Enjoy this 10-day toast to Lexington’s local bourbon culture. Renowned restaurants and bars will serve two unique, o -menu bourbon cocktails: their take on the classic Old Fashioned, and an exclusive specialty cocktail using a partnering bourbon.
Sponsorships and spots for participating restaurant/bars are still available. For more information contact Smiley Pete Publishing at 859.266.6537 or advertise@smileypete.com. OUR
PVAStatistics
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
Nine ways to make complex topics easier to convey through writing PAGE 5
BizBriefs Lexington brewery announces closure PAGE 6
CraveWorthy
Shaking things up: Constitution’s cocktail classes help customers raise the bar on their home mixology skills PAGE 8
QuickBites
Contemporary Italian-inspired dining experience coming to Fayette Mall PAGE 9
BizLists
Family Law Firms PAGE 14
Commercial Lenders PAGE 16 SBA Lenders PAGE 18
Who’sWho
Employment updates and notable achievements from around the Bluegrass PAGE 20
Trailblazing Bike Shop Goes Co-Op: Broomwagon transitions to a worker-owned cooperative business model PAGE 10
100 Years of Service: Junior League of Lexington celebrates its centennial PAGE 11
Building the Future:
From hand-drawn plans to computer-assisted design, engineering and design firm GRW celebrates 60 years of solving infrastructure challenges PAGE 12
Thinking Outside the Box: Evolving from early internet startup iHigh.com, Brainbox Intelligent Marketing helps organizations bring ideas to life PAGE 13
Q&A with Barbara Edelman:
The litigator on late client and friend Bill Gatton and a major gift made in her name PAGE 22
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These statistics on local residential and commercial property are compiled by the office of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator. The data reflect 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.
DATE ADDRESS PRICE ENTITY
7/17/24 501 Spring St.
$53,033,000* The Lex Propco Llc
7/17/24 501-511 S. Broadway $53,033,000 Lex Propco Llc
7/26/24 1349 Centre Parkway $13,560,000 Briarwood Lexington Housing LP
7/1/24 1310-1332 Nancy Hanks Road $10,000,000 Brookstone LLC
7/1/24 1311-1331 Nancy Hanks Road $10,000,000 Brookstone LLC
7/12/24 3101 Beaumont Centre Circle $8,000,000 Whitestone Funds LLC
7/22/24 4130 Georgetown Road $2,150,000* Maple Grove MHC LLC
7/8/24 210-236 Malabu Drive $2,050,000 Healing Center LLC
7/9/24 310-312 W Short St. $1,300,000 Corto Lima LLC
7/9/24 610 Winchester Road $810,600 UCD Midland LLC
7/15/24 135-137 N. Limestone $650,000* The Cope Companies LLC
7/8/24 125 Burt Road $560,000 Magic House II LLLC
7/19/24 610-620 Ballard St. $370,000 Chaffin, Adrian Nicholas
7/19/24 519 Darby Creek Road Unit 7 $231,000 Charland Grey Properties LLC
7/19/24 121-129 Prosperous Pl. Unit 12A $140,000 BBC Holdings LLC
*Sale Price Based on a Multiple-Parcel Transaction ** Parcel includes multiple improvements, see property record for details
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 office of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator and is subject to change.
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 Aug. 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**
3-Month Treasury Yield*** 10-Year Treasury Yield***
Real GDP (millions $)
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
By Jennifer Mattox
At times many of us have found the need to take something complex and put it into writing, whether the content is for use in the workplace, our personal lives or for a publication. How can you make something complex easier for a reader to understand? Here are some ways to break it down:
1. Consider the overall content you need to share and organize it into smaller, easily digestible chunks of information.
2. Those chunks of information could be more easily identified through subheads, or brief one- to four-word labels for that section (e.g., the word “ingredients” in a recipe). Often subheads are in bold, CAPS, or another style that sets them apart from the overall text.
3. Where appropriate, use a numbered list (like this one!) or bullet points to help separate out steps, a list, or di erent points you want to make.
4. Be detailed and specific. Focus on the most important information and use examples and/or analogies where appropriate to further explain your topic.
5. Keep your paragraphs short, addressing one topic or point per paragraph.
6. Condense sentences, keeping them at about twenty words or less for easier comprehension. It helps if you reword to use fewer prepositions and remove superfluous words like very, even, and just.
7. Explain any terminology or acronyms your reader may not be familiar with, especially ones that may mean something di erent in a certain field than they do to the general public.
8. Dense pages of writing can overwhelm your reader. Add an extra space between sections of longer text or before subheads. This white space will signal to your reader that you’re switching topics or sections and also give them a quick break.
9. Don’t forget the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” When you have that option, use a picture, graph, or other visuals to further illustrate your meaning. BL
Jennifer Mattox is the Executive Director of the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning and a professional writer. The Carnegie Center, 251 W. Second St., is a nonprofit educational center o ering seasonal writing, publishing, and language classes, among other community programming. For more information, visit CarnegieCenterLex.org.
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BY MATT WICKSTROM
The first solar-powered brewery in Kentucky, known for its ciders featuring apples pressed on-site, will close at the end of the month.
Pivot Brewing, located at 1400 Delaware Ave., was put up for sale in July by founder and owner Kevin Compton after considering a transition to a worker-owned co-op. Despite initial interest in an online auction with a minimum bid of $430,000 for the entire operation, a sale ultimately failed to materialize. This has led Compton to decide to shut down the brewery’s retail operations.
Compton’s decision to shutter the brewery, which first opened in 2016 and expanded with a Louisville taproom in 2023, and sell the property comes as he looks to return to the environmental engineering work he was doing before launching the venture. He says the change was spurred by a moment of clarity that led him to contemplate the legacy he wants to leave behind.
“You reach a point when you start asking yourself if this is what you’re going to do until the end, and if you don’t like the answer, you have to go another way,” Compton said. “And that’s where I am.”
For over a year, Compton worked behind the scenes to find an ownership solution so he wouldn’t have to shut everything down. This began with a crowdfunding campaign and the intention of partially handing o the company to the employees who planned to stay in his absence. However, that plan fell through earlier this summer after his head and assistant brewers announced their intentions to move on from the brewery as well.
“The plan was for them to take over the reins,” Compton said. “But as a small-business owner, I fully respect their decision
because I know just how di cult the work can be.”
During his nearly eight years at the helm, Pivot Brewing created some of Central Kentucky’s most captivating beers, including Kentucky Sunrise (cherry cider), Kentucky Mule (barrel-aged cider), Bad Penny (IPA), and Black Is Beautiful (co ee imperial stout). It also cultivated a vibrant community with events like night markets, book clubs, trivia nights, bingo, and burlesque shows.
It’s those memories of bringing people together that stand out to Compton — a Louisville native who moved to Lexington in the ’90s — as he reflects on everything the brewery has accomplished.
“I was never the biggest beer aficionado,” Compton said. “But there was a big culinary interest that drew me to brewing, along with a sense of pride in crafting something that people enjoy, especially when you’re able to get it into cans and onto store shelves like we were.”
Before launching Pivot, Compton got his first taste of the industry through homebrewing. The process was one that the scientist in him loved tinkering with to create an ideal mix of ingredients, even though he was never a huge consumer of the final product himself.
In the same vein, it’s that care and attention to detail that have driven the brewery’s success since its inception, both in the drinks they crafted and the community they curated around them.
“I have made some of the most memorable, most cherish-able memories at Pivot,” Sarah Elizabeth commented on a social media post from the brewery announcing its closure.
“I’ve met so many wonderful people and made so many new friends. Thank you for being my and many others’ ‘third place’ over the years. I’ll miss the Pivot community dearly.”
ace, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation quickly come to mind when we discuss workplace diversity. However, we must also consider the rich diversity that people with disabilities bring to our organizations as part of our diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility discussions. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s Disability and Health Data System more than 1 in 4 U.S. citizens, or seventy-million people have a disability. In Kentucky, 1.2 million people or 34% of the population of the Commonwealth have a disability. As we can see, people with disability are a large segment of our communities. You probably have a family member, neighbor, or friend who has a disability. Although people with disabilities are a large segment of the population, the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, reports in 2023, that 22.5% of people with disabilities participated in the workforce with an unemployment rate of 7.2% compared to a 75% labor force participation rate and a 3.5% unemployment rate for people who do not have a disability.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines disability as a legal term, not a medical term. Disability, according to the ADA, is an impairment that significantly impacts one or more major life activities. It is also important to remember that most disability is non-obvious. For instance, mental health disabilities, arthritis, seizure disorders, or human immunodeficiency virus impacts major life areas but are not apparent. Unless we consider non-obvious disabilities, we risk greater stigmatization and misunderstanding.
The ADA is a powerful civil rights law that guarantees equality
of opportunity for people with disabilities. The ADA requires private employers with 15 or more employees to work with an employee who has a disability to explore reasonable accommodations to allow the employee to perform their job equal to all employees at the business. The ADA also guarantees that state and local government programs and services are accessible to citizens with disabilities by making reasonable modifications to policies and practices in those services. The ADA also ensures that restaurants, bars, sports venues, medical facilities, anywhere the public goes to access goods and services are fully accessible. Finally, the ADA guarantees that people who have communication disabilities can benefit from alternative forms of effective communication. This includes captioned telephones, relay services, and open and closed movie and television captioning.
When we make hiring decision, we often do not consider people with disabilities as employees. Many employers mistakenly believe that hiring someone with a disability will result in additional costs, decreased productivity, or that people with disabilities would require more supervision. A more subtle, yet major reason people with disabilities do not get jobs, is unconscious biases and harmful stereotypes. We simply see people with disabilities as somehow flawed and less capable. Our media uses language like “suffering from” or “confined to” when depicting people with disabilities. Worse yet, the media often portrays people with disabilities as “inspirational”. We want to make disability a bad thing. We forget that disability is part of the human condition. We are all just one birthday, one accident, one medical procedure away from acquiring a disability. Disability
should be celebrated as one facet of who we are as humans. We all have different identities that define us. Some of us are blind. Some people have a mental health disability. However, we are also parents, friends, relatives, and coworkers. Our differences create a diverse and enriching experience in our community and places of business.
Employers must recognize that a request for accommodation has been made. There are no “magic words” that an employee should use when seeking an accommodation. For example, in 2024, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Michigan Kroger failed to accommodate an employee recovering from cancer surgery. The employee told her supervisor she needed “some time to get back to normal”. The court believed the employer was aware the employee had been off work four months after cancer surgery and Kroger should have recognized that the employee’s statement was a request for a reduced work schedule due to a
disability. When a request for accommodation is made, employers are required to begin an “interactive process” with the employee to identify a reasonable accommodation. The interactive process is a good faith conversation that is informal and collaborative. If a disability is non-obvious, the employer may ask for documentation about the disability so long as it is narrowly tailored to the disability for which the employee needs an accommodation. Most accommodations cost a business little or nothing. According to the Job Accommodation Network, most accommodations cost less than $500.
In the past year Kentucky has added 25,700 net payroll jobs and 2,600 private payroll jobs. As the economy of the Commonwealth continues to grow, the need for a diverse and qualified workforce is essential. People with disabilities must be considered as valuable candidates as we fill available jobs. Disability is diversity.
Learn more about your obligations under the ADA by contacting the Southeast ADA Center at 1-800-949-4232 (voice/relay) or adasoutheast@syr.edu
Constitution’s cocktail classes help customers raise the bar on their home mixology skills
BY SHANNON CLINTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Billed as a Prohibition-style speakeasy, Constitution has quickly established itself as a go-to spot for top-tier cocktails since opening last year in a stone house at 109 Constitution St. Its owners have since launched a series of cocktail-making classes to help patrons aged 21 and older elevate their home mixology skills.
Co-owner and operator Amy Camenisch said the classes at Constitution began with monthly bourbon sessions, typically held on the fourth Sunday of each month, and have recently expanded to cover other spirits. For instance, August featured a rum-themed class led by experienced bartender Seth Bol. Students come away with skills like how to make margaritas in a larger batch size for ease in serving without sacrificing quality, stepping up one’s Old Fashioned making game, or crafting a classic daiquiri, she said.
“I think that it’s important to know how to make a good cocktail at home, so when you’re hosting people you have a couple of good recipes in your repertoire,” she said.
Class sizes are capped at eight participants, with tickets priced at $100 each. Ticket holders can expect to sample several spirits, receive background information on each, and get expert instruction on how to make three cocktails, with printed recipes to take home.
“We only have room for eight people around our bar, which allows for an intimate experience,” Camenisch said. “It gives you the opportunity to ask as many questions as you want and have a front-row experience to everything that’s going on.”
Private cocktail classes can also be booked upon request and tailored to a customer’s preferences, she added. For example, a customer could request a deep dive into a particular type of spirit, its origins, and ways to maximize its potential through three cocktails.
The classes are good for business, too, she said, as people who take them — some of whom sign up for more than one cocktail series — feel more at home at Constitution.
“I think that when people come to our cocktail classes, they do start to fall in love a bit more with Constitution and get to know our bartenders a bit better,” she said.
Head Bartender Rusty Wright primarily leads the bourbon classes, while Camenisch and other owners and bartenders have also
led classes over the summer. For example, Camenisch and her husband, Ryan Camenisch, led a sold-out “Essential Summer Cocktails” class in June, which may have a fall sequel in the works. And, co-owner Jesse Brasher led a mezcal class in July.
To ensure the classes are on point, follow-up surveys are sent out to attendees the following day, and every response is given careful consideration.
“Overall, the response has been very positive,” Camenisch said. “Most people say it’s
exceeded their expectations.”
Over time, she said, the format and pricing may be adjusted slightly.
Camenisch said the classes were designed to help people cultivate a reverence for the process and quality components essential in making a great cocktail.
The classes are also intended “to take away some of the apprehension people feel about making a good cocktail at home, which isn’t true,” she said. “You can make a fantastic cocktail at home.” BL
BY SHANNON CLINTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Mileta, a contemporary Italianinspired restaurant, is set to open this fall with housemade pastas, cocktails, and, of course, bourbon.
The restaurant will be housed in the former Par 6 Social location at Fayette Mall. According to spokesperson Sophia Capriotti from the restaurant’s communications agency, Mileta is a collaboration between Managing Partner Dallas Rose, Partner and Executive Chef Alexander Green, and Partner and Director of Operations Aaron Wood.
“Showcasing the bounty of the region’s purveyors, Green has crafted a menu that spotlights soulful, seasonal fare, including small plates, salads, raw bar preparations, thoughtfully sourced entrées, and a housemade pasta program,” Capriotti said. “Complementing the cuisine, Mileta’s beverage program highlights both classic and seasonally driven, innovative cocktails, an extensive selection of Kentucky bourbon, American and Japanese whiskeys, Italian aperitifs, and other imported delicacies,” she added, noting that there will also be an extensive wine program.
The atmosphere will “exude elegance,” she said, with a bohemian-meets-midcentury modern interior, featuring an imported marble bar, wood and brass accents, and leather and velvet seating.
Capriotti said Mileta will be a neighborhood dining destination where locals and visitors will feel welcomed.
In other local food- and beverageindustry news:
Santorini, a new upscale restaurant by Athenian Grill owner and chef Ilias Pappas, is set to open in the former Saul Good location at 3801 Mall Rd. Pappas said that after 14 years in the food truck and fast-casual realms, he is answering his customers’ requests for an upscale Greek restaurant.
“It’s focusing on 100 percent Greek cuisine recipes from back home in an upscale environment,” Pappas said, adding that traditional preparation methods using fresh meat and seafood flown in regularly from Greece will be used for his dishes, served amidst beautiful decor. After remodeling is complete, he hopes to open in early December.
West Sixth Brewing and Lexington Sporting Club of the United Soccer League paired up to announce the Aug. 23 launch of Stadium Ale, a new brew “to celebrate the passion and community spirit of Lexington soccer fans.”
Dubbed the official craft beer of Lexington Sporting Club, Stadium Ale debuted at a pop-up event in late August and will be available at the club’s new stadium, set to open Sept. 8, as well as at all West Sixth taprooms, retail locations, and bars that carry the brand. The beer is described as “a light, refreshing ale with a subtle malt profile that yields to a hint of fruity hoppiness,” perfect for enjoying during a soccer game.
That’s not the only news West Sixth has to cheer about — West Sixth Covington Haus is coming to a renovated
former firehouse at 100 West Sixth Street, Covington. This location, along with a new distribution agreement with Chas Sligman Distributing Co., will increase the brand’s availability throughout the region, brewery representatives said.
West Sixth entered the Northern Kentucky market with a presence at Newport’s Bridgeview Box Park years ago and will transition this fall to the new location.
“This Northern Kentucky expansion has long been a priority for us, and we’re really excited to round out our Kentucky reach with this bigger taproom space,” cofounder Ben Self said.
West Sixth Covington Haus will have 20 beers on tap, lots of gathering and socializing space, and, coming soon, a new restaurant.
Serving up fruity bowls, smoothies, and juices, Playa Bowls had a planned opening date of Aug. 10 at 3900 Fountainblue Ln.
Fans of Rick’s White Light Diner in Frankfort at 114 Bridge St. will want to know that the location, which had been for sale and closed sporadically for quite some time, is now operating as a chicken restaurant, Big Daddy’s Fried Chicken
In the relatively short time it’s been open, The Manchester has made a splash, recently making Time Magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places 2024” list. The hotel’s restaurant, Granddam, and rooftop bar, Lost Palm, have also received high compliments among the hotel’s amenities in the article.
McAllister’s Deli has moved to 2380 Norman Lane in Regency Center off Nicholasville Rd.
A new Panera is replacing the former Burger Fi location in Hamburg at 1816 Alysheba Way.
Cosmic Fry moved in July from its North Broadway location to serve food at The Twisted Cork, 145 Burt Rd. The eatery/ caterer specializes in burgers, wings, fries, and appetizers.
Viva Mexico is opening a second location, Viva Mexico - Old Vine at the former Old Vine Bistro property, 400 Old Vine St.
A handful of establishments have announced they’re closing up shop, including: Kentucky’s first solar-powered cidery Pivot Brewing, which opened in Lexington in 2016 and added a Louisville location in 2023, announced an imminent Aug. 31 closure for both locations on Facebook in early August. According to its website, the brewing company had been for sale, soliciting offers through July.
Inebriated Baker officials announced the last day for the boozy bakery at Fayette Mall before switching to an entirely online presence would be Aug. 25. The post announcing the changes also said a seasonal food truck will debut next year.
Arby’s at 3261 Nicholasville Rd., a longtime fast-food staple at this location, has permanently closed.
Mehak Indian Cuisine at 395 S. Limestone has closed.
Brick Oven Pizzeria officials announced on Facebook in mid-July that they have permanently closed.
Tolly Ho has temporarily closed its South Broadway eatery as it makes a planned move to its new location at 350 Foreman Ave. BL
Broomwagon transitions to a worker-owned cooperative business model
BY MATT WICKSTROM CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Alongtime business and community hub in Lexington’s North Limestone neighborhood has changed its ownership structure as it approaches a decade in operation.
Broomwagon Bikes, located at 800 N. Limestone, has been a staple in the thriving northside community since 2015. However, COVID-19, rising property costs, the temporary closure of its café in late 2023, and changes in the biking industry have led its leadership to reassess how to move the business forward.
This culminated in a July 17 announcement that one of its previous owners, Adam Drye, and two of its employees, Paulina Vazquez and Michael Wright, had taken over the reins, making Broomwagon the city’s
first worker-owned cooperative bike shop.
According to Drye, he had been interested in making Broomwagon a co-op from the business’s inception as a way to better compensate its mechanics whose average pay is significantly lower than that of most other trade jobs. But, it never materialized.
“It’s critical to have that element of ownership and seeing it as a long-term career rather than a job you only have while you’re in college or working toward something else,” Drye said. “Retaining mechanics is the biggest piece of the puzzle for any bike shop, and getting them better compensation is a critical component of that.”
Helping Broomwagon’s workforce to organize and line up financing along the way was Sam Lockridge from the Patchwork Cooperative Loan Fund, a community wealth fund that helps launch and turn existing businesses into co-ops.
A regular customer inside the shop’s café, which closed late last year, Lockridge had been observing the business and even talking with some of its workers under the radar about forming a co-op when Drye approached him with the same idea.
“[Adam] reached out to me through a mutual friend not knowing I’d already been talking with others about it, which made for a good ‘funny you should ask’ moment,” Lockridge said.
While Drye, Vazquez and Wright are the only three members of the newly organized worker co-op, there’s a clearly defined path for more people to join the ownership group — a 1,500-hour apprenticeship. Currently one of Broomwagon’s part-time employees is already on track to complete the required hours in the months ahead.
“It includes professional development meetings along the way to make sure everything is on track,” Drye said of the apprenticeship. “Then, after 1,500 hours of labor, you’re eligible to be an owner, allowing you to share in leadership decisions and in the company’s profits.”
A significant part of those 1,500 hours involves learning the ins and outs of bicycle repair and parts installation, an aspect of the business that has always been a focal point, even more so since the pandemic. This focus stems largely from the inconsistency of bike sales, which tend to happen in intermittent bursts.
“Service has been a much more sustainable revenue stream over the past four years,” Drye said. “Since opening in 2015, we’ve had spikes in new bike sales, but oftentimes when it happens, we’ll buy more inventory only to get stuck sitting on it. That cuts into our sales margins, which weren’t great to begin with. [Bike sales] are a big part of our revenue but only a small part of our profit. Service, on the other hand, is completely different because oftentimes, when you earn a customer, they keep coming back as long as they’re riding bikes.”
“A new bike owner often doesn’t know what they do and don’t need,” Wright added. “They want to buy but don’t always realize what comes with it, whether that’s lights or air pumps or bags or anything they may encounter during their rides. Our goal, above everything else, is to get you set up without making it feel like you’re in a predatory space.”
With that in mind, Broomwagon is going all-in on its personalized approach, both on how it handles bike repairs and service and with its new and repurposed bike sales.
“Our goal is to create a more tailored retail experience and not a model that overwhelms you with options,” Drye said. “For a small shop like us, it makes more sense to take the personalized approach than the one-stop-shop one, especially when you’re competing with mostly online retailers.” BL
BY LIZ CAREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Across the street from Gratz Park, the Bodley-Bullock House sits as a stately reminder of Lexington’s historic past.
Maintained and operated by the Junior League of Lexington, the house, like the organization behind it, is a representation of Lexington’s storied past. And this fall, as the League celebrates its centennial anniversary, it will open the house up to the public.
Founded in 1924 and part of the Association of Junior Leagues International, the Junior League of Lexington focuses on advancing women’s leadership through community volunteerism and training. Mable Marks started the organization with just 10 women, minimal resources and a goal of impacting Lexington. Within nine years, the group had grown to 90 women and founded the Baby Home, which became a children’s home run by the city of Lexington.
Today, the organization has 156 members, with an additional 68 provisional members, and more than 300 women who are sustaining members or alumni of the organization. To become a member, women must be at least 23 years old, and spend a year as a provisional member training and working in service to the community and organization.
In 1937, the Junior League started its premiere fundraising event, the Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show. The event has generated more than $3 million for the community.
“The operating budget back then was $500 with a crowd of 5,000,” said Lindsay Medley, chair of the headquarters committee for the League. “Now, our operation budget is around $900,000 with a regular attendance of around 30,000 people.”
In 2007, the organization launched a secondary fundraising event, the Holly Day market. Taking place in the Central Bank Center during November, the popular holiday market features a number of retail vendors. Proceeds from both of these events go toward the charitable work of the organization, which annually grants $30,000 to local nonprofits.
Some of the organizations that Junior League supports include Chrysalis House, Triangle Park, Ampersand (formerly known as the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center), the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Saddlebred Museum, the Lexington Children’s Museum, Bluegrass Care Navigators and the University of Kentucky Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.
Since 1984, the Junior League has also handled the maintenance and groundskeeping of the Bodley-Bullock house. Once the home of a prominent Lexington family, the house now serves as operational headquarters for the organization, as well as an event and tour location for the city.
Built in 1814 for Lexington mayor Thomas Pindell, the house was sold to General Thomas Bodley, a hero of the War of 1812. The Kentucky Federal-style house exemplifies the grandeur of Gratz Park and downtown Lexington in the 1800s, and through seven different owners, has remained a place for elegant social gatherings. Stepping into the house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, magnificent three-story spiral staircase, and fireplaces, takes one back to another time.
The house’s history includes serving as a headquarters for both Union and Confederate generals during the Civil War, and being home to the head of Transylvania University’s now defunct medical school. In 1912, the house was sold to Dr. Waller Bullock, founder of The Lexington Clinic, and his wife, Minnie, founder of the Garden Club of Lexington. Upon their deaths, the house was willed to Transylvania University, which partnered with the Junior League for its upkeep.
“Transylvania University recognized that they didn’t really have the capacity or the staff to take on the house,” Medley said. “We rent it for a dollar a year from Transylvania University, and we are responsible for all the maintenance of the house itself.”
The house and garden have been restored to their former glory, Medley said. In 1986, the Junior League won an award from the Kentucky Heritage Council for its preservation efforts.
Income from event rentals — including for weddings, baby showers, and photo shoots — help fund the organization’s charitable efforts throughout the area.
Celebrating the organization’s 100th anniversary has taken many forms, said Brooke Amadon, head of the Junior League’s Centennial Celebration Committee, from identifying leading women in the community to establishing the 1924 Society, where patrons are asked to contribute $1,924 to the League’s charitable fund.
Organizing the centennial celebration has been fun and educational for the members involved, Amadon said.
“We’ve been doing social media pushes and sharing tidbits and historical moments in the Junior League’s history in Lexington,” she said. “Because of that, I think, many of us found out just how intertwined the Junior League is with the city of Lexington. Many of our agencies and the resources that are of great value to our community were actually created by the Junior League.”
As part of that celebration, the Junior League of Lexington will open the house’s doors to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 8 for an open house.
“We want to make sure that people can come see what we’ve been doing to preserve part of Lexington’s history, because it does belong to all of us,” Amadon said.
The event will feature tours of the house given by members of the Junior League, as well as light refreshments and a volunteer activity to help people get to know the organization better and its role in the community.
For board president Melissa Hammer, being involved with the Junior League of Lexington has offered an unparalleled opportunity to get involved with the community and develop lasting relationships.
“I moved here in 2015, and I literally knew no one. I joined to meet people and get involved with the community and have really enjoyed the various opportunities it’s given me,” she said. “It’s so nice to be able to build friendships.” BL
From hand-drawn plans to computer-assisted design, engineering and design firm GRW celebrates 60 years of solving infrastructure challenges
BY LIZ CAREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Things have changed significantly since GRW, an engineering, architecture, and geospatial firm, was founded in Lexington 60 years ago.
The days of hand-drawn plans have evolved into the use of CAD design, GIS technology, and artificial intelligence. However, Ben Fister, board chair and CEO of GRW, emphasized that the company will continue to embrace new technologies as it has in the past — by integrating them into its services to benefit both clients and employees.
Founded in 1964 by George Reynolds Watkins, GRW is a multidisciplinary design consulting firm that has had its hand in some of the most important aspects of what makes Central Kentucky unique. Those projects often go unnoticed though, representatives with GRW said, as they’re often beneath Central Kentuckians’ feet and supporting Lexingtonians’ tires as people drive along the roads.
GRW has helped design some of the barns at Keeneland, as well as the entrance and access roads at Versailles Road and Man O’ War Boulevard, and worked on the access roads, water transmission, gas lines, power transmission, aprons, aircraft hangars, and radar tower as part of the Blue Grass Airport expansion. Other clients have included Spindletop Hall Estate, the cities of Danville and Nicholasville, Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, the University of Kentucky, and Toyota.
Now with offices in four states (Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia), the firm boasts more than 190 employees, 110 of whom are based in Lexington. Fister said the company has done projects in 100 Kentucky counties, every state in America, and in several foreign countries, including mapping the Panama Canal for a multi-billion dollar widening project.
Currently, more funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a $550 billion federal investment in the United States’ infrastructure and economy over the next five years, has been allocated to transportation and water systems.
“The focus on infrastructure is sound, and growing, because all of the highways
need maintenance and connector highways need to be built. On the water resources side, there’s always expanded criteria for clean water,” Fister said. “We think that both of those are strong growth areas.”
Chris Hammer, GRW’s new president and chief operating office, said the firm is also focused on developing new talent. Hammer, who previously worked for GRW from 1993 to 2004, returned as president and COO in late 2023. With more than 30 years of experience, Hammer said his return to the company reflects the high value he places on GRW’s culture of technical excellence.
“The work GRW does often goes unnoticed, as much of our works falls into the category of infrastructure,” he said. “But we’re proud to have the ability to use our skills to improve the places we live and work. I’m also excited about both the young and experienced new team members we’ve added to our team.”
Hammer said the firm likes to identify young people early in their career and provide them with experience. In the past 10 months, the company has hired between 20 and 25 people across all its offices and continues to train college students through its internship programs.
“The past 60 years have seen a lot of great men and women come through the firm who have worked in a variety of roles,” he said. “We’re getting ready to send some of our university students back to college this fall who have spent the summer with us. That energizes us to see them get a start on their career and motivates us to help people grow in their careers and in our industry. We hope they stay with us their entire career, but a lot of times they will become our clients down the road.”
Over the past 60 years, Fister noted, the firm has evolved as the needs of its clients and industry have changed.
“The biggest challenges in the past were developing expertise in all of the key disciplines that it takes to support the needs of communities in their infrastructure, which is
all streets, utilities and then the land development for commercial industrial development,” he said.
That challenge also includes adapting to changing technology.
“We were the first firm in the state to adopt the major CAD systems to cover all of our work,” he said. “In fact, we were representatives for AutoCAD, MicroStation, and ESRI, the three major producers of CAD systems.”
The firm has also played a role in developing aerial surveys and geospatial mapping for the military.
Hammer said the company would continue to adapt new technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence in ways that best fit the industry.
“It has to be a data-driven process,” he said. “I think things like flood mapping the country… and predicting evacuation zones or evacuation plans will come from that.
“We’re all trying to see the future. We’re trying to see how autonomous vehicles are going to play out. Is that going to be in our lifetime? We have to plan for a lot of those things now.” BL
Evolving from early internet startup iHigh.com, Brainbox Intelligent Marketing helps organizations bring ideas to life
BY DAN DICKSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ALexington marketing company is celebrating 25 years in business as it revels in its journey from internet start-up iHigh.com in 1999 to today’s wide-ranging strategy and action company called Brainbox Intelligent Marketing. The company operates in new offices located in The Square in downtown Lexington.
It all began at Host Communications where Rick Ford, Brainbox’s founder and chief executive officer, and Host colleague Tim Campbell, were asked to “take Host into the internet age,” recalls Ford. “We had no internet presence. We were already working with the NCAA and many colleges. So we started building college websites and that went well. We put up the first NCAA Final Four website and it went nuts with millions of hits in the first few weeks even though we had not officially announced it.”
Back then, Host also had a division to promote high school athletics. Ford and Johnson were then asked to “build something for the internet.” The pair wrote a business plan for a high school website internet network. “It sounds parochial, but back then few high schools had websites,” said Ford. “We built a template and got 5,800 schools in 37 states on it in the first 18 months. iHigh.com was born.” iHigh.com gave high schools free web tools and video streaming so students, athletes, coaches, and boosters could follow sports and other school activities online. They had access to activity schedules and statistics locally, statewide and nationwide.
But just as the business was gaining steam, the dot.com bubble burst and iHigh. com was among the many thousands of businesses impacted. Ford says the company was in its second phase of raising capital and was expecting to get the money when a large bank abruptly shut off the money spicket. iHigh’s staff size plummeted from 83 to just four and the company teetered.
To survive, iHigh.com evolved into an activation marketing company. One idea that re-energized it was the creation in 2004 of the Great American Rivalry Series. The series promotes the best high school football rivalry games across the nation. Each year, targeted high school teams are invited to join in the series. Only true rivals participate in advance of their big, do-or-die game of the year.
Brainbox does considerable digital marketing through social media and email to publicize the upcoming games. In-person activities might also include parades, bonfires, and pep rallies. “Currently, we have been to 1,184 rival-
ry games in 47 states with as many as 104 such games played in one season,” said Scott Bridegam, Brainbox’s chief operating officer, who joined the company in 2017.
“The two teams make the game what it is. We just tell the world about it, to amplify it,” says Ford, who himself played in a couple of big rivalry high school football games in the late ’60s — namely the Dupont Manuel-Male game played on Thanksgiving Day in Louisville. That rivalry inspired him to later help create the Great American Rivalry Series. Bridegam is proud of the series concept. “We are the largest and longest-running high school sports marketing property in the country. And it is based right here in Lexington, Kentucky, and began as an internet start-up.”
By 2015, the company decided it was no longer iHigh.com, but an innovative marketing company, so it rebranded itself as Brainbox. The rebranded company seeks to solve key problems for its clients and help them reach their target audiences in innovative ways.
Bridegam was part of the company-wide reconstruction. “By beginning as an internet start-up — being in the digital space even before there was digital space the way people see it today — we laid a foundation to build upon,” he said. “We realized we had great connections in that high school space. I came on board to organize and systemize the way we scaled the company to replicate what we were doing when iHigh started.”
Today, Brainbox has a staff of 42. “In 2020, many marketing agencies closed their doors during the pandemic. We did not,” said Ford. “When the world ‘came back,’ many clients that had been away got back on board.”
Brainbox executives are especially proud of a particular case study in its portfolio. The Student Loan Finance Corporation
approached Brainbox about how it could market to exceptional students who would obtain loans, attend college, and start careers. Brainbox suggested targeting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) high school students.
Brainbox staff teamed up with James Canton, a futurist and head of a think tank that helps organizations with planning. What emerged from the collaboration was a tenfoot-tall, basketball-court-sized immersive and interactive experience that students could walk through.
Called FutureLab: The Innovation Expo, the traveling exhibit was a hit. “It had six or seven different cubicles, all of which we created from scratch,” Ford said. “Then we created a website to support it. I would say it was as impactful as anything we ever did because we created it out of thin air, and it lasted ten
years. That is marketing — taking a germ of an idea and turning it into an actual thing.”
Ken Halvorsen, chief operating officer for the Student Loan Finance Corporation also admired the Expo. “FutureLab allows for another thought process where students can think about what else is out there.”
Brainbox’s future remains solid in sports. For 25 years it has been in the college space but now will be in it even more after announcing in 2023 it is the marketing company for Athlete Advantage, a leading name, image, and likeness (NIL) agency that works with college athletes.
“We are an equity shareholder in the company,” Ford said. “We see Athlete Advantage as being like we were 25 years ago. They are today cobbling out a business that did not even exist until recently and they are learning as they go.”
Firm
Embry Merritt Womack Nance, PLLC
201 E. Main St., Ste. 1402 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 543-0453 emwnlaw.com
Stoll Keenon Ogden, PLLC
300 W. Vine St., Ste. 2100 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 231-3000 skofirm.com
Osborne Fletcher, PLLC 302 W. High St. Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 287-0949 osbornefletcher.com
Britton Johnson, PLLC
200 W. VIne St., Ste. 800 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 963-2241 brittonjohnsonlaw.com
Kershaw & Baumgardner
250 W. Main St., Ste. 1850 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 381-1145 kbfamilylaw.com
McBrayer, PLLC
201 E. Main St., Ste. 900 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 231-8780 mcbrayerfirm.com
Thompson Law Office
219 N. Upper St. Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 280-2222 ethompsonlaw.com
Law Office of Lisa J. Oeltgen 120 N. Mill St, Ste. 300 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 523-1606 familylawky.com
Gess Mattingly & Atchison, PSC 201 W. Short St., Ste. 102 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 252-9000 gmalaw.com
Jenny Scott & Associates, PLLC 1795 Alysheba Way, Ste. 6101 Lexington, KY 40509 (859) 225-8888 lexingtonfamilyattorney.com
Fowler Bell, PLLC
300 W. Vine St., Ste. 600 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 252-6700 fowlerlaw.com
The Cornett Law Firm, PSC 155 E. Main St., Ste. 101 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 255-2889 thecornettlawfirm.com
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation, post-nuptual agreements, post-dissolution planning
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, grandparents’ rights, adoption, domestic violence, estate planning, legal separation, foreign/out of state orders and more
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation, mediation, collaborative divorce, property division, arbitration
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation, foster care and adoption, surrogacy contracts, domestic relations
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation, child abuse/neglect, adoptions, grandparent and third party custody, domestic violence
Divorce, property division, prenuptual agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, grandparents’ rights, child custody and visitation, child abuse/neglect, domestic violence
Divorce, post-decree mediation, child support, custody, adoption, assisted reproductive technology
Divorce, property division, prenuptial agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, child custody and visitation
Divorce, property division, prenuptual agreements, child support, spousal support, post-divorce modification, paternity actions, child custody, dependency, child abuse/neglect
Darren L. Embry, Joyce A. Merritt, James G. Womack, Samantha T. Nance
P. Douglas Barr
Crystal Osborne
Anita M. Britton
Valerie S. Kershaw
James H. Frazier, III
Republic Bank & Trust Company
333 W. Vine St., Ste. 102 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 300-3333 republicbank.com
Community Trust Bank, Inc.
100 E. Vine St. Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 389-5350 ctbi.com
Central Bank & Trust Company
300 W. Vine St. Lexington, KY 40507 (800) 637-6884 centralbank.com
Independence Bank 444E. Main St., Ste. 108 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 686-1775 www.1776bank.com
Traditional Bank
49 W. Main St. Mount Sterling, KY (859) 296-0000 traditionalbank.com
Cumberland Valley National Bank & Trust Co. 1112 Hwy 490 East Bernstadt, KY 40729 (606) 878-7010
cvnb.com
Farmers National Bank of Danville
304 W. Main St. Danville, KY 40422 (859) 236-2926 fnbky.com
Forcht Bank
2404 Sir Barton Way Lexington, KY 40509 (866) 523-1445 forchtbank.com
Whitaker Bank 2001 Pleasant Ridge Dr. Lexington, KY 40509 (800) 650-0099 whitakerbank.com
Peoples Exchange Bank
101 N. Main St. Winchester, KY 40391 (859) 744-9400 pebank.com
5
5
5
4
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Todd Ziegler (Market President)
Billie J. Dollins (Central Kentucky Region President)
Luther Deaton, Jr. (Chairman, President and CEO)
Stacy Berge (Lexington-Fayette County President)
Daniel Mason (President)
Elmo Greer (Chariman, President & CEO)
Marty Gibson (President & CEO)
Tucker Ballinger (President & CEO) Mark
(Regional President)
(Market President)
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Lender Address Phone Website Rank
The Huntington National Bank
710 E. Main St., Ste. 110 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 514-6022 huntington.com
U.S. Bank National Association
2020 Nicholasville Road Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 232-8181 usbank.com
Community Trust Bank, Inc.
100 E. Vine St. Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 389-5350 ctbi.com
Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company
12900 Factory Land Louisville, KY 40245 (502) 222-8424 syb.com
BayFirst National Bank
700 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727) 440-6848 bayfirstfinancial.com
Newtek Small Business Finance, Inc. 1440 Broadway New York, NY 11042 (212) 356-9500 newtek.com
Republic Bank & Trust Company
333 W. VIne St., Ste. 102 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 300-3333 republicbank.com
Readycap Lending, LLC
200 Connell Dr., Ste. 4000 Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 (800) 453-3548 readycapital.com
Northeast Bank
250 W. 55th St., Ste 1502 New Yourk, NY 10019 (203) 520-3330 northeastbank.com
Fifth Third Bank 38 Fountain Square Plaza Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 579-5203 53.com $5,621,300
Perry Allen (Regional
Billie Dollins (Central Kentucky Regional President)
Andrew Jarvis (VP and Commercial Loan Officer)
James A. Hillebrand (CEO)
Anthony N. Leo (CEO)
Peter Downs (President)
Todd Ziegler (Market President)
David A. Cohen (Managing Director, Chief Production Officer, and Co-head of Bridge Lending)
Richard Wayne (President & CEO)
Timothy N. Spence (Charman, President & CEO)
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association 1111 Polaris Parkway Columbus, OH 43240 (614) 248-4827 jpmorganchase.com
PNC Bank, National Association 1301 Bardstown Road Louisville, KY 40204 (502) 581-7560 pnc.com
United Midwest Savings Bank, National Association 955 County Line Road West Westerville, OH 43082 (844) 531-9722 umwsb.com
Capstar Bank, a division of Old National Bank One Main St. Evansville, IN 47708 (812) 464-1434 oldnational.com
Live Oak Banking Company 1741 Tiburon Dr. Wilmington, NC 28403 (910) 790-5867 liveoakbank.com
American Bank & Trust Company, Inc. 1302 Scottsville Road Bowling Green, KY 42102 (270) 796-8444 ambanking.com
Omni Architects recently named Jody Boelhauf, AIA, LEED AP, as its newest principal.
Blue and Co. announced the following promotions in its Lexington office: Beth Anne Akers, manager; Blake Baker, senior accountant; Daniel Buckles, manager; Brooklyn Haynes, senior accountant; Adie Hogue, senior accountant; Matthew Mitchell, manager; Heather Sunseri senior manager; James Wooten, principal; Dominique Waits, senior manager; Sheena Hodgen, quality control senior manager
The Asbury University Shaw School of Sciences welcomed Connie Lamb (RN, CNE, CHSE) as its new nursing program administrator and associate professor. The university has wecomed Elizabeth Guthrie as its new director for the school’s equine program.
Bluegrass Care Navigators has named Daryl Love as its new diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
Engineering firm Paladin announced the appointment of Erica Weeks, LEED Fellow, AIA, as its director of green building certifications.
Valvoline Inc. announced the promotions of: Stephen Switzer senior director, senior counsel; Dave Erdmann, director, incubation enablement; Seth Vice, director, innovation and strategy.
Central Bank has announced the following promotions: Andrea Creech to assistant vice president, human resources benefits man-
ager; Janette Hodges to assistant vice president, talent acquisition manager; Kimberlyann Smith to officer, trust operations supervisor; Ed Cundiff to senior vice president, retail development officer; Clayton Rogers to vice president, retail banking officer III; Chris Eder to assistant vice president, card services systems manager; Ken Kirk to assistant vice president, card services operations manager; Kyle Hamilton to assistant vice president, network infrastructure manager; Adrian Embree to assistant vice president, infrastructure manager; and David Hake to executive vice president, chief technology officer.
Frontier Nursing University has named Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, as the university’s president emerita and distinguished chair of midwifery and nursing.
Lexington Clinic welcomed doctors Elizabeth Case to its gynecology and obstetrics office on North Eagle Creek Drive; Benjamin McKenzie to its internal medicine office on South Broadway; and John S. Reece to its family medicine office at 110 Village Parkway, Nicholasville.
The Hope Center board of directors has appointed Jeff Crook as new chief executive officer.
Gatton Park on the Town Branch recently name Jared Lee as director of events and partnerships, and Erica Lynne Cook as director of programs and engagement.
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System has named Brooke L. Justice as interim president of Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College.
Landrum & Shouse has announced the addition of associate attorney Savannah G. Tolle to its Lexington office.
Kentucky Educational Television, Inc. has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Robert M. Beck, Jr. as chairman of the board.
Commerce Lexington Inc. has named P. Anthony Allen as its new vice president of public policy.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass has welcomed Destiny Oakley as director of development & communications.
Blue Grass Community Foundation recently announced three promotions and a new addition to its dedicated team. Tori Calvert has been promoted to the position of grants and accounting manager; Alison Jackson has been elevated to the role of associate director of board and community relations; Courtney Turner has been promoted to communications manager, and Kristen Hoffman has joined the team as the associate director of the fund for greater Lexington.
CHI Saint Joseph Medical Group – Pulmonary and Critical Care in Lexington has welcomed Hazim Bukamur, MD, to its team of health care providers.
Caroline Nelson Zinkle, a certified interior decorator, has joined the staff at PDR Interiors.
Energy Insurance Agency has announce the promotion of Chris Parker to managing director, strategy and growth.
Transylvania vice president for athletics Holly Sheilley, the first woman to serve as the university’s athletics director and only the third female collegiate AD in Kentucky history, has announced that she has accepted a new position at NCAA Division II University of Missouri–St. Louis.
LexArts has welcomed the following new members to its board of directors: James Brown, LFUGC Council representative; Bishop Carter Elaine Allen; Sally Hamilton, Office of the Mayor; Ben Haydon, Goodwill Industries; Brad Keeton, Frost Brown Todd; Ron Mack, Legacy Equine Academy and Legacy Tours; and Roy Lee Wigginton, Maker’s Mark Distillery.
Lexington Christian Academy has named Brett Setzer as its new board chair.
Attorney Kami Griffith has relocated to Morgan Pottinger McGarvey’s Lexington office after joining the firm in Louisville in 2020.
Bank of the Bluegrass & Trust Co. has welcomed Kristina Carpenter-Miller to its financial center on Romany Road as a universal banker.
RD1 Spirits has announced that former University of Kentucky distilling researcher and instructor Jarrad Gollihue, PhD, will serve as the brand’s newly created role of research and development master distiller.
Southeastern Freight Lines recently announced the promotion of Cameron Crump to service center manager.
Lexington Sister Cities Commission has won the prestigious 2024 Sister Cities International Best Overall award, presented at the recent Sister Cities International Leadership Meetings and Annual Business Meeting. The Best Overall Award recognizes the outstanding work done by the Lexington Sister Cities Commission in advancing peopleto-people citizen diplomacy.
Republic Bank has been recognized by Louisville Business First in its 2024 Partners in Philanthropy awards. Republic is the only financial institution to be honored in the top 10 in the large company category of the Corporate Philanthropist Lists.
Commerce Lexington recently announced the following 2024 Salute to Small Business category award winners: Entrepreneur AwardMahan Multimedia; Nonprofit Community Impact Award - Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass; Minority Business AwardThe JCC Group; and the Business Success Award - ExecuTrain
For the 23rd consecutive year, Holly Hill & Co. has been honored for its outstanding wine program in Wine Spectator’s 2024 Restaurant Awards, which celebrate the world’s best restaurants for wine.
Mike Mangeot, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Tourism, has been named the 2024 State Tourism Director of the Year by his national peers. The award recognizes excellence in marketing, promotion, and individual leadership within the honoree’s state.
Listen Locally, LLC, a consulting, broadcast, and media group based in Lexington, was named the winner of a GOLD Stevie® Award in the Media and Entertainment Company of the Year category in The 21st Annual International Business Awards.®
Lexington Clinic orthopedic surgeon Ben Kibler has been named as the recipient of Kentucky Medical Association’s Community Service Award 2024 for his lifetime of dedication to Kentucky’s athletes.
Sarah Thrall, director of artistic operations of the Lexington Philharmonic is among an international cohort of 36 orchestra and arts professionals selected to participate in Essentials of Orchestra Management, the League of American Orchestras’ premier leadership development program on the campus of Julliard in New York City.
Awesome Inc, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, and Sustainable Business Ventures Corporation recently announced the 2024 Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame (KEHOF) inductees, presented by Chase. This year’s inductees include: Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, co-founder, CEO/President, Apellis Pharmaceuticals; Breck Jones, founder and CEO, US WorldMeds; Scott Smith and Sean Smith, cofounders - Castellan Group, Zelis, and HealthLink Dimensions; and
Michael Scanlon, principal, The Zenith Company, LLC.
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 97 of its lawyers are included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.® Those mentioned from its Lexington office were as follows: In the “Lawyer of the Year” category: Bruce M. Reynolds and Ashley W. Ward. In the Best Lawyers in America® category: Robert M. Beck, Jr.; W. Bradford Boone; Janet A. Craig; Daniel E. Danford; Brady W. Dunnigan; W. Blaine Early III; Kenneth J. Gish, Jr.; William T. Gorton III; Marshall R. Hixson; Ashley Owens Hopkins; Andrew R. Jacobs; J. Clarke Keller; David E. Longenecker; Charlotte Turner McCoy; Gregory P. Parsons; Bruce M. Reynolds; Walter S. Robertson; Cassidy R. Rosenthal; Stephen M. Ruschell; Warren D. Schickli; Adam M. Smith; and Emily Larish Startsman; Chrisandrea L. Turner; Ashley W. Ward; and Richard M. Wehrle. In the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America category: Joshua F. Barnette; Megan K. George; Katie M. Glass; Robin E. McGuffin; Drake W. Staples; Taylor J. Stuckey; and Alison M. Zeitlin
Omni Architects’ Teddi Hibberd, AIA, has been selected to participate in the AIA Kentucky 2024/25 Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program.
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) has announced the launch of Meadow Price, a modern net price calculator designed to provide students with an accurate and personalized estimate of their college expenses after financial aid. The net price calculator is available across all 16 KCTCS colleges. In other news, KCTCS president Ryan Quarles and Morehead State University President Jay Morgan renewed a 50% tuition discount agreement last week in support of professional development for their full-time employees. Beginning with the fall semester, any full-time KCTCS employee attending MSU and any full-time MSU employee attending a KCTCS college will receive a 50% tuition discount in any undergraduate or graduate program.
In June 2024, Blue Grass Airport experienced its busiest month ever in the airport’s history. A total of 157,715 passengers flew to and from Blue Grass Airport this past June, an increase of 18.5 percent from June 2023 and a 13 percent increase from the previous June record in 2019.
McBrayer PLLC, celebrates another year of growth and excellence in serving clients, with 50 attorneys recognized in the 2025 editions of Best Lawyers® in America and Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch. Best Lawyers 2025 recognition was awarded to Stephen G. Amato; Kenton L.
Ball; Jaron P. Blandford; Keeana Sajadi Boarman; James H. Frazier, III; David J. Guarnieri; Mary Estes Haggin; Lisa English Hinkle; Virginia L. Lawson; Douglas T. Logsdon; Robert E. Maclin, III; Anne-Tyler Morgan; Daniel Luke Morgan; W. Brent Rice; Christopher J. Shaughnessy; Zachary Webster; Luke A. Wingfield; Jon A. Woodall; Preston C. Worley; Brendan R. Yates; and Katherine K. Yunker in the firm’s Lexington office. Best Lawyers also honored David J. Guarnieri in the “Lawyer of the Year” category for Criminal Defense – General Practice.
Local construction company Dean Builds, known for high-profile projects such as Lexington’s new Gatton Park on the Town Branch, has announced its expansion with the opening of a new office in Louisville. Shawn Rankin will serve as director of Dean Builds’ Louisville office.
Lifepoint Central Kentucky hospitals (Bluegrass Community Hospital, Bourbon Community Hospital, Clark Regional Medical Center, and Georgetown Community Hospital) have partnered with Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) to host students for clinical rotations. This initiative, a part of LMU’s comprehensive curriculum, is designed to produce skilled physicians proficient in osteopathic principles.
Blue & Co., LLC, and Pioneer Technology, an IT solutions expert based in Chattanooga, TN, have announced the formation of a strategic joint venture under the name of Blue Pioneer Consulting.
Frontier Nursing University has been accepted into the AgeFriendly University Global Network, with a commitment to foster lifelong learning opportunities and promote active participation among older adults.
For the third year in a row, Energy Insurance Agency has been recognized by the Insurance Journal as one of the Top 100 Property/Casualty Agencies in the U.S.
Seven businesses, including five from Lexington, have been awarded the first Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp incentive grants designed to encourage agtech and food-based businesses to locate in Kentucky. Those from Lexington included: Parasight Systems, Inc.; RedLeaf Biologics; Lepidext, Inc.; Sunflower Fuels; and Spirited Biomaterials
Christian Nelson, operations manager at Blue Grass Airport, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Emerging Professional Award from the Great Lakes Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives. BL
BY CAMPBELL WOOD CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In July, the Bill Gatton Foundation donated $16 million to the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky. This significant contribution, made in honor of Barbara Barnstable Edelman, continues the late Bill Gatton’s legacy of support for the university.
The donation will create an endowed faculty fund in her name and bolster research efforts focused on diabetes treatment and cures while also advancing clinical care and education for the many Kentuckians affected by the disease. According to the center’s website, more than 440,000 adults in Kentucky have been diagnosed with diabetes, with an additional 280,000 diagnosed with prediabetes.
The Barnstable family founded the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center in 2008 with funds raised through the family’s annual Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Eve Gala in Louisville. Edelman’s twin sisters, Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable, along with their late mother, Wilma, created the annual party with the purpose of raising funds for the diabetes cause. They dedicated the center to the memory of Patricia’s late husband, David Brown, who passed away in 2003 from complications of diabetes.
Since its founding 35 years ago, the tradition has raised more than $20 million to advance diabetes research and care at UK Healthcare.
Edelman’s connection to Bill Gatton began through her legal career. Shortly after she and her husband, Ray Edelman, married, they both entered law school at UK. Edelman began her career in state government, working in the Special Prosecution Division before moving to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She later transitioned into private practice and, in 1997, joined seven colleagues in founding the Lexington office of Dinsmore & Shohl.
Edelman began representing Bill Gatton in his business interests. They quickly bonded over their shared love for the University of Kentucky and Wildcat basketball, developing a close friendship. Before his passing in 2022, Gatton expressed his desire to show his gratitude to Edelman for her efforts on his behalf.
“That this would be a gift from Mr. Gatton, who meant the world to me, and that it was something so important to my family — all the work that my sisters, my mother, and my family have done to do something to better the lives of people in Kentucky — it was pretty amazing,” Edelman said.
Business Lexington spoke with Edelman about Bill Gatton, their shared enthusiasm for the University of Kentucky and basketball, her family’s derby party, and her advice for young people becoming lawyers.
What were Bill Gatton’s strength as a businessman?
The thing that stands out the most about Mr. Gatton is how smart he was. He had a great memory and a steel-trap mind. He had the ability to retain information, process it and think progressively. He was impressive, even in his latter years when his health was failing.
For all the years that he had been in business, which were many years, he was regarded as being extremely ethical, doing the right thing and treating people right in his business dealings.
He had a strong work ethic. He grew up on a farm. When he was a young child, he set up a watermelon stand. He said he bought his first piece of property when he was 12 years old. He was an entrepreneurial spirit and had a knack for business, spotting a good deal and taking some risk.
I can’t be completely accurate about how he built his wealth. He got his start with a car dealership and expanded to other things. He was in real estate, banking and a number of other businesses.
Then he shifted a lot of his attention to philanthropy. This has been his legacy, and his No. 1 priority was education. He told me it’s the most important thing. It’s a way out for people. If you’re disadvantaged and you want to better your circumstances, you have to have an education and you have to be able to afford it. He felt it was his obligation to support the university in ways that would help students and help provide a better education for the people in the state of Kentucky.
For at least the past two decades, he has made substantial, critical contributions to the University of Kentucky. He made substantial contributions to the Business School, which was
renamed for him. He made a substantial donation to the rebuilding of the University Student Center. I think it was a $5 million donation he made to the university for scholarships for first-generation students. The most recent and the most astounding — a $100 million gift to the agriculture college at the University of Kentucky, made through his foundation.
And how about your connections to the university? My parents were both graduates of the University of Kentucky. My sisters were cheerleaders at UK, and graduates. My brother graduated from the university and he was a walk-on for the basketball team. My husband played basketball as a scholarship player for [Adolph] Rupp and Joe B. Hall. I had a sisterin-law who was one of the original scholarship players for the Lady Cats. I have three children, two of whom have
degrees from the University of Kentucky. So, we are a very strong University of Kentucky family!
Mr. Gatton and I really clicked. In one of our early meetings, we figured out that my father, who played for Adolph Rupp back in the ’40s, had appeared in a barnstorming tour — something the players would do off-season, traveling around the state. Mr. Gatton was about 12 years old when he went to an exhibition game in Owensboro and saw my dad play. That was a big deal for a young kid in Western Kentucky, to get to see the UK champions play. That was something we bonded over, and we always enjoyed talking about the upcoming games.
The Barbara B. Edelman Endowed Faculty Fund, created through a $16 million donation by the Gatton Foundation, will support chairs and professorships to expand research and clinical care at UK Healthcare’s Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center.
PHOTO FURNISHED
What can you tell us about the derby party? The gala is very exciting. There’s nothing else like it. It is held at my sister’s home, which is in Cherokee Park in Louisville. There are over 1,200 guests. It is set up inside her house, as well as in massive tents on the grounds and includes an atrium with a swimming pool. There’s a band we call the House Band. There’s a stage and a dance floor. Every year, my sister brings in well-known celebrities, and it has become a tradition that these celebrities, without rehearsing, will just get in the mood and take to the stage — there’s impromptu entertainment that will blow your mind. Some will sing duets, and maybe they’ve never even met before. You never know who’s going to get up there. One minute it’s DMC. The next minute, it’s Salt-N-Pepa. The next minute, it’s Smokey Robinson, then Travis Tritt takes the stage. Boyz II Men come every year. Miranda Lambert has performed. George Strait has performed. Usher. Janet Jackson. Josh Groban sang at the last one. They’re not paid. They’re interested in going to the derby. But they also — so many of them — have a connection to diabetes. It started out small. My sisters, who had been the Double Mint Twins, did acting and modeling in New York and L.A. They had Hollywood contacts and were able to attract some celebrities in the early days. It grew, and over the years became bigger and better, continuing to be very successful as a fundraiser.
What advice do you have for young people entering the legal profession? When first out of law school, you don’t know how to be a good lawyer, yet. All you’ve been taught in law school are the basics that come out of books. It’s going to take five, ten years or maybe longer to become a well-seasoned lawyer. Ask the advice of older, more experienced lawyers. Ask judges what they think of your performance. Take feedback from your clients. Sign up for courses from experts who know how to present cases in court or go observe other trials.
It’s a hard job. You can’t make the job easy. You must work at it. If you don’t love it, and if you’re not interested in doing all of that, if you just phone it in, chances are pretty good you’re not going to excel. BL
