MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR MARCH 27, 2015

From Ryan Craig

Executive Director

Logan County Chamber of Commerce

ryancraig@loganchamber.com

The amazing 105-year-old Nell Lawrence
and David Denham, owner
of Hometown Manor Assisted Living.

   I was able to speak with an amazing woman this week while out visiting Chamber member Hometown Manor Assisted Living in Russellville. Her name is Nell Lawrence and she will be 105 on March 29, but they had her party this past Wednesday. Nell is a life-long resident of Logan County and a HUGE University of Kentucky Basketball fan.

   The things this sharp-minded lady has seen in the span of her life is amazing. She remembers World Wars I and II. She recalled the first time she ever saw a car as a child – it was to carry her grandfather away to the funeral home. Her family had a horse and buggy and she didn’t own a car until she was married. She worked for a short while for the telephone company and for Red Cap for a while, but most of her time was spent out on her farm with her children and grandchildren. She told me that working with the ones you love makes life much sweeter and that is what she holds on to now.
   Nell’s family told me she was a master gardener as well and would have flowers that would put Martha Stewart to shame.
   Oh, and the secret to living to be 105?
   “Working hard, I enjoyed it,” she told me. “And, I would eat just about anything, but I especially like fried chicken.”
   So, there you have it. The secret to a long life is to love your family, work hard and enjoy your fried chicken.
   Here’s to 106, Mrs. Nell …

Ventra Plastics General Manager Ron Barbe shows the Leadership Logan class one of Ventra's many products.

LEADERSHIP LOGAN

   Due to the tremendous amount of snow which cancelled February’s class, I was just now able to meet and go with the Leadership Logan Class as they toured local factories during “Chamber and LEAD Day” Thursday. I think we have a wonderful group and I was impressed with their professionalism and questions as we toured together.
   A special thanks to those who allowed us to tour their facilities and were very gracious hosts. Thanks to the Russellville Electric Plant Board, General Products, Ventra Plastics and Logan Aluminum.
   There are two things I would encourage everyone who reads this: first, if you haven’t been a member of a Leadership Logan class, please consider joining the next one and second, if you get the opportunity to tour any of the places we visited Thursday, please do so. The tours are not only suitably impressive, they will help you understand how vast and successful our industry is here in Logan County.

LOGAN ALUMINIUM CONSIDERS EXPANSION

   Speaking of success, it was announced Thursday the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave preliminary approval for incentives to Logan Aluminum for a proposed $282 million expansion.
   According to an article in the Bowling Green Daily News, the company could create 188 jobs, which would pay an average of $50 an hour. The wages those jobs would create have qualified the company for a $5.2 million tax incentive over 10 years.
   The expansion would include $70 million in building improvements and $212 million in equipment purchases, The Daily News said. The company makes rolled aluminum for such things as can stock. The expansion would be to produce flat-rolled aluminum sheets for the automobile industry. Logan Aluminum has 1,072 employees, making it one of the largest employers in southeast Kentucky.
   We look forward to hearing more about this great news.

We had a great turnout for The Loft's ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.

 

RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE LOFT

   There was great food, fellowship and a wonderful ribbon-cutting welcoming The Loft into the local business community on Tuesday. The business, which is owned by Lisa Haley-Miller who also owns Creative Canvas by You, is Russellville’s newest event venue. It is gorgeous inside and would make a great place to hold almost any kind of event. Congrats to Lisa and here’s to the next time I can eat some of those baby quiches Lisa served … man, they were good!

MORE RIBBON CUTTINGS/EVENTS FORTHCOMING

   The great weather (i.e., no snow and/or ice) has brought forth a plethora of ribbon cuttings this month. Here are the ones scheduled, for now, in April:
    •       Brooks & Hendricks, PLLC – April 6 @ 9 a.m.
    •       Russellville Area Tech Center  – April 13 @ 10 a.m.
    •       Lewisburg Bank (Hopkinsville Road in Russellville location) – April 28 @ 7:30 a.m.
   We will also be having a Tea and Networking hour at Creekwood Nursing and Rehab Center on April 22 starting at noon.
   So there will be many, many activities for Chamber members in April. And, possibly, there will be even more events than these. April is shaping up to be a busy month, which is a good thing!

BUSINESS CARDS

   For those members who want a great, easy and free way to get noticed, bring your business cards by the Chamber office for us to put on our card holders in the lobby. I have only been at the Chamber for two months, but even with the terrible weather I’ve seen all sorts of people come in and take cards from the holder with them. We have several empty spots on our holder, so bring your cards by and we will put them up!

WRUS A SUCCESS

   Friday morning we had Chamber Vice-President Joe Hendricks and Board member King Simpson on our monthly program on WRUS 610 AM and had a great time learning more about the Library and Joe’s law practice. We also spoke a little about some information I shared in a previous post we were able to get with the TVA’s help about Logan County’s retail leakage. Thanks to former Chamber President Chris McGinnis for breaking down the math on what we, as Logan Countians, spend on food and drink outside of the county each year. The numbers tell us something we probably already knew. We spend more than $13 million a year on food and drink outside of Logan County. That is roughly $481 a person or $1925 a year for a family of four. That is an average.
   Stay tuned to this channel for more on our upcoming retail initiative.

DAYLIGHT COME AND ME WANT TO VISIT

   Also with the pretty weather you will see me out visiting more and more, but as I’ve offered before, if you want me to come see you soon rather than later drop me a line and I’ll be glad to come by as soon as possible.

   Thanks and let me leave you with an old wise saying to give you some Zen for the weekend: A bulldog can whip a skunk, but sometimes it is not worth it.

Ryan

In the future, should all children learn to code like we learned to type?

Why all Children should learn how to code.

Photo from www.dailydot.com

 

A great article from the Daily Dot.

http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/arkansas-coding-education-tech-children/?fb=kr

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR MARCH 23, 2015

From Ryan Craig

I move like a swan ...

Executive Director

Logan County Chamber of Commerce

ryancraig@loganchamber.com

   There was great food, great decorations, great music, great awards and, honestly some great dancing by yours truly during the little soiree you might heard about from last week. Let's just say that awesome wouldn't begin to describe the Chamber's Annual Dinner last Thursday night — as well as my dancing — and we will have a full report this week, but first we all need to make sure we are attending the ribbon cutting Tuesday, so we will start with that bit of news.

LOFT RIBBON CUTTING
   The Loft, Russellville's newest event venue — the logo says Urban/Rustic Environment for Entertainment — will be having a Chamber-hosted ribbon-cutting Tuesday (March 24) starting at noon. The facility is located at 280 E. 4th St. in Russellville. Lisa Haley-Miller — who also owns Creative Canvas by You and was responsible for the marvelous main decorations at the Annual Dinner — is the owner. Let's all come out and support Lisa and The Loft. Basically, be there or be a plane figure with four equal straight sides and four right angles!

The Annual Dinner Planning Committee

ANNUAL DINNER

   What can I say that hasn't been said about the Annual Dinner? Well, lots actually, but we have photographic evidence and those forthcoming pictures by Kristi Sweetsir Photography will be worth a couple thousand words, easy. Many thanks to the numerous sponsors, especially our Bourbon Street Sponsor Logan Aluminum; French Quarter Sponsor Carr, Riggs & Ingram; and our Garden District Sponsors BB&T, Therapeutic Pain Management and Creative Canvas by You/The Loft. Thanks to those who came out and decorated tables. Those who went with our Mardi Gras theme and ran with it. Also, and many have said this, Shane Hayes and Brent Summers should take their act on the road. There was great music by "Hear" who made me feel like I was in a New Orleans Jazz club. The food, by The Colonial Inn, was Gumbo-licious! I was able to speak with and meet a great number of the membership and the air of fellowship was tremendous. Thanks to Lisa Haley-Miller for the decorations and to the Russellville Rural Fire Department for helping us out with the parking. Also, to the crew who helped set up the room and the crew who helped take it all down, you guys are awesome.

   In case you weren't there, here are the winners of the awards:

Lisa Browning with Brent Summers.

• Volunteer of the Year: Darlene S. Gooch.
• Logan United Award: Logan County Good Samaritan.
• Teacher of the Year: Ann Seidler (Kay W. Wilkins Preschool at Stevenson Elementary School).
• Farm Family of the Year: Richard and Valarie Hughes Family.
• Small Business of the Year: Bouldin Roofing Company.
• Corporate Recognition: Gerald Printing.
• Milestone Award: Moore Insurance, Jesse Riley and Sons and the News-Democrat & Leader.
• A special award was given to former Executive Director Lisa Browning for her 23 years of service to the Logan County Chamber.
• Also honored were Maria Dickerson and Brian White, who were outgoing 2014 Board of Directors.
• 2014 Tobacco and Heritage Festival Chairman Sandra Kinser and Co-Chair Paige Dockins were also honored.

   Here is what one out-of-town member who goes to other chamber annual dinners in two states had to say about our little shindig:

 

   Just wanted to drop you a note telling you what a joy it was attending the Logan Chamber event last night.  We are members of Chambers in several counties and they could all take lessons from your folks on how to make the annual dinner memorable.  Thanks again.

   Look for a tremendous amount of photos on the Logan Chamber Facebook page this week. The Facebook page is located at https://www.facebook.com/logan.chamber.7

105TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

   Have you ever thought what would you want for your 105th birthday? Well, even if you have never wondered that, you can ask Ms. Nel, who will be celebrating five score and five years on Wednesday (March 25) at Hometown Manor assisted living community. The festivities will start around 10:30 a.m. and go through the lunch hour. Drop by if you have time and witness one of the oldest people in Kentucky (and probably one of the oldest in the USA) celebrate her big day. Hometown Manor is located on 108 Boyles Drive in Russellville right next to Creekwood Nursing Home.

MISSION STATEMENT
   In the last meeting of the Chamber Board of Directors, we streamlined the Mission Statement of the Chamber as one of the first steps of the upcoming Strategic Plan. So here is the new Mission Statement for the Chamber:
   Mission Statement: The mission of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce is to promote and develop strong businesses, and foster a more vibrant economy through leadership, education, governmental affairs, and community development, resulting in a better quality of life for all Logan Countians.

DAYMAR COLLEGE JOB FAIR 

  Daymar College will be hosting a job fair this Thursday (March 26) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. This will be an opportunity for those looking for work to network with local employers. For more information, I included the Daymar Job Fair flyer on a previous post on the blog. If you want to help Daymar with the job fair, call 270-726-8311.

WKU CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

   Leslie Witty, with WKU Career & Workforce Development, sent me a very nice letter recently and sent more information about the program, noting its "specialty is in soft-skill training — we offer trainings in areas like interpersonal communication, teambuilding, leadership, customer service and much more.  One course that’s been generating a lot of interest is our DiSC course in which people take self-assessments, learn about their behavior preferences (as well as the behavior styles of their co-workers) and then incorporate these into their specific workplaces. We offer courses as short as a few hours up to programs that run throughout the course of a year." For more information, look below this post for more information from Leslie Witty and WKU's Career & Workforce Development.

RETAIL RETENTION/RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

   Finally, we had a wonderful meeting last Friday with Melissa Halsell, the program manager for TVA Economic Development. Melissa was a fount of knowledge and was able to give us a good snapshot of the retail reality for Logan County. We are working with Melissa on the best approaches to gaining more retail for Logan County. For instance, Logan County "leaks" out Food and Drink dollars that surpass $13 million each year. That means Logan Countians spend that much money at places, restaurants in particular, that are not in Logan County. It is our job to see about getting Logan County in a position to get some of that money back and being spent inside our borders. Stay tuned for more announcements about our retail program!

   That is all for now; don't forget about our ribbon-cutting, birthday and job fair events this week! Hope to see you there!

Ryan

DAYMAR JOB FAIR MARCH 26!

WKU Career & Workforce Development

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY'S CAREER AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

 

   The Chamber received a nice email from Leslie Witty, the program manager at the Career and Workforce Development Division of Extended Learning and Outreach at Western Kentucky University, has sent some information familiarize the Chamber with the services the program offers to business and industry. 

   According to Leslie, WKU Career & Workforce Development’s specialty is in soft-skill training — we offer trainings in areas like interpersonal communication, teambuilding, leadership, customer service and much more.  One course that’s been generating a lot of interest is our DiSC course in which people take self-assessments, learn about their behavior preferences (as well as the behavior styles of their co-workers) and then incorporate these into their specific workplaces. We offer courses as short as a few hours up to programs that run throughout the course of a year. 
   As a former trainer in this department (I trained here for 13 years prior to stepping into my current position) I have personally seen how powerful these sessions can be—they can make huge differences in how people communicate, work together and the success of the company itself. For example, we have worked with Logan Aluminum for close to 15 years now, performing hundreds and hundreds of hours of trainings for them over the years and we continue to have a great working relationship with them. 
    "I would like to try to expand these offerings to more companies in Logan County," Leslie said. "I think there is tremendous opportunity and benefit to doing so and increasing awareness of exactly what we offer is the first step."
   Here is the program's website: www.wku.edu/cwd 

   In addition, Leslie said the program just partnered with EKU to offer a satellite branch for their OSHA safety classes and OSHA classes so that people can become authorized OSHA trainers for their company. 
   "Should you have any questions about any of these offerings, please do not hesitate to call or email me as I’d be happy to help in any way I can," she said.

   Here is Leslie's information should you want to contact her or Career and Workforce Development:

Leslie Witty

Program Manager, Career and Workforce Development

Division of Extended Learning and Outreach

Western Kentucky University

2355 Nashville Rd.

Bowling Green, KY 42101

270-745-1919

www.wku.edu/cwd

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR MARCH 13, 2015

From Ryan CraigExecutive Director

Logan County Chamber of Commerce

ryancraig@loganchamber.com

 

Of my many, many kinfolk who live in Logan County, it is always nice when I get to talk about some who are not facing incarceration. (Ha!)

Holly Goddard Jones

The family historian, the late, great Larry Craig, once claimed some distant kin was once tarred and feathered and then ran out on a rail. At least he was mostly tarred and feathered. He was a big guy, tar was short, and so they threw molasses on him so the feathers would stick. I don’t think that story is true, but with Larry you never knew.

My first cousin-in-law and Russellville native, Holly Goddard Jones, won a state award from Transylvania University for a novel that best represents rural Kentucky. Goddard Jones was selected for the award by famed Kentucky author Silas House. Her book, a mystery which is set in a thinly-veiled Russellville and Logan County, is called The Next Time You See Me and will make a great read to add to your list. Goddard Jones was also mentioned in the recent issue of Kentucky Monthly.

 

In this week’s newsletter I have much, much more to brag about.

ANNUAL DINNER IS UPON US

Cajun Spice and everything nice, fun with a hint of saffron, Mardi Gras and it’s a party, y'all!

Well, you get the badly written puns. It is time for our Annual Dinner and there will be a great deal of food, fun and fellowship, but if you don’t have your tickets, the time is drawing nigh. We need to do a head count for the food, so we need confirmation on if you are coming or not by Monday.

Also, and this hasn’t been mentioned, but we have a pretty well-known blues and jazz band as our entertainment this year. They are called “Hear.” Hear is led by Trey Farley, a Logan County native, and the band has been invited to play at national blues and jazz festivals, so we are in for a treat. And, yes, I’m going to say it … Here, Here for Hear. Sorry.

We will also have a debut of the new Tourism film. It is about six minutes long and a lot of people will see people and places they know in it. And, the National Anthem will be sung by a local group of students.

Assistant Director Amanda Baker said the Extension Office will be open Thursday, March 19, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for all table sponsors to set up and decorate their table for Annual Dinner.  Amanda will be there during that time to check everyone in and answer or address any needs or concerns.  Please make plans to have your table completed by 4:30 that afternoon, she said.  From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., the doors will be locked and access to the facility will not be granted due to the need to complete final preparations for the evening.

Amanda reminds us all that seats cannot be reserved prior to the 5:30 opening.  The only table reservations are for special guests and those tables will be marked.

We have a great list of sponsors that have worked hard to provide each and every guest with a special “welcome gift” at each place setting and every seat will offer a wonderful surprise.

The Grand Entrance will begin at 5:30 when the doors open and the program is scheduled to start around 7 p.m.

 

NEW VICE-PRESIDENT FOR CHAMBER

In a unanimous vote at the Board’s meeting on March 10, Joe Hendricks was named the new Vice-President of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce.

Joe Hendricks

 

Joe, who will be the President in 2016, is the son South Logan farmers, Joe Wayne and Cathie Hendricks, a native of Logan County, and graduate of Logan County High School.  A graduate of Berry College and the Georgia State University College of Law, Hendricks is licensed to practice law in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia and began practice in 1995 as an Assistant District Attorney in Georgia's Appalachian Judicial Circuit, entering private practice in the Atlanta Metro area after three successful years. Hendricks ran a solo firm there focusing on criminal, family, tort, business and bankruptcy law.

In 2004, he was elected District Attorney in the Appalachian Judicial Circuit and spent the next eight years running a highly regarded office, winning murder trials and successfully prosecuting corrupt public officials.

His trial performance and moral courage won respect statewide, and he was invited to work with the Judicial Qualifications Commission to remove unethical judges around the state.

Hendricks returned to Logan County in 2013 and practices in the areas of estate planning, probate and wills, criminal defense, family law and business law.
He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Logan County Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and is a Wealthcounsel member.

 

Joe is married to Kaye Hendricks, who is a teacher at Adairville School.  Their son, John is an Eighth Grader at Adairville Middle School.

A big congratulations to Joe, who has a passion for the place he lives, and will do a great job helping lead the Chamber.

 

COFFEE AND NETWORKING

We had a great time this morning (Friday, March 13) at the Coffee and Networking event at the Logan County Library. There was a good crowd despite the rain and there was great conversation. A great amount of kudos goes to King Simpson and his staff for the warm welcome and the very tasty food in their very impressive building.

RIBBON CUTTING COMING UP

We hope to have a good crowd and good weather for a ribbon cutting at noon on March 24 at The Loft, on 4^th Street. The Loft is an events rental facility and is owned by Lisa Haley-Miller. Make your plans now to be there to support this new business.

BROOKS SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIES FOR FOSTER CARE REFORM



We mentioned earlier in this newsletter about Joe Hendricks’ news, but his law partner Ami Brooks, with Brooks & Hendricks, PLLC, was an integral part of passing a bill in this year’s state General Assembly to help improve the rights of children in foster care.



Ami Brooks with former Speaker
of the Kentucky House, Jody Richards.

Brooks traveled to Frankfort on Feb. 25 to testify before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on the bill, which she wrote.

“This bill is a small portion of the changes I hope to see passed by our legislature in the near future to protect and preserve Kentucky families,” Brooks said. “I’d like to see a system in which the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, foster families, and families with children in state custody work together to solve the problems that have caused children to be removed from their parent's care. Focusing on the family as a whole is a key portion to protecting Kentucky’s children.”

The bill passed the Kentucky Senate on Monday, March 6th on a vote of 36-0 and then passed the Kentucky House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 11th with a vote of 98-0. The bill has been sent to Governor Steve Beshear for final approval. The Chamber congratulates Ami for her good work.

COMING NEXT WEEK

There is much more to discuss next week. Besides the coverage of the Annual Dinner, we will talk about even more upcoming ribbon cuttings, OSHA training through WKU, our updated mission statement and vision plan and retail development. With the upcoming pretty weather, it is now time to kick things up a couple notches (see how I worked in a New Orleans-themed reference there? BAM!).

So thanks for reading and I hope to see/meet many of you at the Annual Dinner next week!

Ryan

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR MARCH 6, 2015

From Ryan Craig

Executive Director

Logan County Chamber of Commerce

ryancraig@loganchamber.com

   Hello from Snowmageddon: The Sequel!

 

   There is a saying about Kentucky I’ve heard all my life (Does that make it an old saying?) that if you don’t like the weather in Kentucky, wait a couple days and it will change. With the forecast hovering near 70 degrees a week from now, I would think that we will all be sick, but at least we will be sick wearing short sleeves!
   With all of the bad weather, we had several meetings cancelled, so I’m going to focus mainly on some really important events coming up this week and next week.

ANNUAL DINNER
   The invitations have been sent out; we have had a good return so far, but don’t procrastinate on getting your tickets to this event. We will have great food (I repeat: no crawfish heads!), great music and will be showing the world premiere of a short film produced by students at Logan County High School for the Logan County Tourism Commission. I have previewed the film. It is about seven minutes long and is a great look at Logan County and all we have to offer. I think you will be proud of the students and their teacher.
   The Annual Dinner will be held at the Logan County Extension facility on March 19; doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the program will start around 7 p.m.

COFFEE AND NETWORKING
  Many thanks to King Simpson and the staff at the Logan County Library for sponsoring March’s Coffee and Networking event, which will be held this coming Friday (March 13) from 7 to 8 a.m. Be sure to come for caffeine, fun and fellowship and let’s try to have a good crowd from the membership to support our local library. By the way, my sons refer to the library as the “awesome” building with the books and I couldn’t agree more.

BOARD MEETING NEXT WEEK

   We are set to have a Chamber Board meeting next Tuesday. We have several items to discuss, but we will start the first few phases of our strategic plan in hopes to have a completed plan later this year. We will have more on the Mission Statement and the Vision Plan soon.

RILEY INSURANCE BUILDING
   We had a nice visit with Jim Riley earlier this week and he asked for me to pass along that there is now some space available in the Riley Insurance Building. The office space would make a perfect place for a professional service such as that of an accountant or a lawyer, etc., and if you, or anyone you know might be interested, then please call Mr. Riley at 270-725-0938.

MORE VISITS
   Before the latest round of the white stuff, I was able to visit several businesses in Logan County. Some were members and some were not, and we are hoping to have several upcoming ribbon cuttings as soon as we finally have some nice weather this spring.

   That is all for this week, and even though there will be some really (comparably) warm days ahead, don’t step on slush and expect a tiptoe through the tulips. I’m not saying this happened to me, but a “friend” I know was able to get through the snow last week without falling but might have went ankles up in a slush pile after most of the snow had melted.
   This “friend” may have landed bottom up in said slush pile. I was… I mean the “friend” was glad no one was watching.

Ryan