The latest statistics on local residential properties PAGE 4
EconomicAnalysis
A monthly look at economic indicators compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky PAGE 5
WriteStuff
How to Say Goodbye, Professionally PAGE 5
CraveWorthy Specializing in Service: Stein’s by Addie’s offers customized, convenient meals when and where customers want them PAGE 6
IndependentBusiness
Focus on Success: Holifield Photography observes 50 years of celebrating Central Kentucky’s youth PAGE 8
BizLists
SMILEY PETE PUBLISHING
Residential Real Estate Firms PAGE 14
Commercial Real Estate Management Companies PAGE 15
Construction Companies PAGE 16
Who’s Who
Employment updates and notable achievements from around the Bluegrass PAGE 18
QuickBites
Lexington Tea and Brie, Carson’s at Andover, and 3TEN are just a few of Lexington’s newest foodie destinations
PAGE 7
Game Changer:
Athlete Advantage helps college athletes navigate new rules around capitalizing on their name, image and likeness PAGE 10
Understanding Property Tax Assessments:
Fayette County Property Value Administrator David O’Neill offers insight on updated assessments and local market conditions PAGE 12
BizLex Q&A: Rosemary Allen The president of Georgetown College on a yearlong fundraising campaign to pay off the school’s debt and its vision for the future PAGE 17
LEXINGTON TEA AND BRIE AT 219 N. LIMESTONE PHOTO FURNISHED
PVAStatistics
These statistics on local residential and commercial property are compiled by the o ce of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator. The data reflects the most up-to-date information available at the time of printing for this publication, but monthly figures may be revised as additional public records of property transactions are submitted and become available.
Top Commercial Transactions for June 2024
6/28/24 1907 Plaudit Place $3,616,337 Estepp Friendly Shell Inc.
6/3/24 903 Manchester Street, Ste. 190 $2,600,000* Manchester Realty LLC
6/3/24 903 Manchester Street, Ste. 110 $2,600,000* Manchester Realty LLC
6/3/24 2704 Old Rosebud Road, #380 $1,225,000* Katanbaf, Manouchehr N. and Mitra, Morshed
6/3/24 2704 Old Rosebud Road, #370 $1,225,000* Katanbaf, Manouchehr N. and Mitra, Morshed
6/3/24 2704 Old Rosebud Road, #360 $1,225,000* Katanbaf, Manouchehr N. and Mitra, Morshed
6/3/24 2704 Old Rosebud Road, #330 $1,225,000* Katanbaf, Manouchehr N. and Mitra, Morshed
6/3/24 2704 Old Rosebud Road, #320 $1,225,000* Katanbaf, Manouchehr N. and Mitra, Morshed
6/3/24 2704 Old Rosebud Road, #310 $1,225,000* Katanbaf, Manouchehr N. and Mitra, Morshed
6/14/24 114 E. Reynolds Road $404,340 Sable Holdings II LLC
6/7/24 531 Darby Creek Road, Unit 42 $120,000 Conaway and Associates LLC
*Sale Price Based on a Multiple-Parcel Transaction ** Parcel includes multiple improvements, see property record for details
Residential Sales Data for June 2024
The chart below shows the monthly residential sales activity in Fayette County for the previous 24 months. The data for the most recent month reflects a projected estimate from the o ce of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator and is subject to change.
EconomicAnalysis
A monthly look at economic indicators compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky. For more on CBER, visit www.cber.uky.edu.
Recent Data July 2024
Payroll emp. MSA****
Manufacturing Employment Durable Goods (KY) ****
Manufacturing: Lexington-Fayette MSA Total Employees**** Unemployment Rate MSA****
Payroll Employment, US
Manufacturing Payroll Employment US Unemployment Rate, US
Consumer Price Index, Southern Region Consumer Price Index, US Producer Price Index, US
Index of Leading Indicators** Fed’s Index of Industrial Production**
Note: In some cases 1 mo. And 1 yr. changes are based on revised data from previous mo./yr/
* Source: The Conference Board Research Group; http://www.conference-board.org/
** Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release, http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/G17/
*** Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release; https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/
**** Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve; https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/
***** GDP is reported as Real Gross Domestic Product, Chained Dollars [Millions of chained (2012) dollars] Seasonally adjusted at annual rates (Updated numbers as of Jan. 27, 2023); https://apps.bea.gov/histdata/histChildLevels.cfm?HMI=7
WriteStu
By Erica Lynne Cook
How to Say Goodbye, Professionally
Are you planning to move on from your current job to explore new opportunities? While it may seem intimidating, it’s crucial to take the initiative and draft a formal resignation letter to notify your manager about your decision. This letter not only establishes the framework for your notice period (typically at least two weeks for most positions) but also represents a professional and respectful way to conclude your tenure. But what precisely constitutes a resignation letter, and when should you deliver it?
Once you’ve accepted a new job o er and signed the contract, your first step should be to inform your manager of your decision to leave. It’s best to have this conversation verbally, ideally in person, and then promptly follow up with a formal resignation letter.
When writing your resignation letter, it’s important to keep it concise. Address the letter to either your boss or to human resources, depending on who you feel it’s most pertinent to notify. Clearly state your intended departure date and briefly outline your plans. If your next steps aren’t finalized, a general statement such as “I am leaving to pursue new opportunities in my career” will su ce.
Express genuine gratitude, if applicable, highlighting specific projects or achievements you’re proud of. It’s advisable to refrain from including feedback or criticism in your resignation letter. Any concerns or feedback you wish to share should be
reserved for the exit interview, where appropriate channels are in place for constructive discussion. Treat the exit interview as an opportunity to reflect on your growth and the positive experiences you’ve had, rather than a forum for airing grievances. This approach helps maintain professionalism and leaves a positive final impression.
Conclude by outlining the next steps and your commitment to facilitating a smooth transition of your responsibilities. Remember, this letter will likely be kept in your employee file and may be referenced in the future if you decide to return to the company or request references.
Leaving a job and embarking on your next journey can evoke a mix of emotions, from excitement to nervousness. Composing your resignation letter presents a chance to make a memorable exit without souring relationships. Considering the unpredictability of future encounters with current bosses or colleagues, or even potential interest in returning to the company, crafting a thoughtful resignation letter allows for a graceful departure while preserving future possibilities. BL
Erica Lynne Cook is the Director of Programs & Engagement for Gatton Park on the Town Branch. She recently submitted a resignation letter to the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, where she worked for 10 years and currently facilitates Conversational Spanish workshops. Learn more at carnegiecenterlex.org.
“Your flexibility with the evolving design and attention to detail enabled a smooth transition to our upgraded program. With over fifty users to tie into the process, your expertise made the difference for our staff. We look forward to work with you again.”
– BILLY GAYHEART, RUGGLES SIGN
CraveWorthy
Specializing in Service
Stein’s by Addie’s o ers customized, convenient meals when and where customers want them
BY SHANNON CLINTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Linda Parker is something of a culinary contortionist who truly makes food to order when, where and how customers want it.
Parker operated a restaurant in Versailles for nine years—Addie’s at the Woodford Inn—and created Stein’s as the catering part of the business. In 2019, Parker combined the concepts and opened Stein’s by Addie’s as a standalone restaurant at 450 Southland Drive.
“My mother’s name was Adelyn (Addie) and she was the inspiration for the importance of family and friends around the same dinner table. My maiden name is Edelstein (Stein’s), so we put them together so people would know we were one in the same,” Parker explained. “It has a warm place in my heart to honor both my parents.”
Unfortunately, the pandemic hit shortly after Stein’s by Addie’s opened, and the restaurant paused operations.
“When it came time to reopen, we opened up as just catering instead of a deli because people were still skittish of coming in, sitting down and eating at a restaurant,” Parker said. “But they were used to coming in and picking up food.”
That initial pivot led to other o erings and business tweaks designed to accommodate diners’ preferences and dietary needs.
In addition to freshly made take-andbake meals available for pick up, Stein’s o ers catering for events and o ces, fundraising, charcuterie, and sit-down and takeout deli items. Stein’s also o ers delivery within Fayette County at no extra charge, and Parker has recently expanded her meal delivery service to cater to college students and homebound adults who desire a hot, wholesome meal at a reasonable price.
Requests for gluten-free or vegetarian meals or to accommodate specific food allergies can also be met.
“We allow them to let us know what their dietary restrictions or those dietary wants
are, and we accommodate those the best we can,” Parker said.
Take-and-bake meals and sides made fresh and available frozen — including baked spaghetti, lasagna, meatloaf, and chicken pot pie — allow those pressed for time to have comfort food in a hurry, adding on a salad if desired. Entrees come in single, half-pan (3 to 4 servings), and full pan (6 to 8 servings) sizes with prices varying depending on the meal.
Unlike some restaurants or premade entrees at a grocery store counter, Parker said her customers know she doesn’t keep a lot of food stored so it’s made fresh to order. This means items like chicken salad, pasta salad, and pimento cheese have a longer lifespan in customers’ homes, not languishing unknown hours or days on refrigerated shelves.
“That way you’re guaranteed a good shelf life,” she said.
She said some customers get a frozen take-and-bake entree when traveling to destinations where they’d like to contribute to the food o erings, arriving with their meal ready to bake and serve.
Others buy meals to stock the fridges of ailing loved ones or to serve at a party to save time and e ort.
Another program she started is for real estate agents, who often buy from Stein’s for their brokerage meetings or as a housewarming gift.
“We call it a Welcome Home package,” Parker said.
Decades ago, new neighbors would arrive to meet movers-in and bring a pie or something to eat as a welcoming gesture, but these days that’s rare, she said.
Now, real estate professionals can buy meals fresh and ready to go, stocking clients’ refrigerators so that when they arrive tired and overwhelmed on move-in day, there’s something tasty to eat with minimal e ort.
“Most people just like easy, simple, and no hassle,” she said.
Pam Stilz with Bluegrass Sotheby’s International Realty has been a fan of Stein’s for two or three years and appreciates Parker’s willingness to accommodate special requests.
She has ordered meals for herself (she cites the tenderloin and any vegetable dishes as favorites) and has purchased meals to help boost the spirits of ill or overstressed friends. She even used Stein’s for her young grand-
daughter’s Valentine’s Day gathering, which had a gluten-free stipulation for the chocolates and other goodies served.
“Stein’s did it. They made chocolatecovered strawberries that were gluten-free and milk-free, and it was really fun to be able to provide that,” Stilz said. “If you tell them there’s an allergy … they will go out of their way to make sure that particular ingredient is not included.”
Parker said she’d like a two-day notice for most orders to ensure items are fresh. Sometimes customers will call in the morning and ask her, “What’s in your freezer?” and make their selections from there, with some asking her to thaw it so it will be ready to bake when they swing by after work to pick it up.
Others will send her a cherished recipe that’s beyond their own skill set or energy levels and ask Parker to make it, and she obliges.
Another creative twist is her fundraising partnerships with some local schools. A couple of times a year she’ll o er an order form for parents and sta , who can select vegetable, soup, pasta, and meat options and
Your business can reach hundreds of thousands of Central Kentuckians with Smiley Pete Publishing. For advertising or event sponsorship information, email advertise@smileypete.com or phone 859.266.6537.
PETE
get a full take-and-bake meal for $50, with $10 from each order donated back to the designated school’s PTA program. Orders are fulfilled in individually marked bags for parents to pick up on the designated day in the school pickup line.
“We definitely have tried di erent things to recreate the wheel because, for one thing, survival,” Parker said. “This is our business. We needed to survive Covid, and post-Covid.”
Parker said she enjoys her own meals at the end of busy days, too. She said she’s a “yes person,” and if she can accommodate someone’s needs, she’s going to, and that word-ofmouth reputation has served her well, along with getting to know her customers.
She’s passing on these values to a second generation. In 2008, she and her oldest daughter, Kristie Parker, attended culinary school together at Sullivan University in Lexington and they’ve since enjoyed working side-by-side in the kitchen.
“Kindness goes a long way, and it feels good for me to help someone,” Linda Parker said of the business. BL
PARKER
PHOTO FURNISHED
In addition to take-and-bake meals, Stein’s by Addie’s o ers catering services.
Lexington Tea and Brie, Carson’s at Andover, and 3TEN
BY SHANNON CLINTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After retiring from 26 years in corporate America, Elizabeth King has given up the nine-to-five for days when it’s always tea time.
King leased a late 1800s building at 219 N. Limestone that served as a gelato shop and a clothing store in recent years, and after extensive renovation, has turned it into Lexington Tea and Brie, an elegant space for gatherings large and small. The tea room opened in late June.
King said when the space became available at the time she was ready for her next chapter in her career, she saw it as serendipity calling.
“The space embodied the charm and character perfect for a tea room,” she said. “I immediately envisioned a cozy haven where locals and visitors could connect with friends and family and enjoy an exquisite afternoon tea experience.”
That experience includes chicken salad, pimento cheese, benedictine cucumber tea sandwiches, scones with preserves and clotted cream, a variety of sweets and individual pots of tea. Sandwich options can be subbed for egg salad, olive nut or smoked salmon, she said, and o erings may change seasonally. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are also available by request.
Reservations are required and are typically available for parties of two to eight, though individuals and larger parties can be served with advance notice, King said. Alcohol can be added to the afternoon tea reservation, as well as full bar service for private gatherings.
For the younger set, a children’s afternoon tea menu for ages 12 and younger includes items like turkey and cheese sandwiches, Nutella sandwiches, scones, fruit and more.
Capacity is 28 guests for indoor seating and eight outside (outdoor seating is usually set up by request for private parties). Dress can be casual, though King points out that “it’s always fun to dress up for a tea party.”
In other foodie news:
Pizza and breadsticks lovers can rest easy, as Joe Bologna’s at 120 W. Maxwell St. is being sold to Brandon Thurman and Bill Bedini, the owners of newly opened High Proof Hideaway, multiple media outlets have reported. Owner, founder and namesake Joe Bologna. plans to remain through the transition period until year’s end.
Carson’s at Andover has opened at 3450 Todds Rd. in the Hamburg area.
Moody Mike’s has opened at 802 N. Limestone inside the Broomwagon bike shop with co ee beverages like a vanilla latte with oat milk, cookie butter lattes and lavender lattes, as well as a bevy of vegan comfort food items. Listed hours for the co ee shop are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
The New Orleans-inspired cocktail bar Creaux has closed at 310 W. Short St., paving the way for a new world cuisine, cocktails and wine concept 3TEN, set to open this fall from chef Jonathan Lundy and business partner and certified sommelier T.J. Cox, owners of Corto Lima.
According to a press release, 3TEN will be a “destination where global flavors meet
local charm with a rotating menu of small plates and shareable dishes” from Mediterranean, pan-Asian and Latin American origins, as well as a more than 30 item cocktail list and a curated wine selection.
“I’m going in a lot of di erent directions and enjoying the freedom of not being glued to a specific concept,” Lundy said. “There’s so much I want to do to make it interesting, fun and playful.”
Bumble Bites has opened at 3735 Palomar Centre Dr., with bubble teas, matcha, co ee and espresso drinks, chai, superfood bowls, croissants, egg tarts and more.
Lexington-based Biscuit Daddies, which began and continues as a food truck and delivery service, is expanding to a downtown Danville storefront, owners announced on their Facebook page. The biscuit enterprise is known for its inventive biscuit flavors, such as rosemary feta, s’mores and apple pie, in addition to its scones, crepes, bread and pastries.
With hummus, falafel, shawarma and more, Watan Mediterranean Grill was planning a July grand opening at 3344 Partner Place as of press time.
Three Dogs & a Hog BBQ and Catering launched this summer, owner and pitmaster Harrison White said.
White launched the business from the Lexington Pasta incubator kitchen, after years of rave reviews on his BBQ from friends. The truck can be found at pop-up events, fairs and for catering in Lexington, Lawrenceburg, Richmond, Harrodsburg and elsewhere.
Noir Nails, an upscale nail salon and co ee bar at 2312 Sir Barton Way, was listed as “opening very soon” at press time.
Those thirsty for a taste of summer can try Ale-8-One limited edition strawberry watermelon, launched in July.
Lightning round! Everything Spuds has opened at 1070 Chinoe Rd. in Chinoe Shopping Center, Smoothie King has opened at 2901 Richmond Rd., and Manchester Liquor is now open at 1000 Manchester St. BL
PHOTO FURNISHED
Lexington Tea and Brie, which recently opened at 219 N. Limestone, o ers a variety of light bites.
IndependentBusiness
Focus on Success
Holifield Photography observes 50 years of celebrating Central Kentucky’s youth
BY LIZ CAREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Since 1974, Holifield Photography has been a cornerstone of Central Kentucky’s photography scene. Founded by Jim Holifield, the company originated with a request to photograph a friend’s wedding. As the business celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Holifield Photography has grown into a premier photography studio with a focus on celebrating the achievements of Central Kentucky youth.
In the 1970s, Holifield earned a master’s degree in social work and was soon after named director of the Kincaid Home in Lexington. Holifield’s interest in photography was sparked by a friend’s request to photograph their wedding, leading Holifield to invest in professional equipment and pursue more photography work.
“He got really interested in photography, and his coworkers started asking him to take pictures of them,” wife Teresa Holifield said. “Eventually, he quit being the director of Kincaid Home and started his photography business in our basement.”
In 1978, a company approached Holifield with a request to photograph participants in Youth Salute, a program recognizing high school juniors for their leadership and academic achievements. “That’s where business really started taking o ,” Teresa Holifield said. Photographs of Youth Salute participants have annually been displayed in local malls for the past 44 years.
In 1990, Holifield Photography began photographing Lexington’s Young Achievers, a program in cooperation with the International Leadership Network that honors fifth and eighth graders who serve as role models. By 2023, more than 629 students from 47 elementary and middle schools in Fayette
County have been nominated as Young Achievers — the majority of them photographed at Holifield.
When Jim Holifield passed away in 2022, his daughter, Mary Beth Holifield, took over operations. She’s worked in the business o and on since age 12. Along with the Young
Achievers and Youth Salute programs, Holifield Photography manages school pictures throughout the region, including photographing high school senior portraits.
The company’s headquarters on Moore Drive includes four photography studios and is stocked with a wide selection of tuxedos and wraps. A team of volunteers is on hand to help outfit the young men and women, enabling the company to photograph up to 300 seniors in a day.
The company also provides headshots for many local businesses, including the University of Kentucky, Cardinal Hill and the Lexington Clinic.
Teresa Holifield said that while digital technology has reduced costs, it has introduced a di erent workflow. “The first photographers we had could take only 25 pictures per roll of film, and each one had to be perfect,” she said. “There was no editing; you sent it to the lab and presented the pictures. Now, with digital technology, photographers might take 100 pictures and spend time fixing everything.”
“There’s always something new or some new technique out there to use,” Mary Beth Holifield added. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’m still learning something di erent every day.”
While the technology has changed, many of the traditions have not. High school students still enjoy dressing up for their senior portraits, and some adults photographed years prior as part of the Youth Salute or Young Achievers programs now watch their children pose for the same honors.
Similarly, as Mary Beth Holifield did in her youth, she said her children often come to the o ce to observe and sometimes help. Above all, she said, it’s still a family business that she hopes one of her children will one day take over.
For her part, Teresa Holifield said she felt her late husband would be pleased to see the business continue to thrive and to see his grandchildren take interest.
“At the very beginning, when he started the business, Jim wanted to help students because he had a big heart,” she said. “When he found photography, that became his form of social work [recognizing and helping to elevate students and their achievements]. Some kids would tell him, ‘I’ve been waiting to do Youth Salute since I was a kid.’
Those sorts of interactions and helping to shine a light on personal achievements are “why he decided to do photography,” she said. BL
Holifield Photography’s headquarters on Moore Drive includes four photography studios.
PHOTO FURNISHED
PHOTO FURNISHED
Mary Beth Holifield with her father, Jim Holifield, who founded Holifield Photography in 1974.
Game Changer
Athlete Advantage helps college athletes navigate new rules around capitalizing on their name, image and likeness
BY DAN DICKSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ASupreme Court decision rendered in June 2021 changed the landscape of college athletics. The court ruled unanimously that athletes were no longer forbidden from earning money from the use of their name, image and likeness [NIL] in the public domain.
“College athletes were not able to profit from their NIL, even though companies like EA Sports, a video game developer, and many others, were using their NIL to make money. Those players were not receiving a penny for it,” said Ryan Maxwell, a Lexington attorney who found this dramatic change an opportunity for himself and two associates.
The day of the Supreme Court decision, Tom Bower’s phone continuously pinged with new message notifications. Bower had been a local grassroots sports enthusiast over 15 years, putting together sporting events, tournaments and camps. He had hundreds of contacts among athletes, coaches, athletics directors, administrators and business operators who were curious about the new rules.
“We decided to jump in and help,” Bower said. That is when Athlete Advantage was born.
Ryan Miller is founder and CEO, Bower is cofounder and president, and Maxwell is also a co-founder as well as general counsel.
“It started with us providing protection for athletes so they could navigate this new space safely,” Bower said. “That parlayed into us talking to various businesses and securing NIL deals. Our first client was University of Kentucky wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (now with the NFL’s New York Giants). We were among the first in the country to do large-scale NIL deals around athletes. Things just grew.” Now, Athlete Advantage, based in downtown Lexington, works with student-athletes and universities nationwide.
College sports used to be about what kind of sports facilities or traditions a school has or how many of its athletes turn pro. Now there is an increased priority on NIL success and the quality of those relationships. In response to the rule changes, the University
of Kentucky Athletics Department created the BBNIL Exchange, a secure directory and portal for student-athletes and interested business entities to connect and explore potential partnerships. The athletics program reported that 176 UK student-athletes earned a total of 1,328 NIL deals between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
“Our young people are leaders in our region and therefore great brand ambassadors,” UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said in announcing the program. “This next step in building on our NIL empowerment programs will be beneficial for our great student-athletes and local businesses looking for excellent leaders to serve as their representatives.”
Athlete Advantage has two goals: to drive revenues for universities and their NILs and to help with safety and compliance for schools and athletes. They are bird-dogging for the athletes — looking for and helping to evaluate deals for them. “We sit squarely in the middle as an advocate for the studentathlete to help prevent them from entering into deals that are, for lack of a better word, predatory,” Maxwell said. AA doesn’t take on a fiduciary advisor role in a deal, and it doesn’t manage the money. If AA generates an NIL deal for an athlete, or generates an NIL contact for them, they take a percentage off the top and the rest goes to the athlete. If an athlete generates their own deal, then he or she keeps it all.
There are numerous misconceptions about NIL, according to AA’s leaders. One is that NIL deals are a fancy way to ‘pay to play’ for athletes. Or a way for college athletic departments and their boosters to pay exorbitant money to get the best talent to compete at certain universities. “That’s just not the case,” Maxwell said. “Nationwide, the average NIL deal is $1,500 to $2,500. College sports isn’t populated with million-dollar Lamborghini-driving prima donnas. Mainly, NIL deals help ordinary student-athletes across numerous sports pay for routine things like housing, gas in their car, a date with a friend. That’s a more realistic picture of NIL,” he said.
Of course there are financial exceptions. Some college athletes are worth a fortune in the NIL space. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne has a social media fanbase of over 10 million followers and has earned millions of NIL dollars. Most independent evaluators would agree Dunne is worth it because of the value she brings to NIL sponsors due to her popularity.
“Participating businesses receive a true return on investment for partnering with athletes. It’s a good marketing spend for them,” Bower said. He also notes that most studentathletes do not live luxurious lifestyles and
many will not turn pro in their chosen sports. Some athletes come from poverty situations and NIL deals can help benefit them and their families. While at UK, Robinson channeled some of his NIL money into his father’s nonprofit foundation.
Another example of an NIL deal paying off big for a local sponsor is the deal between former UK quarterback Will Levis (a former Athlete Advantage client who is now with the NFL’s Tennessee Titians) and Claiborne Farm. The ad campaign centered on the athleticism of both football players and racehorses and promoted the sale of breeding seasons for the stallion War of Will.
Maxwell says that within a month of striking the deal, Claiborne Farm had received three times its initial investment through the sale of the seasons.
What about less high-profile college sports teams in the age of NIL? Far fewer fans follow swimmers, tennis players and rifle team members, for example, than football and basketball players. True, they don’t earn as much, on average, depending on an advertiser’s budget, but deals can still benefit all involved.
Maxwell mentioned Clark’s Pump-NShop, a convenience store chain in Kentucky and other states, which invests in UK’s NIL program. In addition to reaping financial rewards, Clark’s earns goodwill among Big Blue Nation. “If you go online, you’ll see comments like ‘Thanks, Clark, for supporting our athletes’ or ‘We need to support Clark’s,’” Maxwell said.
While there is potential for companies to influence student-athletes’ playing decisions with exorbitant NIL deals, Maxwell emphasizes that NIL deals are, at their core, primarily a business decision and must make financial sense, especially for publicly traded companies. “They are still beholden to their investors and won’t go into multi-millions deals unless the ROI is there,” he said.
Bower and Maxwell have high praise for UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart and how he manages the school’s NIL space. “He decided to let the dust settle before making moves and not make rash decisions and I commend him for that,” Maxwell said. He adds that UK head football coach Mark Stoops surrounds himself with “ethical and competent assistant coaches and staff who work the NIL angles well.”
Neither Bower nor Maxwell envy college coaches and sports administrators in the evolving world of NIL. “It’s like a pendulum swung,” Bower said. “Once, all influence was with universities and the NCAA. Now it’s with athletes, but we think that’s best for everybody.” BL
PHOTO FURNISHED
John Legend performed a private concert in May to benefit the Kentucky 15 Club, a program started by Athlete Advantage that generates NIL money for UK football. Here UK Head Football Coach Mark Stoops, center, presents Legend with a jersey as Associate Head Football Coach/ Recruiting Coordinator Vince Marrow and Legend’s nephew, UK sophomore wide receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens, look on.
MILLER
BOWER
PHOTO FURNISHED
UK All-American defensive tackle Deone Walker also works with Athlete Advantage.
Understanding Property Tax Assessments
Fayette County Property Value Administrator
David O’Neill offers insight on updated assessments and local market conditions
BY DAVID O’NEILL FAYETTE COUNTY PVA
Many Fayette County residents received updated property tax assessments earlier this year. We spoke with Fayette County Property Value Administrator David O’Neill to learn more about the process and the local market conditions for residential real estate.
My property tax assessment jumped almost 50% this year — why? Property tax assessments are determined using the sale prices of comparable homes. The median sale price of a single-family home in Lexington has almost doubled over the past 10 years, from $159,000 in 2013 to $310,000 today — a 95% jump — and that’s what’s driving the increases.
Why are home prices going up? With higher interest rates, doesn’t that usually lower the demand for housing and bring prices down? Yes. Historically, during periods of inflation, when the Federal Reserve Board raises interest rates, home prices decline, helping to bring inflation under control. But that has not been the case this time, because significant economic forces — including the pandemic’s impacts on labor and housing-related supply chains — have limited the supply of new housing. Consumers are currently skeptical that interest rates will return to their previous levels. It’s important to remember that interest rates were extremely low by historical standards because of monetary policy put in place during the recession. It’s estimated that nearly 60% of all existing home mortgages are locked in at or below 4%, and 75% are below 5%. Those owners are very reluctant to give up their locked-in rates for a new mortgage that would cost 6.5% or 7% when there’s little expectation that 3.5% mortgage rates will return in the foreseeable future. So, they are holding on to their homes, limiting supply and forcing prices up.
When the Fed finally gets around to cutting rates, will a flood of houses hit the market and stabilize prices? When interest rates come down, it’s reasonable to expect a large wave of new real estate
listings. However, on the demand side of the equation, current homeowners with their locked-in low interest rates are not the only ones who have been trying to wait out the Fed. Millions of millennials have been putting off home ownership creating a swell of pent-up demand. When they re-enter the marketplace, there will be significant upward pressure on prices. Also worth noting: We are in the early stages of one of the greatest transfers of wealth in human history. Estimates suggest upwards of $70 to $90 trillion dollars in wealth will transfer from the boomer generation to millennials over the next 20 years, setting the stage for a lot of real estate transactions.
Are the rapidly rising prices and lack of homes for sale a national issue or unique to Central Kentucky? The housing affordability crisis is not unique to Lexington, but rather an increasingly significant issue almost everywhere. Factors contributing to the supply and demand imbalance are similar across most markets, although some locations, including Lexington, have unique situations.
The current inventory of houses listed for sale in Lexington is very low by historical standards, with two significant drivers at play. First, we have been very slow in bringing new homes to market since the recession. As shown in the accompanying graph, new construction was a robust local industry in the early 2000s, providing between 1,500 and 2,000 new single-family detached houses per year. Heading into the recession, that number began to dwindle, ultimately dropping 75% to a low of 500 houses in 2011 — an annual rate of production that persists to this day.
Currently, new construction only makes up about 10% of all home sales in Lexington. Nationally, however, that ratio trended back up with the recovery from the recession.
Of the 1.5 million homes sold in the United States in April, 31% were new houses.
One obstacle unique to a handful of cities, including Lexington, is the existence of an urban service boundary designed to limit urban sprawl. This is achieved by limiting the land in Fayette County that lies outside the urban service boundary to being subdivided into parcels no smaller than 40 acres. The extent to which these preservation efforts
suppress the supply of new housing is a decades-old, ongoing debate. But, it appears Lexington will move forward with a plan to expand the urban service boundary for the first time since the mid-1990s, allowing for the development of almost 3,000 acres.
Property assessments are understandably increasing, but surely there’s a limit how much they can go up in just one year? Unfortunately, no. The Kentucky constitution requires PVAs to shoot for 100% fair cash value each year. However, the Kentucky Department of Revenue (PVA is a state office, not a city function) recommends reassessing on a quadrennial review plan, whereby each property is visually inspected and evaluated for a revised assessment once every four years. The quadrennial plan usually works well, but in the current market, where values are increasing on average 10% each year, reassessing only once every four years often results in shocking increases.
The alternative would be to abandon the quadrennial plan and reassess every property every year. But PVA offices are not funded nor staffed at a level that would make quadrupling the work load feasible. This is why when we have events like the recession and lockdown during the pandemic, when reassessments were suspended, it takes several years to get fully caught up.
Are assessments and increases tied to the government’s and school district’s spending habits? No. We assess property based on the quad plan at 100% fair cash value to produce a tax roll each year, regardless of and unaware of any governmental budget. After the Kentucky Department of Revenue certifies the PVA’s annual tax roll, usually in July, the various taxing districts (including
the state, city, schools, etc.) set their tax rates — usually in August.
In Kentucky, this rate-setting process is regulated by something called a compensating tax rate, also commonly known as House Bill 44 — a law passed almost 50 years ago in a special session of the legislature hastily and surprisingly called by Lt. Governor Thelma Stovall when Governor Julian Carrol was traveling outside the state. This is probably more than you wanted to know, but it’s an interesting story.
House Bill 44 allows the taxing districts to achieve a 4% annual increase in property tax revenues without exposing themselves to public involvement like petitions and referendums. For example, if assessment increases in any given year only raise property tax revenue by 2%, then the tax rates would increase to provide a 4% increase in revenue. Likewise, if the tax roll increases to such an extent, like it has in each of the past two years, that revenue would increase by more than 4%, then tax rates are adjusted down to hold revenue increases to only 4%.
So, tax rates have gone down? Yes and no. In each of the two previous reassessment cycles, the tax roll grew by about 8%. House Bill 44 resulted in lowered tax rates for the state’s portion. In 2022, the city’s rate went down and Fayette County Public School’s rate would have gone down, resulting in an over tax cut for about 75% of all property owners in Fayette County, but the schools voted for a tax rate increase instead, which resulted in the issuance of a second tax bill. In 2023, the school’s rate went down, but the city voted for a comparatively modest increased rate for urban services like garbage collection, also resulting in a second tax bill.
Now that I understand the process better, I want to protest my reassessment from last year — is it too late? It is too late to change the value for your 2024 tax bill, but you can protest next year. Each tax year stands on its own and any property owner can protest any of their properties every year. There is no requirement that a property’s value has changed in order to protest.
If assessments are already decided, what good will it do to go through the protest process? The most important message here that I want readers to take away is that I strongly believe that for tax assessments to be fair and accurate, the assessment process must be a collaborative effort between the property owners and the PVA.
MEDIAN SALE PRICE FOR LEXINGTON HOMES
The PVA performs mass assessments, not full appraisals — we never go inside homes. There are 114,000 properties in Lexington and only a handful of PVA staff. Without input from the owner, we cannot possibly know enough about each property to arrive at an accurate opinion of value. Every four years, assessors drive up and down every street of their assigned neighborhoods and perform “windshield inspections” of the home. Based on these observations, assessors make significant assumptions about the overall condition of the home.
The assessment notices we mail to property owners in mid-April include our educated best estimate of value, but that’s meant to be the beginning of the process, not the end. The next step is for property owners to fill in the gaps of our knowledge about their property, and that happens through the protest process.
Most property owners will receive an adjustment in their assessment after reviewing their home’s condition in greater detail with a PVA assessor. We try to build in an adjustment factor for the fact that most houses sold have had at least some cosmetic updates prior to hitting the market, whereas most of us do not keep our homes in market-ready condition. Specific items that can affect value include the quality of finish of basement, attic and upper floor spaces; effective age of the roof, windows and HVAC systems; years since updates to kitchens and bathrooms; deferred maintenance, etc.
What other information should homeowners provide the PVA when protesting their assessment? Several years ago, we redesigned the assessment notice to include the five comparable sales used to derive a value for the subject property. To the best of my knowledge, there is not another PVA jurisdiction in the country providing comps directly on the notices. The comps are 100% computer generated, and while they continue to get better with each year that we further refine the assessing software, it’s very possible a homeowner may find other sales that are more relevant. We are always happy to review any other comps. Other helpful information includes recent appraisals, estimates of repair and photographs.
What exactly is a “comp”? The ones on the notice don’t look like my house. Our assessing software chooses comps based on criteria, including overall square footage, number of stories, exterior finishes, basements, etc. The computer will always try to limit comps from only within the PVA designated neighborhood boundary. Sometimes a home is significantly different than other houses in the neighborhood and the computer must search other neighborhoods that identified as having similar characteristics.
Keep in mind that “comparable” does not mean identical. Comparable means the houses are similar enough that differences between the two can be identified, quantified and adjusted for to arrive at an opinion of value. Adjustments to a comp’s sale price are commonly made for differences in square feet of living area, whether or not there’s a basement, how much of the basement is finished, number of bathrooms, presence of a garage or other accessory structures, differences in land value and a subjective rating assigned by the PVA assessor during the inspection process.
My house hasn’t had a significant assessment increase in several years — what should I expect? If your tax assessment hasn’t changed significantly since the pandemic, then you are probably in the upcoming 2025 quadrennial area in Southern Fayette County, which essentially encompasses everything outside New Circle Road south of Versailles and Winchester Roads. The assessors will be in those areas conducting inspections from now until December. The assessment notices will be mailed, as always, around April 15. Please note, as mail delivery can sometimes be unreliable, I cannot guarantee delivery. But I can guarantee that the new values will be updated on the PVA website at FayettePVA.com on April 15. Every property in the county has its own page or property record on the PVA website, and we encourage homeowners to familiarize themselves with it. On your property’s page, you will also find a PDF copy of the notice, as well as the comps used with hyperlinks to each comp’s property record. In order to access FayettePVA.com, you will have to create an online account, but it’s free for the first 100 property searches each month. BL
Residential Real Estate Firms
Company
Bluegrass Sotheby’s International Realty 1999 Richmond Road, Ste. 400 Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 268-0099 bgsir.com
The Brokerage 505 Wellington Way Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 230-4597 thebrokerageky.com
Keller Williams Commonwealth in Lexington 1908 Bryant Road., Ste. 250 Lexington, KY 40509 (859) 721-2121 thecommonwealthteam.kw.com
Local residential, commercial and remodeling companies listed alphabetically July 2024
Company Name
Amteck
1387 E. New Circle Road, Ste. 130 Lexington, KY 40505 (859) 255-9546 amteck.com
Anderson & Rodgers Commercial
170 Prosperous Place Lexington, KY 40509 (859) 636-1394 andersonrodgers.com
BACK Construction
965 Contract St. Lexington, KY 40505 (859) 225-2225 BACKConstruction.com
Brett Construction Co. 354 Waller Ave. Lexington, KY 40504 (859) 255-7901 brettcon.com
Calhoun Construction 1708 Jaggie Fox Way Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 618-3482 calhounconstructs.com
Churchill McGee, LLC 1315 W. Main St., Ste. C Lexington, KY 40508 (859) 389-6976 churchillmcgee.com
Congleton-Hacker Co. 872 Floyd Dr. Lexington, KY 40505 (859) 254-6481 congleton-hacker.com
DB General Contracting, LLC
212 Industry Pkwy., Unit 4 Nicholasville, KY 40356 (859) 536-4352 dbgencontracting.com
Dean Builds, Inc. 109 Mercer Court Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 269-1385 deanbuilds.com
Denham-Blythe Co., Inc. 100 Trade St. Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 608-3950 denhamblythe.com
Hargett Construction 1409 N. Forbes Road Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 421-6021 hargettconstruction.com
Electrical design and build services, engineering, virtual design and construction, infrastructure cabling and other technology services, life safety systems
Commercial/residential design/build new construction; remodeling and additions; outdoor spaces; restoration
Residential architectural and design, handyman and general remodeling services, roofing and roof repair, window and door replacements
Full-service contracting for industrial, institutional, office, retail, manufacturing, and commercial companies; design/build construction projects; structural steel capabilities; pre-engineered buildings
Construction management; facility maintenance; pre-construction services; self-perform services; trade contracting; design/build services; renewable energy
Institution/commercial design/build services; concrete projects; interior projects; construction management; general contracting
Institution/commercial project management; budgeting; constructability review; value engineering; MEP coordination; selfperformed work
Institution/commercial building, specialized industrial construction Institution/commercial design/build services; construction management; general contracting
Institution/commercial design/build services; 3D scanning services
Institution/commercial new construction, renovation, and remodeling; design/ build services; construction management
Commercial/residential new construction and renovation; equine facilities
Daren Turner (CEO)/ Corey Bard (President)
Teddy Rodgers (Owner and President)/ Brent Anderson (Owner and CFO)/ Bruce McGaughey (Owner and VP)
Rob Hundley (President and CEO)/ Kyle Whalen (Founder, CFO and Board Chair)/ BACK Construction is a 100% employee-owned ESOP
Brett Setzer (CEO)/ Banks Hudson (CFO)/ Seth Smith (Vice President)
John Hinshaw (President)
J. Patrick McGee (Owner)
Jim Hacker (President and CEO)
Dave Bush (Owner)
David Dean (Founder and President)/ Jeff England (VP of Operations)
Casey Dunn (CEO)/ Vance Hohn (President)/ Michael Patterson (President, Lexington Office)
Ron Hargett (President)/ Owned by Thoroughbred
Company Name Address Phone Website
Koller Warner Construction 801 Winchester Road, Ste. 100 Lexington, KY 40505 (859) 263-1500 kollerwarner.com
Long Construction Management
200 Big Run Road Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 523-9407 longconstructionmgt.com
Marrillia Design & Construction 794 Manchester St. Lexington, KY 40508 (859) 685-0414 marrillia.com
Messer Construction Co. 854 W. Main St. Lexington, KY 40508 (859) 231-8199 messer.com
Padgett Construction, Inc. 1501 Nicholasville Road Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 276-1200 padgettconst.com
Prajna Design & Construction
775 Pauls Mill Road Versailles, KY 40383 (859) 873-6477 prajnadesign.com
Premier Home Builders, LLC 2512 Carducci St. Lexington, KY 40509 (859) 276-1200 premierhbky.com
Turner Construction Company 510 Race St. Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 721-4224 turnerconstruction.com
Wehr Constructors, Inc. 868 Nandino Blvd. Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 899-9408 wehrconstructors.com
Institution/commercial design/build services; construction management; general contracting; architectural design services; pre-engineered structural, roof, and wall systems
Institution/commercial design/build services; construction management; general contracting; self-performed work
Institution/commercial large-scale construction projects; building systems/ MEP; cost planning and estimating; self-performed work; equipment rental; preconstruction services; prefabrication; risk management; virtual design and construction
Custom home construction and remodeling
Commercial/residential design/build new construction; remodeling and additions; garden and farm structures
Residential
Institution/commercial preconstruction and construction management services in aviation and transportation, biotech and pharmaceutidal, healthcare, sports, advanced manufacturing, and global critical facilities
The president of Georgetown College on a yearlong fundraising campaign to pay o the school’s debt and its vision for the future
BY TOM WILMES BUSINESS LEXINGTON
Rosemary Allen was inaugurated as the 26th president of Georgetown College in January 2022, becoming the first woman to serve as president in the college’s nearly 200-year history. Allen is a longtime member of the Georgetown College community, beginning as a member of the English faculty for her first 20 years at the college. In 2004, she broke new ground by becoming the first woman to serve as Chief Academic O cer when she was named Provost.
This year, Georgetown College successfully completed a targeted, yearlong fundraising campaign, raising $28 million to pay o its long-term bond debt. This achievement frees the institution to develop new programs and invest in its future. A celebration is planned for homecoming in October, when the college will host donors on campus and dedicate a plaque in front of the administration building recognizing their contributions.
“This is a genuinely transformative moment for the college,” Allen said. Business Lexington spoke with Allen about the campaign and priorities for the small liberal arts college and its roughly 1,500 students.
What can you tell us about the fundraising campaign and how it benefits the college? Georgetown College is nearly 200 years old, and over that time, we’ve accumulated a significant amount of debt, particularly for infrastructure developed in the late 20th century. This debt has been a burden, so we decided to improve the college’s financial standing by eliminating it. Through a one-year fundraising campaign, we raised a little over $28 million and paid o all of our long-term debt.
I’ve been at the college for 40 years, giving me a broad perspective on the burdens we’ve faced. Our alumni and donors have long been concerned about our inability to escape this financial “ball and chain.” We needed to reimagine the future of Georgetown College by not always looking backward at what the struggles of the past have been but looking forward to future opportunities.
Our campaign had a very small footprint. We did not go public but instead directed it specifically at trustees and alumni who had the capacity to make significant gifts. This campaign was not about raising a million small donations. It was 46 major gifts.
I imagine operating a college is similar to running a large business. It is, and like
any business, if you’re stuck with the burden of legacy debt you don’t have the freedom to reinvest income into future growth. Clearing this debt was essential to maintaining our capacity to respond to market changes and ensure organizational vitality.
The largest single gift of $16 million came from Robert N. Wilson ’62, former vice chairman of Johnson & Johnson, who was instrumental in supporting this idea. He emphasized the need to free up capacity to do what we know we need to do to grow. Constantly solving legacy problems can create stasis, whereas clearing debt allows us to focus on improvement.
What are some of the ongoing priorities for the college? In the short term, our primary focus is on growing and changing some of our academic programs and diversifying what we do as a liberal arts college to make sure that we maintain a level of relevance for a changing demographic.
It’s not surprising that student priorities are realigning with workforce needs. There is a huge demand in healthcare and healthcare support, and we are working to expand both our undergraduate and graduate programs in these areas, including physical and mental health.
At the graduate level, we plan to include
“Our campaign had a very small footprint. We did not go public but instead directed it specifically at trustees and alumni who had the capacity to make significant gifts. This campaign was not about raising a million small donations. It was 46 major gifts.
ROSEMARY ALLEN, GEORGETOWN COLLEGE PRESIDENT
programs such as physical therapy, physician assistant studies, clinical mental health counseling, and possibly clinical social work. These helping professions are in demand and also align with the institutional mission of Georgetown College, which has its roots in Christian service.
Are a lot of your students from Scott County? We have a large footprint in Scott County, with over 200 current students from the area. Our alumni also have a record of service to the county. Our mayor, county judge executive, the superintendent of schools, and several judges are all Georgetown College graduates. Some of them came from outside of Scott County and moved here and stayed here as a result of their association with the college.
Is online or remote learning a growing part of the curriculum? Definitely. It’s become almost the sole means of delivery for our graduate program in education. We started an online master’s program 25 years ago. We also plan to implement a graduate program in clinical mental health counseling that’s primarily online. Online learning is often the best option for working adults.
Back to the fundraising campaign, how did you present the need to potential donors? Small colleges across the nation are at risk right now. It’s a delicate time for our business model. I think some colleges facing economic crises tend to market fear and try to raise donations based on the idea of saving the college, but that’s not the way to inspire a vision for the future.
In marketing our fundraising campaign, we wanted to base our message in hope. We looked for ways to convince our donors that there is a real possibility for growth for the college if we could just overcome this one hurdle that had been holding us back.
We drew inspiration from the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” which includes a line about “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” We raised funds based on this concept, emphasizing the need to build strength today to reach our hopeful vision for tomorrow.
Small colleges are wonderful learning laboratories for life, where students can discover themselves and develop into the people they will become. Operating a college is also expensive, of course, because it takes so many personnel to deliver that kind of personal attention. But we’ve learned how to exist frugally and remain focused on what’s important, which are the people. BL
PHOTO FURNISHED
Georgetown College president Rosemary Allen began her career at the college as a faculty member in the English department.
Who’sWho
New Hires & Board Selections
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky announced that Ben Chandler will retire as president and CEO of the nonprofit organization effective December 31. The board of directors has appointed current chief operating officer Allison Adams as the next president and CEO.
Casey Dunn has been named as chief executive officer for Denham-Blythe Co. Inc., a design/build construction company with offices in Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP announced the addition of Lexie Elder to the firm’s deep bench of litigators in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky.
Frontier Nursing University’s board of directors announced that Brooke A. Flinders, DNP, RN, APRN-CNM, FACNM, has been selected as the university’s next president.
Blue Grass Airport has named Tyler Miller, A.A.E., ACE, as its new chief operating officer.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board has welcomed Mary-Alicha Weldon as a new board member.
The University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment announced the appointment of Tom Stout as Albert G. Clay Endowed chair in equine reproduction.
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System announced the appointment of Phil Neal as acting executive vice president and provost.
PNC as welcomed John Cioci back as senior vice president and commercial banking relationship manager.
The Rotary Club of Lexington announced the following new officers for 2024-25:
Bret Anderson, president; Laurel Martin, president-elect; Kim Johnson, past president; Alisha Chaffin secretary; Eric Brooks, sergeant-at-arms; Chris Anderson, treasurer, Peggy Trafton executive director; and Jenny Schnurr, office assistant. New directors for 2024-25 are as follows: Chris Aldridge, Susie Basham, Brigitte Blom Chris Campbell Dylan Harper Shawn Lyons, Chris Peck, and John Wharton
Breeders’ Cup Limited today announced the election of Fred Hertrich III (Watercress Farm) and Clem Murphy (Coolmore Stud), and the re-election of Tom Ryan (SF Racing) to its board of directors.
Kudos
Rupp Arena and Lexington Opera House recently made history with top ratings in Pollstar Mid-Year Report. The Lexington Opera House attained its highest-ever global ranking, securing the #109 spot worldwide and #87 in the U.S. for ticket sales. Rupp Arena ranked #37 worldwide and #22 in the U.S. for tickets sold.
The Central Bank Center, owned by Lexington Center Corporation and managed by Oak View Group, achieved a significant milestone by earning a silver certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, administered by the United States Green Building Council.
Former director of the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Veterinary Diagnostic Library Craig Carter has won the prestigious Meritorious Service Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
NetGain Technologies has been named one of the world’s top-performing managed service providers in the prestigious 2024 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings. The Channel Futures MSP 501 list, a technology industry benchmark, ranks companies based on growth, profitability, and innovation.
Managing Intellectual Property magazine recently selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Mandy Wilson Decker to the 2024 edition of Managing IP’s “Top 250 Women in IP.” This is the 10th time Decker has been honored on this list, and she is the only attorney honored from Kentucky.
The Kentucky Bar Association recently elected two Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys to leadership roles in the Intellectual Property (IP) Law Section. Mandy Wilson Decker was elected chair of the IP Law Section while Donovan D. Gibbs II was elected vice chair of the section. Both attorneys will serve a one-year term.
Lawdragon has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Chrisandrea Turner to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers. Turner has been recognized four times by Lawdragon –three times in the U.S. guide and once in the current global guide, which replaces the U.S. guide. Turner is the only Kentucky attorney honored in 2024.
Coles 735 Main has been honored for its outstanding wine program in Wine Spectator’s 2024 Restaurant Awards announcement, which celebrates the world’s best restaurants for wine. The restaurant was awarded the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, which recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP litigator Mindy Barfield has been appointed by the president of the American Bar Association (ABA) to serve as the 6th Circuit’s representative for the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
Fowler Bell PLLC’s managing partner Taft A. McKinstry has been presented the prestigious Henry T. Duncan Award by the Fayette County Bar Association. The Duncan Award recognizes the integrity, leadership, and professional conduct of the recipient which
exemplify high ethical and professional standards and benefit the community.
Meshell LaBaun, Director of Financial Aid & Military Affairs at Sullivan University, earned the FAAC® designation from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ accredited Certified Financial Aid Administrator® Program.
Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East have been named high performing hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, a global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice.. This is the highest distinction a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals Procedures & Conditions ratings.
Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and Midway University announced two partnerships to increase educational attainment in the commonwealth. The first partnership is the signing of a transfer agreement giving KCTCS students clear and seamless pathways to four-year degree programs at Midway University. The agreement makes available two different transfer scholarships and personalized student support services. The second partnership will provide a 15% reduction in tuition for KCTCS employees, their spouses and dependents for evening and online undergraduate programs and most graduate programs.
KCTCS also announced that it recently raised $1.5 million for students with financial need in its first annual KCTCS Giving Day.
Asio Capital LLC has been awarded on USA TODAY’s list of the Best Financial Advisory Firms 2024. This award is presented by USA TODAY and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.
Next Century Technologies’ President and Founder Tracy Hardin recently published her first book, How to Cyber Secure Your Business; A Guide to Demystifying IT Security for Small and Medium Businesses. Her goal is to help business leaders prevent hackers from disrupting their businesses. BL
NEAL CIOCI
ANDERSON
CHANDLER ADAMS STOUT DUNN ELDER
MILLER FLINDERS WELDON
CARTER DECKER
HARDIN GIBBS TURNER
MCKINSTRY BARFIELD
LABAUN
SUPPLY KENTUCKY
Kentucky is building on its record economic momentum and taking steps to ensure its manufacturing supply chain is more connected than ever. In March of this year, Gov. Andy Beshear announced the “Supply Kentucky” initiative, a renewed effort to boost job growth, reduce operational costs and provide more security for the supply chains of Kentucky manufacturers. At the center of the Supply Kentucky initiative is the rollout of CONNEX Kentucky, a new online platform established through a partnership between the Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers that provides a searchable supply chain database for manufacturers throughout the state. Kentucky has an incredible manufacturing presence that spans every industry from automotive and metals to food and beverage. The state is home to more than 5,000 manufacturing facilities that employ over 250,000 people.
JOIN THE GOODGIVING CHALLENGE!
Nonprofit organizations in Central and Appalachia Kentucky are invited to join our region’s biggest online fundraising event: the GoodGiving Challenge!
Thanks to our generous donors and sponsors, the GoodGiving Challenge has raised over $23 million for our hard-working nonprofits since its inception in 2011!
Registration is open through August 30 for the 2024 GoodGiving Challenge.
