always done banking, and, rest assured, it’s how we always will.

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GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2015 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER Every year the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce presents awards to local businesses for their outstanding services, support and involvement in the community. The awards program is designed to celebrate outstanding businesses and their efforts. These are the 2015 winners:

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Malcolm Bryant, of the Malcolm Bryant Corporation, stands outside his company’s Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Owensboro/ Waterfront. In 2012, the Bryant Corp. started a “green energy initiative” at several properties that experimented with geothermal energy, solar panels and LED lighting. The downtown Hampton Inn is Kentucky’s first LEED-certified hotel.

THE MALCOLM BRYANT CORPORATION The Malcolm Bryant Corporation was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year (51-plus employees). The company was founded in 1980 on the keystone that you must respect others in order to build a successful business. For more than 30 years, the company has grown to conduct business in more than 15 communities and has proudly served more than 1,000 property tenants. The company’s reputation begins and ends with satisfied clients, which it achieves by

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never resting on its laurels and never compromising on its meticulously crafted standard of excellence. The company has built on its success and has sustained an impeccable reputation. Malcolm Bryant represents the highest ideals in personal integrity and business ethics. The Malcolm Bryant Corporation knows its strength is commercial real estate, and its success is illustrated by it having more than one million-square-feet of commercial space and a 99-percent occupancy rate over the last 30 years.

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GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2015 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Morgan Ford, from left, Clay Ford and Neel Ford have all joined the family business, E.M. Ford & Company, which was started by their great-grandfather, state Sen. E.M. Ford, in 1925. In 1925 the business was a one-man independent insurance agency. It has grown into a full-service insurance and financial planning firm. Clay Ford is holding a photo of E.M. Ford.

E.M. FORD & COMPANY E.M. Ford & Company was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Business of the Year (11-50 employees). Founded by E.M. Ford, a state senator, in 1925, the company has grown into one of the largest independent insurance agencies in Kentucky. The Honorable Wendell Ford and Reyburn Ford joined their father’s business and became owners in the late 1960s. In the early 1980s, the agency transferred leadership to G R E A T E R

a third generation of Fords — Wendell’s son, Steve, and Reyburn’s son, Rick. The family business has extended to a fourth generation, with Steve Ford’s sons — Clay, Neel and Morgan — having joined the agency, beginning in 2002. The company’s philosophy of offering quality products and personal attention has earned it respect from the community and the insurance industry. To contact E.M. Ford & Company call 270-926-2806.

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GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2015 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Musick Studios’ All-Star dancers rehearse a competition routine in the East 2nd Street business in Owensboro. The group of mostly middle- and high-school-aged students have competed in by-invitation-only dance competitions at Walt Disney World and in Chicago, owner LeAnne Musick said. Musick Studios won the 2015 Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year for businesses with 1-10 employees.

MUSICK STUDIOS

Musick Studios was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Business of the Year (1-10 employees). Leaving positive imprints through the art of dance since 2008, LeAnne Musick has used her 6,000-square-foot studio to introduce, train and develop dancers of all ages. Hundreds of alumni of Musick Studios have performed in venues across the nation, including NBA basketball arenas to the largest dance venues in the Midwest. Her passion for her students

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is apparent in every performance. But it’s her drive to enhance her dancers’ lives that has made a difference in our community. At Musick Studios, dancers can train in hip-hop, ballet, lyrical and step. Beginners to advanced — ages 2 to 3 years old to adults — can train at the facility. The dance season runs from August to May, culminating in a professionally produced, all-studio showcase at the RiverPark Center. To contact Musick Studios call 270-688-8908.

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GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2015 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Karen Collier, a caregiver with Home Instead Senior Care, left, talks with Ruth Holder in Holder’s home. Collier assists Holder with things in her home such as making breakfast. Home Instead Senior Care was named “Emerging Business of the Year” for 2015 by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce.

HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE

Home Instead Senior Care was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Emerging Business of the Year. The Owensboro office overcame the challenges of being a start-up business in today’s economy to earn more awards from its national organization than any other office in the United States the last four years. Possibly one of our community’s best success stories, in four years it has become a thriving G R E A T E R

company that earned the title of “most trusted provider of in-home care for seniors” and the highest score from Chamber judges. Paul and Lori Hogan founded Home Instead, Inc., in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska. Franchises began opening in 1995. Today, the Home Instead Senior Care network includes more than 1,000 franchises around the world — including the Owensboro office. To contact Home Instead Senior Care call 270-297-9877.

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GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2015 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

A student walks by Brescia Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus center. Brescia was honored by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce in 2015 as the Education and Workforce Development Program of the Year.

BRESCIA UNIVERSITY Brescia University was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2015 Education and Workforce Development Program of the Year. Brescia was founded in 1950 by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph and began operating as a four-year college in 1951. Dedicated to academic and moral excellence in a student-centered environment, Brescia

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offers undergraduate and graduate programs that serve students who seek success through rewarding careers and service to others. Brescia is a Catholic, liberal arts institution founded in the Ursuline tradition of personal and social transformation through education. To contact Brescia University call 270-686-4338.

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GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2015 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER

Photo by Greg Eans

Lakayla Griffin, 10, from left, Kaliyah Green, 11, and Leshaye Wooley, 6, use the ends of jump ropes as microphones while singing in a make-believe band at the Rolling Heights campus of Girls Incorporated of Owensboro-Daviess County.

GIRLS INCORPORATED

Girls Incorporated of Owensboro-Daviess County was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Nonprofit of the Year. Girls Inc. has been inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold since 1969. The organization’s first home was a small apartment in 1970, and it has been growing ever since. Girls Inc. provides quality, informal educational opportunities for girls between the ages of 8 and 18. The local branch utilizes research-based and age-appropriate national Girls’ Inc. G G R R E E AA TT EE RR

program curriculum with locally developed programs, field trips and guest speakers. Girls Inc.’s informal education programs encourage girls to take risks and master physical, intellectual and emotional challenges, with major programs addressing math and science education, pregnancy and drug abuse prevention, media literacy, economic literacy, adolescent health, violence prevention and sports participation. To contact Girls Inc. call 270-684-7833.

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Leaders in Real Estate, Leaders in the Community. www.CENTURY21Partners.com Find us on Facebook/Century21Owensboro & Twitter@C21Owensboro

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270.684.2100 270.684.2100

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Photo illustration by Jenny Sevcik

LIVING HOTSPOTS

Kentucky 54 corridor, Griffith Avenue continues to have strong appeal BY STEVE VIED

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

sk 10 people to name the best places to live in Owensboro and you may get 10 different answers. Some will swear by the established charm and character of Griffith Avenue and the entire dogwood-azalea neighborhood that flanks the glamorous mid-city street. Others will note the dramatic and still occurring rebirth of downtown and point to that area as an emerging destination for professionals seeking to live near where they work and also within walking distance of restaurants, shopping, entertainment and the riverfront. Of course, the explosion of growth of every kind and every direction along Kentucky 54 over the last two decades has already made that corridor a magnet for residential development. With much more commercial growth on the way in the form of Gateway Commons — a

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$335 million “lifestyle center” shopping-residential-entertainment-office complex on 200 acres — the area stands to be irresistible to people wanting to live in arguably the city’s most vibrant sector. Debbie Nunley, a long-time real estate professional and a member of the Owensboro City Commission, said young professionals especially have a highly favorable opinion of downtown living. “They like to live close to where they work, and they like to use transportation other than a car,” Nunley said. “As a city official, I really want to see development of condominiums and rental downtown.” An appealing attribute of a downtown tax increment financing (TIF) district, which the city is now seeking, is its potential to support and encourage residential development, Nunley said. Properties converted and renovated into living spaces will prove attractive,

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she predicted. At the same time, the Kentucky 54 corridor and its nearness to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital will pull people to the area for the convenience of living close to medical facilities, supermarkets, restaurants and shopping, Nunley said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has really blossomed. It will be a TIF area with everything.â&#x20AC;? Multi-family residential development in the area, a lot of which has already occurred, is likely to continue to dominate, Nunley said. Griffith Avenue and the area several blocks north and south of it continues to have strong appeal, Nunley said, especially for residents who no longer have children at home. Many smaller, cottage-style homes are available in the area that, even with renovations, are affordable, she said. Bettie Kincaid, a real estate broker, said professionals moving to the city very often seek an address in Lake Forest, the high-end development off Kentucky 54, and developments near it. The 54 area in general is highly desirable, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They like that direction because that is where the city is growing,â&#x20AC;? Kincaid said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That seems to be where the action is.â&#x20AC;? Downtown has solid potential, Kincaid said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not just yet,â&#x20AC;? Kincaid said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not much down there. But I have had inquiries about downtown. A lot of people are interested, they are just waiting on things to be built. ... I think they will sell pretty quickly.â&#x20AC;? Kincaid said she recently bought a downtown property. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it is a fun place,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think people who live here already are interested.â&#x20AC;? Like Nunley, Kincaid said the Griffith Avenue area continues to have a strong pull, for empty-nesters especially. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always been hot,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It tends to sell quickly. A lot of younger people want to live in the county, but when their kids are gone they move back into the city.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Griffith Avenue-HealthPark area, all that area, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to keep anything on the market if the price is right,â&#x20AC;? real estate broker Scott Lyons said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That market is very hot, even for a lot of young people. Four or five

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years ago it was not that way.” Lyons said the Griffith Avenue corridor has always been popular with older residents, but more recently people in the early to mid-30s are placing a high priority on the area. Lyons holds a wait-and-see attitude on the residential future of downtown. “It is yet to be determined,” he said. “There are a handful of condos. I feel there will be a residential component, but it’s a matter of when will you build them?” The Kentucky 54 area continues to see new neighborhoods pop up as developers seek to satisfy demand for new homes. “I live there, and I like the accessibility to restaurants, shopping and just about anything you want,” Lyons said. “I see it continuing to develop with Gateway Commons.” Lyons said that emerging areas of residential growth with strong potential include the Jagoe Homes 4200 development on Old Hartford Road, as well as Jagoe’s Deer Valley neighborhood near Masonville. Scott Jagoe, partner with his brother Bill Jagoe of Jagoe Homes, doesn’t argue with the appeal of the Griffith Avenue area, and agrees that demand along Kentucky 54 continues to be strong. Downtown, where Jagoe Homes has purchased property for a residential project, is also a hot spot for a wide mix of people, he said. But based on new home construction permits, a Jagoe development on U.S. 231 near Masonville is currently most in demand, he said. “The hottest spot for new homes is Deer Valley, by permit,” Jagoe said. “No. 2 is Whispering Meadows (on Kentucky 56 on the west side).” Kentucky 54 is also home to the popular apartment complex, Chandler Park Apartments. With one-, twoand three-bedroom options, these apartments are ideal for a newlywed couple. With a fitness center, resort-style swimming pool, car care center and 24-hour maintenance, these apartments also attract singles and small families. “There is a lot of growth there on 54 and continuing interest is high,” he said. “Griffith Avenue always remains strong. If you look at the last decade, there have been houses torn down

Photo by Mike Clark

Lucas Patton, 4, from left, his twin 6-year-old brothers Jack and Eli Patton, and their cousin Peyton Reid, 6, wait for customers at their lemonade stand outside the Pattons’ Griffith Avenue home. The Griffith Avenue area, full of established charm and character that some residents swear by, is located in the heart of Owensboro.

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Joanne Masters looks out over Smothers Park from the patio on the top of the Bates Building at 101 W. Second Street in downtown Owensboro. Masters lives in one of six condos in the historic building.

and rebuilt. There is potential for redevelopment, but there is not a lot of vacant infill areas. You will continue to see home improvements and remodeling in the Griffith corridor.” The 4200 development on Old Hartford Road on the former Dar-Nek Club property has 39 sites, where neo-traditional homes featuring big porches and cottage-style architecture

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are being built close to the street, with rear garages mainly targeting empty nesters. Interest is high, Jagoe said. Downtown is attracting a wide mix of residents, Jagoe said. “There are all generations living there, young people, people with children and empty nesters,” he said. “A lot of people are on hold right now waiting for the TIF.” 2 0 1 6

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Gordon Barnett Broker/Owner

270-485-3300

Gordon.Barnett@RealLiving.com gbbarnett5@aol.com www.GordonBarnett.com GordonBarnett.realtor

RELOCATION SPECIALIST

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Professional Realtor Since 1982 Owner/Broker Real Living Home Realty Member Owensboro Board of Realtors Member Kentucky Association of Realtors Full Service Real Estate Company

We listen to you and understand your goals and incorporate them into our goal! OUR GOAL: To help you buy or sell your home

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For the best possible price With the most favorable terms In the shortest possible time 3424 Frederica St. With the least inconvenience KEEPING YOU INFORMED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

100 Your satisfaction is as important to me as it is to you!! Call Me Today....

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Locally owned Experienced REALTORS Exceptional service

Castlen and real estate have been synonymous in Owensboro for 50 years. L. Steve Castlen, Realtors consistently provides the highest quality, most innovative and exceptional real estate service available anywhere. Our company motto, “Service is our No. 1 priority”.

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email: castlen@castlen.com web: www.castlen.com facebook/castlenrealtors 2839 New Hartford Road Owensboro, KY, 42303

Call Us At: L. Steve Castlen Realtors’ Office Building

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270-926-3500 2 0 1 6

FITNESS OPTIONS COVER THE CITY 36

BY STEPHANIE SALMONS

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

here are a plethora of workout options for those looking to stay healthy in Owensboro. “Healthy living is one of our areas of focus,” said Isaac Coffey, CEO of the Owensboro Family YMCA. Because of that, they’ve expanded their offerings in areas of healthy living at both of the Y’s locations, he said. The YMCA, Coffey said, aims to “listen and hear what people want to focus on to provide them with the tools and resources they need to achieve those (health) goals and help them along the way.” According to Coffey, the YMCA, a nonprofit United Way agency with a Christian mission, offers programs such as land and water group classes Joint problems? There’s water aerobics. Working on flexibility?

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There’s yoga or pilates. “If you like to ride a bike but it’s too cold outside, you can come indoors and take a cycling class,” Coffey said. It also offers swim lessons for youth and adults, the Silver Sneakers program for seniors and personal training, at an extra cost, for those who want to work one-on-one or in a small group, as well as a fitness bootcamp. While the Y’s largest class is the Silver Sneakers, Coffey said Zumba dance classes and the bootcamp are gaining popularity, as are sports-specific programs, although “I don’t think there’s anything on our schedule that’s not popular or has low attendance.” Coffey said new Y members also receive a free wellness consultation, equipment orientation and fitness assessment. At the Owensboro Health

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Left: Lonnie Gentry does pectoral flies during a workout at the YMCA’s Athenian Branch. Photo by Mike Clark

Right: Lynda Neel, front left, and Ann Hood, front right, use pool noodles during a workout with other classmates during an aquatic and fitness class called “Morning Waves” at the Owensboro Health Healthpark. The cardiac workout is a respiratory exercise and also helps with balance and arm strength. Photo by Greg Eans

Healthpark, Jason Anderson, manager of health and fitness, said the level of education and training possessed by the staff is one of its biggest assets. Staff working on the facility’s second floor and those developing exercise programs all have a degree in exercise science or a certification in personal training, he said. “That kind of sets people up to work with a small staff who really

know what they’re doing and how to do things safely.” Joining a fitness center can be intimidating, Anderson said, and it may be hard to know where to start. The Healthpark offers a fitness assessment with a trainer, who then talks with the member about goals and logistics, he said, adding that once the information is gathered, they help develop an

exercise plan for that individual based on their goals and then demonstrate the proper way to exercise and use equipment. In addition to offering “well over 100” land and water group exercise classes, the Healthpark has also launched several new programs available to members, including Power Up Kids, a four-week program geared toward children 8 to 12, and their parents.

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According to Anderson, they’ll be educated on how to use exercise to live a healthy lifestyle, as well as on diet and nutrition, and parents learn how to “safely shop in the supermarket.” While the kids participate in an exercise, a counselor will stay with the parents and talk more in-depth. And as part of their newly-launched Exercise is Medicine program, Anderson said physicians can refer people to the Healthpark, where they’ll participate in an eight-week program in which staff trainers will work with individuals to develop an exercise prescription and check in weekly, providing education and motivation “to help them be successful.” Pure Barre, which opened in May 2014 at Wesleyan Park Plaza, provides a “boutique-type fitness” experience, according to owner Connie Johnson returns the ball during a game of pickle ball at Owenboro Health’s Healthpark. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Annie McCrary. Everyone from ages 18 to 80 can do the 55-minute full-body workout, she said. “If you can hold on to the barre, you can do Pure Barre.” Based on different modifications, practitioners can burn between 400 and 600 calories during the low-impact, yoga- and pilates-based workout. Since opening, McCrary said Pure Barre has become “almost like a little sorority house,” with clients “making friends inside of there they’ve never met before and moving out into the community. “I think people are intimidated by new things,” she said. “We all are. We get in the same routine, in the same rut ... humans are repetitive people. Trying something new opens your eyes to new friendships, new ways of thinking (and) changing our body type for the better.” For more gyms, fitness classes and recreation centers, visit http://business.chamber. owensboro.com/list/.

FIRST BIRTHDAY. FIRST VISIT. At Pediatric Dentistry of Owensboro, we love celebrating first. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that you visit a pediatric dentist before your baby’s first birthday. Dr. Crews will make your first visit comfortable and informative for both you and your child.

Jay Crews, DMD Pediatric Dentistry of Owensboro

Located in The Springs on Hwy. 54 2200 E. Parrish Ave . C-202 Owensboro, KY . 270-683-7447 www.kidsdentistofowensboro.com

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HOME GROWN BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON

n Daviess County, more than 50 farms, businesses and restaurants grow, use or sell Kentucky Proud products. Kentucky Proud, an initiative of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, is designed to raise awareness and promotion of locally grown and made products. In Owensboro, all of our roadside stands and farmers markets sell Kentucky

Proud products. According to the Kentucky Proud website, “when you buy a product with the Kentucky Proud label; you are buying the freshest, most nutritious food possible, you are keeping your dollars close to home, you are helping a Kentucky farm family earn a living and you are reducing the miles that the food has

REID’S ORCHARD Operating for more than 140 years, Reid’s Orchard produces quality fruit. The orchard includes 20 acres of apples, 25 acres of peaches and five acres of strawberries. Reid’s also grows a variety of vegetables and flowers. All products are offered at their on-site store, The Apple House, including produce, homemade fudge, jams, locally harvested honey and numerous Kentucky Proud products. JANUARY - MARCH Monday - Saturday: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday: noon to 4 p.m. APRIL - MID-MAY Monday - Saturday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday: noon to 4 p.m. MID-MAY - END OF OCTOBER Monday - Saturday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday: noon to 5 p.m. NOVEMBER & DECEMBER Monday - Saturday: noon to 4 p.m. Sunday: noon to 5 p.m. 4812 KY-144, Owensboro Phone: 270-685-2444

to travel from the farm to your plate.” Locally grown produce at farmers markets and roadside stands can be found across Owensboro and Daviess County. Our hope is that you refer to these info boxes when buying produce in and around Owensboro. Local farmers are an important piece of the puzzle that makes up the community.

NONA’S DOWNTOWN MARKET According to its website, nonasowensboro.com, Nona’s sells local honeys, fresh foods, wines, herbs, cheeses, ice cream, wheatgrass, flowers and handcrafted potter y. HOURS Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday: Closed 126 W. 2nd St., Owensboro Email: nonasowensboro@gmail.com Phone: 270-926-8183 BLUEBERRIES OF DAVIESS COUNTY The public is invited to the farm to pick fresh blueberries or to purchase blueberries already picked. Blueberries are available at the farm during operating hours and at the local Owensboro Farmers Market and select retailers in the area during harvest.

CECIL FARMS Cecil Farms is a family owned and operated farm on the western side of Owensboro. The produce you buy will be at your home within hours of being picked. Each week’s share consists of what’s in-season and ready to be picked. Customization available when quantities harvested allow.

1401 Hill Bridge Road, Utica Email: blueberriesofdaviess county@yahoo.com Phone: 270-926-6510

9408 Mulligan Road, Owensboro Email: hello@cecilfarmspd.com Phone: 270-929-1445

OWENSBORO REGIONAL FARMERS’ MARKET Owensboro Regional greenhouse grown tomatoes, Farmers Market is open 6:30 yellow squash, jams, jellies, a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and bedding plants, perennials, Thursdays beginning in early vegetable transplants and June and Saturdays beginning baked goods are among items in mid-April at the Owensboro available. Christian Church parking lot. Visit owensbororegional The market has the ability farmersmarket.com. to make EBT and debit card transactions at certain 2818 New Hartford Road, locations and times. Cabbage, Owensboro salad onions, zucchini, Phone: 270-929-1445 G R E A T E R

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OWENSBORO HEALTH HARVEST MARKET Open 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays beginning in early June at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. The market is a weekly event that features fresh produce, education outreach and live entertainment. For more information, visit owensborohealth.org/harvestmarket. 1201 Pleasant Valley Road, Owensboro 2 0 1 6

EXTENDING KNOWLEDGE

DAVIESS COUNTY

Changing Lives

Providing practical education to help people, businesses, and communities build a better future. 4-H Youth Development Lindsey Boone, Stacey Potts

Family and Consumer Sciences Mary Higginbotham

Horticulture Annette Meyer Heisdorffer

Agriculture and Natural Resources Clint Hardy

Positive development for youth Search Daviess County

Cooperative Extension

Home lawn & garden

Agriculture Enterprises

Building strong families

4800A New Hartford Road, Owensboro, Kentucky 42303 (on the campus of the Owensboro Community and Technical College) Phone: 270-685-8480 ● FAX: 270-685-3276 ● http://daviess.ca.uky.edu

Daviess County Farm Bureau “The Voice of Agriculture”

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One Health is a network of more than 140 Owensboro Health providers dedicated to one thing: your health. With access to more than 25 specialties and over 15 locations throughout Kentucky and Indiana, we’re one of the largest medical groups in the region. And, we’re able to take care of nearly every healthcare need your family may have. That’s how we make being healthy easy.

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EDUCATION MILE City, county and Catholic schools launching new programs BY KEITH LAWRENCE

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hink of it as the “Education Mile.” A student can start preschool, attend elementar y school, middle school and high school, get an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree along a one-mile stretch of U.S. 231 between Daviess County High School and College View Middle School. Education has long been a priority for Daviess Countians. Local histories say an Irish immigrant named Andrew Kelly

launched education in what is now Daviess County with a one-room school two miles southwest of Utica in 1808. A centur y later, when consolidation began, the county had more than 100 one-room schools. Legend says education in Owensboro began in 1816, when a woman named Susan Tarlteon — also known as Aunt Sukey — sur vived a steamboat wreck near Cloverport and floated to Owensboro on a plank. According to the stor y, Phillip Thompson let her use his cabin at

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Second and Walnut streets to start a school. Whether that stor y is true or not, the Daviess County Seminar y was said to have been chartered in 1820. It was on the property where WaxWorks/VideoWorks is today — just east of the Glover H. Car y Bridge. Today, between the Daviess County, Owensboro and Owensboro Catholic school systems, roughly 18,000 students head out for classes ever y weekday morning. And they’ve seen a lot of changes in recent years. 2 0 1 6

Katie Beth Osborne, 8, from left, Sydney Adams, 8, Anna Katherine Wathen, 7, and Adelyn Moorman, 8, work at labeling skeletal bones of the body on their iPads with an app called Educreations in Kristin Miller’s second grade class at Owensboro Catholic’s K-3 Center.

Photo by Greg Eans

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Owensboro Catholic Schools have roughly 1,300 students. But they’ve been working to maximize their resources in recent years. In 2004, the Catholic schools closed their four elementary schools and created K-3 and 4-6 centers along with a middle school and a high school. The reconfiguration led to a decision in 2006 to spend up to $1.4 million to build a 14,400-squarefoot multipurpose center at the K-3 Campus that would add six classrooms and a full-size gymnasium. All school buildings are now Wi-Fi equipped. NEW HIGH SCHOOL CREATED Owensboro Public Schools created a new high school this year. The Owensboro Innovation Academy opened in August in the Centre for Business & Research at 1010 Allen St. It is the first Kentucky school affiliated with the California-based New Tech Network, a nationwide consortium of 134 schools in 23 states. The school began this year with a freshman class. A freshman class will be added each year until the OIA has all four grades. Owensboro Public Schools have been able to create a lot of new programs because the school system was named a District of Innovation in early 2014 by the Kentucky Board of Education. That means the district can pursue new educational approaches, free of some state regulations. Owensboro Public Schools is working with the state to create a new high school diploma — the Bluegrass Diploma — designed to ensure that graduates are able to compete in the

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The Daviess County Teachers Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit fi nancial cooperative which was chartered in 1971. The Mission of DCTFCU is to provide a variety of services, which benefits our members/owners, with the primary goal of helping them enhance their personal fi nances. In keeping with our mission statement, we offer our members higher rates on savings and lower rates on loans. One of our strengths has always been our care and concern for members and their families. Our whole philosophy of business is based on member service. CHECKING • SAVINGS • IRA’S • CD’S • LOANS • ATM

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Bailey McCalister, left, and Jess Holton, who are both 14-year-old freshmen at the Owensboro Innovation Academy, work on a project while sitting on one of many pieces of multi-use furniture at the new high school. The project involved designing a new school logo. In the future, the students would be presenting their designs to a panel of judges from which a new school logo would be chosen, said head facilitator Beth Benjamin. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to raise the value of a high school diploma. The idea, Brake said, is for those who earn the Bluegrass Diploma to be as ready to compete for jobs as students from Canada, Asia and Scandinavia. global marketplace. The first diploma won’t be awarded until 2020. But Superintendent Nick Brake said some students enrolled in a pilot project last fall. The new diploma is part of

the state’s Kentucky Rising initiative, an effort launched by the Governor’s Office, the Department of Education, Council on Postsecondary Education, the Economic Development Cabinet, Workforce Development Cabinet

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FOUR COUNTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HONORED Four Daviess County elementary schools have been awarded the elite Leader in Me Lighthouse School status by the Franklin Covey Co.

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Photo by Greg Eans

Sixteen-year-olds Tehryon Coker, right, and Dakota Lindsey take a closer look at Robert Lockhart’s artwork titled “The King Just Couldn’t Get Over What Happened at Bingo Last Night” while touring the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art with their classmates from Heritage Park High School.

James Lyddane, director of elementary education for Daviess County Public Schools, said the recognition earned by Whitesville, Sorgho, East View and Country Heights elementary schools “shows the depth of student leadership they have implemented. It’s about students’ accountability in the education process.” The Leader in Me program, he said, prepares students for leadership roles in the schools and later in life. In August 2014, Owensboro Public Schools and Owensboro Community & Technical College joined forces to create the Owensboro Early College Academy, a program that will allow high school students to complete an associate’s degree and a high school diploma at the same time. That means students could

leave Owensboro High School ready to start their junior year in college. “They’ll be able to do this at little or no cost,” Brake said. “That’s a real financial incentive and a huge savings. The cost of higher education has gone up 500 percent in the last 20 years.” In September, Highland Elementary School, Meadow Lands Elementary School and Daviess County Middle School learned they had earned 2015 National Healthy Schools Bronze Awards for leading comprehensive health, physical activity and wellness efforts during the 2014-15 school year. They were among 12 schools in Kentucky to be recognized for their achievements in improving the health of students. Owensboro schools created a

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$1 million pool for innovative ideas in the schools. The spring 2015 grants included: • Sutton Elementary School, $25,500 to “create personalized learning environments to accelerate students through the use of technology.” • Estes Elementary School, $54,058 to develop an “elementary pilot program for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)-focused Project Lead the Way and the redesigning of classrooms to better engage and meet the needs of individual students.” • Foust Elementary School, $44,480 for the development of “a more personalized approach to teaching math using multiple methods to meet the needs of individual students and for the

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to ensure that all graduates earn the credentials, confidence, tools and skills to enroll and successfully complete a college degree; or obtain and hold a family-sustainable career.” She said, “Starting in preschool, even the youngest children are encouraged to see themselves as lifelong learners and career professionals. However, the vision goes far beyond the success of students in the classroom to encompass the success and viability of the entire community — and beyond.”

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ALTERNATIVE LEARNING Both Owensboro and Daviess County school systems have also revamped their alternative school programs. Owensboro Public Schools created Gateway Academy to replace its old alternative school. And this year, Superintendent Nick Brake said 95 percent of the Gateway Academy students are meeting benchmarks, allowing them to take college credit courses. “In the past, this would have been unthinkable,” he said. Gateway Academy focuses on “career and technical opportunities for students that will move them toward college and career readiness.” In the past, students who didn’t do well in a traditional classroom setting were assigned to the alternative school. Now, all Owensboro High School students are able to apply for admission to the program. Daviess County schools closed the old Beacon Central High School in Masonville, bought the Daymar College campus in Owensboro, moved the Beacon students there and created Heritage Park High School, which opened in August. School officials say the new school will help students who are falling behind at Daviess County or Apollo high schools catch up with

their classmates and will offer new opportunities for them. DCPS Superintendent Owens Saylor said, “It is not too much to say that our far-reaching objective is to improve the quality of life for our community and every resident of Owensboro-Daviess County.” Lora Wimsatt, spokeswoman for county schools, said, “The Daviess County Public Schools district has established ‘Great Expectations’ as their goal for all students. This statement is the blanket that embraces the overall commitment

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purchasing of more user-friendly technology to better motivate and engage students.” • Owensboro Middle School South, $121,600 for redesigning the media center and “reconfiguring classrooms to create a student-centered environment that will focus on project-based learning.” • Owensboro Middle School North, $99,850 for “redesigning the media center, reconfiguring classrooms and using applications and simulations to create a more engaging science lab.” • Owensboro High School, $12,500 for developing an indoor/ outdoor wellness curriculum using cycling for students.

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BACK IN SESSION Nontraditional students return to college in Owensboro BY ANGELA OLIVER

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

my Coomes’ dreams of working in elementary education started at an early age. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but I didn’t originally take the college route,” Coomes, 36, said. “I took the ‘get a job, get married and have kids’ route.” After graduating from high school, the Lewisport native worked at Aleris for nine years. Then, she married and moved to Cincinnati. Though she enjoyed her life as a stay-at-home mother, things changed when she was pregnant with her third child. Her husband left, so she moved to Owensboro to start over. “I needed to be back near family,” she said. “My support system is my family and friends, and they’ve made this transition so much easier.” Like Coomes, hundreds of nontraditional students tackle the college classroom every year. Whether they’re taking a second shot at higher education, pursuing a degree for a job opportunity or following a long-lived personal dream, nontraditional students can find a good fit at one of the four institutions in Owensboro. In particular, Western Kentucky University-Owensboro and Owensboro Community & Technical College serve a significant number of nontraditional students, many through the Joint Admissions program. The program allows dual enrollment for OCTC students with the agreement that they’ll finish their bachelor’s degree at WKU-O. “Most of our students come to me in their junior year,” said David Powers, director of career and workforce development at WKU-O. “They have a lot of courses behind them, so they can’t always use internships for academic credit. That credit is already used up.” The average WKU-O student is 31 years old, he said. Based on the 2014 enrollment report, 65 percent of the 652 students at WKU-O also have a part-time class schedule, largely because they work full-time and have families to care for. While that makes it more difficult to help the students prepare for the career world by connecting them to internships, Powers said his office has found other ways to adjust to the students’ academic needs. “On a commuter campus, we have to be very intentional and creative in our efforts because it’s tough to ask students who work and have children to commit to another 20 hours a week for an internship, on top of their class time,” he said. G R E A T E R

AMY COOMES

So, the Office of Career and Workforce Development has focused on finding project-based internships that students can work on in their own time, or fellowships and leadership or professional development workshops, often during the summer. Job placement has also been a strong point for the office, Powers said. “Most students I talk to want to live and work in Owensboro, or the area, so that’s making job placement here successful,” he said. “We pay attention to the businesses in town and try to tailor our academic programs to the needs of the local labor force. Even if we can’t place a student, we hope their experience here will spark a passion.” Jill Emerson has yet to decide on a career, though her passion is social justice, she said. With a father who worked in social services and a mother in juvenile justice, Emerson said she grew up watching them fight for people who were mistreated or otherwise needed help. “All my life, I was around people who didn’t have a chance,” she said. “I’ve seen what the lesbian and gay

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Above: Jill Emerson is a student at Western Kentucky UniversityOwensboro working toward a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. She expects to graduate in December 2016. Right: Kathleen Head, who is a student at Western Kentucky UniversityOwensboro, walks with her daughter, 6-year-old Makaylee Head, who is a first-grade student at Owensboro Catholic’s K-3 Campus. Photos by Jenny Sevcik

community goes through, what underprivileged kids go through, what black people go through — it’s just not right. I want to do something to help.” Emerson said she was an A and B student until her parents divorced when she was 8 years old. Lower grades and the party life followed her through Owensboro High School, from which she graduated in 1996, and at the University of Kentucky, where she completed one semester. At 21, a relationship took her to Colorado, Florida and Washington, D.C., until about 2010, when she moved back to Owensboro. “The man I was with was a really bad person,” she said. “My family had to come get me. If I hadn’t left, I’d probably be dead now.” Thankful for life and a reset button, Emerson enrolled at OCTC to study art. But a May 2011 breast cancer diagnosis put her new academic pursuits on hold. She completed her associate degree there in 2013. She said each obstacle was hard to get over, but instead of being defeated, she saw them as opportunities for “a lot of soul-searching.” With renewed health, Emerson is on her way to a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. That field and systems management are among the most

popular at WKU-O. Meeting with advisers also helped Emerson decide on a degree field. “We have a battery of assessments, skills profiles, occupational research tools from the U.S. Department of Labor,” said Powers, “all things that can help students find an interest, find what they’re good at.” It took Kathleen Head a few tries, but she also has uncovered her passion: teaching. The Owensboro Catholic High School class of 2003 alum spent a year at OCTC before going to WKU’s main campus in Bowling Green. She had decided on accounting, but changed to marketing. “I knew I liked numbers, but accounting wasn’t my thing,” she said. “Then marketing was fine, but I wanted to do something more — something for kids. I wanted to do something to change the world.” Head changed her major to education with a concentration in math, a high-demand field. “Then I got married and pregnant, so we moved back home, and I knew I needed a full-time job to support my daughter,” she said. The couple are no longer married. “I was young and in love and excited about my family, so it wasn’t a hard decision.”

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Head, a supervisor at a local bank, re-enrolled three years ago with a smooth transition. Now majoring in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in education, she plans to later pursue her master’s degree in either early childhood education or elementary education. “I feel since I’ve already gone this far, I should keep going,” she said. “Especially for my (6-year-old) daughter. I want to be an example of someone who’s happy in life. I want to show her how to take the right steps to do what you love.” Much of the hard work is behind Head, who’s scheduled to flip her tassel in December. “With my major being such a range of classes, I don’t always have the same classmates,” Head said. “Of course my family will be there, but I’ll pretty much graduate by myself, not with a group of friends that I’ve been through the program with. So it’s different that I’ll be walking the line alone, but I’m going to do it.” Coomes and Emerson have a bit more time left. Coomes is looking forward to her student-teaching assignment next fall and graduation next December. The mother of 11- and 8-year-old girls and a 4-year-old boy also works 2 0 1 6

with children at Lewisport Baptist Church and coaches the local Broncos cheerleaders, a Peewee League team. “Life is all about balance,” she said. “I’m busy, but I always talk to my kids about the importance of education. I push them academically. I want them to know I enjoy school.” Most nontraditional students have to juggle school, work and family life, but the WKU-O campus makes that easier, the women agreed. “It’s completely different from my experience at UK. I thought I wasn’t good enough or smart enough,” Emerson said. “Here, there are so many people who will sit down with you and help, or just talk about your plans. And I feel like they know me, not like a number in a class of a hundred students.” Head added, “Coming back to school can be intimidating, but I’ve made friends in my program, and the school is so supportive. They’re very understanding of parents; a few times, I’ve had to bring my kids to class, and no one had a problem with it.” A convenient location and affordability are also high points for

WKU-O, the students said. The Joint Admissions program helps with affordability. For many, the cost of college is the only thing standing in their way. “A lot of students have told me, if not for this building, they wouldn’t have gone to college. It makes me think about kids back home,” said Powers, who is from Breckinridge County and attended Frederick Fraize High School. There were 16 people in his graduating class in 1989. “If this campus was here when I graduated from high school, it’s probably where I would’ve started. It’s convenient and gives a lot of rural kids options other than the farm and the factory. Not that there’s anything wrong with those, but sometimes, they just don’t know what else is out there.” Emerson, 37, is in her fourth semester at WKU-O. With LeaderShape, the Dynamic Leadership Institute and an internship in the student affairs office under her belt, she said she’s prepared for the career world, wherever it may lead her. Until graduation in May 2017 though, she’ll be focused on school,

her waitressing job at Gambrinus Libation Emporium and building up Big Daddy’s BBQ, the barbecue and catering company she operates with her fiancé, Joshua Taylor. The couple are getting married in June 2016. The women said they encourage anyone who’s thinking of returning to college — or trying it for the first time — to do it. “You’re never too old. It’s never too late,” Head, 30, said. “I’m a prime example. And it’s not uncommon to see older students here. We’re all here with the same goal. Everyone supports each other.” Going back to school also gives nontraditional students much more than a degree. “A degree makes it easier to get a job, but there are other lessons I’ve learned here,” Emerson said. “Well, the first is to always sit in the front of the classroom — be a part of it, soak it up. And I’ve also learned to trust my instincts and not be afraid to ask for help. Everyone needs help. “I didn’t know what exactly to expect when I started,” she said, “but it’s been a great way for me to find myself.”

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Owensboro is home to variety of churches, faith groups BY ANGELA OLIVER

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

ucked just inside the north-central edge of the Bible belt, Owensboro has a rich history of Protestant churches and traditions, namely in the Baptist denomination. As the home of a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, the city also teems with Catholic influence and traditions. But there’s a myriad of cultures and beliefs around town from the orthodox mainline religions to more radical churches that are fearless in their acceptance of the marginalized, to the Owensboro

Area Humanists, who welcome any degree of believers or nonbelievers, to the Fincastali Hearth, a Heathen tribe polytheistic and animistic in its worship, its members seeking to reconnect with their Nordic heritage. There are also Jehovah’s Witnesses, African Methodist Episcopalians, Anglicans, Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals and several others. Faith groups have a presence in nearly every corner of the area. Though there are dozens of churches and faith groups in

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Owensboro, here are words from just a few local pastors and faith leaders: BAPTIST The Daviess-McLean Baptist Association governs more than 50 churches in Daviess and McLean counties, offering such ministries as the Baptist Center, CROSS Student Ministr y, Sunrise Children’s Ser vices, a dental mission and World Changers. The area’s Baptist history is also highlighted with great accomplishments and quirks — with 2 0 1 6

Far Left: Shown is the exterior of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Owensboro at 1221 Cedar St. Left: First Baptist Church and the church’s property in downtown Owensboro takes up a square block between J.R. Miller Boulevard and Daviess Street, from East 2nd to East 3rd streets. Photos by Jenny Sevcik

a church on virtually every corner, locals have long called an area of the west end Baptisttown; at her 2007 induction as pastor of Pleasant Point Missionary Baptist Church in Pleasant Ridge, the Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph became the first woman to pastor a Baptist church in Owensboro and the only black woman Baptist pastor in the state; and pioneering churches, like First Baptist, spawned several churches that still stand today. The Rev. Andre Bradley, pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 507 Plum St., says, “Mount Calvary Baptist Church is committed to growing people in Christ through corporate worship, ministry opportunities and various community outreach initiatives. We equip believers to make positive impact in their home, church and community at-large. At Mount Calvary Baptist Church, one can expect a Christcentered, multicultural, multigenerational ministry whose focus is to present Jesus Christ, His love, salvation, forgiveness and grace in a relevant, practical way. “Mount Calvary believes church is not just the building, but rather its people. To become a part of the Mount Movement, we would love to have you join us for one of our two Sunday worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., or on at 6 p.m.

Wednesdays for the Impact Service. Come be a part of what God is doing at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Owensboro as we seek to (fulfill our motto) and ‘Grow Forward by Faith!’ ”

to establish the school, which would become Brescia University, at 717 Frederica St. Aside from vocations like teaching and missions like the active Right to Life group and Centro Latino, the Catholic churches share traditions, such as barbecue picnics, the Rural Life Celebration and participation in the International Bar-B-Q Festival, with the community every year. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

The Rev. Jake Caldwell, pastor of First Christian Church, 700 J.R. Miller Blvd., says, “First Christian ROMAN CATHOLIC Church has been part of the life and Comprising 79 parishes across the landscape of downtown Owensboro western third of the commonwealth, for more than 150 years. Our the Diocese of Owensboro was mission is to manifest Christ’s love established in December 1937. by empowering all to compassionate With an average of 60 percent of service. Our life together finds its registered members attending its center in inspirational worship Mass on Sundays, attendance within that connects us to one another the diocese is among the highest in and to God and sends us forth the U.S., according to the diocese to engage in acts of compassion, website. reconciliation and justice. We believe The diocese also supports 18 that the spiritual life and the life of Catholic schools — including the mind must be encouraged to pre-school through grade 12 within mature together, and we nurture Owensboro Catholic Schools — a thoughtful faith by providing retirement homes and religious opportunities for theological orders such as the Congregation exploration for people in every stage of life. Compassionate outreach that of the Fathers of Mercy, Sisters is extended to meet critical needs is of Charity of Nazareth, Glenmary not just something we do; it is who Sisters and the Ursuline Sisters of we are.” Mount St. Joseph in Maple Mount, Due to a fire in March 2013, a community in western Daviess FCC congregates at Third Baptist County granted autonomy by the Church, 527 Allen St., while Holy See in 1912. its church is being rebuilt. It is The Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph formed in 1874 when five scheduled to open in summer 2016. teachers in the Ursuline Sisters of EPISCOPAL Louisville were assigned to Maple Mount to start St. Joseph’s Academy Janet Estes, communications for Girls. They traveled by flatboat volunteer, Trinity Episcopal

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Church, 720 Ford Ave., says, “ ‘Including ... Affirming ... Transforming’ ” means that all are welcome to participate in the sacraments of the church and we affirm everyone as a child of God. Finally, and most importantly, we know God will continually transform us. “Our parish vision statement is ‘Trinity Episcopal Church is a Eucharistic and liturgical community in the Anglican tradition that values and encourages ongoing Christian education and spiritual formation; diversity of people and ideas; fellowship and radical hospitality; and works of justice and mercy as gospel imperatives.’ “We value the beauty and spirituality of liturgical worship, experiencing the Eucharist, or communion, each week. We encourage Christian formation and work in our church to grow our faith. We work in the community in various outreach endeavors, including Habitat for Humanity, St. Benedict’s Shelter and Oasis Shelter for Battered Women.” HINDU AND JAIN Though there are no temples in Owensboro, more than 50 families regularly attend Hindu and Jain worship services and celebrations at two temples in Newburgh, Indiana. Many are also members of the Tri-State Cultural Society of India, a nonprofit network of people of Indian descent that enriches the area with the Dawali and Garba festivals, substantial fundraisers for disaster relief and by sponsoring such events as a forum at OCTC with Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, the first Indian-American to win the title. Dr. Veena Sallan, member of the local Hindu community, and associate dean of academic affairs and professor of biology at Owensboro Community & Technical College, says, “over the years, Owensboro has become a diverse community, racially and in faith. There are a significant number of Hindu and Jain families

in Owensboro. The Tri-State Hindu Temple and Sai Dham Temple are in Newburgh. Both of these temples provide a place for congregation and worship for Hindus and Jains. They also serve to promote Indian cultural, social and religious values.” The temples are open to people of all faiths, Hindus and non-Hindus. All are welcome. No discrimination occurs based on your faith, but a certain decorum is expected. No membership is

required to attend and participate in free temple activities and celebrations. Most celebrations include meals or snacks. These are not only religious celebrations, but also cultural in nature. Any visitor can participate. ISLAM On any given Friday, local Muslims gather at the Islamic Center of Owensboro for collective prayer — one of Islam’s five prayers per day — and for a weekly

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sermon. There’s no official imam, but members alternate leading the prayers and services. The mosque, at 3031 Alvey Park Drive W., was built nearly 12 years ago and features a slanted worship room covered in ornate red and gold carpet. The room faces the northeast, toward Mecca, a sacred city in the Islamic faith, as it is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. JUDAISM Built in 1877, Temple Adath Israel is the oldest synagogue in Kentucky and among the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the U.S., according to the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. The synagogue stands at the corner of Fifth and Daviess streets, with a Moorish revival facade, the encyclopedia states, featuring Gothic-style arched windows and doors, pilasters and onion-domed turrets.

METHODIST The Rev. Randall Jones, pastor of Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 1120 Woodlawn Ave., says, “our mission is ‘To Reach all people, Relate them to Jesus Christ, then Reach out to the World.’ Woodlawn United Methodist Church has been a part of the Owensboro community for over 130 years. We offer opportunities for ministry through our United Methodist Men’s Group, Women of Woodlawn and our Youth

Group. Our worship service is at 10 a.m. on Sundays. We believe we are here to minister to those who are marginal within our community. You will find a congregation that is warm and open and that is accepting of ALL persons, no matter who they are. We are a small but diverse, multicultural congregation.” NON-DENOMINATIONAL Many churches thrive as non-denominational. There are contemporary megachurches

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LUTHERAN The Rev. Jane Rothman, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, 2830 Frederica St., says, “Faith Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Its mission statement is ‘God’s Word and Sacraments nourish us and send us to feed others.’ Among the ministries of the congregation is the Mustard Seed Ministry, which provides a free meal to residents of its neighboring Roosevelt Houses near the end of each month. Other ministries support local organizations such as the Help Office and Working Hands. “Here, you will find liturgical worship with roots in the early church and language of the 21st century. We practice Eucharistic hospitality; if you commune at your own church, you are welcome to commune at Faith. There are educational opportunities for all age groups.” G R E A T E R

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like River City Church and Owensboro Christian Church, and there are more humble houses of worship like the Christian Outreach Center and The Fountain downtown. Owensboro’s non-denominational, ecumenical spirit can also be seen through such groups as the Owensboro-Daviess County Ministerial Association, an interfaith group of ministers that hosts various community events to promote respect and dialogue, and the Ladies of Faith, a prayer group that began at a woman’s home; and through events like the annual Faith Fest, a two-week festival featuring a tour of various faith homes, spiritual performances and lectures, culminating in a Thanksgiving service; and the annual Lenten Worship series, during which seven churches of various denominations rotate hosting services. UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST The Rev. Lori Keller Schroeder, pastor of Zion United Church of Christ, 625 Allen St., says, “Zion United Church of Christ is, by definition, a progressive community of faith. We are a Christian church that does not prescribe political or theological views but allows for diversity of thought and belief within Christianity. We are the perfect place for people who are weary of being rejected, who are longing for the joy and relevancy of faith and who have a desire to explore the tapestry of faithful interpretation. “Many visitors experience Zion UCC as a breath of fresh air. Zion UCC is a family church but it is more than a church for families; it is a church where one is welcomed into a family! During our ‘anchor’ worship on Sunday mornings, we offer a vintage, blended worship style. During our new Fresh Winds of Devotion worship on Monday evenings, we offer a meditative, interactive and

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Settle Memorial United Methodist Church is at 201 E. 4th St. in downtown Owensboro.

kinesthetic worship style.”

justice, understanding and respect and to help rid the world of the UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ravages of hatred, war, hunger, famine, water shortage and The Unitarian Universalist disease. With unwavering voice Association, a national governing and action, we will strive on behalf body, recognizes two local of present and future generations congregations — the Unitarian to build a sustainable world. Universalist Congregation of “Our beliefs are diverse and Owensboro at 1221 Cedar St., inclusive. We have no shared founded in 1987, and the Open creed. Our shared covenant (our Door Unitarian Universalist Seven Principles) supports “the Fellowship, which formed in free and responsible search for October 2012 and now meets at truth and meaning.” Though the Daviess County Public Schools Unitarianism and Universalism Learning Center, 1700 Parrish were both liberal Christian Plaza Drive, Suite 100. traditions, this responsible Guided by the denomination’s search has led us to also Seven Principles, both embrace meaning from Eastern congregations merge religious, and Western religions and humanist and scientific ideals philosophies.” in their worship, and both are Regardless of doctrine, local charged with social justice faith groups have a proven record missions as shown in their of community service and charity, outreach. including cooking and serving J.P. Fentress, founding at homeless shelters, backpack member of Open Door Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, says, “The programs providing food for Open Door Unitarian Universalist children over the weekends, food pantries, recovery support Fellowship’s mission is to form a groups, health screenings, community that embraces all of life, while respecting the rights of Habitat for Humanity builds, overseas missions, school supply individuals; to share our abilities, giveaways, special needs respite resources and talents to help care, clothes closets, disaster others, and to reach out in peace and friendship to all people; to relief, rent and utility assistance champion causes that promote and more.

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Caring for Our Community Since 1913. “We are grateful to the members of this community that we are allowed and trusted to serve their families in times of need. Thank you.” Billy Boyle, III

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Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport provides service to major hubs

THE TOWN’S A BEST-KEPT SECRET

BY JIM MAYSE

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

lthough it is faster, easier and less-expensive to fly out of Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport than it is to drive to airports in Louisville or Evansville, the Owensboro airport has remained something of a best-kept secret. But airport officials are working hard to make that little secret as well-known as possible. “There has been a mindset in Owensboro that the airport has had to overcome,” airport manager Bob Whitmer said. “Most people are familiar with flying out of Nashville, Louisville and Evansville.” To change people’s attitudes, the Owensboro airport tries to

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provide the best customer ser vice through its convenience and the ease through which people can pass through the required security screening. “The luxur y at Owensboro is you can park within 10 feet of the terminal, walk through the front door and go through TSA screening in minutes,” Whitmer said. “This is a hassle-free airport. “No one is going to fly out of Owensboro just to support the airport,” Whitmer added. “(We’re) going to have to be their best deal in price, ser vice and convenience.” Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport has connections to two major air traffic hubs — a person can fly out of Owensboro and then catch a connecting flight 2 0 1 6

Left: Pilot Eric Sampson looks out the window of a Cape Air Cessna 402 as Rich Corbett, in orange, helps passengers board a flight to St. Louis at the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. Right: Pat Howard, center, smiles toward her daughter Jordawn Howard as she checks in for her flight at OwensboroDaviess County Regional Airport. The Cape Air flight to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is a little more than an hour flight. Jordawn Howard was on her way to a work assignment. File photos

to pretty much ever y major city in the countr y. The Owensboro airport is home to two airlines, Cape Air and Allegiant Air. Allegiant flies round-trip from Owensboro to Orlando International Airport 10 to 12 times monthly. There are more reasons to fly to Orlando than to just see the beach. Once in Orlando, people connect with flights to a multitude of cities along the east coast and in the Midwest and to cities west of the Rockies, including Las Vegas,

Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Cape Air has three flights daily from Owensboro to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, which also connects to multiple major U.S. cities. Whitmer said a person flying into St. Louis

from Owensboro can connect with flights to 66 cities across the countr y and to a number of international destinations. While that might not sound unique, what sets Owensboro’s airport apart is the low cost of many of its flights. Allegiant offers

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Some window-seated travelers look out the windows as they await takeoff of an Allegiant Air flight from OwensboroDaviess County Regional Airport. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

flights to Orlando for as low as $49, with most Cape Air flights to St. Louis costing $49. Cape Air is Owensboro’s “essential air ser vice” provider, meaning the federal government subsidizes flights. Last summer, the airport and Cape Air launched an advertising blitz, complete with reduced fees to St. Louis, in an effort to maintain Cape Air as an essential air ser vice provider.

“Cape Air gives us a connection to the world,” Whitmer said. Owensboro has its own control tower, so it doesn’t have to rely on air traffic controllers miles away. With flights being watched from the tower by actual eyeballs, “the passengers are going to be safer and more secure,” Whitmer said. In terms of airline security, “we do ever ything Louisville, LaGuardia (in New York City) and Nashville

does,” except without the bother of having to wait in long lines to pass through a TSA checkpoint, Whitmer said. “You have the convenience of going through TSA security here,” Whitmer said. “You stay on the secure side (when you arrive in Orlando or St. Louis) and don’t have to go through TSA again.” While many business people use the airport for trips, officials want the rest of the community to know how easy and convenient it is to fly out of Owensboro. “What I hear from people is, at the end of a long business trip or a long vacation, they’d like to (fly) into their hometown and be home in 10 minutes,” Whitmer said. “I think the word is beginning to spread.”

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L O C A L GROUPS

FOSTER

community involvement BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON

directly to meet the needs of local schoolchildren. “We make a living by what we Since school personnel have first-hand knowledge of get, but we make a life by what students’ needs, they have the we give.” — Winston Churchill responsibility of identifying students at risk, requesting n Owensboro there are many Goodfellows assistance and community involvement responding with appropriate groups for those who want clothing. The shared to enrich the neighborhoods in which they live. With civic groups responsibility between the local school systems and the for the young and the old and Goodfellows Club assures that everyone in between, there is children’s needs are addressed something for everyone. If you quickly and fairly. are looking to get involved and Goodfellows Club meets more make a difference in Owensboro, think about contacting one of the than the everyday needs of clothing, coats, shoes and dental many organizations listed below care. When emergencies such or call the Greater Owensboro as tornadoes, floods and house Chamber of Commerce fires arise, the Goodfellows Club at 270-926-1860 for more responds. information. For more information visit 401 GOODFELLOWS CLUB Frederica St., or call 270-685-2652. OF OWENSBORO IMPACT 100 The Goodfellows Club provides MESSENGER-INQUIRER

Christmas toys, clothing, shoes, dental care, coats and more for needy children. One hundred percent of all donations go

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Jean Eidson Yewell, president of Impact 100 Owensboro, said the group is a community of women that seeks to transform

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lives in the Greater Owensboro area through high-impact and life-long giving. Impact 100 Owensboro membership requirements are: • Be a woman • Donate $1,000 as a full voting member or $500 as a half vote. • Vote for the finalists in person at the annual dinner or by absentee ballot. This is a one-year commitment. Membership is renewed on an annual basis. Visit www.impact100owensboro. org for additional information and a membership form. Impact 100 Owensboro began giving grants of $100,000 in 2005. As of October 2015, Impact 100 Owensboro has made grants totaling $2,162,000 to worthy Owensboro-area nonprofit organizations. For each 100 members, a grant of $100,000 is made to a local nonprofit group. Every dollar designated for membership is returned to the community as part of a grant. Although members will have opportunities to volunteer on committees, there is no volunteer time requirement to be a member of Impact 100 Owensboro. For more information contact Yewell at jeanyewell@bellsouth.net or 270-222-0804.

program. Potential members should contact the Junior League by mid-June to be included in the next summer training sessions. The Junior League reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in volunteerism. Some scholarships are available to help with dues. To contact the organization call 270-683-1430 or email Jlowensboro. org. KIWANIS CLUB OF OWENSBORO Serving the children of the world, the Kiwanis Club of Owensboro meets from noon to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at Owensboro Country Club, 400 E. Byers Ave. Guests are welcome. Every year, worldwide, Kiwanis clubs sponsor nearly 150,000 service projects, raise more than $100 million and devote more than 18.5 million hours to service. Nationally, Kiwanis clubs have 669,783 adult and youth members. For more information visit kiwanis. org or call 270-852-6519.

GREATER OWENSBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Through the Owensboro Chamber there are many opportunities to get involved and improve the community. JUNIOR LEAGUE Professionals can apply to be a OF OWENSBORO member of Leadership Owensboro, Once each year, the Junior where each year 25 individuals are League of Owensboro welcomes selected through an application new members for a summer training process to be a part of the

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Leadership Owensboro program. Leadership Owensboro has an alumni base of more than 1,000 civic, business and education leaders. In addition to the classes and exposure throughout the community, class participants work in groups to research a need in the community and present solutions for implementation. The presentations are judged by elected officials and business leaders, and voted on by peers, to determine which project to champion for implementation. The Chamber offers lots of others ways to get involved such as becoming an ambassador or Chamber advocate, joining Connecting Young Leaders or any of their numerous volunteer committees. There is something for everyone to be involved with the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce. Rooster Booster breakfasts, the Chamber’s premier event, is the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 am at the Owensboro Convention Center. With an average attendance

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of 300, you can spend the first hour of your day networking, hearing pertinent updates and issues from national, state and local business and government leaders. For more information on the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce stop by the office at 200 E. Third St., Owensboro, or call 270-926-1860.

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GIVING BACK TO OUR HOME

Volunteer Michael Thies stands outside of the Wendell Foster’s Campus.

Photo by Greg Eans

Animal shelter, Wendell Foster’s Campus encourage volunteers BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON

matched his degree. Before he started volunteering, or many, volunteering in the his sister worked at Wendell Foster’s community is just one way as a direct support professional. He to give back and be involved. said her experiences at Wendell For others, it’s a way to make a Foster’s enabled her to get first-hand difference in other people’s lives experience working with people with while enriching their own. developmental disabilities and helped In Owensboro, there are volunteer propel her to a career as a certified opportunities for every interest. occupational therapy assistant (COTA) at RML Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. WENDELL FOSTER’S CAMPUS “My sister always talked about her Michael Thies, a 23-year-old guys — Butch, Gary and Rex — and Owensboro native and recent how much she enjoyed them,” Thies communications graduate from Xavier said. “It was amazing to see how much University, started volunteering she bonded with them while also with Wendell Foster’s Campus gaining professional experience.” for Developmental Disabilities in After Thies graduated and moved May while looking for a career that back to Owensboro, he decided to

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follow in his sister’s footsteps. “Besides gaining new skills, I have met the guys my sister took care of and bonded with them as well as the great staff at Wendell Foster’s,” he said. “Interacting with the residents at Wendell Foster’s is rewarding because of how friendly and welcoming they are. The residents are so full of life, and it feels good being able to contribute to their growth because they are important to the Owensboro community.” In his role, he works behind the scenes to help plan and promote events, such as Big Band Glow in the Park, as well as contribute to the organization’s fundraising efforts. Thies also gets to interact with local businesses while helping market and plan events for WFC. “As a college graduate looking to expand my career, Wendell Foster’s provides me with excellent support as they work with my schedule and offer advice along the way,” he said. Thies said for anyone looking to give back to the community, Wendell Foster’s is a good choice.

“The campus provides volunteers with a sense of purpose, and it couldn’t be a more positive experience,” he said. “Spending five minutes at Wendell Foster’s interacting with the residents will change your life. Volunteering at Wendell Foster’s has given me more than I thought possible.” Thies said volunteering within the community is important because it strengthens the bonds between people. “Giving back makes Owensboro a better place because Owensboro is our home, and in our home, everyone deserves a chance to become better,” Thies said. “Helping the community is our chance to make that difference.” Carolyn Ferber, former volunteer and community education coordinator with Wendell Foster’s, said WFC welcomes volunteers 16 years of age and older. Since WFC is a state regulated agency, volunteers must complete an application prior to an interview and tour. Additional steps to becoming a volunteer include a criminal

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background check, a TB skin test and a three-hour volunteer orientation. Once these steps are completed, volunteers can begin. Ferber said this effort considers both the volunteer’s interests and the needs of the campus and individuals served there. Further on-site orientation and training is also provided as needed. “We have volunteer opportunities that place people in one-on-one companionships, group-related activities, as well as opportunities to serve in less-direct ways while still developing social connections with the individuals we serve,” Ferber said. As of August, Wendell Foster's Campus had 33 active volunteers. “Many of our individuals are active in the community through social activities, work and church, but most do not have anyone to hang out with that share the same interests and hobbies,” Ferber said. “Because of the nature of their unique circumstances, they can become isolated and disconnected. Volunteers are matched with individuals who share common

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Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Allison Boehm gets many kisses from Barkley, a young male Husky mix, as Boehm attempts to put a collar on Barkley so she can walk him at the Daviess County Animal Shelter. Boehm and her husband volunteer at the shelter. Volunteering with animals has “always been ingrained in me,” Boehm said. “My mom was a huge animal rescuer.” Boehm said she has three dogs at home. The most recent addition came from a failed foster situation, where she was fostering a dog and wound up adopting him.

hobbies and interests, and together they develop friendships through those common bonds.” She said volunteers provide an additional layer of social and community connectedness with their visits. “Many long-term friendships have developed through volunteering,” Ferber said. Volunteering directly with people, no matter the population, is a huge commitment one must be sure they are willing to make. “Our volunteer process is thorough because we seek individuals who are interested and willing to volunteer on a weekly and ongoing (long-term) basis,” Ferber said. “People’s hearts (and) feelings are involved, and we look for people who are considerate to this fact and are willing to follow

cats, and some people would rather just raise money or clean. There is something for everyone. No job goes unnoticed.” She said any amount of time DAVIESS COUNTY volunteering with animals makes a ANIMAL SHELTER difference. “Whatever you do, it’s always a Jennifer Jackson, administrative positive experience,” Jackson said. assistant with the Daviess County “You get to meet a lot of people with Animal Shelter, said the shelter is the same interests. Everyone kind of always looking for volunteers and there is no limit on who can volunteer. does their own thing, but at the same time, everyone is working together. “We accept volunteers of all ages, It’s really neat. It's a great way to give colors, gender, sizes, you name it,” back.” Jackson said. “We love people and For more information on the animal encourage volunteer work.” Jackson said there is a whole variety shelter or to find out how to volunteer, of things that volunteers can do at the call 270-685-8275. For a list of more organizations animal shelter. looking for volunteers, visit volunteer “It just depends on what they are owensboro.com or find it on comfortable with,” she said. “Some people like dogs, some people prefer Facebook. through on their commitment.” To learn about the Wendell Foster’s Campus or about volunteering call 270-683-4517.

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Photo by Mike Clark

DOWN BY THE

RIVER

BY ANGELA OLIVER MESSENGER-INQUIRER

sleek, black building stands out along the scenic riverfront in downtown Owensboro. Floor-to-ceiling windows at the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade invite people through the doors. Inside, sunlight penetrates the lobby as guests chat and grab a bite to eat in the Big E CafĂŠ, marvel at the brilliantly colored art that hangs from the ceiling or simply stroll around the building to see what it has to offer.

Photo by Mike Clark

A triceratops, front right, and a dilong, front left, are featured in a display at Discover the Dinosaurs show at the Owensboro Convention Center.

“

This building was built to bring conventions and people to town, but we don’t deny that nonprofits are a huge, integral part of this community. We’re glad to highlight them.

”

— Dean Dennis general manager

The 169,000-square-foot Owensboro Convention Center, managed by Global Spectrum on behalf of the city of Owensboro, boasts a 44,000-square-foot exhibition hall, 48,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, in-house ser vices such as catering, event decorating and audio-visual and Internet access, a new Bulleit Bourbon Bar with a range of Kentucky’s signature spirit and peaceful views of the Ohio River. But aside from its physical and technological features, the convention center offers a full calendar of events for locals and visitors to enjoy. “There were a lot of expectations for this facility,” said general manager Dean Dennis, “and we’re meeting them.” Its first event was the annual Grain Day Ag Expo in Januar y 2014, though the $39.5-million facility officially opened with a gala hosted by Mayor Ron Payne at the end of that month. By that year’s end, the convention center had hosted more than 173,000 people at more than 300 events. Those events generated 5,000 local hotel room nightly stays and an estimated $1 million in economic impact from direct visitor spending. “Substantial room nights drive G R E A T E R

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economic impact that wouldn’t be here without this venue,” said Dennis, highlighting the convention center’s sparkling-new neighbors — Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront directly to its east and Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront to its west. Partnerships with the hotels, Convention and Visitors Bureau, We Are Downtown and other such organizations allow the convention center to extend its hospitality ser vices, such as assistance booking rooms, to event planners. “We’ve been successful,” Dennis said. As the convention center calendar continues to grow, Dennis often thinks back to the planning stages. “This year, we’ve had almost twice as many events than the feasibility study estimated,” Dennis said. The only difference in the study and the actuals, he said, is that the conventions and meetings have been smaller. “We’ve had some big ones. The projected (attendance) numbers are down from what was expected, but the number of events make up for that,” Dennis said. Featuring events from religious to entertaining and corporate to 2 0 1 6

educational, the calendar has had no shortage of diversity. In 2015, the Ag Expo and mayor’s gala returned to the convention center along with OMG!con, the Chamber of Commerce Rooster Booster breakfasts, the River Valley Cluster Dog Show, the First Apostolic Spring Council and several others. Newcomer events have included Countr y Con, the Global Leadership Summit, Kentucky Aviation Association and Will Graham Ohio Valley Celebration. And a few more, like the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association, Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Realtors, met at the convention center after not meeting in Owensboro for a decade or more. The town’s beloved and long-remembered Executive Inn Rivermont was known for hosting big-name entertainers and sustained the local meeting and convention side of tourism from its opening in 1977 to its closing in 2008. It was imploded in 2009. “When the Executive Inn got a little long in the tooth, it was a big loss for Owensboro,” Dennis said. “Now, we’re getting back in the game.” Officials including Gov. Steve Beshear and state representatives have lauded the convention center for the value it brings to not only Owensboro, but the region. Though the facility has gained national attention and a solid regional draw, the city’s natives and residents are still a priority for the center’s staff, said Jeanette Goins, marketing and public relations manager. “Our focus is conventions, but we are always looking for ways to ser ve the community,” she said. The center has done so with wedding shows, Cork & Cuisine, OCCtoberfest, a cornhole tournament, children’s exhibits and events, a Christmas show, Mother’s and Father’s Day brunches and more. “We market a lot of our own

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

The Owensboro Convention Center lights up a portion of the downtown riverfront.

events to the community. People often say there’s nothing to do, so we want to offer as much as we can,” Goins said. About 21 of the 300 events during the first year were self-promoted events. “We’re unique in that the city encourages us to do events for the public, so we find things that are a void in the community or that complement other events around town,” Dennis said. “Even in bigger cities, I’ve noticed convention centers don’t do a lot of their own events,” said Goins. “It’s impressive for a city our size.” Also, since the November relaunch of the Big E Cafe, local nonprofit organizations have been highlighted each week in the eater y. The organizations can also arrange for a percentage of sales

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to be donated. “This building was built to bring conventions and people to town, but we don’t deny that nonprofits are a huge, integral part of this community. We’re glad to highlight them,” Dennis said. Dennis said the next items on the goals list include beefing up consumer show and entertainment business. With a cheer and dance competition coming in Januar y, the center is also looking at more sporting events. “We already have the Sportscenter here and other sports facilities, so we’re still tr ying to find our role in that market,” Dennis said. But as for the future of the convention center, Dennis isn’t afraid to stretch its capabilities. “We’re only limited by our imagination,” he said. commercial governmental religious clinics sports restaurants offices visualmerchandising hospitality educational retail jennifer@jmccrystaldesign.com

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AIMING TO BE THE BEST

BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

o matter the season or time of day, chances are you will see someone biking or running on the streets and trails around Daviess County. Legends of Owensboro, a local sporting goods store, helps those people enjoy their healthy activities by fitting them with the right equipment and apparel. But, while the store is primarily a running and biking specialty retailer, its overall goal is more than just making sales — it strives to be a place for all local runners and bikers to hang out. Heather Haynes, the marketing manager at Legends, said store employees want to build relationships with customers and support their fitness goals. Since the store serves people with a more specialized interest, they have a lot of repeat customers. “We have a core group of customers and everyone knows everyone,” Haynes said. “They make friends with everyone and keep

coming back to us.” Haynes said a lot of people return to the store to buy shoes from a popular employee, footwear manager Dylan Hammons. She said many customers ask for Hammons by name since they were so pleased with their previous purchases. Many customers also become a part of Legends’ weekly running group. Every Tuesday, rain or shine, a group of local runners and walkers meet outside Legends on Park Plaza Drive for an evening workout. Haynes said distances vary each week, but the average is three to fives miles, and everyone, no matter their pace, is welcome. She said there are two routes for the runners and walkers. Most runs include a theme to make the night more interesting, and every week, a new group picture is taken and posted on Facebook. Haynes said the store’s employees also participate. “After the run, everyone comes back to the store and hangs out,” Haynes said. “This Tuesday night

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group builds a camaraderie between runners. You see the friendships carry over to the weekend races. They help build each other up.” She said the staff at Legends wants the community to see them having fun and staying active, even if it’s on a random Tuesday night. “We encourage people to stay active,” Haynes said. “That’s our big thing. We want to lead by example.” Runners and walkers have access to the store before and after the run. The staff is also available for advice on proper running footwear and apparel. Haynes said one of the store’s goals is to show customers the quality of its products and its exceptional service. “All we want is a chance to hopefully show people that we are the best,” Haynes said. Legends offers a free foot analysis when sizing people for new shoes, something Haynes said is unique. “We put them on a machine that helps pinpoint what kind of shoe they need,” Haynes said. “We have a knack of helping people with shoes.” During race season, Legends

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Brad Schmied, right, gets information on a virtual reality cycling training system from Ryan Clark, who runs the cycling division at Legends of Owensboro. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

staff members can usually be seen at events around town. While some are running, others are there to offer assistance to runners who might have a sore spot or minor injury, or simply have questions about the sport. But Haynes said it’s not all about promoting the business. “We want to show people that we can help them,” she said. “It’s not always about making the sale all the time. It’s about relationships. “Our motto here is we want to encourage people to stay active — that’s why we are here,” Haynes said. “We are trying to help show people just because we are not the big store, we have the people that care.” According to the Legends website, “Our stores provide active people of all fitness levels and interests the equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories they need to stay active. Not only do we take pride in providing

our “activists” the best products, but also providing them services that go beyond traditional retail.” Bailie Campbell, an avid Owensboro runner, said she shops at Legends for its helpful and friendly environment, and its quality clothing. “I keep coming back because they know exactly what I need,” she said. “They look at your running form, give you advice on how to train, and they care about your performance.” Campbell said she shops in the Owensboro store instead of buying online because the store carries the same products but without the cost of shipping. “You don’t have to wait for your item — you just go in and your item is there,” she said. “I also like shopping there because if there is a question I have, they can answer it.” Campbell, who has also participated with the Tuesday night group, said she enjoys the weekly gathering. “There is always someone who runs with you and pushes you through the run or walk,” Campbell said. “It’s a great get-together — everyone should try it.”

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BOUTIQUE ROUNDUP Deanna Johnson, owner of Peacocks and Pearls boutique at 3811 Kentucky 54, stands near the front counter of her store on Oct. 10. Johnson, who grew up on a Philpot farm, said she and her dad made various permanent items in the store, including the sales counter. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

ith local boutiques popping up throughout the area, Owensboro has become home to more than half a dozen clothing stores. These boutiques, which vary in clothing style and prices, are located from Frederica Street to Hwy 54. BELLA RAGAZZA BOUTIQUE BLOSSOMS APPAREL & GIFTS C-ING POLKA DOTS EXCURSIONS EMBELLISH EN VOGUE PEACOCKS & PEARLS PINK POPPY BOUTIQUE SAVI CHIC BOUTIQUE & SALON SOUTHERN & SASSY CHIC TAEGENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE

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Mary Margaret Hayden, left, helps Kris Belcher try on a pair of Vince Camuto sandals to wear for a fashion show at Blossoms Apparel & Gifts. The two women are sales associates at the business on Frederica Street in Owensboro.

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Taste the Difference Live Music Daily! Join us for Sunday Brunch!

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5000 Frederica St. Owensboro, KY 42301 (270) 683-7788 Sun 11:00 am - 11:00 pm Mon - Sat 11:00am - 2:00 am 2 0 1 6

3021 Medley Rd • Owensboro, KY 42301 • 270-686-0105 www.ontimefab.com “Our customers have learned they can count on us to provide good, honest work and excellent customer service.”

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EATING AROUND THE CLOCK Locally owned options spread over the city BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

en years ago, Owensboro’s downtown was somewhat static — there wasn’t a chain coffee joint from which to purchase a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and the locally-owned dining options were solid but few. When friends from the big city came to visit, going out for dinner could get challenging. Fast forward a decade — the

riverfront is gorgeous, fun and a source of community pride. The local dining scene has exploded, and options spread from Second Street to Southtown Boulevard and even out Kentucky 54. For early risers with a sweet tooth, donuts from Kohlers Bakery or The Rolling Pin are a must. These two local standbys serve hot and fresh pastries, doughnuts, cakes and more starting as early as 3 a.m. For coffee

Guy McCallister, second from left, serves Brian and April Triplett lunch in Spirits, a bourbon bar in the basement of The Miller House restaurant at the corner of East Fifth Street and J.R. Miller Boulevard. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

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in the downtown district, The Creme serves lattes, espresso, macchiatos and more in real mugs, not plastic cups. Located on Second Street, the quaint atmosphere and coffee shop music makes it a nice place to chat with friends, study or catch up on some work while using free Wi-Fi. For a more traditional breakfast, just down the street is Bee Bops, which opens at 6 a.m. every day except Sunday and serves classic fare such as eggs, bacon and biscuits in a 1950s diner atmosphere. For brunch-lovers, the Famous Bistro offers steak and eggs, eggs benedict, crab cake hollandaise, breakfast pizza and more. “Our Saturday mornings have a great vibe,” said chef Jared Bradley. “We have people who will stay for two

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Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm Friday & Saturday 11am-11pm Sunday 8 am -10pm. 2 0 1 6

Photo by Greg Eans

Roy Henry stands outside of the new location of his business, Henry’s Boogalou BBQ, with a pitchfork, given to him by a friend, that he keeps for fun at the business. He has moved from Kentucky 54 to the former location of PizzAroma on Carter Road, where he will have indoor seating for customers and delivery service, as well.

or three hours.” Recently, the eatery, which Bradley classifies as a “new American-style eatery with old school Greek recipes that are never touched” added live music to the open-air seating area. “We are not content with mediocre food,” Bradley said. “Even if it’s just a sausage-egg omelet, it’s quality local pork sausage and great, fresh eggs.” Recently, the French toast with bourbon and vanilla creme anglaise has been one of the top orders. Add a mimosa made with fresh-squeezed orange juice or a custom bloody Mary and your Saturday will be off to a great start. Another Broken Egg Café, inside the Holiday Inn Owensboro

Riverfront, is another option for breakfast and brunch. The cafe is known for its special twist on the traditional eggs benedict, as well as gourmet omelets, biscuit beignets, cinnamon roll French toast and much more. For lunch, locally-owned options spread from downtown to across town. Colby’s Fine Food & Spirits serves lunch portions that include dishes such as loaded potato soup, chicken salad and classic burgers. Branching out from the riverwalk, Henry’s Boogalou BBQ, on Carter Road near Parrish Avenue, offers what owner Roy Henry describes as competition-style barbecue. Henry, who recently moved

3523 Hwy 54 E. ★ 270-926-6464 ★ www.olesouthbbq.com G R E A T E R

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Owensboro’s Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar

First

Since 2004

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

The Miller House at 301 E. 5th St.

2015 Silver Award

Readers’ Choice Winner Since 2009

5010 Wildcat Way Owensboro (behind Frederica Walmart)

270-685-9980 shogundining.com Business Hours: Mon.-Thurs. Lunch 11AM-2PM Dinner 4:30-9PM Friday (Open All Day) 11AM - 10PM Saturday (Open All Day) 12PM - 10PM Sunday (Open All Day) 11AM - 9PM

the restaurant from the old DDI cake pops and sugar cookies. location on Kentucky 54, said his Late night, a spot for drinks establishment serves about 50 and snacks is The Miller House’s percent traditional pulled pork and bourbon bar, Spirits. The speakeasy 50 percent progressive feel is perfect for barbecue — the stuff catching a University Late night, a one would see on TV of Kentucky — such as smoked basketball game or a spot for drinks bologna. nightcap. and snacks is Boogalou’s also According to The offers specialty meats Miller House website, The Miller such as venison and “with an eclectic House’s bourbon bison. Henry said their mix of patrons, meat sauces have also anyone coming to bar, Spirits. been sold at local IGAs Spirits for the first The speakeasy for about a year. time will surely feel On the east side, right at home. As a feel is perfect Niko’s offers classic bourbon-focused bar, for catching a Italian cuisine as we always have more well as fresh fish, than 400 bourbons in University of veal, steaks and their stock, making us the Kentucky famous tiramiso in a largest Bourbon Bar recently revamped in western Kentucky. basketball game dining room. All bourbon aside, or a nightcap. If you’re craving we also offer a wide something sweet, variety of signature check out Dalishas Desserts at 1010 martinis, mixed drinks, beer, wine Allen St. Owner Alisha Hardinson and live entertainment.” serves cookies, mini cakes, brownies For a broad list of Owensboro and other sweet treats daily. She eateries, visit the Greater Owensboro also makes custom-made wedding, Chamber of Commerce website at birthday and special occasion cakes, chamber.owensboro.com.

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Photo by Greg Eans

Above: Tony White, left, and Joe Bittel of Our Lady of Lourdes flip chickens on the pits while cooking during Owensboro’s 37th Annual International Bar-B-Q Festival. Right: Lila Helwig, 5, shares her cotton-candy flavored ice cream with her brother, William Helwig, 1, outside Cold Stone Creamery on Allen Street in Owensboro. Photo by Jenny Sevcik

These gourment apples are just a small portion of the desserts available for purchase at Dalishas Desserts in the Centre for Business and Research on Allen Street. The shop serves lunch daily, and is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

“Where local Folks Bring Visitors for Owensboro’s Best Bar-B-Q” Mutton • Chicken • Ham Pork • Ribs • Beef Dine In or Carry Out Custom Cooking & Catering Gift Certificates Banquet Room

THANK YOU FOR VOTING US PLATINUM 7 YEARS IN A ROW!

Photo by Jenny Sevcik

2015

A Fine Tradition for Six Generations 338 Washington Ave. at 25th & Frederica 926-9000 G R E A T E R

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FINE CITY FINE ARTS 92

Concerts, recitals abundant in Owensboro BY BOBBIE HAYSE

price on.” The event is bringing an hile downtown and riverfront atmosphere to the downtown area, development has encouraged much like Memphis did with blues more people to visit the and Nashville did with country Owensboro-Daviess County area, music, he said. there have always been hot spots for The event is always free and has arts and entertainment. hosted more than 50,000 visitors each season. From 5 to 10 p.m. FRIDAY AFTER 5 each Friday from mid-May to For the past 20 years, the early September, folks can come weekend has begun at Friday After and enjoy live music at one of six 5 downtown on the river. venues: the Party Pier, the Plaza Friday After 5 executive director Patio, the Courtyard, the Street Fair, Kirk Kirkpatrick attributed the RiverPark’s Cannon Hall and the event’s consistency — 16 weeks Overlook Stage. over four months — to much of its From a backstage perspective, success. Kirkpatrick said the program has “It’s not something you have provided countless leadership to make plans on months ahead,” opportunities for young he said. “It adds value to our professionals in the area. community that is difficult to put a

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Left: Sam Bush performs on ROMP’s main stage May 26 at Yellow Creek Park. Photo by Mike Clark

Right: Paula Humphreys, right, and Greg Olson, with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, perform “Suite for a Jazz Trio” by Claude Bolling with drummer Todd Sheehan, not pictured, on Aug. 7 during Concert on the Lawn at Kentucky Wesleyan College. Photo by Greg Eans

OWENSBORO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Another downtown fixture is the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, which will be celebrating its 50th year in 2016. The OSO subscription series runs from October to April and consists of five concerts featuring classical masterpieces, the best of opera and popular music. It also provides two free community concerts in July and August, including College in August. Church in March and St. Stephen the July Fourth Celebration of Cathedral in April. Three free chamber concerts take American Spirit and the Concert place at First Christian Church in The OSO has a number of youth on the Lawn at Kentucky Wesleyan December, Settle Memorial Methodist programs including the youth

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orchestra, which runs from September to April and specializes in training more than 100 young musicians each year. It also provides performances with the RiverPark Center through the Arts Teach Kids program. Strings Attached is a program where a symphony education specialist travels to fourth- and fifth-grade classes in the area to introduce students to violin. THE RIVERPARK CENTER Another downtown destination for the arts is the RiverPark Center that opened in 1992 and is home to four resident groups: the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, the Owensboro Dance Theatre, Friday After 5 and Back Alley Musicals. The RiverPark Center hosts several Broadway performances each year, a Kidstuff series for children, a special Arts for All downtown celebration each spring with family-oriented performances, a fine arts festival in March for public education and many other nonperformance events such as graduations, proms and wedding receptions. “We truly believe we are the community’s living room,” RiverPark Center executive director Roxi Witt said. “Where memories are made.” Its education program remains busy and allows it to serve about 25,000 students through a school-day performance series, Arts Teach Kids, and the hands-on Arts in the AM program. “As the original and eastern anchor of downtown development, we contribute daily to the quality of life in Owensboro-Daviess County and the region,” Witt said. “When companies are looking for new locations, the decision eventually comes down to quality of life.” Witt said the center has been informed by several new residents that they wouldn’t have seriously considered moving to Owensboro if it weren’t for the RiverPark Center. INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUM Just up the street from the OSO is the International Bluegrass Music Museum that was founded in 1991. Photos by Mike Clark Aaron Thompson, left, and Carson McKee jam in the Kings Highway tour bus during The museum hosts one benefit ROMP on May 25 at Yellow Creek Park. concert each month at a low cost.

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The benefit concerts provide an atmosphere for people to enjoy a live and intimate bluegrass show. “The bluegrass museum and the eventual Bluegrass Music Center will put Owensboro on the map as the capital of bluegrass music,” Keller said. “I think the most important aspect is continuing to preserve the art of bluegrass music, the people who created it, teach it, live it.” The museum also hosts one of the biggest concerts in the area — ROMP: Bluegrass Roots and Branches Festival, that takes place the last weekend of June. ROMP The 13th annual ROMP: Bluegrass Roots and Branches Festival festival is scheduled for June 22-25, 2016, at Yellow Creek Park, a 150-acre facility. “The International Bluegrass Music Museum, producer of the event, will open new exhibits, host performances throughout the daytime and present a film festival of documentaries the museum has produced on bluegrass music’s first generation, including Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music,” Keller said. “Attendees are encouraged to bring their instruments and jam with ROMP artists day and night, or dance until dawn at awesome Jake Owen performs with his band Aug. after-parties featuring national acts 15 during the Big O Music Fest at Reid’s on the cabin stage in the park’s rustic Pioneer Village,” Keller said. Orchard. Instrument workshops take “The current museum has been a place throughout the day and other tremendous asset to the community workshops and forums include and surrounding areas,” said Katie songwriting, clogging and flat-foot Keller, marketing director for the dancing, all levels of yoga and museum. “The Bluegrass in the healthy living through music. Schools program has put instruments OWENSBORO in the hands of 9,500 children each DANCE THEATRE year, and over 100,000 students have experienced the program.” The four core values of With the museum’s Video Oral Owensboro Dance Theatre Project, interviews of first- and secare exceptional quality without ond-generation bluegrass musicians compromise; education for all; have become a flagship program. innovative programs enriching the More than 150 musicians have been lives of a diverse community; and interviewed. emphasizing health and wellness “This ongoing program through dance. continues to provide inspiration to ODT was established in 1982 as a up-and-coming musicians, as well as nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and first-hand accounts of the early days of puts on three concerts per year, as bluegrass,” Keller said. well as 13 performances through G R E A T E R

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community events. Reaching 20,000 individuals in 12 counties in Kentucky and two in Indiana, ODT hosts multiple outreach programs. One of which is LEAN (lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition) for students, educators and families to fight obesity, diabetes and heart disease through free dance and nutritional education, reaching more than 12,000 individuals in five years. Rising Stars is another program for special-needs dance therapy. Also available are production scholarships to provide access for attendance and transportation, which has served more than 1,300 people in the past year. The Dance Ambassadors enable students to have a free lecture demonstration with a professional guest artist. The Minority Initiative Program focuses on providing opportunities for the minority community, free of charge. Women’s Health ... Let’s Move is a one-day event that provides free dance and fitness classes, anxiety relief activities and discussions by physicians to promote health awareness for women, reaching more than 415 women this past year. In 2014-15, 19,454 people attended ODT concerts, 9,387 participated in the Triple A (Arts Access for All) and 33,335 individuals were reached. BIG O MUSIC FEST Launched in 2009 with 10,000 people in attendance, the Big O Music Fest is held at Reid’s Orchard every summer. “It’s our job to get people there and show them a good time,” co-founder Steve Terry has said. “The fact that people keep coming back and it keeps growing is a testament to the fact that we do, we show them a good time, great music and other things to do while they’re there. We’re just real proud to be able to bring the Big O Music Fest to Owensboro.” The festival sold more than 12,000 tickets in 2015, with country music headliners like Jake Owen and Travis Tritt. 2 0 1 6

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

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 Photo by Jenny Sevcik A pontoon boat floats down the Ohio River, passing by Smothers Park. annual Owensboro Air Show, and it

Visit us at: www.omu.org or Follow OMU on Facebook and Twitter 96

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hosts the city’s Trail of Treats in October. Ben Hawes Park features golf courses, a playground and wooded biking and hiking trails. An indoor tennis complex and skate park have expanded Owensboro’s recreational offerings. The following list highlights some of what Owensboro has to offer for fun and play. ADKISSON GREENBELT PARK — A 15-mile paved path in the community, the David C. Adkisson Greenbelt Park links neighborhoods, parks and schools. 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 a public archery range and Rudy Mine Trails for hiking and mountain biking. The park is at 400 Boothfield Road. CENTRE COURT OWENSBORO TENNIS COMPLEX — Features nine lighted outdoor courts and six indoor courts. Home to the Owensboro-Daviess County Tennis

Photo by Mike Clark

Connor Napier, 9, (left) and Hayden Goins, 9, practice putting with The First Tee of Owensboro at Ben Hawes Park’s golf course. The First Tee of Owensboro provides golf instruction to children and has used the golf course since 2008. Napier says he took up the game to play with his father.

Association. Located at 2901 Bittel Road. COMBEST POOL — An Olympic-sized municipal pool at

1530 McJohnson Ave. CRAVENS POOL — A municipal pool on the west side of Owensboro at 2815 Cravens Ave.

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Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Frank Froehlich, back left, laughs along with his wife, Tammy Froehlich, second from back left, on Aug. 21 as the Froehliches visit with fellow car enthusiasts David Jone, front center, and Joe Stewart, back right, during the annual Kentucky Cruisers Street Legends Car Show at Diamond Lake Resort.

DIAMOND LAKE RESORT AND CAMPGROUND — A recreational campground with go-karts, bumper boats, mini golf, live music and more. It’s at 7301 Hobbs Road. DIAMOND LANES BOWLING

— Family-friendly bowling alley. It has two locations — 1901 Triplett St. and 410 Carlton Drive. EDGE ICE CENTER — A recreational ice skating center. 1400 Hickman Ave. ENGLISH PARK BOAT

RAMP — The landing features a wide ramp, reserved parking for trailers and a dock at Hanning Lane. HILLCREST GOLF COURSE — A year-round nine-hole municipal golf course at 4346 Old Hartford Road. HORSE FORK CREEK SOCCER COMPLEX — The park includes nine soccer fields and a walking trail at 3005 Fairview Drive. JACK C. FISHER PARK — Local park with walking trails, fishing pond and four lighted softball fields complex at 3900 West Fifth Street Road. KENDALL-PERKINS PARK — A two-acre neighborhood park on West Fifth Street. Home of the annual Dust Bowl basketball tournament. KENTUCKY MOTOR SPEEDWAY— 3/8-mile short track at 8135 Haynes Station Road in Whitesville. LEGION PARK — A 23.75-acre city park on Byers Avenue.

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wide range of therapeutic services. OWENSBORO FAMILY YMCA — Two facilities, at 900 Kentucky Parkway (full family facility) and at 650 Chuck Gray Court (adults only with child care available). OWENSBORO SPORTSCENTER — The Sportscenter is a 5,500-seat auditorium and arena at 1215 Hickman Ave. OZONE LASER TAG — Indoor laser tag at 533 Triplett St. PANTHER CREEK PARK — A county park with trails, ball diamonds and more at 5160 Wayne Bridge Road. PANTHER CREEK GOLF CLUB — 18-hole course at 4641 Kentucky 1514, southwest of Owensboro. THE PEARL CLUB AT THE SUMMIT — A semi-private golf facility at 6501 Summit Drive. Call 270-281-4653 for membership information. File photo SKATES ALIVE — Indoor skating U. S. Army Sfc. Anthony Ray watches television while exercising on an elyptical rink at 600 Salem Drive. machine at the YMCA’s Athenian branch. SMOTHERS PARK — Home of Lazy Dayz playground and the HEALTHPARK — A 110,000MORELAND PARK — A 17-acre Charles Shelton Memorial at 199 W. city park on West Parrish Avenue. square-foot exercise facility at 1006 Veterans Blvd. OWENSBORO HEALTH Ford Ave. The facility also offers a

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CAMPGROUND AND RECREATIONAL AREA — Campground with mini-golf, a beach, horse trails, playgrounds and more at 5141 Windy Hollow Road. WORLD’S LARGEST SASSAFRAS TREE — Corner of Frederica Street and Maple Avenue. YELLOW CREEK PARK — A 152-acre county park that includes a pioneer village, 5710 Kentucky 144. LOCAL GROUPS BACK ALLEY MUSICALS — Spectators line the edge while watching skateboarders, kick scooters and This community theater group motocross cyclists enjoy ramps, half pipes and other obstacles in June presents several musicals each during the grand opening of Travis Aubrey Skate Park in the northwest corner year. It performs at the RiverPark of Chautauqua Park. Center. INTERNATIONAL BLUEGR THOMPSON-BERRY SOCCER Chautauqua Park. 1301 Bluff The ASS MUSIC MUSEUM — COMPLEX — An 11-field soccer Ave. museum features exhibits of complex with picnic areas and WAYMOND MORRIS PARK bluegrass memorabilia and the concession facilities on Raven FOOTBALL COMPLEX — Bluegrass Hall of Fame at 207 Drive off U.S. 60 West. Includes four lighted football E. Second St. The museum TRAVIS AUBREY SKATE fields at 5200 Todd Bridge also hosts music lessons, PARK — A 14,000-squareRoad. a music camp and other foot skate park located in WINDY HOLLOW File photo

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special events, including ROMP: Bluegrass Roots and Branches Festival in Yellow Creek Park. 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 at 501 W. 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. 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

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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. 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. It’s at 122 E. 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 at 101 Daviess St. www.riverparkcenter.org, or 270-687-2770. 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, 407 W. Fifth St, and the TWO Opryhouse, 418 Frederica 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 2 0 1 6

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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 H. 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. 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 early September. www.

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Photo by Mike Clark

Jack Angel, 6, is dressed up as Uncle Sam to participate in the Fourth of July Kids Bike Parade at Smothers Park.

fridayafter5.com. HAUNTS OF OWENSBORO WALKING TOURS — One-and-a-half hour walking or creepy carriage tours around historic downtown Owensboro. 270-313-5596. 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. INTERNATIONAL BAR-B-Q FESTIVAL — Held the second weekend of May in downtown Owensboro, the festival is a

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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 OWENSBORO AIR SHOW — The air show brings stunt pilots, parachute teams, jets and vintage warplanes to the riverfront for weekend performances in September. The event also features a Friday airplane exhibit, including air performances by pilots, at Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. www.owens boroairshow.com. OWENSBORODAVIESS 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 DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL — Held in August, the Dragon Boat Festival

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Photo by Greg Eans

Kendell Abney, 7, waves an American flag as she watches a line of vintage cars being driven down Veterans Boulevard during the annual Veterans Day Parade sponsored by the Owensboro-Daviess County Veterans Organizations Committee.

is a competitive race where teams paddle Chinese dragon boats to victory. www.owensborodragonboat. com. OWENSBORO DUST BOWL — A nine-day basketball tournament, which the state Department of Travel lists as one of the oldest basketball tournaments in Kentucky. Held in July in Kendall-Perkins Park. OWENSBORO MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL — Offers a unique blend of cultures each August at First Presbyterian Church to educate and celebrate the community’s diversity. 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 — 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 at the orchard, 4812 Kentucky 144. www.reidorchard.com. ROMP — Bluegrass Roots and Br anches 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 on the Saturday before Veterans Day. VOICES OF ELMWOOD — Hayrides through Elmwood Cemetery, where actors portray figures from the region’s history who

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are buried in the cemetery. Sponsored by the Owensboro Museum of Science and History and the Daviess County Public Library. JUST IN CASE THE CLINIC AT WAL-MART 3151 Leitchfield Road 270-685-1260 5031 Frederica St. 270-686-1399 GATEWAY URGENT CARE 3245 Mount Moriah Ave., Suite 10 270-663-0955 OWENSBORO HEALTH MULTICARE 2211 Mayfair Ave. 270-688-1352 IMMEDIATE CARE CENTER 1200 Breckenridge St., Suite 103 270-683-7553 OWENSBORO HEALTH REGIONAL HOSPITAL 1201 Pleasant Valley Road 270-417-2000 SPRINGS URGENT CARE 2200 E. Parrish Ave. 270-852-1632 2 0 1 6

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BY THE NUMBERS Economic data provided by:

QUICK FACTS

Major Non-Government Employers Owensboro Health

4125

US Bank Home Mortgage

2120

Specialty Foods Group

500

Wal-Mart (2 superstores)

541

Toyotetsu MidAmerica LLC

403

R&B Foods Inc.

400

Kimberly-Clark Corp

370

UniFirst

363

Swedish Match North America

275

Titan Contracting

600

Canteen Service Company

315

Yager Materials, Inc.

250

The Hines Group, Inc.

240

Boardwalk

215

Glenmore Distillery Metalsa MPD, Inc.

Ebola Vaccine produced by Kentucky BioProcessing, an Owensboro company

- Area Development News 2014

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Owensboro MSA among leading locations for 2015 with one of soundest economic strength indicators - Area Development 2015

Owensboro ranked 61st Best Small City in America - NerdWallet 2015

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ADVERTISER INDEX

Allstate Insurance, Paula Hayden ......................................... 101 Another Broken Egg Cafe . ...................................................... 87 Associated Engineers of Owensboro, LLC ............................ 80 Atmos Energy Corporation ...................................................... 61 Audubon Area Community Services, Inc. .............................. 79 Audubon Federal Credit Union ............................................... 67 BB&T ......................................................................................... 14 Bella Ragazza Boutique ............................................................ 81 Big Rivers Electric Corp. . ........................................................ 72 BridgePointe Church ................................................................. 1 Century 21 Partners, John Burns ........................................... 28 Children’s Advocacy Center of Green River .......................... 61 City of Owensboro ...................................................................... 3 Courtyard by Marriott Owensboro . ...................................... 79 Culver’s Restaurant . ................................................................. 85 Danco Construction . ................................................................ 72 Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service ................... 42 Daviess County Farm Bureau Federation . ............................ 42 Daviess County Public Schools ............................................... 47 Daviess County Teachers Federal Credit Union ................... 47 Daymar College ........................................................................ 48 Dr. Richard Good, OB/GYN . .................................................. 11 Edward Jones, Financial Advisor Tracy B. Thacker, AAMS .. 109 Evergreen Lawn Care Inc./Weedman .................................... 83 First Class Services, Inc. ........................................................ 100 First Security Bank, Inc. . ......................................................... 15 Gene’s Health Food, Inc. . ........................................................ 37 Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. . ........................... 19 Green River Appliance Co, Inc. ............................................... 20 Greenwell-Chisholm ................................................................... 2 Gulfstream Commercial Services, LLC .................................. 65 Haley McGinnis & Owensboro Funeral Home ..................... 64 Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown/Waterfront ..................... 64 Hartz Contracting, LLC .......................................................... 108 Helton Insurance Agency . ....................................................... 17 Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront . ....................................... 79 Home Builders Association of Owensboro ............................ 31 Hometown IGA ......................................................................... 80 Independence Bank .................................................................. 21 J. McCrystal Design, LLC ........................................................ 78 James H. Davis Funeral Home & Crematory ........................ 63 Kentucky Mavericks . ............................................................... 69 Kentucky Wesleyan College .................................................... 50 L. Steve Castlen Realtors . ........................................................ 35 Lanham Brothers General Contractors, Inc. ......................... 79 Limos By Knight ....................................................................... 71 Lure Seafood and Grille . .......................................................... 85 Marcus W. Bosley & Associates, Inc. ....................................... 7 Martin Custom Building Inc. . ................................................. 29 Marvina’s Fireworks ................................................................ 80 Mellow Mushroom Owensboro .............................................. 89 Midtown Gourmet Specialities ................................................ 85 Modern Welding Co. of Owensboro, Inc. . ............................. 10

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Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn, Inc. . ..................................................... 91 Murphy Excavating, LLC ......................................................... 63 Norman King Electric .............................................................. 60 O’Bryan Contracting & Leasing Inc. ...................................... 80 Ohio Valley 2 WAY RADIO ...................................................... 98 Old Hickory Bar-B-Q, Inc. ....................................................... 91 Ole South Barbeque ................................................................. 89 Omico, Inc. ................................................................................ 14 On Time Fab, Inc. ..................................................................... 86 Owensboro Catholic Schools . ................................................. 52 Owensboro Community and Technical College....... inside cover Owensboro Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau.....68 Owensboro Dermatology Associates PSC ............................. 51 Owensboro Health ............................................... 43, back cover Owensboro Health Foundation .......................................... 54-55 Owensboro Municipal Utilities . .............................................. 96 Owensboro Municipal Utilities Fibernet ................................ 97 Owensboro Public Schools ...................................................... 47 Owensboro Winnelson, Co .................................................... 107 PBI Bank .................................................................................... 18 Pediatric Dentistry of Owensboro .......................................... 38 Physicians Affiliated Care, PSC . ............................................. 39 PizzAroma . ................................................................................ 88 Purcell Tire Company .............................................................. 83 RBS Design Group Architecture ............................................. 99 Real Hacienda Mexican Restaurant ........................................ 85 Real Living Home Realty .......................................................... 31 Real Living Home Realty, Gordon Barnett ............................. 34 Republic Bank ........................................................................... 57 Risner & Associates, JoAnn Risner ......................................... 28 RiverPark Center ...................................................................... 93 RiverValley Behavioral Health ................................................. 83 SERVPRO of Daviess County .................................................. 60 Shoe Stop ................................................................................... 81 Shogun ....................................................................................... 90 Show-Me’s of Owensboro ........................................................ 85 SignPros . ..................................................................................... 9 South Central Bank of Daviess County ................................ 107 Springs Urgent Care . ............................................................... 45 St. Mary of the Woods Catholic School .................................. 52 Storm Insurance LLC, Scott Stoermer ................................... 44 Swank Salon . ............................................................................. 71 The Crème Coffee House ........................................................ 85 The Miller House Restaurant & Catering .............................. 85 Thompson Homes, Inc. ............................................................ 33 Tom Blue Furniture . ................................................................ 83 Tony Clark Realtors, LLC . ....................................................... 33 Trinity High School .................................................................. 47 Trisons ....................................................................................... 19 Upper Room Music, LLC ......................................................... 72 US Bank ..................................................................................... 44 Wendell Foster’s Campus for Developmental Disabilities ... 74 Western Kentucky University . ................................................ 52

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United States of America, Inc.

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