LEVI GLADSTEIN GOES TO BAT FOR ST. MATTHEWS BASEBALL WITH ANNUAL USED EQUIPMENT SALE
Joyous Singers Choral Group Celebrates 25 Years
Levi Gladstein Goes to Bat for St. Matthews Baseball With Annual Used Equipment Sale
PUBLISHER
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CLAY COOK
TRE' SEAN DURHAM
MELISSA GIBSON
GAVIN LAPAILLE
RENÉE LARR
HELEN E. MCKINNEY
MELISSA STALB JULIE YATES
Maker’s Mark’s New Master Distiller Blake Layfield
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WELL EQUIPPED
LEVI GLADSTEIN GOES TO BAT FOR ST. MATTHEWS BASEBALL WITH ANNUAL USED EQUIPMENT SALE
Whatever your place in an athlete’s lifeparent, grandparent, teammate or player - one thing remains the same. It can be expensive.
There are costs associated with athletics: enrollment, equipment, uniforms and more. Statistics show the average family pays around $1,000 per child per year for their primary sport, and travel teams can cost even more.
However, team sports are also known to have many positive benefits, including teaching life skills, social interactions, improving mental health and bringing communities closer together.
The St. Matthews Baseball program has watched the community come together in a unique way through a unique source in recent years.
Levi Gladstein, now a junior in high school, played in St. Matthews Baseball from the age of 4 until he aged out of the Majors at 12. Still, Levi’s mother, Heather, said he continued to grow within the
program in other ways.
“He got his first job as a scorekeeper and then the commissioner of the league suggested he umpire, so he went through the official junior umpire program with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association,” Heather said.
Levi remembers the days when he fell in love with baseball and continues to be involved in every way possible.
“I think it was a mix of starting off playing with my friends, and my dad was the coach,” Levi said. “I loved the game. I loved playing and also watched the pros on TV. I’m still very much connected and just enjoyed everything about it so much.”
Three years ago Levi had an idea.
“At first I thought I’d like to do something for the community, but I wasn’t sure what to do,” he said. “St. Matthews has done so much for me, I started thinking about what I could do for them that would work. Everything is so expensive when you figure
in the price of a baseball bat, gloves, cleats, etcetera. We have all this equipment that we don’t need or use anymore. I thought, ‘Let’s sell it at a reduced price.’ There’s a lot of people that could use that.”
Levi organized the first-ever Used Equipment Sale for the league, and will hold his fourth sale on March 2, in conjunction with the league’s tryout day. Funds raised benefit the league scholarship fund, and leftover equipment is donated to underprivileged leagues in and around Louisville.
As word has spread, people contact the Gladsteins or St. Matthews Baseball when they’re ready to part with old equipment. Levi arranges a pickup for the donation and on the day of the sale, tables are set up full of helmets, cleats, bats and more, for anyone to purchase what they need at a discounted cost.
“Nothing is more than $20,” Levi said. “I’ve heard people walk by and say they just bought this bat at the store for $150 and here it is for $15 or $20. I think people are
Writer / Melissa Stalb
Photography / Tre' Sean Durham of Supply Lab Media
really glad and appreciative of it.”
The first sale was extra special for Levi and cemented his desire to continue giving back to the sport he loves.
“There was a moment after I stopped playing baseball and I donated my helmet to the sale,” he said. “Halfway through the season I saw a kid wearing my helmet at a game and I was just really happy and super proud about that.”
Knowing that other young athletes are able to enjoy what he has for so many years has inspired Levi and his family to continue the sale. It’s safe to say his parents are proud too.
“He wasn’t told to volunteer,” Heather said. “This wasn’t part of a school program. The fact that he had compassion and a desire to do something to help the community made my husband and I very proud. He saw a need for something and created something that didn’t exist at the time.”
The project and event helped Levi not only feel great about helping young players, but also develop his own skills. Not many high school students have a handle on organization, communication, scheduling and more, as he works on the project yearround.
“Each year he has to find new resources and talk to new families,” Heather said. “We’re inspired by his perseverance and desire to keep doing it.”
Dan Cook has been the director of St. Matthews Baseball for one year and has served in other capacities in years prior. He’s known Levi since he was 7 or 8 and was
BELMONT VILLAGE — A LEADER IN MEMORY CARE PROGRAMMING
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If you think this program might benefit your loved one, don’t hesitate, contact Belmont Village St. Matthews today.
impressed by the idea.
“When you’re buying this equipment, the kids are growing and you have to get cleats every year, sometimes twice per year,” Cook said. “It can be very expensive and it’s great for anyone who needs it or simply wants to save some money. Two or three times a year we have a family that needs a scholarship or is looking for affordable equipment just so their child can participate.”
Though Levi and his parents anticipate running the used equipment sale through
his senior year, it’s likely that once he’s at college, he’ll naturally move on to other things. Cook has thought of other ways to continue the service and inspire other young people to carry on what Levi started.
“Levi has a younger brother in the eighth grade,” Cook said. “We’re hoping Judah takes up the torch, but there are a lot of schools in the area that require service hours for the kids. This would be a great way for them to give back to the community too.”
Today, Levi’s sport of choice is lacrosse.
He’s making plans for the future, looking at colleges that provide a good education and positive sports culture for his major in sports management or sports business.
“I can’t say enough good things about Levi and his family,” Cook said. “He’s an extremely responsible young man and just really impressive. He’s going to have a bright future.”
If you have baseball equipment to donate, email stmatthewsbaseballleague@gmail.com and Levi will schedule a pickup with you.
Mark of Excellence
MEET MAKER’S MARK’S NEW MASTER DISTILLER BLAKE LAYFIELD
Writer / Melissa Gibson
Photographer / Clay Cook
Maker’s Mark has recently announced its new master distiller, Blake Layfield, and he’s bringing a variety of education, experience and passion to the position.
Layfield holds a doctorate in food science from North Carolina State University and a general certificate in distilling from the Institute of Brewing & Distilling. He joined Suntory Global Spirits in 2019, and served as the senior director of innovation, blending and quality for Maker’s Mark for two and a half years.
He is also co-chair on the research committee of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and serves on the board of the James B. Beam Institute at the University of Kentucky.
It’s not every day that one earns their doctorate in food science. Layfield dove into
the chemistry, microbiology engineering and sensory sciences behind flavor, creation and more in college, but his interest in food science started as far back as he can remember.
“I used to spend a lot of time in the kitchen with my mom growing up,” he said. “I’d watch her make everything from sweet tea to pot roast to lasagna, and she was just a really good cook with all the good things that southern cooks use like butter and sugar. It led me to this fascination around why you enjoy certain foods and beverages, and I’ve always been interested in that question of how flavor is formed, how they come together, and how food and beverages create a memorable experience.”
Today Layfield resides in Louisville with his wife and two children. They enjoy taking walks with their dog at Veterans Memorial
Park, dining at BoomBozz Pizza as a family, and River House Louisville for date nights.
“We really enjoy Louisville,” he said. “My wife is the PTA president at the school and we’ve really just invested in the community. It’s been fabulous.”
Layfield’s new role as master distiller includes everything from enhancing quality to ensuring environmental sustainability and following the rich heritage Maker’s Mark founders have created.
“I think about it as protecting our past history or culture, as well as leveraging and understanding that history to influence our future,” Layfield said.
Maker’s Mark was recently named by Fast Company as one of the top 100 best workplaces for innovators across the
“I think about it as protecting our past history or culture, as well as leveraging and understanding that history to influence our future.”
— BLAKE LAYFIELD
globe, and top five best workplaces for sustainability.
The multigenerational company began with Bill Samuels Sr., the engineer and visionary for what would become Maker’s Mark premium bourbon, in 1953. He wanted to create something warm, approachable and inviting - something customers were proud to share with friends. It was his wife, Margie, who created the famous packaging, from the shape of the bottle to the look of the label and the signature red wax.
The legacy continues with Bill Samuels Jr. and Rob Samuels, and over time the family continued moving forward with innovation, flavors and sustainability on Star Hill Farm’s 1,000-acre property in Loretto, Kentucky.
“For us, everything starts with a taste and vision at Maker’s Mark,” Layfield said. “This
has always been a brand that innovates with purpose, so in 1953 Bill Samuels Sr. created his vision for really defined craft and premium bourbon that married substance and style.”
Samuels landed on the perfect combination of red winter wheat, pure limestone water and the perfect yeast strain, and the rest was history. For decades the Maker’s Mark Classic was their well-known product, but
in 2010 their portfolio began to expand. Layfield said Bill Samuels Jr. wanted to create his own recipe, Maker’s Mark 46, featuring a caramel and spice flavor with higher proof.
More products were developed, and in the past several years, Maker’s Mark has offered a variety of premium options.
From there, fans of the unique bourbon
company saw Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, Maker’s Mark 101, Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, Cellar Aged, and Private Selection, all benefiting from the company’s tried-and-true ways of creating taste, quality and legacy.
“It really set us off on our innovation path and now you see quite a wide variety from the classic 46 to Private Select,” Layfield said. “They all have one thing in common;
they start with a flavor vision, and how do we showcase the complexity that exists in our core product in different and unique ways? We’re not a brand that puts a bunch of stuff out, but when we do, we want it to be well-executed and stand the test of time.”
Every drop of Maker’s Mark comes from Star Hill Farm. It’s mashed, fermented, distilled in a barrel and rotated by hand, aged, and then bottled on-site. Every bottle is hand dipped, ensuring quality of preparation and taste with every purchase.
One of Layfield’s responsibilities in his new role is to ensure consistency in the quality of the existing portfolio.
“We are the world’s first and largest B Corp certified bourbon, which upholds our commitment to our community and the environment around us,” Layfield said. “We’re certified in regenerative agriculture where 86% of our grains are certified. You might say, ‘How does that influence
innovation?’ Think about bourbon as nature distilled, and it really comprises a few key elements: grain, water and yeast. How you manage those variables creates the huge diversity of products you see on the shelves today.”
The company team cares about its impact on the community, and has committed to creating processes that benefit the environment.
Their environmental work spearheaded by Rob Samuels, Layfield says, sets Maker’s Mark apart.
“We currently have the world’s largest American white oak research repository, and we have a 78-acre natural water sanctuary on the distillery grounds that protects our water soil for generations to come,” Layfield said. “We want to make great whiskey that looks good and tastes good, but we’re also committed to making a positive impact on society and the planet beyond financial gain.”
They’re supporting regenerative agriculture, improving soil health, reducing carbon emissions and using the grain grown on the farm to maximize flavor.
It’s a culture Layfield and others are grateful for. Ideas are welcome, the workplace atmosphere is positive, and employees work alongside the founding family.
“We are still led by the Samuels family and it’s actually one of my favorite parts about working at Maker’s Mark,” Layfield said. “You’ll always have these short-term pressures in order to deliver value to your stakeholders in the market, but having someone that has a real sense of the long-term purpose and a long-term vision for success for the brand, not just from a financial standpoint, but a brand that is iconic - it’s just such an impressive family to work for and a vision we can all really get behind.”
PAGES OF THE PAST
MICHAEL JONES SERVES UP SOME SOULFUL SOUNDS WITH LATEST BOOK
Writer / Helen E. McKinney
It took eight years, but it was worth the wait. Michael Jones is one of six authors who collaborated to pen “The Soulful Sounds of Derbytown”.
Jones said the book “is a celebration of black musicians and entertainers from Cato Watts, an enslaved fiddler that was one of the city’s first settlers, to Linkin’ Bridge.” He is also the book’s executive editor, as the only author who contributed to every section.
The additional authors are Ken Clay, Wilma Westfield Clayborn, Keith Clements, Gary Falk and Ron Lewis. They shared a dream
of producing and publishing this first-ever record of Louisville’s rich heritage of African American music and entertainment. All have spent their lives immersed in a variety of roles within many genres of music and entertainment in Louisville.
The book is separated into genres (gospel, jug band/string band, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues/rock/hip-hop, classical and dance, enablers, and venues). Each chapter starts with a historical essay and then short biographies of some notable people in the genre.
“The project started off as a photo
exhibition for black history month in 2016,” said Jones. One of the co-authors, Ken Clay, hosts an annual event at the Kentucky African American Heritage Center called “Celebrating the Legacy of Black Louisville”.
“In 2016 he decided to celebrate African American musicians and entertainers,” Jones said. “He gathered a group of people with connections in the Louisville music scene to collect photos from local musicians and the University of Louisville Photographic Archive made nice prints of them.”
The group put together a timeline around
the Heritage Center on the day of the event. Christy Brown saw it and suggested it become a book, Jones said. “She was kind enough to sponsor it,” he said. “We thought it would take us a year to complete, but the more we dug, the more we found. So eight years later, ‘The Soulful Sounds of Derbytown’ was born in March 2024.”
Jones said that “at 54, I was the youngest of the authors who worked on this book. My co-authors are all in their 70s and 80s. I felt like it was important to record this history before they and many other older musicians were gone. A lot of this information could have been lost without this project.”
Clay is a well-known music promoter and event organizer who began the Midnite Ramble at the Kentucky Center for the Arts and oversaw the music at WorldFest for several years. He is also co-author of “Two Centuries of Black Louisville”, which, Jones said, is a “kind of a companion piece to our book.”
Keith Clements, Gary Falk and Ron Lewis
were part of the group putting together the photo exhibit for “Celebrating the Legacy of Black Louisville”. Clements wrote a blues column for Louisville Music News for 17 years, and he is on the board of the Kentuckiana Blues Society. Falk owns Falk Audio and is a jazz musician who was in the house band at Joe’s Palm Room in the 1970s. Lewis is the owner of Mr. Wonderful Productions, and a prolific songwriter and guitarist in rhythm-and-blues bands.
“Wilma Clayborn joined us about two years into the project when we decided that we needed a gospel section,” he said. Clayborn and her late husband owned Grace Gospel Records, the first gospel record store and label in Louisville. Her grandson is Jason Clayborn, an awardwinning gospel singer.
Only Clay and Jones had previously published books. Jones was a book editor at the American Printing House Press before joining Biz First.
Michael Jones
Jones co-wrote the gospel chapter, wrote the jug band/string band section, and contributed biographies to all the other sections of the book. For the last two years of the project, he said “everything flowed through me. Our copy editor moved from Louisville to Portugal a few years ago, so I communicated with her by email and then I would go to each of my co-authors’ homes to get them to make the necessary changes.”
Jones spent his weekends interviewing musicians, writing last-minute biographies or searching through the archives of local black churches. He said that is where many African American musicians received their first training.
Jones said he loved learning about Bessie Allen while working on the book. She was the first black social worker in Louisville and she ran the Booker T. Washington Community Center at 9th and Magazine streets.
According to Jones, Allen started a
marching band to attract children to her nondenominational Bible school. She hired a jazz bandleader named Lockwood Lewis to lead the children’s band and teach them how to read music.
Bessie Allen never intended to produce professional musicians, but because of Lewis, the band produced some notable musicians: Helen Humes, who replaced Billie Holiday in Count Basie’s band; Dick Wells, a trombone player for Count Basie; and Jonah Jones, a cornet player in Lil’ Armstrong’s band (Louie Armstrong’s wife) and later a solo artist.
Jones said it was important to him to preserve Louisville’s black music because “no one else was doing it the way I thought it should be done. Historically, white writers were the main source of information about blues and jazz artists, and I felt like I brought a different perspective by being African American.”
As an example, he pointed out that jug bands were considered a novelty act, but he was able to trace the practice from Africa through the Caribbean to the United States. “Many enslaved musicians did not have actual instruments so they created sounds from homemade instruments, which is how we got the kazoo, based on an African horn, and the playing of bones,” Jokes said.
Jones said the biggest influence on his work is the book “Blues People” by LeRoi Jones. “I read it when I was a freshman at the University of Kentucky,” he said. “His thesis was that blues marked the beginning of African American culture because the children of enslaved Africans started singing about Georgia and Mississippi as home, rather than some place in Africa. He talked about an early form of black music between the African songs and the blues, but he never got specific about it. Being a journalist, I fell into a rabbit hole of research on black string band that has lasted 30 years.”
Jones said the idea of using music as a vehicle to examine social history “really stuck with me. At the time I read Jones’s book, I thought everything that could be written about the blues was already written. But then one day I walked into Underground Sounds in the Highlands and came across an import blues CD called “Clifford Hayes and the Jug Bands of Louisville”. It surprised him that all the musicians on the CD were African Americans. Jones had always identified jug band music with rural white groups like The Darlings on “The Andy Griffith Show”.
He wrote an article for LEO about jug bands that was included in his first book, “SecondHand Stories: 15 Portraits of Louisville”. He self-published the book in 2006 by selling his car. Two years later he received a call from The History Press. “They had been looking for someone to write a book about jug bands, and I knew more than anyone else they could find,” he said.
He published “Louisville Jug Music: From Earl McDonald to the National Jubilee” in 2014, and it won the Samuel Thomas Book Award from the Louisville Historical League. “The Soulful Sounds of Derbytown” is a continuation of the work he did on the jug band book. It won the 2024 Samuel Thomas Book Award.
He said that in many ways, “I feel like my mission is to write Kentucky back into the narrative of American popular music. Except for bluegrass, the state is rarely recognized for the notable musicians it has produced. The story is that jazz started in New Orleans and the blues started in Mississippi, but there was a continuum of culture along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Louisville got string bands and brass bands at the same time as New Orleans because we had musicians traveling back and forth on the steamboats.”
In 2019 Jones curated an exhibition at the Frazier History Museum on Kentucky
music, which focused on black and white musicians. He is also the economic development reporter for Biz First, writes for the African American Folklorist, and is involved with the National Jug Band Jubilee.
Jones has also worked on the oral history project “Unfair Housing”. The Metropolitan Housing Coalition hired him to interview people about housing discrimination and the interviews are available on the UofL Archives & Special Collections website.
Genealogy is a recent interest he has taken up. When working on the “Unfair Housing” project, he decided to interview his favorite aunt and learned a lot of new information about his family.
Jones is currently working on a history of the Russell neighborhood. It will be a little different from his other books, because he plans to incorporate some of his own family history into it.
FEBRUARY CROSSWORD PUZZLE
DOWN
1. Chain letters?
2. Sound at the door
3. Hi-fi component
4. Nerdy types
5. Goody two-shoes
6. Snitch
7. Did lunch, say
8. Stone worker
9. Allegro, in music
10. Battery fluid
11. Showroom model
16. Aquarium beauty
20. “That’s disgusting!”
21. It has its ups and downs
22. Still-life piece
23. Add to the pot
24. Buddhist priests
25. A comet, to the superstitious
28. Wired
30. Straddling, maybe
31. Hooded garment
32. Baby bouncer?
35. Dame Marsh of mystery
38. Cloak-and-dagger sort
42. Masterful
44. Stake drivers
45. Delicate, in a way
46. Board game or magazine
47. Bicolor sea predator
48. Beneath contempt
51. Dissenter’s word
52. Big shot
53. Canine command
54. “Malcolm X” director
55. Music to the cook’s ears
ACROSS
1. Buzzkill
5. Buggy for Brits
9. Furbys, once
Dog tag info
13. Pro ___
14. Pitching star
15. Chowhounds have big ones 17. Virtual citizen of PC gaming
18. It’s tapped
19. Better or best
21. Bakery supply
24. Marathon
26. Dominate, in sports lingo
27. Printer’s amount
29. Unrespected writer
33. “The best is ___ to come!”
34. Campaign creators
36. Freight weight
37. Metallurgist’s materials 39. Jets or Sharks, e.g.
Be outstanding?
41. Is worthwhile
43. Enough, and then some
Bridges in Hollywood 48. Itinerary part
Cause of inflation?
50. Covetously
56. Ozone hazard, for short
57. Jack and Jill’s burden
58. Stead
59. Congressional vote
60. Pound the keys
61. Check
Now That’s Harmony
JOYOUS SINGERS CHORAL GROUP CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
Music has an unparalleled ability to unite people, transcending barriers of age, race and language. For nearly 25 years, Joyous Singers, a choral group based on Louisville’s east side, has embodied this universal truth. Composed of primarily older adults, the group has touched countless lives through performances at senior living facilities, health communities and public concerts.
With a current roster of 31 dedicated members, Joyous Singers is led by passionate Music Director Mary Muse, and
accompanied on piano by Gloria Nimocks. Muse, a seasoned music educator with almost 30 years of experience, describes her work with the choir as more than just a professional endeavor; it’s a calling.
“Out of all the musical things I’ve done in my life, directing choirs is by far my favorite,” Muse says. “To me it almost feels like a ministry of sorts. I love being able to help the singers prepare their performances. I love connecting with them through music. It’s also great to provide joy for others through our performances.”
Joyous Singers was founded in 2000 by Clarese Fuller, who relocated to Louisville from Chicago, where she had previously directed a 60-person senior community choir. Over the years the group has been a creative outlet and a community for its members. However, like many organizations, Joyous Singers faced a significant challenge during the COVID pandemic, which led to a sharp decline in enrollment.
“One of our main goals going into our
25th anniversary is to rebuild our roster after we lost so many members during the pandemic,” Muse says. “We also want to make sure people understand that while we’re primarily a group of mature adults, we welcome new members of all ages.”
As a nonprofit organization, Joyous Singers operates on a modest budget, charging members a small fee to cover costs like sheet music. According to the group’s president, Rick Coalter, these expenses can quickly add up.
“Many people don’t know, but when you purchase sheet music, it’s almost $2 per piece,” Coalter says. “We have to buy 40 to 50 copies of four or five different songs for each concert, and while it might not seem like a lot, it quickly adds up. Our members pay dues, but we’ve also been looking at things like grants to help us with our growing costs.”
Recently, the group received a $1,000 Sparking Change Mini-Grant from the Community Foundation of Louisville, which provided some much-needed
Writer / Renée Larr
Mary Muse
financial relief. Coalter and the board are actively pursuing additional funding opportunities to ensure the group’s sustainability and growth.
Each year Joyous Singers hosts two public concerts: a spring performance in May and a December holiday concert. These events are a blend of traditional favorites and new selections. Muse is currently finalizing arrangements for the spring concert, which will explore the theme of love in its many forms: romantic love, familial love and love for one’s country.
“This year we performed some winter pieces, a few Hanukkah pieces, and then the rest were Christmas pieces in a variety of styles and genres,” Muse says. “For instance, we did ‘Sleigh Ride’, which is a standard, but also performed ‘Glow’, a fairly new piece for choral groups by Eric Whitacre.”
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For Coalter, who also performs with the choir, Joyous Singers is about more than music; it’s about fostering personal growth and community connection.
“The experience is rewarding in two different ways,” Coalter says. “We’re giving back to the community by performing for them and bringing joy into their lives. Our members are also continuously learning. They are learning how to sing correctly, learning how to read sheet music, understanding meter, and most important, learning how - working together - we can create some beautiful sounds. A favorite
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tradition is to make sure to stick around after our performances, especially at places like assisted-living facilities, and talk with the residents. Sometimes we share cookies or a snack. We don’t want to walk in, sing and just disappear. Those places can get a little lonely for residents, so we want to give them a friendly and warm experience.”
The singers practice once a week at Lyndon Baptist Church (8025 New La Grange Road) but are eager to expand their outreach. Coalter notes that while weekday morning rehearsals may pose a challenge for younger members, the choir is actively seeking new singers and volunteers to manage their social media and develop a website. Looking toward their 25th anniversary in 2025, the group aims to find new performance opportunities.
“We’re reimagining what we do,” Coalter says. “For example, we’d love to perform ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at baseball games, sing holiday songs at Christmas tree
lightings or sing patriotic songs at Civil War re-enactments. Our goal is to connect with a wider audience and spread the joy of music even further.”
Singer Lynn Slaughter learned about Joyous Singers from longtime member and friend Mike Thomas. She says the two previously sang together in their church choir. Unfortunately, their beloved choir director had to suddenly leave the group. Knowing she was eager to find another musical outlet, Thomas recommended she join Joyous Singers, a group he has sung with for several seasons. Slaughter says Thomas’s recommendation came at the perfect time, and that joining has been a wonderful experience.
“I’m a former professional dancer and dance educator who has always felt deeply connected to music,” Slaughter says. “Music was the reason I became a dancer. It made me want to move. Moreover, I love to sing. We have an inspiring musical director in Mary Muse, and Joyous Singers is a
wonderfully supportive, enthusiastic group of mature folks who share a love of music and singing.”
Slaughter says she would tell prospective members that Joyous Singers is an incredibly friendly and welcoming group. One of the unique aspects of the choir is the diverse repertoire and daytime schedule, which works well for those who prefer daytime activities. She says the group’s mission is not just deeply meaningful, but also impactful, providing entertainment and inspiring choral concerts in the Kentuckiana region. These performances bring joy to audiences who might otherwise have limited access to live choral events, and that’s a mission worth being part of.
Through their unwavering dedication to harmony, community and joy, the members continue to prove that music is a powerful force for good, bringing people together one note at a time and spreading joy in the community.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Two new communities give Louisville residents looking to downsize more options to find homes that fit their busy lifestyles.
The Courtyards at Curry Farms and The Courtyards at Oakland Hills, by Perfection Builders, each offer award-winning home layouts in neighborhoods where lifestyle is paramount.
With comfort, convenience and privacy as the highest priorities, both communities offer low-maintenance, luxury garden homes that provide features owners require and desire. Floor plans include zero steps at the front door and garage entries, a private outdoor courtyard and premium standard features. Potential residents can even add their own personal touch to truly make their dream house a home by choosing from a wide range of expertly selected design options and finishes.
Other perks include exclusive community amenities, such as a private clubhouse to gather with friends and family, an on-site fitness facility, a heated pool and pickleball courts. Perfection Builders’ Director of Regional Sales and Design Michelle
Heareth says these homes offer a unique living experience for residents.
“There are a lot of folks who live here who have homes in other states,” Heareth said. “What’s nice about what we build is our residents get a community neighborhood, which is unusual in Kentucky. They can gather in the clubhouse for events, and challenge each other in pickleball matches and various other activities. Their communities have a social committee that ensures activities are available for all interests, whether it be bunco, Bible studies for both men and women, or book club. With the HOA and its provided maintenance, they have a true lock-andleave lifestyle, freeing them to travel and enjoy their families. The average age in the communities is mid-60s. Our target market is the people who have already raised their family and are looking for a simpler life.”
residents can connect with the outdoors and their community, as Perfection Builders strives to do with all its properties.
Curry Farms is in the final phase of development and is located at 1900 Dressage Circle in eastern Jefferson County. Oakland Hills is the newer development, and is located at 12511 Oakland Hills Trail in the southeastern part of the county, right before the Bullitt County line. Each offers over 150 homesites for homes to be built, as well as quick-move-in homes for those who don’t want to wait on the building process.
While moving can be a stressful experience for everyone, Heareth said she and her team help make the process of choosing your home and finishes stress free.
Curry Farms and Oakland Hills are communities by Perfection Builders, a franchisee of Epcon Communities. Epcon is the brains behind the floor plans and community designs, and these communities are built throughout the country. The two locations in Louisville were chosen based on viability studies to determine where
“We provide a design center for our buyers,” she said. “Knowing this may be their last home, we want to ensure they can choose finishes they really love.”
Writer / Gavin LaPaille
AIR APPARENT
VANCE WALKER CHAMPIONS RADON MITIGATION THROUGH ADVOCACY
When Middletown resident Vance Walker’s family doctor developed lung cancer, the source or cause was a mystery for the nonsmoker, but when they found high levels of radon in his home, they had their answer.
It sparked Walker’s lifelong passion to spread the word to others about radon exposure, and he’s done so over the past several decades through his own small business and advocacy.
“Radon is a low-level radioactive gas and it’s the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking,” Walker said. “There’s no safe level
of exposure but there’s a threshold, so say you are exposed to four picocuries - pCi, the unit of measure for the rate of radioactive radon in the air - 16 hours a day; it’s the same as getting 200 chest X-rays that year.”
He’s never found a home register zero on a radon tester, but it’s safe to say homes registering at less than 2.0 pCi is average. Between 2.0 and 4.0 pCi is the equivalent to 100 chest X-rays per year or eight cigarettes per day, and a level above 4.0 pCi is equivalent to 200 chest X-rays per year or a pack of cigarettes a day, according to the Kentucky Association of Radon Professionals.
You can’t taste, smell or see it, and it just so happens that Louisville-area soil is saturated with it.
Radon comes from a variety of minerals in uranium-bearing rocks. It’s most commonly found in black shale and the large shale belt spanning from New Albany, Indiana, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, making the Louisville area a hot spot.
Walker has even participated in experiments at a local middle school science fair.
“I had a buddy whose daughter wanted to learn more about this and we went out and collected samples of sandstone, limestone, soil and shale, and we put a 2-inch sample in the bottom of a drywall bucket with a radon tester inside,” Walker said. “All of the samples were very low except for the shale. It was at 70 pCi, just from 2 inches on the bottom of a bucket. That gives you an idea of how high it is.”
Walker launched Radon Management of Kentucky, Inc. in 1986, shortly after learning about his doctor’s diagnosis and the reason behind it.
He was trained by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Senior Scientists A.B. Craig and Paul Wagner as a part of the EPA’s radon proficiency program.
His mitigation company helps residents identify areas of high radon exposure, and offer solutions to reduce or eliminate the dangerous toxins in the home.
Writer / Melissa Gibson
Vance Walker
“It’s a system that creates negative pressure relative to the air pressure in the soil,” Walker said. “Soil gases are drawn into the building with this chimney or stack effect, and things in our homes add to that, like exhaust fans and clothes dryers. The home literally sucks the gas up out of the ground.”
Walker can overcome that natural pressure in the home through a series of drilling and piping, releasing the negative pressure in the home and reducing the amount of radon exposure. However, there are ways residents can start the process to see if there is a problem to begin with.
“You can buy test kits online or at a hardware store,” Walker said. “There are short-term tests homeowners can do themselves and those take two to seven days. There are also long-term test kits that can be used for 90 days to a year. If it comes back between four and 10 picocuries, you should do another test to confirm it and then call a mitigation company.”
The real estate market has adopted shortterm testing for their inspections, requiring a repair during real estate transactions.
Construction contractors have developed radon-resistant techniques on new-home builds to help mitigate future exposure.
Still, Walker has worked with numerous clients who have found the issue after a lung cancer diagnosis.
“There was a guy who brought national attention,” Walker said. “He worked at a tire plant in Pennsylvania and he kept setting off the radiation monitor when he went in to work. No one else set it off and when he went home, he didn’t set it off. A couple of
days of this and they realized that his home had an abnormal amount of radon and he was literally carrying it around with him.”
Think of it as tiny particles in the air we’re breathing in all of the time. Walking around outdoors, you might be exposed to 0.5 pCi, but constant and concentrated exposure in a home or workplace is where the damage is done.
As the information becomes more widespread and residents become aware of the potential risks, the local government has established protocols to help mitigate the issue.
Walker sits on the Kentucky Radon Safety Board, appointed by Governor Andy Beshear. They are working on a variety of programs to help residents.
“We have a licensing program and outreach program,” Walker said. “We’re working on getting licensing established for contractors
NOW THERE ARE 3
LOU LOU’S TO LOVE!
This Creole Champion of St. Matthews, Lou Lou Food & Drink has thrived for years by delivering Louisville’s Louisiana connection in culinary delight. The New Orleans vibe is also alive at Lou Lou on Market.
The Lou Lou tradition continues in Middletown with our new location.
like myself so they have to be certified. We want those mitigating to have a permit.”
It’s important for residents to know the person they’ve hired to mitigate the problem has been educated and licensed to do the work.
They also want to spread the word, specifically in rural areas where residents may not have heard about the problem.
“We’re working on outreach to simply
inform the public about the dangers, and we have a program for free short-term test kits,” Walker said.
Walker has shared the information with a variety of residents - those who panic and want to get their home tested immediately, and those who shrug it off and don’t feel the risk is important.
Regardless of how one feels about it, the result is an easy fix and awareness is the key.
“Years ago I worked for a guy, Dr. Salem George,” Walker said. “He was the nicest man and when we were done working on a project, he said, ‘This is kind of like seatbelts. It may or may not make a difference, but it’s not worth taking the risk to find out.’”
Visit radonmgtky.com and epa.gov to learn more.
AROUND THE COMMUNITY, 2025
LOUISVILLE AREA EVENTS
1
LOUISVILLE ZOO KROGER WILD WINTER DAYS AND DARE TO CARE FOOD DRIVE
Louisville Zoo, 1100 Trevilian Way
10AM - 5PM
Now through February 28, your Louisville Zoo is teaming up with Kroger for our Wild Winter Days program. louisvillezoo.org
SHRINE CIRCUS
Broadbent Arena, 937 Phillips Lane 2PM
6
BLACK CYCLISTS: THE RACE FOR INCLUSION
Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd St. 6 - 7PM
Cycling emerged as a sport in the late 1870s, and from the beginning, black Americans rode alongside and raced against white competitors. filsonhistorical.org
7
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA
The Ogle Center at IU Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Rd. 7:30PM
NightLite’s series “Time For Three”. Teddy Abrams, conductor.
12
NATIONAL FARM MACHINERY SHOW CHAMPIONSHIP TRACTOR PULL
Freedom Hall, 937 Phillips Lane at Freedom Way
High-octane intensity explodes into Freedom Hall during the evenings of the National Farm Machinery Show as pulling trucks and tractors battle it out at the Championship Tractor Pull.
14
DIRTY DANCING IN CONCERT
Louisville Palace, 625 S. 4th St. 8PM
Doors open at 7PM. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. Everyone, regardless of age including babes in arms, must purchase a ticket.
14
TRAE CROWDER
Kentucky Center for the Arts, 501 W. Main St. 8PM
Get tickets: https://bit.ly/TraeCrowderLOU
Research shows that play is essential for your child’s development. It sparks curiosity, boosts motivation, and nurtures creativity. Through play, children explore, experiment, and develop key cognitive and emotional skills for lifelong success.
Join us at Providence CCPS to see how our professionally facilitated, play-based program for infants to prekindergarten can unlock your child’s full potential.
Call 502-267-4249 to schedule a tour or visit www.providenceccps.com to learn more.
18
FILM SCREENING - “SECRETS OF THE DEAD: THE CIVIL WAR’S LOST MASSACRE”
Muhammad Ali Center 6 - 7:30PM
This event is produced in partnership with KET, the Muhammad Ali Center and the Shelby County Historical Society. This program is free to the public and registration is required. filsonhistorical.org
19
“RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK”
Louisville Palace, 625 S. 4th St. 7:30 - 10:30PM
Embark on an epic adventure like never before with “Raiders of the Lost Ark” on February 19 at the iconic Louisville Palace. louisvilleorchestra.org
22
DECADES: BACK TO THE ‘80S
Louisville Palace, 625 S. 4th St. 7:30 - 10:30PM
Prepare to travel back in time to the ‘80s with Decades: Back to the ’80s on February 22, 2025, at the historic Louisville Palace. louisvilleorchestra.org
LOUISVILLE POLAR PLUNGE
Main Event, 12500 Sycamore Station Pl. 9AM - 2PM
Whether you are brave or bonkers, we’ll take it, as long as you are #FreezinforaReason. louisvilleplunge.com
25
DR. NEIL DEGRASSE
TYSON: SEARCH FOR LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
Louisville Palace, 625 S. 4th St.
7:30PM
Doors open at 6:30PM. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. Everyone, regardless of age including babes in arms, must purchase a ticket.
26
GROWN-UP STORYTIME 502
West Sixth NuLu, 817 E. Market St., Suite 101 7 - 8:30PM
Submit a written story to be read over beers at this monthly event.
Cheers to MT
TIM LAIRD CREATES SIGNATURE COCKTAIL FOR MIDDLETOWN
Writer / Julie Yates
The City of Middletown, known for its charming downtown and historic architecture, has something new to brag about. It now has a signature cocktail bearing its name - the Middletown Martini. The specialty drink is comprised of ingredients that embody the essence and spirit of the area.
“When the Middletown Chamber was getting ready to celebrate their 10-year birthday, the creation of a chamber drink came to my mind,” says Laura Wright, executive director of the Middletown Chamber. “A cocktail exclusive to the Middletown Chamber was an idea that no other chamber, to my knowledge, had
created. Hence, the Middletown Martini was created by Tim Laird, who is an authority on wines and spirits with more than 25 years’ experience as the chief entertaining officer of Brown-Forman, a major producer of fine wines and spirits in Louisville, Kentucky.”
Now retired from Brown-Forman, Laird has not slowed down. Besides continuing to do appearances on behalf of several brands, he also volunteers his time to promote the city and philanthropic causes. He has authored three books including “That’s Entertaining! with Tim Laird”, “That’s Entertaining! Cocktails and Appetizers” and “The Bourbon Country Cookbook” with
co-author David Danielson. In addition, he hosts a weekly television show, “Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs”.
“Creating a great cocktail is all about getting the right balance; you don’t want it too sweet or too dry,” he says. “An example would be the old fashioned, and that’s why old cocktails are coming back. If you like a certain ingredient, go with that. Properly measure, but experiment. Keep testing and trying to get the right proportions. If you take a sip and it invites you to take another, you have a good cocktail.”
Laird says he develops cocktails in his “libation lab,” which is his kitchen, and his wife, Lori Laird, tastes and critiques his creations. For the Middletown Martini, which is loosely based on a French Martini, he knew he wanted to use bourbon, but still wanted it to appeal to people who aren’t bourbon drinkers. When his wife liked his final creation, he knew he had achieved his goal.
“This martini represents Middletown, Jefferson County and the state of Kentucky’s French heritage,” he says. “The pineapple represents welcome, and so pineapple juice is included since Middletown is welcoming to all. There is also a bit of cranberry juice for balance. It had to be bourbon-centric. Middletown is in Jefferson County, so Jefferson’s Bourbon is used. Another ingredient is the black raspberry French liqueur, Chambord.”
“It’s meant to be made in a shaker and shaken vigorously because Middletown likes to shake things up,” he continues. “The pineapple juice makes it foamy on top, and when you take a sip it’s just perfect. It’s nice and refreshing even if you aren’t usually a bourbon drinker. When I did a demonstration for the Middletown Chamber, they said, ‘Wow, that’s it!’ I got
Middletown Martini
INGREDIENTS
1½ ounces Jefferson’s Bourbon ½ ounce Chambord
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce cranberry juice
DIRECTIONS
Place ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into martini glass. Garnish with blackberry or pineapple wedge.
their approval and I knew we had a winner.”
Laird enjoys teaching audiences around the world how to make entertaining fun and easy, and how to make delicious cocktails. He has been featured on just about every major television network in the United States. The Middletown Martini isn’t the first specialty drink he has developed. He is also the creator of the Oaks Lily, the secondbest seller at the Churchill Downs Derby week after the mint julep. The Oaks Lily is the official cocktail of the Kentucky Oaks horse race, which takes place the day before the Kentucky Derby.
Now that he is retired, Laird feels he is at a great point to give back to the city and the surrounding area. He volunteers his time cohosting “Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs”. Every week the chef of an independent restaurant is featured, and it can be viewed on five channels throughout the state.
“The premise is that the chef of the
restaurant featured shares his secrets so people can make the recipes at home,” he says. “But the real secret is that it makes people want to go to that restaurant. People go to the same places out of habit. Once they see a chef of a restaurant serving its food, it becomes a place they want to go.”
Laird’s go-to advice for entertaining is enjoy it, and don’t stress. He feels the secret is to plan and make a timeline. Do as much as possible ahead of time and check off tasks as preparation is done for an event. An easyto-prepare cocktail such as the Middletown Martini makes hosting enjoyable.
“The Middletown Martini will be on the menu at cafe Lou Lou, which is on Shelbyville Road,” Laird says. “It would pair well with anything tropical, or salads. Sweet and floral offsets spicy, and it would be perfect for something spicy and balance it out. The Middletown Martini is fun for the city.”
Tim Laird
For advertising information, contact:
COREY BOSTON
corey@townepost.com (502) 407-0185
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