MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR JAN. 19, 2016

From Ryan Craig 
Executive Director
Logan County Chamber of Commerce
ryancraig@loganchamber.com

First, OUR AGRICULTURE APPRECIATION BREAKFAST IS JAN. 27 STARTING @ 7 A.M.! CALL 270-726-2206 OR EMAIL amanda@loganchamber.com and let us know if you are coming and how many you are bringing. We want a big crowd to celebrate Logan County and its producers.

To say we are excited about our upcoming Annual Agriculture Appreciation Breakfast is an understatement. First, there is food. Great food that will fill your belly on a cold January morn (that is, assuming it is cold since this winter who can tell if we need parkas or Bermuda shorts from day to day). Then, there is a great opportunity to gather together and network with the leaders in the Logan County Agriculture and Agribusiness community. Most of all, though, you want to be at our annual breakfast for one big, important reason — Warren Beeler, who it seems is now an even bigger deal than we thought he was and we thought he was a big deal to start with!

Beeler, just last Friday, was named as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy. Beeler has worked for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for the past 16 years, most recently as Director of Agriculture Policy.

“Warren is a respected agricultural leader known throughout the Commonwealth, and I am excited to have him as executive director of our office of agricultural policy,” Gov. Matt Bevin said in a press release. “The Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund is critical to the Commonwealth’s agriculture and rural economic development, and we are excited to have Warren leading this effort.”

The release also noted that Beeler is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and lives in Caneyville with his wife, DeeDee.

Beeler has also served as the state Director of Livestock Marketing, Director of the Shows and Fairs Division, and Livestock Marketing Specialist. Before joining the state Department of Agriculture, he served as an Agriculture Extension Specialist at the University of Kentucky where he helped develop the first on-farm testing program for swine in Kentucky.

Director Beeler will be speaking about “The Future of Kentucky Agriculture,” and you don’t want to miss it.

Also, the Logan County Cattlemen’s Association will be cooking steaks and The Colonial Inn will be providing the eggs and other fixins. Just typing that sentence makes me hungry!

Come join us on Jan. 27.

WEBB’S NEWEST CHAMBER MEMBER

It is with a happy heart (and a grateful stomach) that we welcome Webb’s Restaurant as our newest Chamber member. Webb’s is owned by a wonderful family and I had a wonderful visit the other day with Owner/Manager Lana Richardson. Lana even fed me some pie. It was ridiculously good.

Webb’s is located on 546 South Main Street in Lewisburg and offers what Lana calls “Country Cooking.” So go by and visit Webb’s, sit a spell and fill your belly. Webb’s aims to satisfy all your dining and catering needs, so call them at 270-755-5005. We will also be having a ribbon cutting on Feb. 12 starting at 7:30 a.m., so mark your calendars!

ANNUAL DINNER SPONSORS

By avoiding some serious problems with scheduling against a certain basketball team that better start scoring in the paint or will be heading to the NIT (but, I digress) we are having our Annual Dinner a little early this year. It will be on March 3 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Logan County Extension Center. The theme this year is “Spring Fling,” and it should be a hoot.

Right now, however, we are asking for overall sponsorships of the event and table sponsors for the night. We already have had several, and if you are interested, please contact us here at the Chamber and we will be glad to set you up. Coming very soon will be your invitations in the mail, so watch for those.

ANNUAL BOARD RETREAT

The Chamber Board of Directors met last week at its annual retreat and enjoyed some really great training by an expert in non-profit board training. Kudos to Amy Cloud, of the Jessamine County Chamber of Commerce, who helped us with some excellent insights and ideas to help make a stronger board and also a stronger chamber. We also welcomed new board members, Kathy Edmonds, Marie Gamble and Mandy Henley.

The board also set the calendar for 2016. It is as follows:

Board Meeting- 2^nd Tuesday of every month, 7AM.
               February- 9^th
               March- 8^th
               April- 12^th
               May- 10^th
               June- 14^th
               July- 12^th
               August- 9^th
               September- 13^th
               October- No meeting due to Festival
               November- 8^th
               December- 13^th
 
Leadership Logan- 3^rd Thursdays August-April, no December meetings
Youth Leadership- 3^rd Tuesdays September-April, no December meeting
Annual Agriculture Breakfast 2016- January 27, 7AM, Free
Annual Dinner 2016- March 3, doors open at 5:30, program starts at 6:30
Women in Business Luncheon 2016- August 16, Extension Office
Tobacco and Heritage Festival 2016- October 1-8
Chamber Christmas Open House- December 1, 7:30-9:00
—
That’s all for this week! Be sure you have stocked up on your bread and milk ahead of the big winter storm even if you didn’t need any in the first place! It is a rule for living in Kentucky.

Ryan

 

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR JAN. 11, 2016

From Ryan Craig 
Executive Director
Logan County Chamber of Commerce
ryancraig@loganchamber.com

We went out the front door of the Capitol in our Capital of Frankfort, and there was some sort of film, perhaps a brine mixture for the upcoming snow, on the brick right past the main arch. That is when my feet went north and my wallet (along with the rest of me) went south. Chamber President Joe Hendricks found himself in a precarious situation since at the moment of my descent, he was carrying a bag full of breakable gifts, including a big, beautiful souvenir plate that would have crashed much harder than I had it went down.

“Are you OK?” Joe asked me as I started to get back up.

“I suppose,” I said as I started back to my feet. “That is the strangest fall I’ve ever had. I just went down.”

Joe and I had a good laugh as we started — very slowly, and tip-toe (ish) to the gigantic mason rail to the side. About five tense minutes later, we were standing on grass trying to take pictures — and this is not a joke and really happened, so help me — of buzzards circling the dome of the Capitol.

Later, with my pride and where I landed on my wallet smarting, I proclaimed to Joe, “Well, I bet I’m not the first person to come to Frankfort and fall flat on my …”

KENTUCKY CHAMBER DAY

KENTUCKY CHAMBER DAY: From left, State Sen. Whitney Westerfield, Logan Chamber President Joe Hendricks,
State Rep. Martha Jane King, and Logan Chamber Executive Director Ryan Craig.

Joe and I were in Frankfort, and later Lexington, last Thursday for the Kentucky Chamber Day. We had a great meeting with our local legislations, State Rep. Martha Jane King and State Sen. Whitney Westerfield, and then were able to join about 1,500 other business and chamber leaders from across the state to hear rousing speeches from the new governor and Senate and House leaders. It was a great, very educational day, but like most things in Frankfort, what Joe and I learned could change faster than it takes a man in new shoes to bounce off the Capitol sidewalk!

CRI COFFEE AND NETWORKING

In our first big event of the year, there was a big crowd and it was very enjoyable to see all of our friends at Carr, Riggs and Ingram. There was a good amount of both coffee and networking at the event and thanks to CRI for getting the year off to such a good start. If your business would like to host a coffee and networking in 2016, please call us at the Chamber (270-726-2206).

CHAMBER AGRICULTURE BREAKFAST JAN. 27

 
ANNUAL DINNER SET FOR MARCH 3; SPONSORS NEEDED

We know with all the cold weather outside it doesn’t seem like it is time for Annual Dinner, but it is just a little over a month and a half away. This year the big event is themed “Spring Fling,” and it will be held March 3 with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and the program starting at 6:30 p.m. It will be a fancy picnic filled with music, awards and auctions (both silent and of the Brent Summers variety). Right now, however, we are looking for sponsors for both the Annual Dinner itself and for the tables. Expect much, much more information on the event in the coming days, and go ahead and save the date. Invitations should be in the mail very soon.

We checked and unless weather changes the date, there won’t be a University of Kentucky Basketball game that night!

WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS

Since our last newsletter before Christmas, we have had several new members to join. Hopefully for a couple of the members, there are ribbon-cuttings in the works. Be sure to visit our new members and tell them how proud we are to have them as part of our Chamber of Commerce.

·   Scott Waste - (877) 558-2579

·   Quality Tire and Alignment (new business) - 2297 Morgantown Rd, Russellville, KY - 270-717-1138

·    Superior Web Tech (new business) - 270-725-0222

·   Twisted Vapors - 270-847-5629

·    American Sustainable Pallets - 270-726-3632

BETHEL COLLEGE MARKER DEDICATION

Be sure to come out at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13 to witness a Kentucky Historical Highway Marker commemorating Bethel College. The marker will be unveiled in front of First Southern National Bank at 104 Bethel Street in Russellville.

“Bethel Shopping Center and the Bethel Dipper bear the Bethel name, but many residents do not know that the origin was a college whose campus occupied there long ago. The marker will summarize the history of the college for all to see,” local Historian Evelyn Richardson said to the News-Democrat & Leader.

NEW YEAR, NEW CHAMBER CHATS

Very soon we are going to start shooting more Chamber Chat episodes and we are going need more members to volunteer to tell about their businesses or group. It is fun and (mostly) painless. If you haven’t seen a Chamber Chat and would like to know just what the heck I’m talking about, then go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeq4_2_JRoI7VxCuPq2OJ4Q

That is all for this week. Thank you for your membership and supporting your Chamber!

Ryan