The

® LaneKENTUCKY’S BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE Report FOR 27 YEARS APRIL 2012 $4.50 $11.3 BILLION lanereport.com On The Road to Growth ’s $11.3 billion travel and tourism LANE ONE-ON-ONE: industry has a ‘unique’ plan to meet pent up demand. MARY PAT REGAN Page 20 President, AT&T Kentucky

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April Lane 1-18.indd 1 4/9/12 9:47 AM APRIL LThe ane Report 2012 Kentucky’s Business News Source For 27 Years Volume 27 Number 4

20 COVER STORY ON THE ROAD TO GROWTH Kentucky’s $11 billion travel and tourism industry has a ‘unique’ plan to meet pent up demand 24 AVOIDING FUTURE SHOCK With utilities’ help, Kentucky business and industry invest in energy efficiency to keep costs competitive 26 AN INVESTMENT WITH A YIELD For those spending more than $60,000 annually on power, efficiency upgrades look like a wise strategy 28 COST COMPETITION FOR CARE PROVIDERS Kentucky firm markets software tool allowing price comparisons for healthcare bargain hunters 30 ‘AN EXTENDED BOTTOM’ Kentucky construction contractors compete hard for jobs; manufacturing, multi-family housing show improvement 32 AMERICA’S BEST-RUN BANK? Steady growth and a conservative approach lead Republic Bancorp to the top of a national listing

Departments 4 Perspective 35 The Lane List 6 Fast Lane 36 Spotlight on the Arts 12 Interstate Lane 38 Exploring Kentucky $ 13 Kentucky Intelligencer 40 Prep Line 11.3 14 On the Boards 42 Passing Lane 15 Corporate Moves 44 Kentucky People BNILLIO 16 Lane One-on-One: Mary Pat Regan Kentucky President, AT&T

cover art.indd 1 4/6/12 2:58 PM On the Cover lanereport.com Kentucky’s travel and tourism industry Kentucky Business News Online had an estimated economic impact of Read current and archived copies of The Lane Report, $11.3 billion in 2010., and 2011 is believed Market Review, BG – A way of life, Next – Your Future After to have been better. A mild winter High School in Kentucky, Health Kentucky, Prep Magazine, resulted in what state officials say were the special reports, white papers and community profiles. best three-month period in history. (Lane Report photo illustration) Faster Lane Email news bulletin Three or more times a week, the editors of The Lane Report publish the Faster Lane email bulletin of fast breaking and important business and economic news from across Kentucky. Visit lanereport.com to sign-up for this free, must-have, at-your-fingertips news service.

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April Lane 1-18.indd 3 4/9/12 9:47 AM The PERSPECTIVE Lane Report ® Kentucky’s Business News Source for 27 Years

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mark Green Elected officials often yield to the ASSOCIATE EDITOR FACING REALITY Karen Baird demands of union contracts that the States must address issue of government cannot afford. One impor- CREATIVE DIRECTOR tant reason is that union officials funnel Jessica Merriman collective bargaining reform a large portion of compulsory union CORRESPONDENTS dues and fees (often collected for them Amanda Arnold; Rena Baer; BY PAT FREIBERT by the government) into efforts to influ- Katherine Tandy Brown; Patrice Bucciarelli; Shannon Leonard Clinton; ence elections. Thus, many elected offi- Anne Charles Doolin; Debra Gibson; cials fear angering unions even in the Susan Gosselin; Robert Hadley; HE circus in Wisconsin’s state Cap- face of critical financial shortfalls. This Anne Sabatino Hardy; Feoshia Henderson; itol last summer, with its profane helps explain why states with the heavi- Kara Keeton; Meredith Lane; Abby Laub; and obscene signs and threatening est tax burdens and worst long-term Nancy Miller; Greg Paeth; Eddie Sheridan; Tbehavior from unionized public debts, often due to bloated public Mariam Williams; Gary Wollenhaupt employees, begs an analysis by hard- employee pension funds and benefits, SYNDICATED COLUMNS working citizens and overtaxed voters. are those with the most unionized work- Creators Syndicate Thousands of unionized government forces. In many cases, it truly is the “tail DESIGN workers (some bused in from wagging the dog,” with union negotia- Stone Advisory and Nevada) descended on Wisconsin’s tors basically setting budgets and fiscal

PRINTING, OUTPUT & PRE-PRESS SERVICES Capitol to protest proposed collective policies. When there are insufficient Publishers Printing Co. bargaining reforms designed to limit funds to meet union demands, unions ■ government costs. push for tax increases. In the face of a two-year state deficit Too often, the union leaders act as PUBLISHER Ed Lane of $3.6 billion, the proposed the dominant partner in negotiations that state employees begin to pay while the elected officials act as hired ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Dick Kelly something into their own pension and help. A number of mayors and governors Donna Hodsdon health insurance plans just as most of around the country are working hard to their private-sector neighbors do. The solve the problems of union contracts CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Steve Rohlfing, CPA reforms were approved by lawmakers containing unaffordable and costly sala- and signed into law by the governor. ries and benefits, from Republican Gov. COMPTROLLER Big Labor then mounted a bare- Chris Christy of New Jersey to Demo- Alma Kajtazovic knuckle attack on the governor in the cratic Gov. Jerry Brown of California. CIRCULATION form of a recall election. In New Jersey, Christy, a Republican, P&B Services The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and state Senate President Stephen Swee- WEB MARKETING & PUBLISHING summed up the results of the enacted ney, a liberal Democrat, have offered use- WebMedley reforms this way: “The governor did bal- ful examples for states. These two leaders IT SERVICES ance the budget … reduce the struc- pushed through the legislature require- NetGain Technologies tural deficit significantly … put a lid on ments for public workers to begin con- property tax increases; he did give tributing to their health insurance and Lane Communications Group schools and municipalities more con- increased their contributions to their is a member of trol over their budgets.” The analysis pensions. Senate President Sweeney is sounds like a good report card, espe- also a leader of the state’s ironworkers. cially coming from a newspaper that He realized that New Jersey had to get a had opposed the governor’s efforts. handle on its gold-plated pay and bene- The Lane Report is published monthly by: While Kentuckians would not desire fits to state employees or the private sec- Lane Communications Group the protests and trashing of the state tor, which hires people like ironworkers, 201 East Main Street 14th Floor Capitol as occurred in Wisconsin, we would be squeezed out. Lexington, KY 40507-2003 know that reform must come. In Wis- Courage from elected officials will [email protected] consin, teachers abandoned students be essential to the task of changing the For more information and and classrooms for weeks and a group paradigm on how public-employee advertising rates contact: PHONE: 859-244-3500 of state senators fled to Illinois to union contracts are handled. Costs escape voting on the reforms and must be controlled in the budget with- The annual subscription rate is $29. thwart majority rule. out constant tax increases. Many, many (Kentucky residents add $1.74 sales tax.) Wisconsin is not unique and its cri- fine and devoted people employed by Newsstand price is $4.50. sis is not an isolated case. If public-sec- government work hard, are good at Send check or money order to: tor collective bargaining is not what they do and deserve good Circulation Manager reformed, other cities and states incomes and benefits. Their wage and The Lane Report benefit packages should compare 201 East Main Street 14th Floor strapped for money from overspend- Lexington, Kentucky 40507-2003 ing and over-promising may expect the favorably with private-sector packages, and with comparable costs to the The Lane Report corrects all significant errors that same type of scenario to show up in are brought to the editors’ attention. their city halls and state capitols. In an worker and employer. ■ economy dominated by long-term © 2012 Lane Communications Group unemployment and general decline, All editorial material is fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without prior permission. America can no longer afford to have Pat Freibert is a former Kentucky state taxing and spending decisions made by representative from Lexington. She can be reached at [email protected]. public-sector union contracts without effective opposing argument.

4 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

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April Lane 1-18.indd 5 4/9/12 9:47 AM FAST LANE A compilation of economic news from across Kentucky

ERLANGER: DHL TO HIRE 280 TO OPERATE NEW $47M SORT LEXINGTON: LEXMARK ADDS FACILITY AT CVG’S EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL HUB TO SOFTWARE BUSINESS BY BUYING THREE COMPANIES HL is investing $47 million to expand its Americas hub facility is forging at the Cincinnati/Northern EXMARK International ahead with its strategy to expand its DKentucky Airport (CVG) to meet the presence in software, investing a growing demand of international ship- Ltotal of $212 million to acquire three ping customers. software companies. A groundbreaking ceremony was , held on March 14 for the project, Brainware Inc. ISYS Search Soft- and will all be inte- which will entail building a new ware Nolij Corp. grated into , a 193,000-s.f. sort facility that will be Perceptive Software stand-alone business within Lexmark. connected to the existing main sort Brainware CEO Carl Mergele, ISYS CEO facility at CVG. The new building is DHL executives joined state and local officials last month Scott Coles and Nolij President John expected to be operational by Novem- to celebrate DHL’s $47 million expansion of its Americas Collins will all report directly to Scott ber while other improvements to exist- Hub at Cincinnati /Northern Kentucky Airport. Pictured Coons, president and CEO of Perceptive are (l-r) Dan Tobergte, president/CEO, NKY Tri-ED; ing buildings and the purchase of and a vice president of Lexmark. Travis Cobb, vice president of DHL Americas Hubs, material handling equipment will be Gateways and Network Control; Lt. Gov. Jerry completed by March 2013. Abramson; Candace McGraw, CVG CEO; Stephen The expansion is expected to cre- Fenwick, CEO DHL Express Americas; Gov. Steve ate approximately 280 new jobs over Beshear; Ken Allen, global CEO, DHL Express; Mike Parra, senior vice president - network operations, DHL the next 12 months. The CVG hub connects the United Americas; Charlie Dobbie, executive vice president - Virginia-based Brainware has an intelli- States to a global network spanning global network operations, Aviation & IT, DHL Express; gent data capture platform, Brainware Dis- Asia, Europe and the Americas. Pro- and Mark Mallory, mayor of Cincinnati. tiller, that extracts information from paper cessing more than 2 million interna- and electronic documents, validates the tional shipments a month, the CVG hub handles freight bound for the Western extracted data and passes it to customers’ Hemisphere, and connects more than 100 service centers and five international data management systems, enterprise gateways in the to more than 220 countries around the world. resource planning and/or financial man- With the current expansion, DHL will have invested $105 million in CVG since estab- agement systems. ISYS is an Australian lishing its U.S. international hub there in 2009. Staffing has also grown from 1,600 in late company that is a global leader in high- 2009 to approximately 2,000. performance enterprise search and univer- sity information access solutions. Nolij, LOUISVILLE: NEW REFRIGERATOR LINE WITH 600 JOBS headquartered in Massachusetts, provides PART OF $800 MILLION GE APPLIANCE PARK UPGRADE web-based imaging document manage- ment and workflow solutions for the ENERAL Electric held an official grand higher education market. opening last month for its newest factory “Our recent acquisitions enable Lex- at Appliance Park in Louisville, the sec- mark to offer customers a differentiated, Gond GE facility open in the span of six weeks at integrated system of solutions that are the manufacturing complex. (A new facility to unique, cost effective, and deliver a produce the company’s GeoSpring hybrid water rapid return on investment,” said Paul heater opened in February and was the first new Rooke, Lexmark’s chairman and CEO. factory to open at Appliance Park since 1957.) “The methodical shift in our focus and GE photo GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt was investments has strengthened our man- joined by Gov. Steve Beshear and more than aged print services offerings and added 1,000 GE employees to celebrate the new facil- new content and process technologies, ity, which will manufacture GE’s French-door positioning Lexmark as a key solutions bottom-freezer refrigerator. The new line is one provider to businesses large and small.” of 11 new products that will be launched by GE GE’s new French-door refrigerator includes Appliances by 2014 and is a result of GE’s $250 a number of new features, such as a hands- million investment in bottom freezer technol- free autofill system to fill containers, a hot- water dispenser and an advanced ogy and an $800 million investment to upgrade filtration system that removes harmful Submissions Welcome Appliance Park in Louisville. pharmaceuticals from water and ice. To submit news and photographs for The refrigerator plant will eventually sup- publication in Fast Lane, please mail port 600 new local jobs. information to: The Lane Report, 201 East According to a new study, commissioned by GE and conducted by independent Main Street, 14th Floor, Lexington, KY consulting firm Tripp Umbach using 2010 data, GE contributes – directly and indi- 40507-2003 or send via e-mail to edito- rectly – $1.6 billion to the commonwealth. According to the study, GE helps support [email protected]. more than 12,000 jobs in Kentucky, with nearly 5,000 direct employees. GE has sev- Color photographs are preferred, either in eral Kentucky facilities in addition to Appliance Park, including engine standard form or digital. For digital photo- GE Aviation graphs, a resolution of 300 dpi is required, manufacturing, testing and distribution centers; a GE Energy repair services center; formatted in either jpeg or tif. and a medical equipment manufacturing facility under GE Healthcare.

6 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 1-18.indd 6 4/9/12 9:47 AM N. KENTUCKY: REGION EXCEEDS YEARLY BUSINESS BRIEFS AVERAGE FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BOWLING GREEN HE Northern Kentucky region saw 28 companies decide to ■ Beginning this fall, Western Kentucky Uni- locate or expand in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties versity will be offering a master’s in recreation in 2011, creating 2,839 new jobs and an economic impact and sports administration with a concentration Tof nearly $500 million. Those figures outpace those of prior in sport media and branding. The new offering, which is part of a partnership with the universi- years, in which the region has averaged 22 new/expanding com- ty’s school of journalism and broadcasting, will panies, according to the statistics released by the Northern Ken- be a two-year online program that WKU officials say fills a niche in the tucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp. (Tri-ED). sport management field that hasn’t been met by other programs across Tri-ED Chairman and Kenton County Judge-Executive the United States. Steve Arlinghaus noted the role of the advanced manufactur- ing sector in Northern Kentucky’s 2011 economic develop- CAMPBELLSVILLE ment success, citing the expansions of , ■ Campbellsville University has announced plans to start a program Messier-Bugatti for registered nurses to earn their bachelor of science degree in nurs- Mubea, Linamar and ZF Steering. ing. Beverly Rowland, associate professor of nursing at Campbellsville, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED is now also measuring a new said the mission of the RN to BSN completion program is to offer a benchmark through the ezone, a division of Tri-ED, which is the higher level of nursing education through a curriculum tailored to amount of capital investment raised/invested in companies in working adults. Classes will be offered online in asynchronous classes, the region through the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic giving students the ability to attend on their own schedule.

Development and private sources. The average, over the last 10 Schmidt of Coca-Cola photo years, has been $7.8 million. In 2011, the combined investment ELIZABETHTOWN ■ A 119-year-old soda fountain that was doubled to $15.3 Million. (This benchmark is not included in once part of the the impact study for annual data consistency purposes.) Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia in Elizabeth- “There is a strategic focus in Northern Kentucky to town sold at auction last month for a encourage entrepreneurs and innovation,” said Dan staggering $4.5 million to an anony- Tobergte, president and CEO of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED. mous bidder. Originally built in 1893 “We have significant momentum through initiatives like UpT- for the World’s Fair in Chicago, the ech and are working to make private investment easier and fountain was valued in the auction cata- log at $125,000. “We thought that to build on our results in this area.” maybe it could go for as high as $1 mil- lion,” said Larry Schmidt, organizer of $44M HOTEL AND OFFICE the auction. “But this is incredible.” The museum started in the 1970s OWENSBORO: from the Schmidt family’s private collection of Coca-Cola items and even- PROJECT PART OF DOWNTOWN PLAN tually grew to 80,000 items. Last year the family announced plans to close the museum and sell its contents. To date, The Coca-Cola Co. has pur- WENSBORO chased more than 170 items, some of which are now on display at the leaders have company’s World of Coca-Cola attraction in Atlanta. announced a FORT THOMAS O$44 million redevelop- ■ KLH Engineers has opened a new office in downtown Lexington, ment project planned the fifth location for the Fort Thomas-based firm. The Lexington office for downtown Owens- will be managed by KLH senior principal Robert Lonnemann and will boro that will add a initially operate with a staff of eight, with plans to grow that figure to 14 new hotel and move in the near future. In addition to its offices in Fort Thomas and Lexing- more than 200 corpo- ton, KLH also has locations in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, and City, and employs a staff of more than 120. rate headquarter jobs into a new downtown office. Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, a company that handles FRANKLIN the transportation and storage of natural gas, plans to move ■ Atlanta-based Premier Transportation has opened a new transporta- its Owensboro operations into a new two-story office building tion and maintenance facility in Franklin that will bring up to 100 new on the former site of a car dealership. In addition to the employees over the course of the next year. Premier Chairman and CEO Boardwalk move, the project will locate a new 120-room full- Michael Medici said the new location will provide transportation services service convention-class hotel on the west side for the new Tractor Supply Co. distribution facility in Franklin and other Holiday Inn area companies and will also allow the trucking company to expand its of a newly planned convention center. service offerings to customers from Nashville and throughout south-central Project developers Jack Wells and Matt Hayden, of River- Kentucky. Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority Gary Broady noted that front Jam LLC, also plan to incorporate residential and with Premier, Hammond Transportation and Franklin Express all retail development along the city’s riverfront and the west having operations in the area, the community is quickly becoming a center Second Street area. for the trucking industry. “These three companies employ several hundred The $44 million private investment is the latest project people and provide tremendous service to the numerous industries and announced as a result of the market-based downtown plan, distribution facilities located in our area,” Broady said. which was approved by Owensboro-Daviess County govern- LEXINGTON ments in 2009, resulting in $120 million in publicly funded ■ DiamondRock Hospitality Co. has sold the Griffin Gate Marriott infrastructure and amenities to reinvent downtown Owens- Resort in Lexington as part of a $262.5 million transaction involving the boro as a walkable, mixed-use urban center. Official ground- sale of three hotels in its portfolio to Inland American, a real estate trust breaking ceremonies were held last month for a new $20 company. The other hotels included in the transaction were the 521-room million Hampton Inn and Suites hotel and the $48.4 mil- Renaissance Waverly in Atlanta and the 492-Renaissance Austin in lion convention center. Austin, Texas. With 409 rooms and approximately 16,000 s.f. of meeting and ballroom space, Griffin Gate ranks as Lexington’s largest hotel.

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BUSINESS BRIEFS LEXINGTON: UK COLLEGE OF BUSINESS INDUCTS THREE INTO HALL OF FAME LEXINGTON ■ The has formed a HE University of Kentucky Gatton College of Busi- “master alliance agreement” with Nicholasville- ness and Economics honored the success and based animal nutrition company Alltech Inc. achievements of three of its graduates last month as it with plans to collaborate on a host of agricultural, medical and biological Tinducted Amitabh Chandra, Ruth Cecelia Day and Donald C. research projects that could also help grow the state’s economy. Alltech officials estimate that the new agreement will help generate annual fund- Rogers into its Alumni Hall of Fame. ing for research activities of $2.5 million within the next year, growing to Chandra (Class of 2000, 2001), is an econo- more than $5 million annually by the end of the third year of the partner- mist and a professor of public policy at the ship. In addition, the alliance also is expected to help UK enhance gradu- Harvard Kennedy School of Government. ate training and support for post-doctoral fellowships. A research Fellow at the IZA Institute in Bonn, Germany, Chandra’s research focuses ■ The Bluegrass State Games, a nonprofit program that promotes on productivity and cost-growth in healthcare amateur athletics through an annual event held each summer in central Kentucky, generated a total economic impact of nearly $7 million last year, and racial disparities in healthcare and has been widely published and cited. He is an edi- Amitabh according to a study released by the Bluegrass Sports Commission. Chandra Based on the study results, more than 16,000 participants and 70,000 spec- tor of the Review of Economics and Statistics, Eco- tators participated in the 2011 event. The economic impact of an event is nomics Letters, and the American Economic Journal, and was drawn from the spending by attendees on things such as hotels, food, gas, previously an editor at the Journal of Human Resources. shopping and other entertainment options due to their participation in Day (Class of 1985) is vice president for the event. The event, now entering its 28th year, is the signature event of administrative services at the Sports Commission. Landstar System Inc., a multibillion-dollar transportation ser- Alltech/Kentucky Ale photo Ale Alltech/Kentucky ■ Kentucky Ale beer has expanded its dis- vices company headquartered in Jacksonville, tribution network to now include Chicago, Fla. A CPA for more than 24 years, Day also where distribution will be handled by Chi- serves on the UK Accounting Advisory Board cago-based River North. In addition to the and is a UK Barker Fellow. Chicago market, Kentucky Ale, which is Ruth Rogers (Class of 1965, 1967) produced at ’s Cecelia Day Alltech Lexington Brewing is chairman of Rogers Petro- Co. facility in downtown Lexington, is cur- rently distributed in Kentucky, Ohio, Wis- leum Inc., a company he founded in 1980 that consin, Georgia, Tennessee, Massachusetts has grown to become one of the largest con- and Indiana. The company also has a distri- ventional and renewable fuels, lubricants and bution network in China. convenience store companies in the South- east. Rogers, whose company is headquartered Donald LEXINGTON/LOUISVILLE in Morristown, Tenn., is a past president of the C. Rogers ■ Lexington technology solutions provider has formed a partner- SIS Tennessee Oil Marketers. ship with Louisville IT training company Tandem Solutions that will enable the two companies to provide project-specific hardware, soft- A total of 75 men and women have been inducted into the ware and training to its customers. SIS’ new Tier 3 data center facility in Gatton Hall of Fame since its formation in 1994. Lexington will be used to provide comprehensive hosting and cloud offerings, including virtualization, business continuity, security, storage LOUISVILLE: CHURCHILL TO DEVELOP OHIO management and application support as well as systems monitoring and management, while the Tandem Solution training center in Louisville VIDEO LOTTERY/HARNESS RACETRACK will be used for local outreach programs and to host events for the information technology community. OUISVILLE-based Inc. has partnered with a New York gaming and entertainment company to ■ UKHealthCare and Louisville-based Norton Healthcare have part- purchase a racetrack in Lebanon, Ohio, that will be nered to create a new non-for-profit membership corporation that will Ldeveloped into a $225 million video lottery terminal facility focus on developing collaborations with hospitals across the state. The Norton Healthcare-UK HealthCare Partnership for Quality will initially with up to 2,500 VLTs and a harness racetrack. focus on improving population health in the areas of cancer care, Through a joint venture agreement, Delaware North stroke and heart disease. Companies Gaming & Entertainment and CDI have formed a new company, Miami Valley Gaming & Racing to ■ Residential real estate sales in Kentucky’s two largest cities saw signifi- manage the development and operation of the VLT facility cant growth in February, according to the latest statistics released by the and racetrack. Miami Valley Gaming intends to acquire the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors (LBAR) and the harness racing licenses and assets held by Greater Louisville Association of Realtors. Single-family residential Lebanon Trotting sales in Lexington in February 2012 increased 28 percent over February Club Inc. and Miami Valley Trotting Inc. for $60 million. 2011, while condo sales increased 22 percent for the same time frame. CDI President and COO Bill Carstanjen said the acquisi- In Louisville, sales of single-family homes and condos in February 2012 tion “fits well with our strategy to grow the company through combined to create a 25.9 percent increase over February 2011. both acquisition and development of new gaming facilities.” Plans call for construction of the new facility to begin this LOUISVILLE year, with completion scheduled for fall 2013. ■ Donald Demuth, Ph.D., associate dean for research and enterprise at the The development will create approximately 700 new jobs School and is expected to bring $24 million a year to the area. of Dentistry, has received a patent for a novel bio- chemical discovery that could lead to a new way to Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment treat gum disease. Demuth, who is collaborating with and CDI will each own a 50 percent interest in the new ven- UofL chemistry professor Frederick Luzzio on the ture and will have equal representation on its board of man- research, is working with the Office of Technology agers. Collectively, Delaware North Companies Gaming & Transfer at UofL to find an industrial partner to Donald Entertainment and CDI plan to contribute up to $90 million license and commercialize the technology. DeMuth in equity with the rest of the development funded with debt.

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BUSINESS BRIEFS STATE: KY MATCHES $6.2M IN SBIR-STTR FUNDS FOR 17 SMALL HIGH-TECH FIRMS LOUISVILLE ■ SHPS Inc., a Louisville-based company that is one of the country’s EVENTEEN high-tech Kentucky companies will share largest independent providers of benefits administration, health and $6.2 million in state funds as part of a program to sup- wellness services, and collaborative care software, is selling its human port and attract technology-based small businesses. resources subsidiary to ADP, a New Jersey company that specializes in SThrough the state’s competitive Small Business Innovation human resource outsourcing, payroll services and benefits administra- tion. SHPS President and CEO Rishabh Mehrotra said the move allows Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer the company “to focus 100 percent of our business on healthcare at a (STTR) Matching Funds program, Kentucky matches all or time when a rapidly changing marketplace has greater opportunities part of federal SBIR-STTR awards received by Kentucky-based than ever before.” According to local reports, approximately 840 SHPS companies or those willing to relocate operations to Kentucky. employees in Louisville – almost half of its work force – will become The companies and research initiatives receiving the ADP employees, though around 650 of those employees will continue awards include: to work out of SHPS offices as ADP employees. The acquisition will • (Lexington) – $232,212 to develop technology to increase ADP’s Louisville work force to about 1,000. 3H Co. capture and store carbon dioxide underground that can ■ Louisville is one of nine reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants new markets being added by and reduce energy loss during the coal capture process. Greyhound Express, a divi- • Advanced Genomic Technologies (Louisville) – sion of Greyhound that offers $500,000 to develop laboratory animal models that can be nonstop premium bus service used to pattern sporadic Alzheimer’s disease in humans. between major cities. Last • (Lexington) – $150,000 to develop pharma- month, Greyhound Express AllTranz Inc. rolled out 260 new city pairs ceutical products to treat a variety of neurological disorders. across the eastern United • Amelgo (Covington) – $100,000 to support the devel- States, creating a network of opment of effective non-antibiotic dry-off agents for the more than 600 potential city dairy industry to reduce disease outbreaks in cows. pairs. The company is now • AMT nano (Lexington) – $90,000 to assist in develop- offering service to and from Nashville and Cincinnati from Louisville. ing multi-functional micro robots for use in medical devices, Express buses offer free Wi-Fi, power outlets and reserved seating. aerospace and defense applications, and other micro-electri- cal mechanical system projects. ■ Bellarmine University has announced plans to begin offering a master of science in taxation degree, • ATI Inc. (Lexington) – $98,748 to develop aluminum designed for practicing accountants and attorneys, alloy weld wire for products ranging from armored military financial planners and recent accounting graduates. vehicles to commercial lightweight bikes. The 30 credit-hour program will launch this fall, with • Bexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Covington) – $500,000 all classes being held in the evenings and on Saturdays, to support further development of BXQ-350 for glioblas- and can be completed in as little as a year. toma multiforme (GBM), one of the most common and ■ In its third acquisition so far this year, Louisville-based insurance aggressive brain cancers in humans. company Neace Lukens has acquired Arison Insurance Services, • customKYnetics Inc. (Versailles) – $494,458 to develop a full-service brokerage firm also headquartered in Louisville. With a an electrical stimulation device for individuals undergoing focus on health, life, dental, vision, disability, and supple- orthopedic rehab and those with neuromotor disorders. ments, Arison’s offerings will complement Neace Lukens’ established • Invenio Therapeutics Inc. (Lexington) – $434,480 to employee benefits practice and help the organiza- develop a therapy for acute myeloid leukemia patients that tion deploy additional services to its existing and offers higher potency, lower toxicity and fewer side prospective clients across the state. Once the acquisi- tion is complete, Neace Lukens will expand its effects than current treatments. offices in Louisville, Lexington, Pikeville and Bowl- • NaugaNeedles (Louisville) – $500,000 to develop ing Green and will add Pineville to its network. Neace Lukens, high-aspect-ratio atomic force microscopy probes. founded in 1991, has more than 150 licensed agents and more than • nGimat (Lexington) – $750,754 to develop advanced 600 employees operating in 22 offices throughout Kentucky, Ohio, energy storage nanomaterials for use in advanced lithium- Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia, Arkansas, ion automotive batteries for electric vehicles. Florida and South Carolina. Financial details of the acquisition have • (Lexington) – $359,400 to develop not been released. Orthopeutics LP and commercialize nonsurgical solutions to treat degenera- McLEAN/MUHLENBERG COUNTY tive disc disease and repair damaged tendons and ligaments. ■ Oxford Mining Co. has laid off 121 workers in McLean and Muhlen- • ParaTechs Corp. (Lexington) – $459,478 to further berg counties, according to a report published by The (Owensboro) Mes- develop and commercialize a non-surgical assisted-reproduc- senger-Inquirer. According to Oxford officials, the lay-offs were a result of tive technology for mice used in biotechnology discovery the termination of a contract between Oxford and Henderson-based and development. Big Rivers Electric Co. • Regenerex (Louisville) – $500,000 for further develop- NICHOLASVILLE ment of a bone-marrow cell-processing procedure to help ■ MediVet-America, a Nicholasville company that specializes in vet- induce patient tolerance following kidney transplantation. erinary stem-cell technology and regenerative medicine, has entered • Tier1 Performance Solutions (Covington) – $396,000 into a distribution partnership with Butler Schein Animal Health to develop software to support NASA design projects. that will result in the addition of more jobs at MediVet in the coming • Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals (Lexington) – months. Ohio-based Butler, one of the leading animal health distribu- $500,000 to develop a method to create mutations in the tion companies in the nation, will sell and distribute MediVet’s stem- genome of lab rats that can produce models that mimic cell kits and equipment to more than 26,000 veterinary clinics nationwide. With Butler’s sales staff numbering nearly 400, MediVet human diseases in studies to develop new therapies. anticipates that demand for its products will increase and expects to • W-Z BioTech (Lexington) – $150,000 to develop a non- add five to seven sales jobs and 10 to 20 manufacturing jobs to its surgical medical device to manage heart failure in congeni- existing 12-member work force. tal heart defect patients.

10 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 1-18.indd 10 4/9/12 9:47 AM LOUISVILLE: FORD’S $600M INVESTMENT BUSINESS BRIEFS AMONG TOP U.S. CORPORATE PROJECTS

Ford photo OWENSBORO ORD Motor Co.’s ■ Owensboro Grain Co. is building a new glycerin refinery in Owens- investment in boro that will provide pure glycerin for the cosmetics market. (Crude Kentucky ranks as glycerin is a byproduct of the biodiesel process.) The highly automated Fone of the top 15 cor- plant, which represents a $15 million to $20 million investment, is scheduled to be operating by summer 2013 and will employ 10 to 12 porate investment workers with an average salary of $50,000. projects in the coun- try, according to Trade PADUCAH & Industry Develop- ■ The chief executive officer of Dippin’ Dots, a ment, a leading maga- Paducah-based novelty ice cream products com- zine dedicated to site pany, has resigned as part of a bankruptcy agree- selection. ment to keep the company from being liquidated. Regions Bank, which Dippin’ Dots owes nearly Ford Motor Co. is investing $600 million to The project was $12 million, Dippin’ Dots founder and CEO Curt make the company’s automotive plant in selected from among Jones was discouraging acquisition offers that Louisville its most flexible, high-volume hundreds submitted would lessen his control over the business and said it would not loan plant in the world. from across the coun- the company any more money until Jones was removed. With Jones’ try to make the top 15 resignation, an agreement has been reached to keep the company in the corporate investment category. Criteria for judging operational until a sale takes place. Jones’ attorney told The Paducah included the number of new jobs created, number of current Sun the resignation could put him in a position to buy the company. jobs retained, unemployment figures, income level of the WESTERN KENTUCKY region and plant closings. ■ The state government has awarded an emergency contract to repair Ford announced in late 2010 an investment of $600 million and reopen the Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake by Memorial to transform the company’s Louisville Assembly Plant Day in order to alleviate any negative impact on summer tourism, which (LAP) into the company’s most flexible high-volume plant in is a significant part of the area’s economy. The bridge, which carries the world – resulting in a second shift and 1,800 new jobs at U.S. 68 and KY 80 across Kentucky Lake between Marshall and Trigg the plant. In the fall of 2011, Ford announced a new contract, counties, has been closed since Jan. 26, when a cargo vessel struck and tore away a 322-foot-long span of the 80-year-old bridge. The $7 million which workers ratified, that will bring a third shift and another contract to repair the bridge has been awarded to Hall Contracting of 1,300 jobs to LAP, raising the total new-job count to 3,100. Kentucky Inc. of Louisville.

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 11

April Lane 1-18.indd 11 4/9/12 9:47 AM INTERSTATE LANE Business news from Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia

BUSINESS BRIEFS TENNESSEE: VW TO HIRE 800 TO HELP MEET GROWING DEMAND FOR PASSAT

INDIANA ■ OLKSWAGEN Group Roll-Royce is investing $42 million to build a new advanced manu- announced facturing facility in Indianapolis that will produce components for air- of America craft engines. The new facility is expected to be operational by 2014 on March 22 that it will VW photo Vbe hiring an additional 800 and will create more than 100 new jobs. workers at its plant in Chatta- ■ Amazon.com Inc. nooga to help meet growing plans to locate a new ful- customer demand for the fillment center in Jeffer- new U.S.-produced Passat. sonville, Ind., that will “These 800 new positions create up to 1,050 new jobs by 2015. The Jeffer- are a combination of produc- sonville facility is slated to tion and support functions,” The Volkswagen plant in Chatta- open this fall and will be said Hans-Herbert Jagla, Volk- nooga, the world’s only LEED certi- Amazon’s fifth fulfillment swagen executive vice presi- center in Indiana. fied Platinum factory, opened in May dent of human resources. 2011. The plant produces the popular “We will use this opportunity ■ Passat sedan. Employment Plus Inc., a full-service staffing, recruiting and human to hire many of our current resources provider, has announced plans to expand its Bloomington headquarters and add more branches across the state, creating up to Aerotek contract employees. So, Aerotek will be recruiting 307 new jobs by 2015. Employment Plus has more than 100 locations in to fill full-time contract production positions that will open 17 states and recently opened four new branches in Indiana as part of up as a result. We will also be hiring additional supervisors, its expansion. quality engineers, and professionals in a number of area.” The job expansion news comes on the heels of an ■ DECA Financial Services, an account receivables management firm announcement earlier this year in which the company said it for government agencies and corporations, plans to expand its Fishers, would be adding 200 more workers at the Chattanooga plant. Ind., headquarters, creating up to 270 new jobs by 2015. The Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga currently employs OHIO more than 2,700 people. According to independent studies, ■ The Beach Waterpark, a popular tourist attraction located in the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant is expected to generate Mason, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, announced last month that it $12 billion in income growth and an additional 9,500 jobs would not reopen for the 2012 season. The park’s management attrib- related to the project. uted the decision to “a challenging competitive and economic climate “We have made a commitment to this market, both in terms and changing patron entertainment habits.” The park, which opened of products and investment, “ said Jonathan Browning, presi- in 1985, had operated in the red for the past several years. dent and chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group of ■ Cincinnati-based Convergys Corp. has signed a definitive agree- America Inc. “Our original commitment to invest $4 billion ment to sell its information management business to NEC Corp. for into the U.S. market continues to grow, with a parts depot $449 million in cash. Following the acquisition, the IM business and announced last week and now another further commitment to organization will be integrated into NetCracker Technology Corp., a employment here in Chattanooga. Quite plainly, we need subsidiary of NEC. more Passats to meet the market demand, and I’m glad that we can respond so quickly by adding staff in Chattanooga.” TENNESSEE ■ After announcing last summer that it was looking The plant has been working daily overtime to meet the to market itself for a potential sale, The Krystal Co., market demand. an 80-year-old hamburger chain founded and head- quartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., has been sold to SPECIALTY VEHICLE COMPANY Argonne Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private INDIANA: investment firm. Krystal owns and franchises 360 res- EXPANSION TO CREATE 350 NEW JOBS taurants in 11 states throughout the South and has more than 6,000 employees. Officials said the company will remain headquartered in , a manufacturer of customized Chattanooga and will continue with new store developments planned UPREME Industries for 2012 and beyond. truck bodies, is investing more than $7 million to expand its operations in Goshen, Ind., where the com- ■ Spany is headquartered and operates the largest of its seven Oxford Diagnostic Laboratories is opening a new lab in Memphis that will create 65 lab processing, medical technology and management manufacturing sites. positions. The company is the service laboratory division of Oxford The expansion project involves refurbishing and equip- Immunotec, a global company that focuses on developing new tests for ping multiple facilities used in the truck and bus production diseases based on its patented T-SPOT technology. located on the company’s 100-acre Goshen campus. Supreme, which currently employs 630 people in Goshen ■ Kyowa America Corp., an automotive supplier that specializes in plas- tic injection molding, is opening a new facility in Portland, Tenn., that will and more than 1,600 nationwide, plans to add 350 new jobs create 160 new jobs. The new facility is expected to open by late summer. in Goshen by 2015 as a result of the expansion. Founded in 1979, Supreme is known for building and WEST VIRGINIA distributing specialized commercial truck bodies and buses, ■ Toyota is investing approximately $45 million to increase the annual including armored trucks, dry-freight and insulated cargo production capacity of its six-speed automatic transmission produced in vans, service vans, shuttle buses and trolleys. Today, the com- Buffalo, W. Va. The company is adding about 80 new jobs to support the expansion, raising total employment at the Buffalo plant to approxi- pany, which supplies more than 1,000 customers worldwide, mately 1,200. In addition, Bodine Aluminum, which provides transmis- has operations nationwide, including seven manufacturing sion cases and housing parts to the West Virginia plant, will also facilities and a service and distribution center. In 2011, the increase capacity to support TMMWV and will add some 25 new jobs. company reported revenues of $301 million.

12 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 1-18.indd 12 4/9/12 9:48 AM KENTUCKY INTELLIGENCER® A sampling of economic development data

10,000,000 100,000

8,000,000 80,000

6,000,000 60,000

4,000,000 40,000

2,000,000 20,000

0 0

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 13

April Lane 1-18.indd 13 4/9/12 9:48 AM CORPORATE MOVES New leadership for Kentucky businesses

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION ■ Donald Durs has been ■ Lisa Sons has been named DEPARTURES named marketing manager director of the educational ■ William F. Pollard is for Monty’s Plant Food Co., a talent search program at East- stepping down as vice presi- Louisville manufacturer of ern Kentucky University. dent and dean of the col- plant and soil enhancement lege at Transylvania products. ■ Karunarathna “K.B.” University, effective July 31. Kulasekera will join the Uni- Donald Lisa ■ ARTS versity of Louisville School of John Bendoraitis, presi- William Durs Sons dent of Erlanger-based ■ Jennifer Humphreys has Public Health and Informa- Pollard been named director of development for The tion Sciences as the chair of Comair, has resigned to in Louisville. biostatistics and bioinformat- accept the position of chief operating officer ics. Kulasekera comes to the for Frontier Airlines. AUTOMOTIVE position from Clemson Uni- ■ ■ Shigei Terashi has been named president versity, where he has served as William B. Drake Jr. has stepped down and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor a professor and graduate pro- from his position as president of Midway North America Inc. Terashi will retain his posi- gram coordinator of mathe- College, where he has served since 2002. tion as president of Erlanger-based Toyota matical sciences. Karunarathna Engineering and Manufacturing North Amer- Kulasekera ■ Harold Workman has announced plans ica Inc. FOOD/SPIRITS/ to retire as president and CEO of the Ken- HOSPITALITY tucky State Fair Board, effective Dec. 31. BANKING/FINANCE ■ Jason Koval has been named director of ■ ■ Addam Lewis has been investor relations for Louisville-based Brown- University of Kentucky Provost Kumble named vice president and Forman Corp. Subbaswamy will be leaving his position to retail market manager for become chancellor of the University of Mas- First Security Bank, working ■ Kimberley Bennett has been named director sachusetts at Amherst, effective July 1. for the Owensboro-based of the Jim Beam Heritage Center in Clermont. company out of its Lexing- GOVERNMENT MEDIA ton office. Addam ■ has been named chief of the ■ , professor and head of Lewis Steve Conrad Dr. David Keeling ■ Joel Stone has been pro- Louisville Metro Police Department. The Lou- the department of geography and geology at moted to vice president of the isville native comes to position from Arizona, Western Kentucky University, has been Fifth Third Bank of Kentucky. where he was the Glendale chief of police. appointed as the North American editor of the Journal of Transport Geography. ■ Tracy King has been pro- ■ John T. Ward has been named executive direc- moted to vice president- tor of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. TECHNOLOGY investments at The ■ Devin Herper has joined Lexington-based Cunningham Financial ■ Jerry F. “Freddie” Lewis Sr. has been SDFblue LLC as director of security and com- Group in Louisville. Tracy named executive director of the Kentucky pliance. King Office of Mine Safety and Licensing. ■ John L. Gohmann has ■ George McGourty has been appointed been named as PNC Bank’s regional president ■ Robert F. Scott has been named director of chief sales officer for Paducah-based Com- for Lexington and Central Kentucky. Kentucky’s Division of Abandoned Mine Lands. puter Services Inc. (CSI) Scott succeeds Steve Hohmann, who was ■ Lexington- named commissioner of the Kentucky Depart- TELECOMMUNICATIONS based Ameri- ment for Natural Resources earlier this year. ■ Verizon Wireless has pro- can Founders moted Marion Nolan to asso- Bank has ■ Audrey Tayse Haynes has been appointed ciate director for strategic announced the secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet of Health sales in Kentucky. following pro- and Family Services. motions: OTHER David Verville HEALTHCARE ■ Greg Hydes has been David Lawrence – vice presi- ■ Jacob Bast has been named vice president of oper- dent, portfolio Verville Wetherby named chief operating offi- ations planning at Lexington- Marion manager; Law- cer of St. Elizabeth Physi- based CLARK Material Nolan rence Weth- cians, in Crestview Hills. Handling Co. Hydes will over- erby – vice see the transition to and president, ■ Dr. James Mumford has Jacob opening of CLARK’s new fac- commercial been named medical director Bast tory in Mexico. lender; Ann of Passport Health Plan. Renee Camp- ■ Lexington-based Office bell – assistant Ann Renee Andrew INSURANCE Suites PLUS has announced vice president, ■ Humana Inc. has promoted the following appointments: Campbell Miller Gina loan process- to presi- – director of Thomas J. Liston Ryan Harris Whitis ing manager; and Andrew Miller – assistant vice dent of the company’s retail real estate; Gina L. Whitis – president, marketing officer. segment. director of accounting; and – director of Dr. James Seth T. Newton ■ has been LEGAL information technology. Phil Campbell Mumford promoted to vice president- ■ Ross D. Cohen and Peter information systems auditor L. Thurman Jr. have been named partners at for Louisville-based Republic Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP. Both Cohen Bank. and Thurman are based in the firm’s Louis- ville office. Seth Newton Phil Campbell

14 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 1-18.indd 14 4/9/12 9:48 AM ON THE BOARDS Kentuckians named to organizational leadership roles

AMERICAN BAR CENTER FOR LOUISVILLE ARENA AUTHORITY ASSOCIATION RURAL DEVELOPMENT ■ Timothy M. Mulloy has been appointed to ■ Robert L. Brown, a partner ■ Michael Calhoun, special the board of directors for the Louisville Arena in the Louisville law office of assistant for alumni relations at Authority. Mulloy is CEO of Peritus Public Bingham Greenebaum Doll Georgetown College, has been Relations in Louisville. LLP, has been named mem- appointed to serve on the exec- bership officer-elect of the utive committee of the board of LOUISVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION ■ American Bar Association’s Robert directors for The Center for Michael Jennifer Y. Barber has Section of International Law. L. Brown Rural Development. Calhoun been appointed to serve on the Louisville Bar Associa- BANK OF COMMERCE LEXINGTON tion’s board of directors. Bar- THE BLUEGRASS ■ The follow- ber is an attorney with ■ Lynne Walker McNees has ing individu- Bingham Greenebaum Doll’s joined the advisory board of als have been Louisville office. Bank of the Bluegrass & Trust named to the Co. McNees is president of the executive MADISONVILLE Jennifer International SPA Association. board of Com- COMMUNITY COLLEGE Barber Lynne Walker merce Lexing- ■ Cheryl D. Moore, clinical laboratory coordi- BIG SANDY McNees ton Inc.: nator for Trover Health System, has been Jeri Danny COMMUNITY AND Chair – appointed to the board of directors of Madi- Jeri Isbell Murphy TECHNICAL COLLEGE Isbell, Lex- sonville Community College. ■ April Preece, of Lovely, and Justin Roark, mark International; Chair-elect – Danny Mur- of Salyersville, have been appointed to the phy, University of Kentucky College of Law; MICROSOFT ADVISORY COUNCIL board of directors of Big Sandy Community Immediate Past Chair – Harry T. Richart III, ■ Tim Arthur, chief information officer for Nich- and Technical College. PNC; Treasurer – Laura Boison, U.S. Bank; olasville-based Alltech, has been selected to serve General Counsel – Kenneth R. Sagan, Stites on the Microsoft U.S. CIO Advisory Council. BLUEGRASS SPORTS COMMISSION & Harbison; and Secretary – Robert L. Quick, ■ The Blue- Commerce Lexington Inc. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION grass Sports OF HOME BUILDERS Commission COVINGTON BUSINESS COUNCIL ■ Chuck Kavanaugh, executive vice presi- has added the ■ Mark Calitri and Bob Berendsen have dent of the Home Builders Association of Lou- following indi- been named to the board of directors of the isville, has been named as the 2012 president viduals to its Covington Business Council. Calitri is director of the executive officers council for the board: Darren of sales for the Holiday Inn Riverfront in Cov- National Association of Home Builders. Bilberry, assis- ington. Berendsen is the owner and operator tant commis- Darren Sally of Berendsen & Associates, a firm that repre- NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON sioner of the Bilberry Hamilton sents creative illustrators and photographers ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM Kentucky around the world. ■ Dr. Craig J. McClain, professor of medicine High School at the University of Louisville, is one of four Athletics Asso- KENTUCKY COMMISSION new members appointed to the National Advi- ciation; Sally ON COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERISM sory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol- Hamilton, AND SERVICE ism of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse commissioner ■ The Kentucky Commission on Community and Alcoholism. of general ser- Volunteerism and Service has elected Daron vices for the Cindy Dan Jordan as commission chairman and DeAnna NATIONAL EQUINE LAW CONFERENCE ■ Lexington- Jacobellie McBride Brangers as vice chairwoman. Laura D’Angelo, a partner in the Dinsmore Fayette Urban law firm’s Lexington office, has been elected County Gov- KENTUCKY HUMANITIES COUNCIL chair of the University of Kentucky College of ernment; ■ Brian T. Burton and Mary Elizabeth Ham- Law National Equine Law Conference. Cindy Jaco- mond have been appointed to serve on the belli, director Kentucky Humanities Council. Burton, of Lex- PREMIER of athletics ington, is an investment adviser with PNC ■ Vicki A. Darnell, president and recre- Bank. Hammond, of Paducah, is executive and CEO of Ephraim McDow- ation at Cardi- director of the Paducah/McCracken County ell Health in Danville, has nal Hill John Bryan Convention and Visitors Bureau. been appointed to the Rehabilitation Nicholson Pettigrew national quality improvement Hospital; Dan KENTUCKY SPORTS AUTHORITY committee for Premier, a per- McBride, associate athletics director for exter- ■ Douglas R. Hall, Wade Houston Sr., formance improvement alli- nal relations at Eastern Kentucky University; Janna M. Clark and Stephen N. St. John ance of more than 2,500 U.S. Vicki John Nicholson, executive director of the Ken- have been named to the Kentucky Sports hospitals and 80,000-plus Darnell tucky Horse Park; and Bryan Pettigrew, senior Authority. Hall, of Louisville, is executive vice other healthcare sites. vice president of the National Thoroughbred president with Evergreen Rehabilitation. Racing Association. Houston, of Prospect, is the executive vice REGIONAL CANCER CENTER CORP. president of Houston-Johnson Inc. Clark, of ■ Sherri Black, Campbell Brown and Mary BLUEGRASS TOMORROW Elizabethtown, is sports and sales director for Griffith have been named to the board of ■ T. Bruce Simpson Jr., an the Elizabethtown Tourism Bureau. St. John, directors of the Regional Cancer Center Corp., attorney with the Lexington of Pikeville, is general manager of the East a community advisory group that provides firm of McBrayer, McGinnis, Kentucky Exposition Center. advocacy and support for the James Graham Leslie & Kirkland, has been Brown Cancer Center. Black is the owner of elected to the board of direc- LEXINGTON-FAYETTE URBAN Black Box Inc. Marketing and Advertising in tors for Bluegrass Tomorrow. COUNTY AIRPORT BOARD Louisville. Brown is director – Southern Com- ■ Chuck Ellinger has been appointed to the fort Americas and vice president of Brown-For- Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport man Corp. Griffith is the former senior T. Bruce board. Ellinger is an attorney and also serves associate vice president for communications Simpson Jr. on the city council of the Lexington-Fayette and marketing at the University of Louisville. Urban County Government.

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 15

April Lane 1-18.indd 15 4/9/12 9:48 AM LANE ONE-ON-ONE Kentucky’s leaders express their opinions

The PSC does not regulate wireless Mary Pat Regan service, but consumer protections still As president of AT&T Kentucky, Mary Pat apply. The PSC has jurisdiction over 15 Regan oversees the company’s regulatory, legislative and community involvement in the percent of the landlines that are left. commonwealth and works closely with both AT&T was first unregulated in 2004, government and private-sector business lead- then again further in 2006 (by the Ken- ers regarding telecommunications technol- tucky Emerging Technology and Con- ogy. Regan, whose office is located in sumer Choice Act). Louisville, also directs AT&T’s many civic and AT&T can set its own rates without philanthropic endeavors in Kentucky. She getting PSC approval, but the market currently chairs the Greater Louisville Inc. board of directors, is leading the current Lou- really drives the price. isville Metro United Way annual fundraising campaign, and serves on the board of direc- EL: Recent Bill 12 tors for numerous Louisville and Kentucky (formerly SB135) to further deregulate organizations. In 2011, she was named to AT&T’s telecommunication services did Louisville Magazine’s annual list of the 50 not pass the Kentucky General Assem- most influential people in Louisville. A gradu- bly. What were the key issues regarding ate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Regan has served in her current role since AT&T’s proposal to modify its basic 2009. She came to Kentucky from Chicago, services? where she was executive director of regula- MR: The goal of the bill was to modernize tory affairs for AT&T Illinois. telecom law. There are existing laws and requirements that only apply to telecom- munications companies and don’t make ‘KENTUCKY IS USING ALL THE sense in the world we are living in today. AT&T wants a basically level playing field RIGHT TOOLS TO GROW ITS ECONOMY’ and the ability to take investments into products and services that people want. AT&T Kentucky President Mary Pat Regan discusses the company’s Consumers are looking for wireless broad- services, future growth and planned capital investment in Kentucky band voice service. AT&T’s goal is to invest in both broadband and wireless in BY ED LANE the rural communities and give people in rural areas the same opportunities that are available in urban areas. I think there was confusion about Ed Lane: You were appointed president future trends in this segment of the tele- SB12 because the legislation was origi- of AT&T Kentucky in early 2009 and communications industry? nally proposed under one number, but oversee regulatory, legislative and com- MR: Customers are really demanding ser- that bill was not officially rolled out. munity affairs in the state. Could you vice packages. They want a one-stop shop, AT&T worked with the Kentucky further elaborate about your job duties so AT&T’s products and services are in Resource Council, the League of Cities, and responsibilities? response to our customer’s needs. Our the PSC, AARP and other groups to get Mary Pat Regan: I have responsibility competitors are also offering packages. their input on the first language, and also for regulatory and external affairs with legislators on issues they may have teams. The external affairs team works EL: What is the lowest cost for AT&T’s considered to be problematic. The origi- out in the communities and in Frank- wireless and landline services in Kentucky? nal bill as it was first written wasn’t the fort. It monitors bills that are being MR: A low-income family can qualify for same as SB12; there was confusion about moved through the Kentucky General (government-supported, discounted) the bill. Basically, we just ran out of time. Assembly. Our team defends and pro- Lifeline service available from AT&T. A I believe there was concern that tects if there are potential adverse qualified family gets a credit off its bill. AT&T was going to take phone service implications to AT&T or our custom- The least expensive landline plan away from people. If our customers ers. It also runs bills like the moderniz- with the Lifeline credit is $15.90, while have phone service today, they will have ing telecom laws that passed in 2004 the least expensive price for wireless it tomorrow. Look at any other state that and 2006. The external affairs manag- service with a Lifeline credit is $16.74. has passed this legislation, and no one ers also have responsibility in the com- For anyone, the least expensive wireless has lost phone service. munities for volunteer and foundation option is our prepaid service that allows Our Kentucky team definitely wants check presentations. purchase of $100 worth of airtime that to bring more investment and jobs to The regulatory team is responsible is good for one year; that works out to Kentucky. What concerns me is that for dealing with the Public Service Com- an effective rate of $8.33 per month. AT&T Kentucky has to compete for mission, in implementing any laws and (company) capital against 50 other providing reports. Basically this team EL: How are taxes for communications states (in which AT&T does business). keeps AT&T on the straight and narrow, services regulated in Kentucky? Telecom modernization bills passed in and in compliance with applicable laws. MR: Pass-throughs of federal or state levies Indiana, North Carolina and Tennessee. are governed either by the Federal Com- When I go to compete for capital invest- EL: One industry trend seems to be for munications Commission or the Kentucky ment in Kentucky, it may instead be wired telephone systems to bundle with PSC. AT&T is not considered a utility. invested in states where there is a posi- other IT service providers to provide a Probably the biggest misconception is that tive business climate and AT&T can package of services to compete with AT&T is a utility, and it is not. The commu- invest with certainty. It really gets down cable broadband providers. What are nications market is highly competitive. to: Do you really want to keep investing

16 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 1-18.indd 16 4/9/12 9:48 AM in a network that people don’t want, or The explosion has created an 8,000 per- EL: How does AT&T manage day-to-day do you want to invest in the future – cent increase in data usage during the last technical operations in Kentucky? wireless broadband phones, what con- couple of years. AT&T has kept building MR: There are different AT&T organi- sumers are demanding. more infrastructure to boost its service zations, and each one reports up to a capacity. (The company invested $20 bil- different manager. I report up into our EL: Last June, AT&T announced plans to lion in 2011.) That’s why the T-Mobile Washington, D.C., office. My boss’s boss invest $525 million into its land lines and merger was so critical to AT&T, because is also in D.C., and he reports to Randal wireless networks over the next three there’s only a limited amount of (wireless Stephenson (chairman, CEO and presi- years. How will these funds be used? data) spectrum, and we need that spec- dent of AT&T Inc.) in Dallas. The (tele- MR: Actually the updated amount is trum to be able to provide the speeds that phone and data) network team reports $600 million, and it’s not only for main- people want. Data growth is just going to up through Dallas. The head of each tenance of landlines but also for bring- keep escalating. Unfortunately, the AT&T management group is either ing 3G and 4G (network services), T-Mobile merger went sideways. (AT&T located in Dallas, or Wash- expanding broadband in rural areas officially terminated its $39 billion plan to ington, D.C. and building cell towers. buy T-Mobile on Dec. 19, 2011.) The $600 million capital investment EL: How many people work for AT&T is not enough to keep up with the EL: Do you see a future merger? in Kentucky? demand for faster data speeds. In 2006, MR: I’m not privy to that, but I antici- MR: In June 2011, AT&T Kentucky when the telecom law was updated, the pate as a corporation AT&T will be look- employed over 3,200 employees. In iPhone (whose apps generate high data ing at ways of gaining spectrum because 2010, AT&T’s Kentucky payroll usage) hadn’t even been rolled out yet. it has to have it. But as far as a merger, exceeded $194 million and its opera- So that’s the kind of data explosion tele- no new deals have been announced. tions generated more than $197 mil- com is experiencing. lion in Kentucky taxes. We also operate EL: When AT&T builds a cell tower, will 23 company-operated retail locations EL: How significant was AT&T’s strategic it share the structure with a competitor? in the state. relationship with Apple to introduce the MR: It depends. There are areas where iPhone and iPad to its customer base? it makes financial sense for AT&T to EL: How many customers does AT&T MR: Apple has been a fantastic product, share the cost, and other competitors serve in Kentucky, and what is the com- but no one could have predicted at the may use our facilities. And there are pany’s share of the state’s telecommuni- time how many people would use it to other areas where it makes sense for us cations services? download movies, books and applications. to exclusively own our tower. MR: That information is proprietary.

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 17

April Lane 1-18.indd 17 4/9/12 9:48 AM LANE ONE-ON-ONE

EL: There are time periods when custom- world. The past year has been the worst located in between) in which to provide ers experience dropped calls or weak sig- weather in the South, and we’ve been advanced manufacturing opportunities for nals. What are the primary factors that mobilizing people and technicians all over. companies from around the world. When cause dropped service, and what is AT&T AT&T was the first private company will this initiative become more formalized doing to resolve this issue? to be certified for the Federal Emer- and active? MR: A cell tower’s capacity could be an gency Preparedness Program. We’ve MR: I attended my first BEAM meeting issue or a cell tower’s signal may not extend done a couple demonstrations: The last the other day at the Kentucky Historical to the next tower. I know for a fact while one was in Atlanta, and it’s very impres- Society (office in Frankfort), and one of driving back and forth from Lexington to sive how the program can maintain or the issues people focused on is that Ken- Louisville there are areas where there’s a recover communications services follow- tucky doesn’t have enough people with drop. We’re identifying areas where the ing natural or man-made disasters. the skill sets needed to attract advanced network needs improvement. Part of the manufacturing. So it’s important to capital investment plan is to reduce EL: Who are AT&T’s major wireless and communicate to students that it’s criti- dropped calls. I am happy to report you landline competitors in Kentucky? cal to get a postsecondary degree. can now drive the Bluegrass Parkway (Ver- MR: Insight (recently purchased by and A BEAM report will be coming out sailles to Elizabethtown) pretty much the now converting to Time Warner), Veri- later this summer, and there are going to whole way without a dropped call. zon, Windstream, Bluegrass Cellular be additional meetings with small groups. and the rural carriers. The marketplace EL: How can wireless users help AT&T is very competitive. EL: AT&T’s Kentucky headquarters are identify cell phone dead spots in Kentucky? located in Louisville. Do you have a MR: They can call into the customer ser- EL: You are active in Greater Louisville comment about Louisville Mayor Greg vice center or call into our offices in Louis- Inc., the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Fischer’s performance? ville. There’s also a free app to identify and the Bluegrass Economic Advance- MR: Mayor Fischer is doing a fantastic job. AT&T’s poor service areas. When you get ment Movement (BEAM) as well as a num- He’s very pro-business, inclusive of every- on the app, it will record the spot where ber of not-for-profit and educational one in the community, and very focused the call was dropped and advise AT&T. entities. How do you rate the performance on compassion and giving back to the city. of GLI and the Kentucky Chamber? EL: How does the wireless network MR: I would say that both organizations EL: Do you have a closing comment? accommodate communities that have are really doing a great job. GLI has been MR: Kentucky is using all the right tools large seasonal increases in wireless very effective with its 55,000 Degrees pro- to grow its economy. There’s a great pub- demand due to educational facilities, gram in education, the Bridges lic-private partnership effort throughout venues for special sports and entertain- Project, logistics, and bringing in new Ford the state. Kentucky business and political ment events, or seasonal tourism? and GE product lines. The Kentucky leaders all have the same goal: to move MR: AT&T brings in COWs (cell towers on Chamber has been very effective in Frank- Kentucky forward. They may not agree wheels), or we can bring in other equip- fort. (President/CEO) Dave Adkisson has on how to get there, but everyone’s ment. We work with the mobility team on done a fabulous job leading the Kentucky focused in the right direction. Kentucky special events to provide adequate services. Chamber. Both organizations have a focus is a great state. I’ve only been here three I’m sure in New Orleans at the NCAA tour- on recruiting jobs and investment, and years, and I call it home. ■ nament, AT&T positioned COWs and gen- creating a pro-growth business environ- erators to boost capacity. AT&T can ment throughout the state. mobilize where it needs to. If a tornado hits Ed Lane ([email protected]) one of our towers, we can bring in a mobile EL: The BEAM mission is to create a super is chief executive of Lane Consultants, tower while the damaged one is being region comprised of the Greater Louisville Inc. and publisher of The Lane Report. repaired. AT&T can do that all over the and Lexington trade areas (and counties

Realty Research.indd 1 3/10/12 11:18 AM 18 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 1-18.indd 18 4/9/12 9:48 AM THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 19

April Lane 19-44.indd 19 4/9/12 9:48 AM COVER STORY On the Road to Growth Young visitors admire an exhibit at the Frazier History Museum in , which has had more than 1.5 million visitors since opening in 2004.

billion in tax revenues for local and state governments. State officials are actively working to build the sector. Earlier this year, the Department of Travel and Tourism launched the “There’s Only One” media campaign to emphasize Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau photos that the commonwealth is laden with eas- ily driveable destinations that don’t require a $200-a-night hotel room, a $650 plane fare or $75 admission ticket. The department has ear- marked $1.3 million – nearly half its $3 million Marcheta marketing budget for Sparrow, 2012 – for the campaign, Secretary, Cabinet for according to Gil Lawson, Tourism, Arts communications director and Heritage for the Cabinet of Tour- ism, Arts and Heritage, parent agency of Kentucky’s $11 billion travel and tourism industry the department. has a ‘unique’ plan to meet pent up demand “It’s a very warm advertising cam- paign (and) has a good call to action,” said Sparrow. “We think it kind of sets BY GREG PAETH Kentucky apart – There’s Only One – things you can’t find anywhere else. “A lot of states have caves, but no other OURISTS go to New York to stone structure identified by Ripley’s state has the largest cave system in the see Times Square and the Believe It Or Not in 1922 as the world’s world with Mammoth Cave National Park. Statue of Liberty. Florida has smallest church. “A lot of states have , but no Walt Disney World. Califor- Combine all tourism and travel, how- place has the world’s largest baseball nia, the top state at attracting ever, and you have the state’s No. 3 sec- Ttravel dollars, has Hollywood, the iconic tor in terms of overall economic impact. Golden Gate Bridge and the photo-op-at- It was an industry with an $11.3 bil- The 98-year-old Belle of every-bend Pacific Coast Highway. lion economic impact in 2010 (the most Louisville steamboat cruises Kentucky Department of Travel and recent statistics available), according to from Waterfront Park in Tourism officials want to make one Cabinet for Tourism, Arts and Heritage downtown Louisville. thing perfectly clear, though: From estimates. Those tourism dollars could Wickliffe to Warfield, the Bluegrass represent as much as 7 percent of the State has its own long list of unique state’s $163 billion gross state product. attractions blending world-class destina- The 2010 travel and tourism dollar tions like the Kentucky Derby and Mam- figure, an increase of 5 percent over moth Cave National Park with heartland 2009, includes both direct expenditures must-sees such as Abraham Lincoln’s such as lodging, meals and shopping by birthplace, the Kentucky Horse Park visitors as well as in-state expenditures and Shaker Village. by people who are employed in the Some of the state’s attractions can be travel and tourism industry. categorized as offbeat curiosities with Cabinet Secretary Marcheta Sparrow niche appeal. This year’s 85th anniver- in a statement released last May said sary of the “invention” of the Hot Brown tourism and travel were the source of open-face sandwich at Louisville’s 169,258 jobs in the state in 2010, up Brown Hotel likely won’t have a measur- more than 2,600 from 12 months ear- able impact on Kentucky tourism. Like- lier. Those jobs generated more than wise for visitation to the Monte Cassino $2.5 billion in estimated Kentucky Chapel in Crestview Hills, a 6- by 9-foot wages, and tourism generated $1.188

20 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 20 4/9/12 9:48 AM There’s Only One

Kentucky is home to many unique places and attractions that can’t be found anywhere else. The commonwealth’s There’s Only One tourism campaign focuses on these 31:

• American Saddlebred Capital of the World – Shelbyville • Belle of Louisville, National Historic Landmark – Louisville • Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln – Hodgenville • Birthplace of Bluegrass Music, Kentucky industry officials are in the development Bill Monroe – Rosine Bourbon packs a tourism wallop • Birthplace of Jefferson Davis – Fairview phase of adventure tourism attractions in the One of the 31 “There’s Only One” state and plan “blue water trails” for kayaking • Birthplace of Loretta Lynn – Country Music Highway – Butcher Hollow and canoeing. attractions may be unique for its admo- nition that it should be experienced • Bourbon Country – Central Kentucky “responsibly.” • Cumberland Falls, Niagara of the The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which South – Corbin bat,” Sparrow said, referring to the • Cumberland Gap National Historic links six Central Kentucky distilleries for a Park – Middlesboro 120-foot-long specimen leaning against two-day tour, and its independent Louis- • Home of the Kentucky Derby, Louisville Slugger museum in Louisville. ville offshoot – the “Urban Bourbon Tour” Churchill Downs – Louisville “No one else has Muhammed Ali. No – are part of what the state refers to as • Horse Capital of the World – one else has Kentucky Fried Chicken – “Bourbon Country,” an umbrella term that Lexington and the Colonel,” she said, referencing covers the explosive growth of “bourbon • Houseboating Capital – Muhammed Ali Center in Louisville and tourism” throughout the commonwealth. Lake Cumberland the global KFC restaurant chain whose • International Barbecue Festival – “The Bourbon Trail has so much poten- Owensboro roots originated at Harland Sanders’ tial, and it’s becoming so popular. It’s • International Bluegrass Music Corbin service station in 1930. “Lots of something that is really having an impact Museum – Owensboro communities have things that are one of in the areas it touches,” Sparrow said. • – Louisville a kind.” Interest extends far beyond the state, • Kentucky Horse Park – Lexington The state is very conscious of change especially since CNN International in • Land Between the Lakes National Rec- in the industry, Sparrow stressed, and is February selected the trail one of “10 reation Area – Golden Pond concentrating much of its marketing on • Lost River Cave – Bowling Green Classic American Experiences,” a desig- • Louisville Slugger Museum the Internet and social media, especially nation shared with and Factory – Louisville influential Facebook. iconic attractions such as • Mammoth Cave National Park – Also evolving is an effort to satisfy a a road trip on U.S. Route Cave City growing demand for non-“passive” 66, enjoying jazz in New • Monte Cassino Chapel – Crestview Hills attractions. Orleans, or a grandstand • – Louisville “We are still in the development seat for a NASCAR race. • My Old Kentucky Home – Bardstown • – phase of adventure tourism. We’re see- “This is helping to Eric Gregory, Bowling Green ing a lot of tourism development change the face of the • – Paducah around that,” Sparrow said in a recent Kentucky tourist over- President, Kentucky • Red River Gorge – Slade interview. “We’ve had two or three night. We’re becoming • Rosemary Clooney House – Augusta zipline adventures come online in the Distillers’ known as the Sonoma of Association • Sanders Café – Corbin past year, and there’s a lot of buzz on the South,” said Eric • Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill – trail development for horseback riding Gregory, president of the Kentucky Dis- Harrodsburg and hiking and biking. We’re also work- • St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the tillers’ Association. The Sonoma refer- Assumption – Covington ing hard on what we call ‘blue water ence is to California wine country tourism • World’s Championship Horse Show – trails’ – canoeing and kayaking opportu- that has become a multibillion-dollar Louisville nities all across the state.” industry. Interest in the Bourbon Trail

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 21

April Lane 19-44.indd 21 4/9/12 9:48 AM COVER STORY

that KDA created in 1999 has grown so quickly that distillers in January hired a manager to oversee it, Gregory said. Gov. Steve Beshear called the industry “a homegrown gem and a bright spot in a struggling economy” at a February news conference unveiling a KDA study of bour- bon production’s impact on the state economy. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said bourbon “isn’t just a drink anymore. It’s a culture, a lifestyle and an essential part of our tourism efforts.” From 1999 to 2010, bourbon produc- A bartender performs for visitors at Jockey Silks In 2011, 450,000 people visited at tion more than doubled to 787,000 bar- Bourbon Bar in the Galt House hotel. The bar is among the nine members of the Urban Bourbon least one of the six stops, said Adam rels, according to the association, which Johnson, the new trail manager. Trail in Louisville, which markets itself as the also likes to mention Kentucky has a entry to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. “We’re on an upward trajectory. The bourbon inventory of 4.7 million barrels numbers for January (2012) were 51 compared to a population of just more percent over January of last year,” John- than 4.3 million. have maintained their attendance; our son said. hotel occupancy has stabilized and Many visitors express interest in the Mild winter bodes well for 2012 grown at a good rate. esoteric art of bourbon making and a con- Although a variety of state sources identi- “However, the big unknown factor noisseur’s knowledge of the distinctive fla- fied travel and tourism as the No. 3 indus- for Kentucky this year is the price of vors of each distillery’s inventory. But it’s try in Kentucky, there is less certainty about gasoline. We do not know how that will clear some tourists are just looking for an which industries rank above tourism. One affect our tourism economy.” opportunity to drink bourbon. state source pointed to U.S. Department of The industry tends to thrive on upbeat “One guy who called from New York Labor research indicating the broad cate- attitudes. said he was planning to bring a motor gory of “Trade, Transportation and Utili- Mary Hammond, pres- coach for a bachelor party,” Johnson said. ties” (364,700 jobs) is the commonwealth’s ident of the Kentucky In 2007, KDA created a promotional largest economic sector, followed by “Edu- Association of Convention passport and promised free T-shirts for cational and Health Services” (255,700). and Visitors Bureaus, also anyone collecting official stamps from However, economic impact figures were voiced optimism for the each trail distillery. Roughly 200 people not available. 2012 tourist season. Mary completed the circuit the first year, Secretary Sparrow and cabinet “I saw something the Gregory said, but by 2011 that number Hammond, spokesman Lawson said they do not other day that said we President, had exploded to nearly 12,000. have a list of the top 10 attractions in have gone from (customer Kentucky The financial analysis for the distill- the state. attitudes of) ‘We can’t,’ to Association of ers’ group estimates about 25,000 peo- It’s safe to assume, though, that the ‘We shouldn’t’ to ‘We’re Convention ple filled passports the past four years, biggest event every year is the Kentucky out of here’ with our travel and Visitors creating an $18.5 million economic Derby and the Kentucky Derby Festival plans,” said Hammond, Bureaus impact. that leads up to it, Sparrow said. A study who is executive director Authored by University of Louisville released in January by the festival’s orga- of the Paducah Convention and Visitors economist Dr. Paul Coomes, the study nizers said that two-week event has an Bureau. reports the distilled spirits industry’s economic impact of $128 million. No For example, she said, preliminary reg- value at about $1.8 billion in 2010 – dollar figure was available on the value istration numbers for one of the biggest more than 1 percent of that year’s of the Derby itself. events in her region, the American Quil- $163.3 billion “gross state product” and The economic impact report for 2011 ter’s Society show in late April, are running more than twice the 1997 figure. was still being compiled last month, Spar- ahead of last year’s pace for an annual row said. But despite economic struggles event that revolves around Paducah’s throughout the country, she believes Ken- National Quilt Museum. tucky’s travel and tourism industry will Hammond also stressed the impor- show modest growth for last year. tance of online marketing. “From all indications, we think we “People are very savvy today because are probably going to be up a bit, not a of the Internet and they want to be great deal,” she said. “We had a really assured of the quality of the attraction good winter in terms of travel – the best – make sure that what’s advertised is three months of visitation and revenue really there,” Hammond said. “And peo- that we’ve seen in the past five years.” ple are looking for value-added attrac- The mild winter, Sparrow pointed out, tions. Everybody wants to make sure was an important factor in the strong that they’re getting something good for numbers for months that are typically the their dollars.” doldrums for tourism and travel. That includes commonwealth tour- She was cautiously optimistic about ism officials. growth for 2012. In February, they quickly canceled a Bourbon tourism in Central Kentucky is an “All the indicators look good for the $180,000-a-year contract to promote travel exploding category. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail year,” said Sparrow. “I think our tourism to Kentucky in the United Kingdom when launched by the Kentucky Distillers Association in industry remains strong in the heart of London-based Gosh P.R.’s website was 1999 had at least 450,000 visitors to its six official the country. A visit to Kentucky is very found to include inaccurate information members in 2011. economical. Our tourism attractions and suggest a game of “Roadkill Bingo” –

22 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 22 4/9/12 9:48 AM recording the number of dead animals Attendance last October at the Ken- along the highway – as entertainment for tucky Travel Industry Conference in visiting motorists. Gosh compounded its Lexington indicated optimism in the poor decision-making with promotional industry for 2012, she said. Nearly 450 references to unflattering stereotypes. people participated, a sharp 41 percent Tourism Commissioner Mike Cooper increase from four years earlier when resigned his state post after news that Gosh recession doom and gloom limited The annual Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs P.R. had paid $735 of his expenses during attendance to 318. is world famous and last year attracted about an unofficial visit to London last June. Sparrow’s guarded optimism about 165,000 to the track on Derby Day. The first- the 2012 season mirrors that of the Saturday-in-May tradition is preceded by a Pent-up demand, but watch gas prices Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Travel two-week Kentucky Derby Festival. After a recession that’s been painful for Association, which tracks the industry many Americans, travel and tourism and lobbies on its behalf. York and Texas rank one through four business officials believe there’s pent-up “Recent news generally paints a in the travel association’s report on demand to get out of town. more positive economic picture, travel and tourism spending. But Illi- “A lot of people feel although some uneasiness remains,” the nois, a state that seems bereft of must- that they want to take association stated in its monthly outlook see attractions, edges out Nevada (Las the vacation that they report for March. “As we head into the Vegas) for a fifth-place ranking, pri- are due – that they have spring and the heavy summer travel marily because of business and leisure worked hard for the last booking season, all eyes will be on con- travel to Chicago, the country’s third four years,” said Kay sumers’ leisure travel plans. Will rising largest city. Berggren, president gasoline prices reverse positive attitudes According to the U.S. Travel Associa- and CEO of the Ken- Kay Berggren, and intentions developing among tion, Kentucky ranks 29th in terms of tucky Travel Industry President/ would-be travelers? Stay tuned...” travel-tourism revenue with about $7.3 CEO, Kentucky billion for 2009, the most recent year Association. Travel Industry Sparrow said Kentucky doesn’t rou- Today’s Baby Boom Association tinely measure itself against other the association has analyzed. California generation and their states’ tourism revenues because it’s was the clear No. 1 with $89.2 billion in children have different expectations difficult to find apples-to-apples com- expenditures while Delaware came in than their parents, who “didn’t travel parisons. States with big populations last with $1.4 billion. ■ because they saved,” Berggren said. and big cities and major national parks “This generation believes it is their right have a huge advantage. It should be no Greg Paeth is a correspondent for The Lane Report. (to travel). It’s part of who we are.” surprise that California, Florida, New He can be reached at [email protected].

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 23

April Lane 19-44.indd 23 4/9/12 9:48 AM ENERGY MANAGEMENT Avoiding Future Shock

Higdon said Kentucky managed to avoid even higher costs when the Ameri- can Clean Energy and Security Act, which would have established a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, failed to be enacted into law in 2010. He estimated passage of that bill would have elevated Kentucky’s energy costs to second in the nation, trailing only Texas. The issue of rising energy costs is not just a concern for Kentucky’s business sector, however, according to Scott Smith, principal with Smith Man- agement Group in Lexing- Scott Smith, ton. Smith served as the Engineer, chief of staff of Kentucky’s Smith Environmental and Public Management Protection Cabinet from Group 2004 to 2006 and is cur- rently working with the Energy Efficiency Initiative for the entire state. Utilities – and their customers – are facing costs of “hun- dreds of millions of dollars per facility” in energy transport costs, he said. With utilities’ help, Kentucky business and industry “None of this is free,” Smith said. “The costs of complying with the Clean invest in energy efficiency to keep costs competitive Air Act must be met by the utilities. They’ll still burn coal, but it will just cost more to do it.” BY EDDIE SHERIDAN Firms such as the Smith Manage- ment Group are being utilized more and more by companies wishing to improve their energy efficiency. Public OULD changing a few light bison PLLC. “If you’re not thinking utility providers such as Louisville Gas bulbs and switching off some about this as a business now, you’re and Electric Co. and the Kentucky Util- computers help Kentucky behind the curve.” ities Co. offer energy analysis programs industries and manufactur- Electricity production in Kentucky is as well. ers lessen the potential blow 92 percent coal-fired, according to Ken- “A commercial customer can request Cof rising energy costs? tucky Association of an on-site inspection with a trained Not exactly, but with coal prices on Manufacturers President energy specialist,” said Liz Pratt, public the rise, new emissions standards being Greg Higdon. relations specialist with LG&E. “They’ll enacted on power pro- That means there’s a point out areas where they can make ducers by the federal strong financial impact as Environmental Protec- the EPA monitors and tion Agency, and the administers programs price of electricity being under the Cross-State Air Greg Higdon, Total Energy Production by State projected to climb, Pollution Rule and the President, 2009 (trillion Btu) power usage is being put Clean Air Interstate Rule Kentucky Kenneth under the microscope in – both of which aim to Association of 1 Texas 11,915 Manufacturers Gish Jr., the state. create a higher standard 2 Wyoming 10,337 Environmental, “If you’re smart, of air quality by reducing the emissions of 3 Louisiana 7,302 Natural 4 West Virginia 3,727 Resources and you’re looking at the greenhouse gasses – that are forcing coal 5 Kentucky 2,819 Energy Service uncertainty of the prices higher, which is in turn causing 6 2,674 Group, Stites & (energy) rates going for- utilities that rely on coal to pass higher 7 California 2,605 Harbison PLLC ward,” said attorney Ken- rates on to their customers. 8 Oklahoma 2,571 neth Gish Jr., who is a “For many years, we led the nation in 9 Colorado 2,483 Lexington-based member of the Envi- lowest energy costs,” Higdon said. “Now, 10 New Mexico 2,412 in some areas, we’re down to fourth and ronmental, Natural Resources and Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Energy Service Group with Stites & Har- fifth place.”

24 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 24 4/9/12 9:48 AM improvements that could provide a pay- tors of price and availability alone, back of seven years or less.” however, would not necessarily make the 10 Ways to Reduce use of natural gas a quick fix for the state’s Energy Use and Cost Spend money to save much more rising energy rates, according to Higdon. Pratt said the inspection program is “So many of all the [natural gas] lines GreenBiz.com passes along tips offered at no additional cost to LG&E are already dedicated to full capacity,” he from MakeYourBuildingWork.com commercial customers. LG&E has also said. “For it to develop into a viable alterna- 1. Assess how a site consumes and wastes offered a commercial rebate program tive, we’d have to get out in front and get energy. Use regular energy audits to since 2008 to commercial customers, who all the lines laid, but it’s viable.” determine equipment condition and can receive up to $50,000 per facility per In early March, the federal Energy performance, to show where and how year for making energy-conserving Information Administration reported it energy is wasted, and to prioritize improvements. expects U.S. electricity generation from improvement measures. “From our perspective, reducing coal to decline nearly 5 percent in 2012 as 2. Use more energy efficient equipment. energy uses offsets demand growth,” Pratt generation from natural gas increases by Replace or eliminate outdated, inefficient said. “It can also ensure reliable power about 9 percent. EIA forecasts electricity equipment. Look for Energy Star labels. during peak energy uses.” generation from coal will increase by 3.8 3. Match HVAC and lighting to occupancy. The most common energy-saving percent in 2013, projecting that coal prices Programmable building controls enable systems to light, heat and cool spaces improvements LG&E inspectors identify to the power sector will fall slightly while only when they are occupied. during site verifications involve replacing natural gas prices increase, and coal regains 4. Maintain equipment. Proactively ser- lighting and lighting fixtures with more some of its power-sector generation share. viced and maintained equipment runs efficient equipment, such as replacing Gish said the expense involved in as efficiently as possible, especially chill- exit sign lights with LED bulbs, Pratt said. converting a coal-burning power plant ers, boilers and packaged cooling Gish said some offices have begun using to one that utilizes natural gas would equipment. lights that avoid waste with motion sen- probably keep many energy providers 5. Maximize lighting efficiency. Upgrade sors and timers to switch on lighting only from attempting the switch. to high-efficiency bulbs and fixtures. It when it’s needed. “I don’t think you’ll see a lot of com- uses less energy and generates less heat, More efficient means of heating and panies converting from coal to natural reducing costs and easing the strain on HVAC systems. cooling, improving equipment gearing gas,” he said. “The reality, I think, is ratios, and even redesigning the shapes you’re going to become less dependent 6. Measure water usage and waste. Con- duct water audits to determine where of buildings are other conservation on coal as a fuel source. I think what water is being used and wasted. Fix leaks means often mentioned. you’re going to see is some of the older, and install low-flow equipment to “You’ve got to get in and break your less efficient facilities go away.” reduce consumption. program down into small, manageable As the KAM is gearing up for its 2012 7. Schedule cleaning during regular things,” Smith said. “You’ve got to see Energy Conference, which will be held hours. Experiment with “day cleaning” there’s value in what you’re doing.” June 13-14 at the Crowne Plaza in Louis- to overlap with work hours instead of ville, Higdon is keeping a close eye on keeping lights, heating and air condi- ‘Alternative’ power not a serious option energy conservation issues. With manu- tioning on at night. The rising price of coal would seem to facturing producing $28 billion (or 17 8. Insulate thoroughly. Target exterior urge Kentucky’s energy providers to percent) annually of Kentucky’s gross walls, outlets, pipes, radiators, etc. to reduce heat and cooling loss. look into alternative sources to provide domestic product, he wants to make electricity, but both Smith and Gish said sure rising energy costs do not put the 9. Meet LEED standards. Build, renovate and operate facilities according to Lead- the environmental makeup of the state brakes on what is a successful period of ership in Energy and Environmental does not lend itself easily to utilizing manufacturing growth in the state. Design (LEED) standards. It will lower generators such as wind or solar. “Manufacturing, as a whole, is really operating costs and increase asset value “We don’t have enough wind and growing,” he said. “We’ve got to keep all while conserving energy and water; solar in Kentucky to put together a our costs in line to remain competitive reducing waste sent to landfills; creating power plant to utilize these ideas,” and keep putting out a quality product. healthier, safer worker environments; Smith said. It’s not just a competition between states; and reducing harmful air emissions. Due to its relatively low price and abun- it’s an international competition.” ■ 10. Make building occupants more informed. Educate and engage employ- dance in quantity at the moment, the use ees to promote energy conservation and of more natural gas could be on the hori- Eddie Sheridan is a correspondent for The Lane Report. reward wise decisions and behaviors. zon for Kentucky’s energy providers. Fac- He can be reached at [email protected].

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 25

April Lane 19-44.indd 25 4/9/12 10:37 AM GOING GREEN An Investment with a Yield For those spending more than $60,000 annually on power, efficiency upgrades look like a wise strategy

BY TY VIERLING

NERGY-efficiency annual return on the S&P 500, which improvement projects hovers at less than 1 percent over the often can result in con- last decade. siderable cost savings, yet tight capital improve- Rising utility costs shorten payback periods Ement budgets and the prospect of As long as utility costs continue to rise, additional “green” mandates mean the pay-back period for energy-effi- many facilities managers are delay- ciency upgrades will continue to con- ing investments that would significantly tract. By using guaranteed savings reduce energy consumption. contracts – “performance contracts” – Yet implementing energy-efficiency along with practical financing solutions, upgrades sooner rather than later can the cost of implementing upgrades now make very good business sense for can be covered using future energy sav- entities that spend more than $60,000 ings rather than today’s diminished or a year on energy bills. Electricity rates non-existent capital budgets. in Kentucky have risen 43 percent in The EPA’s Energy Star website offers the past five years and some experts several case studies illustrating success- predict that emerging regulatory ful use of performance contracts. A requirements will cause rates to dou- popular, effective scenario is one where ble over the next decade. an energy services provider (ESP) per- Meanwhile, investments in energy forms an energy audit of your facilities, efficiency upgrades have provided an recommends an improvement plan and average of 18 percent savings over then guarantees the resulting energy the last decade. Compare that with savings, so that the costs of new energy- Treasury Bills, which have yielded efficient equipment will be paid either between 0 percent and 5 percent in partially or entirely as monthly operat- recent years, and with the average ing costs out of savings from future

Where Kentucky Electric Power Comes From U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake Barkley Dam (Lyon) – 130 MW Generation percentages are for 2004 Wolf Creek Dam (Russell) – 270 MW

91% – Coal-fired power plants* TVA 1.9% – Natural gas/fuel oil power plants (for peak power demand) American Electric Power Paradise (Muhlenberg) – 2,558 MW Big Sandy (Lawrence) – 1,097 MW Shawnee (McCracken) – 1,750 MW Henderson Municipal Power & Light Henderson 1 (Henderson) – 2 MW Cinergy Western Kentucky Energy East Bend (Boone) – 669 MW Coleman (Hancock) – 521 MW Kentucky Utilities Brown (Mercer) – 967 MW East Kentucky Power Green (Webster) – 586 MW Cooper (Pulaski) – 321 MW Henderson 2 (Henderson) – 405 MW Haefling (Fayette) – 63 MW Dale (Clark) – 207 MW Reid (Webster) – 96 MW Tyrone (Woodford) – 62 MW Spurlock (Mason) – 1,087 MW Wilson (Ohio) – 440 MW Louisville Gas & Electric Cane Run (Jefferson) – 16 MW Henderson Municipal Power & Light * An additional 3.6% of Kentucky power comes Henderson 1 (Henderson – 44 MW from petroleum coke burned in coal-fired plants. Paddy’s Run (Jefferson) – 227 MW Waterside (Jefferson) – 45 MW Kentucky Utilities Zorn (Jefferson) – 18 MW Brown (Mercer) – 740 MW 3.1% – Hydroelectric power plants Ghent ( Carroll) – 2,226 MW East Kentucky Power City of Paris Green River (Muhlenberg) – 188 MW Laurel (Laurel) – 70MW Paris (Bourbon) – 12 MW Pineville (Bell) – 38 MW Kentucky Utilities Western Kentucky Energy Tyrone (Woodford) – 75 MW Dix Dam (Garrard) – na Reid (Webster) – 99 MW Louisville Gas & Electric Lock 7 (Mercer) – na Cane Run (Jefferson) – 645 MW Louisville Gas & Electric Mill Creek (Jefferson) – 1,717 MW Falls of the Ohio (Jefferson) – 80 MW Source: Office of Energy Policy, Division of Fossil Fuels & Utility Services Trimble (Trimble) – 566 MW TVA Owensboro Municipal Utilities Kentucky Lake Dam (Marshall) – 197 MW Elmer Smith (Daviess) – 445 MW

26 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 26 4/9/12 9:48 AM energy bills. The contract may also equipment, installation, finance options cerns or complaints about the facility. include financing through the ESP, and costs, long-term maintenance service Providing information about the which may also provide construction fees and employee education needed to energy management expertise of your management and long-term mainte- achieve maximum energy savings. facility staff will help the ESP deter- nance services. • Opportunity costs of delaying mine how much to budget for training Public entities may combine an ESP upgrades, including lost energy savings. and long-term maintenance. performance contract with a lower • Anticipated payback period in A qualified ESP operating under a interest rate, tax-exempt lease purchase terms of energy savings. performance contract will guarantee agreement as a financing option, when These are complex factors that must the energy savings needed to finance the projected savings will be greater take into account the variety of modern the project under the agreed-up terms, than the cost of the useful life of the technologies available and choosing a or pay you the difference between the upgraded equipment and installation. qualified ESP is critical. guaranteed savings and the savings actu- Harshaw Trane used performance con- ally achieved. You’ll want to set up a tracting to make upgrades at Fort Knox Contracting with a qualified ESP schedule for going over results and that saved the base more than $10 million The Energy Services Coalition (ESC), a making any necessary maintenance and in energy costs per year and eliminated a national nonprofit network of energy employee training adjustments. Even lengthy list of deferred maintenance experts, offers several tips on choosing a buildings that incorporate the latest needs, with most of the changes requiring qualified ESP, and also offers a sample energy-efficient technologies will fall no up-front capital expenditures. Request for Proposal (RFP) for identify- short if not operated properly. In some cases, energy savings may ing potential providers. Most important, Energy-efficiency improvements can even be large enough to generate a pos- the ESC says, is to find an ESP that bring long-term savings by reducing itive cash flow that can be used for other understands your facilities, and that utility bills, as well future outlays for projects; in any case, repayment terms means getting the provider on site to routine maintenance and emergency can be negotiated to eliminate any walk through your buildings. repairs, while also improving occupant increase in operating costs. You’ll also need to share data comfort and productivity. ■ regarding your total annual energy Do the math expenditures, peak energy usage times, Ty Vierling is energy services leader The first step is to do the math. Compo- any quirks in energy demand, total at Harshaw Trane, an intelligent nents of the analysis include: facility square footage (as well as how building technology and energy services • Total cost of the upgrade project, buildings are laid out), any special air provider in Kentucky and Indiana. including the audit, engineering/design, quality requirements, and any con-

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 27

April Lane 19-44.indd 27 4/9/12 10:35 AM MEDICAL SERVICES

or later the individual member was going to have to take more responsibility. National statistics back up Freed- man. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show personal healthcare expenditures jumped from $1.2 trillion in 2000 to $2.1 trillion in 2009. That continues a trend that began in 1960 of costs either doubling or tripling every decade. At the same time that healthcare costs are rising, the number of people with insurance is decreasing. In 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released the National Health Interview Survey, which reported on the preva- lence of health insurance for children, adults and senior citizens. The findings showed that between 1980 and 2007 the number of adults younger than 65 with health insurance declined 1.2 percent annually for most of those years. (There was a slight increase between 1996 and 1999.) The report also states that fewer adults are covered by health insurance at work, with employer- sponsored coverage declining from 71 percent in 1980 to 62 percent in 2007.

Local price disparity can be 300-400 percent Cost Competition HealtheReports is set to capitalize on a little-known fact among healthcare con- sumers: Price disparities exist among doctors, clinics, hospitals and surgery centers in most major markets across for Care Providers the country. “Doesn’t make any difference who your insurance company is, what health Kentucky firm markets software tool allowing plan you’re using, what market you’re price comparisons for healthcare bargain hunters in or what the procedure is,” Freedman said. “Doctors and hospitals negotiate significantly different prices with health BY ROBERT HADLEY plans and insurance companies for the same procedures.” According to the trade journal Health UPPOSE during your routine preferred-provider net- Leaders Media, the disparity can be as annual physical, the doctor says works and employers that much as 300 to 400 percent among pro- it’s time to schedule a colonos- subscribe to its online ser- viders for the same procedure. copy. Traditionally, the next step vice. According to the So why do such disparities exist? would be to arrange the proce- company’s founders, Jim Experts blame it on a variety of factors, Sdure with a specialist, typically one recom- Freedman and Mike Issac, including a facility’s market share, loca- mended by your primary care physician the four-year-old compa- Jim Freedman, tion and reputation. and who is also in your insurance carrier’s ny’s goal was to help CEO/Co- One of the country’s largest and most preferred-provider network (PPO). patients become better Founder, IF highly rated HMOs, Massachusetts’s Tufts Instead of this somewhat cut-and- healthcare consumers. Technologies Associated Health Maintenance Organiza- dried process, imagine being able to sit Continually increasing tion, has testified about the cost differences down at your computer and comparison medical costs, which among providers. Tufts said, “Our efforts shop for the best price for a colon exam employers pass along to to contain unit cost increases have been or for dozens of other routine medical their workers as higher constrained by provider market leverage procedures. You log in to an online deductibles and larger co- driven by system size, reputation, service database that not only provides histori- payments, created the uniqueness and geographic location. Our cal data on the prices charged by area need for this software, efforts also have been constrained by mar- physicians for medical procedures, but they said. Mike Issac, ket preferences dictating that we maintain also lists patient-satisfaction ratings in “Several years ago we President/ as broad a provider network as possible.” Co-founder, categories such as staff professionalism, recognized the impending IF Technologies Last year, the 1 million-member Tufts cleanliness and other parameters. crisis facing the healthcare HMO was ranked second on a list of the That’s essentially what HealtheReports, industry in terms of how out of control top 20 private health insurance plans by a new software tool developed by Lexing- costs were,” Freedman said. “We saw that as the National Committee for Quality ton-based IF Technologies, provides to healthcare costs continued to rise, sooner Assurance.

28 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 28 4/9/12 9:48 AM An educational video on Humana has been scrubbed of any personally to choose less-expensive providers, the Inc.’s website sheds additional light on identifiable information to meet HIPPA ultimate value may occur down the road the economic reasons behind the cost requirements. when providers begin to compete with disparities among providers (See Because the cost for a given opera- each other on price. humana.com/resources/videos/health- tion may have many components, such “It’s an integral part of consumer- care_education/doctors.aspx). Doctors, as price for the hospital, the surgeon, ism,” Oliver said. “How can you be a hospitals and other providers are able the radiologist and/or anesthesiologist, good consumer if you don’t know what to join health insurance networks that Oliver said HealtheReports quotes the price tag is? This software, in con- enable them to leverage higher patient prices including all of those costs – “the junction with the robust wellness pro- volume in exchange for offering dis- episode of care” – so there are no sur- grams HealthSpan offers, allows people counts to members of health insurance prises when the bill comes. to be good consumers of lifestyle.” ■ plans, according to the Humana video. Although cost-conscious comparison Independent doctors who do not join shoppers may initially benefit from Robert Hadley is a correspondent for The Lane Report. such networks are unable to offer lower HealtheReports because it allows them He can be reached at [email protected]. prices because their patient volumes are lower. Doctors who join the insurance network must maintain their medical credentials and accreditation, accord- ing to the video, which enhances the perception of quality care.

No correlation between cost and quality But IF Technologies co-founder Issac cautions that quality of care and cost of care are rarely linked. “Every national study we’ve seen says there’s no correlation between cost and quality,” Issac said. “It’s mostly tied to the negotiating position of the entity.” According to HealthSpan, a Cincin- nati-based PPO and IF Technology’s flagship client, cost disparities may arise because each procedure is different. “The reason there’s a range is that you may need more morphine than I do,” said Diane Oliver, sales director for HealthSpan. “I might need an extra bag of Diane Oliver, blood. It’s not like a com- Sales Director, modity, where you’re buy- HealthSpan ing, say, a bottle of ketchup.” HealthSpan operates in the partially self-funded healthcare industry, where employers negotiate discounted prices with a PPO and use stop-loss insurance to protect themselves from catastrophic claims, Oliver said. This made it was a natural fit for IF Technology’s software, which allows HealthSpan’s customers to comparison shop for medical care from among 100,000 hospitals and 10,000 physicians that belong to its network. “We’re strong proponents of trans- parency,” Oliver said, referring to the Catholic-owned PPO. “There needs to be more of that in the marketplace.” Many competitors of the HealtheRe- ports system use the published or list price quoted by hospitals for medical procedures, Oliver said. “No one pays list price in this indus- try, so it kind of gives a false impression of what the actual cost is,” she said. Instead, HealtheReports bases its prices on historical claims data, which

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 29

April Lane 19-44.indd 29 4/9/12 9:48 AM CONSTRUCTION

Pikeville Medical Center is undergoing a $130 million expansion that includes an 11-story medical office facility and parking garage with 900-plus spaces.

Vincent, executive director of Associ- ated General Contractors Kentucky. Conversely, however, ACG-Ky was recognized recently as the U.S. chapter with the most growth. Vincent credits it to the fact that contractors are pursuing every angle they can, and ACG-Ky is a strong advocate for the industry in Frankfort. “We’re still seeing 14 Richard and 16 bidders on a Vincent, Pikeville Medical Center photo project that five years Executive ago would have had Director, four or five bidders,” Associated General Vincent said. Compa- Contractors – nies are bidding on jobs Kentucky at break-even cost or even occasionally at a loss so they can keep dollars coming in to keep the doors open.

‘Focused on surviving in 2012’ “It’s not limited to a specific division, a specific sector, a specific type of work. ‘An Extended Bottom’ It’s across the board,” he said. “We find very, very few companies that are thriv- Kentucky construction contractors compete hard for ing in 2012. They are focused on surviv- ing 2012. It’s tough.” jobs; manufacturing, multi-family housing show improvement New York-based McGraw-Hill Con- struction tracks activity across the BY MARK GREEN United States. “For all of 2011, total (U.S.) con- struction starts slipped 2 percent to $421.4 billion, following the slight 1 IKE their counterparts a topping out ceremony early this percent gain reported for 2010,” around the nation, Kentucky month for work on its $130 million McGraw-Hill reported in January. “After construction contractors are expansion. Owensboro Medical Health the steep declines reported during the battling through a fourth System’s 477-bed, $385 million hospital 2007-2009 period, when activity lean year. There is less work project is slated for completion in dropped a combined 38 percent, the Land lots more competition to get it. U.S. spring 2013. overall volume of new construction construction activity today is at least 10 Ford just finished spending roughly starts has essentially stabilized at a low percent lower than it was 12 years ago. $600 million to rebuild its Louisville level during the past two years.” Some improvement will come by Assembly Plant, which this month The December statistics produced a year’s end when dozens of contracts for begins producing the next generation reading of 87 for the Dodge Index – work on the Ohio River Bridges Project of the Escape compact SUV, and it is whose scale is based on national con- in Louisville start going out. It’s a $2.6 about to put a similar amount into an struction activity in 2000 as 100 – down billion project that will take five years to update of its Kentucky Truck Plant in from November’s revised 89. For all of complete. Additionally, University of eastern Louisville. GM is putting $130 2011, the Dodge Index averaged 89. Kentucky Board of Trustees members in million into an expansion and upgrade Before the crash in activity in 2008, February authorized UK President Eli of its Corvette plant in Bowling Green, the Dodge Index was bouncing around Capilouto’s administration to begin the where local officials are completing a in the 130 to 150 range. first project in what will be a $500 mil- $150 million capital investment project “The pace of new construction starts lion upgrade of campus housing. focused on the downtown. continues to fluctuate within a set Other projects have kept at least Those projects during the recession range, showing stability in a broad sense some Kentucky contractors busy the and lingering economic downturn that but not yet making the transition to past few years, too. UK last year finished began in 2007 and 2008 have been renewed expansion,” Robert A. Murray, the main, $538 million first phase of its invaluable because overall construction vice president of economic affairs for Chandler Medical Center. Only a few activity has fallen sharply. McGraw-Hill Construction, stated for blocks down the street, Central Baptist “I’ve lost more members this year the January report. “Gains for a few Hospital has a $200 million expansion due to business closure than I have the project types are being offset by contin- underway. Pikeville Medical Center held last two years combined,” said Richard ued weakness for other project types,

30 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 30 4/9/12 9:48 AM with the result that total construction is ever in 2011, which included large proj- experiencing an extended bottom.” ects for Whirlpool in Tennessee, for Cat- There are no Kentucky-specific sta- erpillar and Siemens in North Carolina, tistics. and for Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. According to Kentucky Cabinet for “I consider it still depressed,” Sum- Transportation figures, the state in 2011 mers said of commonwealth construc- completed 18 road projects of $5 mil- tion industry activity. “Certainly things lion or more. They totaled just shy of are still very aggressive in terms of com-

$300 million. petition and in pricing.” OMHS photo There are 15 major road construc- Within the past six to eight months Owensboro Medical Health System, which is tion projects scheduled for 2012 total- there has been increased activity in proj- licensed for 477 hospital beds, is building a $385 ing $372 million. ects being put out for bid, he said. million, state-of-the-art medical center. “Nationwide it’s picking up, more in Beginning to see more projects go to bid the area of manufacturing than else- “Construction contrac- where,” Summers said. tors are scrambling for In Kentucky, though, many contrac- “The construction industry is a resil- work, especially those tors continue to struggle. ient industry, a resilient profession,” who work just in the “A lot of it is they’ve just fallen back, Vincent said. “However, we are compet- state,” said Steve Sum- gone to smaller projects,” Summers ing now with a lot of companies coming mers, executive vice said. “They’re doing rehab work, resi- into the state, large and small, that are president of Lexington- dential-type work. It’s a mixture of adding that extra layer of competition.” based Gray Construction Steve Summers, things. Several have closed their doors Government appropriations for capi- Executive tal projects is expected to fall another 6 and president of Associ- Vice President, and gone out of business.” ated General Contrac- Gray Figures that Vincent provided from percent this year as tax revenues fall at tors of Kentucky. “The Construction an Associated General Contractors of the local level across the nation. Kentucky market is still America presentation last month show “The game has changed a lot the pretty slow.” that construction employment in Ken- past decade and made it tougher to sur- Summers’ position at Gray offers tucky improved by 2 percent from Janu- vive,” Vincent said. ■ perspective. Gray Construction, which ary 2011 to January 2012. Multi-family specializes in large-scale industrial man- housing construction is growing and Mark Green is editorial director of The Lane Report. ufacturing projects, had its best year expected to improve this year and next. He can be reached at [email protected].

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 31

April Lane 19-44.indd 31 4/9/12 9:48 AM FINANCIAL SERVICES America’s Best-Run Bank? Steady growth and a conservative approach lead 83, the younger Trager said Republic Bank has gained recognition and Republic Bancorp to the top of a national listing avoided risky practices and capital loss because of these principles. BY ABBY LAUB Republic Bancorp was founded in 1982 as a small savings and loan bank in Western Ken- HY was Republic Ban- “I think it’s all about humility, being tucky and has grown corp identified this year nice to people and treating people steadily. For the past sev- as the best performing right,” said Republic Bancorp CEO eral years, Republic has bank in the United States Steve Trager. “It’s making sure that we been ranked among the Bernard based on combined are accessible and work hard, and top 10 best-run among Trager, financialW performance and capital levels? there’s really nothing fancy about what all 484 U.S. publicly Founder, The answer might seem too simple. we do. We treat people right, and that traded banks in listings Republic Bancorp In an age of bank failures, risky includes our customers, our associates published by Bank Direc- loans, upside-down mortgages and con- and the communities that we serve.” tor magazine. sumer uncertainty, Louisville-based Staying true to the values of his late In January, Republic hit the very top Republic sticks to its core values and is father and the bank’s founder, Bernard of the list in the magazine’s latest rank- reaping the rewards. Trager, who passed away Feb. 10 at age ing, which was based on two key met- rics: core return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) and the ratio of aver- Steve Trager, age tangible common equity (TCE) to President/CEO, tangible assets. Republic Bancorp ROTCE and TCE reflect earnings and capital management success in today’s more difficult, higher-ratio regulatory environment, according to New York- based investment banking firm Sandler O’Neill + Partners, which compiled Bank Director’s stats by looking at data from eight quarters to avoid volatility distortions. “The ranking is a good measurement of how companies are deploying their capital and those companies that are better at getting a return on that capi- tal,” said Mark Fitzgibbon, the director of research at Sandler. Trager said he is proud of the accom- plishment and wouldn’t trade his bank’s position for any other. But Republic remains humble and focused, and for him what the national recognition means is that the bank’s chains – which include operations in west-central Flor- ida – can simply continue to take great care of their customers. “By creating good earnings, I think it comforts the communities that we serve that we have a good future,” Trager said, noting that it takes a long time to build a quality organization but a very short time to make big mistakes. “We are very focused on making sure we limit our mis- takes. If we get too excited about our earnings, some companies that do that lose their focus on doing things the right way ... It’s a new day, we have to continue to do things well.” Banks with higher capital ratios were making better use of shareholders’

32 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 32 4/9/12 9:48 AM money and were proving to have the and the No. 1 ranking was “well “In this very uncertain environment, strongest business models, strategy and deserved.” I think one of things is that our success operating skills, according to Bank Direc- Like most Kentucky banks, Republic can comfort customers we serve because tor. Republic Bancorp has $3 billion in Bancorp has managed risk well in a they know Republic’s future is as certain assets and scored impressively on its changing financial environment, she as you can get,” he said. “It’s comforting capital ratio and ROTCE. said. Kentucky banks generally still ... Everything we do is based on long- operate in a traditional conservative term planning.” Shrewd, strategic growth important manner. Dianna Preece, professor of finance at “If you look at the big guys, it’s this con- Challenging the FDIC won admirers the University of Louisville, said the bank stant push ... to push the earnings, push An uncertain economy makes that long- has managed its growth very shrewdly the earnings,” Preece said. “So they do a lot term planning a challenge. Growing and that has been a key to its success. of things, like leveraging and all the things lists of federal regulations make bank- “When they do make an acquisition it’s you see to cause banks to have significant ing more difficult, Trager said, but very strategic,” she said. “They get assets at trouble, that a lot of Kentucky banks don’t Republic Bank’s size has helped it a huge discount and (pay) no premium do. Many big banks have gone way outside absorb the extra costs of compliance. on the deposits. ... It seems like they’re of what banks traditionally do.” “Yet at the same time we’re not so big making really good decisions.” Republic Bancorp also has remained that we can’t be responsive to our cus- Trager told Bank Director that Repub- community minded, a priority made tomers,” he said. “We found a good size lic hopes to make a “meaningful, large part of the culture of the bank by his point for ourselves. If you’re really acquisition” in the future and that pre- father, according to Trager. small, some of the costs of technology, serving its capital will allow it to accom- “He used to always say, ‘What we the challenge of regulatory environ- plish that goal at the right time. make here, stays here,’” Trager recalled. ment, make it difficult to compete.” “It’s nice to know that we can pur- “We’ve had several straight record years. Ballard Cassady Jr., president/CEO sue opportunity without depending on As an example, in the last two years of the Kentucky Bankers Association others to raise capital, because raising we’ve been able to set aside $10 million (KBA), said FDIC regulations have capital when you need it is tough,” strictly from earnings to form our made business tough, and banks need Trager said. Republic Bank Foundation. Assuming to have some size in order to survive. Staying well capitalized, finding new we continue to be successful, we are “Bankers are willing to abide by what- ways to earn money, maintaining flexi- making sure that we’re committed to ever laws (the FDIC) wants them to abide bility and not trying to grow too fast sharing the success with the communi- by, but it shouldn’t change week to week,” has paid off for Republic, Preece said, ties we serve. he said. “Unfortunately it changes week to

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 33

April Lane 19-44.indd 33 4/9/12 9:48 AM BANKING SERVICES

week, but Republic Bank has done a ter- rific job of being a very solidly built from the ground up bank.” Preece believes regulations are only going to get tighter, and banks might have to get used to being satisfied with smaller returns on assets than they once enjoyed in order to avoid risky behavior or behavior perceived as risky by regulators. Republic Bancorp recently settled with the FDIC over its practice of Ballard refund anticipation Cassady Jr., loans. Republic was one President/ CEO, of the last major financial Kentucky institutions to stop RALs Bankers under FDIC pressure and

Association lawsuits, but Cassady Republic Bancorp photo thinks the bank was uti- lizing a perfectly sound business tactic Settlement ultimately made sense Headquartered in downtown Louisville, Republic and just found another way to think out- for Republic Bancorp and the FDIC. Bancorp has 43 banking centers and is the holding side the box and stay close to its cus- The RALs, Trager said, were a “rela- company for Republic Bank & Trust Co., which tomer base. tively modest piece of our entire tax serves 38 locations throughout Louisville, Lexing- “I was so proud of Republic Bank tak- ton, other Central Kentucky communities, Southern business, so you’ve got to give up some- Indiana and Nashville, Tenn., and Republic Bank ing on the FDIC that I almost busted,” he thing to get something. We have lots of with offices in Hudson, Palm Harbor, Port Richey said. “The refund anticipation loans were products at Republic Bank that are and Temple Terrace, Fla., and in Blue Ash, Ohio. a very legitimate business.” performing very well, not the least of Republic used a computer program which is our tax business.” to calculate the risk factors involved in Republic is the nation’s largest bank Kentucky has helped us,” Trager said. an RAL, for the bank and the consumer, processor of electronic tax refunds, so it “We hope the federal government Cassady said, resulting in a less than 1 is still in a leadership position in the tax doesn’t get in the way of serving our percent loss on the loans. sector. It also has made some profitable customers, because they can make it “They made good money, but the bank acquisitions from FDIC leads. challenging at times.” FDIC came along and said, ‘We think The FDIC still “feels pretty good In fact, the national bank scene it’s unsafe and unsound,’ and they had about us and that gives us opportunities could take a cue from what Republic no proof to back that up, nothing,” he down the road,” Trager said. He thinks and other banks in Kentucky have done. said. “The other banks backed away it is unfortunate so few banks are in a The last state-chartered bank to fail was because of various reasons. They didn’t position to pursue their right to chal- Peoples Bank of Olive Hill in December want the FDIC (objections) to spill over lenge the institution. 1987, said Kelly May, spokesperson for into something else.” Preece said RALs are a safe way to Kentucky's Department of Financial Insti- But since Republic had nothing to make money in her view, tutions. Federally chartered Irwin Union hide, he said, they were not afraid to tell but they did present Bank failed in 2009 just after moving its the FDIC it was wrong. banks using them with a headquarters to Louisville and did not The KBA “did a friend-of-the-court slight public relations have a significant presence in Kentucky. brief on that suit because we felt so issue because they could “I think the world has seen that big- strongly,” Cassady said. The FDIC “couldn’t appear to prey on lower ger is not necessarily better, and you believe someone would stand up to them. income people desper- know, it is comforting for customers in We were so proud of Republic Bank. ... All ate for a cash advance. Dianna Preece, Kentucky to be in a position to hold the bank was doing was funding the tax- The legal wrangling Professor of their provider accountable. And when payers with lines of credit.” behind it, Republic Finance, you have a Kentucky bank – a commu- University of hopes to continue its Louisville nity bank like us or other Kentucky More acquisition opportunities steady, smart growth. community banks – and you’ve got a Trager said Republic realizes it is oper- “There are some unique acquisition question or concern, you’ve got some- ating in a regulated environment and opportunities because of the challenges body that you can reach,” Trager said. that ultimately respecting those regula- that are out there,” Trager said. “We are “You look at this foreclosure fiasco: tions was necessary. very well capitalized, so we would like to Those were all the big banks. Very few of “The FDIC is very important to all take advantage of that. ... We’re looking the foreclosures in this state – an incredibly banks, and I guess like any entity or any for a (bank with a) portfolio of loans disproportionately low percentage of fore- government entity in particular, every- that we can manage and take advantage closures in this state – come from Kentucky body’s got to be held accountable and of our abilities and realize something community banks because we know our subject to challenge,” he said. “But it is more valuable than the discount we get customers. We’re in it for the long haul, very difficult to challenge the FDIC, and to purchase it.” and we don’t want to put our customers that’s not necessarily healthy. Whenever Being based in Kentucky also makes with products that are not best for them.” ■ you have an entity that is insulated from him optimistic, he said. challenge, it eliminates accountability “Kentucky is a lot more stable than a Abby Laub is a correspondent for The Lane Report. and is not necessarily a good thing.” lot of other areas around. Being in She can be reached at [email protected].

34 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 34 4/9/12 9:48 AM THE LANE LIST

Louisville Zoo Keeneland Race Track TOP TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN KENTUCKY Ranked by number of visitors in 2011

ATTRACTION VISITORS IN 2011 ADDRESS PHONE NUMBER WEB SITE Land Between The Lakes 1,500,000 100 Van Morgan Drive, Golden Pond, KY 42211 (270) 924-2000 lbl.org Kentucky Horse Park 1,000,000 4089 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 233-4303 kyhorsepark.com Cumberland Gap National Historical Park 900,000 P.O. Box 1848, Middlesboro, KY 40965 (606) 248-2817 nps.gov/cuga Louisville Zoo 850,000 1100 Trevilian Way, Louisville, KY 40213 (502) 459-2181 louisvillezoo.com Beech Bend Amusement Park and Raceway 675,000 798 Beech Bend Road, Bowling Green, KY 42101 beechbend.com Cumberland Falls State Resort Park 650,000+ 7351 Ky. Hwy. 90, Corbin, KY 40701 (800) 325-0063 parks.ky.gov Louisville Bats Baseball 600,000 401 E. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 212-2287 batsbaseball.com Natural Bridge State Resort Park 600,000+ 2135 Natural Bridge Road, Slade, KY 40376 (800) 325-1710 parks.ky.gov Newport Aquarium 600,000 One Aquarium Way, Newport, KY 41071 (859) 261-7444 newportaquarium.com Fort Boonesborough State Park 500,000+ 4375 Boonesborough Road, Richmond, KY 40475 (859) 527-3131 parks.ky.gov Mammoth Cave National Park 500,000 1 Mammoth Cave Parkway, Mammoth Cave, KY 42259 (270) 758-2180 nps.gov/maca Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts 475,000 501 W. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 562-0100 kentuckycenter.org Lake Barkley State Resort Park 450,000+ 3500 State Park Road, Cadiz, KY 42211 (800) 325-1708 parks.ky.gov Keeneland Race Track 450,000 4201 Versailles Road, Lexington, KY 40510 (800) 456-3412 keeneland.com Lexington Legends Baseball 420,000 207 Legends Lane, Lexington, KY 40505 (859) 252-4487 lexingtonlegends.com Barren River Lake State Resort Park 411,000* 1149 State Park Road, Lucas, KY 42156 (270) 646-2151 parks.ky.gov The 300,000 2800 Bullittsburg Church Road, Petersburg, KY 41080 (888) 582-4253 creationmuseum.org Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory 210,000 800 W. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202 (877) 775-8443 sluggermuseum.com Kentucky Derby Museum 200,000 704 Central Ave., Louisville, KY 40208 (502) 637-1111 derbymuseum.org Churchill Downs 160,000 700 Central Ave., Louisville, KY 40208 (502) 636-4400 churchilldowns.com My Old Kentucky Home State Park 100,000* 501 E. Stephen Foster Ave., Bardstown, KY 40004 (502) 348-3502 parks.ky.gov * Estimate because visitors participating in hiking, boating, etc., are unable to be tracked. Source: Individual attraction contacts, websites, Kentucky Department of Parks

Kentucky Horse Park Cumberland Falls State Resort Park

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 35

April Lane 19-44.indd 35 4/9/12 9:48 AM SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS

Above: Folk art is a big seller every year.

Left: There were 181 artisan exhibitors.

Below: Kentucky Crafted: The Market moved to Lexington Center in 2012 after many years at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Kentucky Crafted: The Market 2012 OR its 30th incarnation presenting the works of commonwealth artists and crafts- people, Kentucky Crafted: The Market returned to Lexington. As usual, the first two Fdays were for dealers and the final two days were for shopping by the general public. There were 181 artisan exhibitors this year at Lexington Center. They attracted 258 retail business buyers from 15 states plus visitors from at least 102 counties, 20 states and four countries. The highest priced item sold at The Market was a piece of furniture for $10,000. Although very few artists created work at retail prices of $1,000 or more, those who did sold. Among the high-ticket sales were furniture, wood carvings, jewelry, paint- ings and quilts. Items sold for $4,500; $2,800; $2,500; $2,000; $1,300; several at $1,000; and a squeaker at $998. The readers of AmericanStyle magazine voted Kentucky Crafted: The Market the No. 1 event in the nation for the third consecutive year, and four of the past five years. Southeast Tourism Society also named Kentucky Crafted: The Market a top 20 U.S. attraction for the 14th time. Arts Events Around the State Kentucky Writers’ Day Capitol Rotunda, Frankfort 10 a.m. April 24 artscouncil.ky.gov (502) 564-3757

Thinking Big: Oversized Works by Kentucky Artisans Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea Above: Artisans and performers held workshops 9 a.m.-6 p.m. through April 28 and entertained. kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov (859) 985-5448 Left: The four-day event was named a Top 20 attraction in the U.S. for the 14th year by the City Streets Southeast Tourism Society. The Speed Art Museum, Louisville Through May 20 speedmuseum.org (502) 634-2700

acCent! Art Quilts of the UK The National Quilt Museum, Paducah Through June 12 quiltmuseum.org (270) 442-8856

4th International Mystery Writers’ Festival River Park Center, Owensboro Paramount Arts Center, Ashland June 14-17 Visitors from at least 102 riverparkcenter.com counties, 20 states and (270) 687-2787 four countries attended.

36 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 36 4/9/12 9:48 AM KENTUCKY TOURISM SHOWCASE

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 37

April Lane 19-44.indd 37 4/10/12 11:40 AM EXPLORING KENTUCKY

Eagles Bed and Breakfast near Burnside, Ky.

Rustic Forest Retreat Head south to the Somerset area for the second site, a hostelry snuggling up to two topographic treasures: the National Forest and the South Fork of the Cumberland River. Just outside Burnside, Eagles View Bed and Breakfast is aptly named, for a canopied deck on this two-story timber- frame structure overlooks both woods and water, as does a steamy hot tub. Owners Debbie and Gary Dunhoft opened the property, the manifestation of a dream, in 2010, when he also began a second post-retirement business, Bait & Hook fishing guide service on Lake Cumberland. Accommodations in this cliff-top aerie include three spacious bedrooms with lake-view private decks, flat-screen Natural Incentives TVs and wireless high-speed Internet. Breakfasts can be customized to meet dietary needs. Scenic getaways provide an ideal setting for retreats or family get-togethers “Our views are spectacular,” Gary said. “There’s a lot to do in the area, but BY KATHERINE TANDY BROWN often guests just hang out on the decks and enjoy the scenery.” With nature all around, team-build- F you’re searching for a refreshing breakfasts. Pre-arranged lunches and ing options abound. Take a six-hour change of scenery for your compa- dinners can be indoors or outside on an fishing trip on the lake and enjoy your Iny’s corporate retreats and incentive oversized shaded patio, in a flower gar- catch at an evening fish fry. Raft, canoe programs, consider an escape into Ken- den or in an event barn. or hop on a horse at Cumberland Falls, tucky’s great outdoors. From the Appa- “We often host strategic planning hike to Yahoo Falls and play golf at Gen- lachians in the east to the Lakes Area in meetings and rewards retreats,” said eral Burnside Island State Park or the west, the commonwealth has a slew Allen. “If attendee numbers surpass our Eagles Nest Country Club, where a com- of sites in gorgeous natural areas where capacity, we can team up for overnights puterized lesson can help you swing like attendees can relax in pampering com- with comparable properties in the area, a pro. fort and focus on goals without the dis- such as Springhill Winery and Planta- tractions of a city workplace, and tion Bed and Breakfast (in Bloomfield) Water Wonderland superstar employees can revel in an and Rosemark Haven in Bardstown, For years, Western Kentucky has been incentive trip with plenty of recreational which serves fantastic dinners.” known as an extraordinary outdoor rec- options. Here are three to consider. Business amenities include wireless reation destination, thanks to the Internet access, a meeting room for 30, 170,000-plus-acre Land Between the Luxurious Farm Digs data ports and AV equipment, team- Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL), Tucked in rolling Central Kentucky building murder mystery dinners, and a farmland, the first is a 7,000-s.f. National property buyout option. Register of Historic Places home near Maple Manor’s innkeepers can Big Bear Camp Springfield with 14-foot ceilings, a float- arrange for guests to stay busy in the 30 Big Bear Rd. ing cherry spiral staircase and impres- area, touring bourbon distilleries; Benton KY 42025 sive kudos: BedandBreakfast.com’s (800) 922-2327 indulging in gourmet-on-the-rails bigbearkentuckylake.com “Best B’n’B in the South” and “Top 10 aboard My Old Kentucky Dinner Train; Innkeepers in the U.S.” taking bourbon cooking classes; nosing Eagles View Bed and Breakfast Thanks to hosts/owners Todd Allen in Civil War museums; playing golf; 45 Glen Eagle Dr. and Tyler Horton, beautifully restored catching an outdoor musical; sky diving; Burnside KY 42519 Historic Maple Hill Manor, circa 1851, is antique shopping; or cheering home a (877) 767-9966 a gracious step back in time set on a winner at Thoroughbred racetracks in eaglesviewbnb.com 14-acre working llama and alpaca farm. Lexington and Louisville, both but an Historic Maple Hill Manor Once a Civil War hospital, this col- hour away. umned Greek Revival house offers seven 2941 Perryville Rd. Or folks can learn about alpaca and US 150 East spacious antique-filled guest rooms with llamas, stroll through the farm’s Springfield KY 40069 big comfy beds and private baths; a orchard and nature preserve, or simply (800) 886-7564 splendid, formal 25-seat dining room; settle into a rocker on the wide porch maplehillmanor.com and to-die-for full country-gourmet and listen to the quiet.

38 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 38 4/9/12 9:48 AM and two fishing meccas, Lake Barkley ing accommodations in cabins, cottages, and bass-filled Kentucky Lake. Big Bear chalets, townhouses and condos, some of Other Events Around Kentucky Resort, which has hugged the Kentucky which are open year-round. A remodeled • 8th Annual Homecoming Event at Old Friends Equine Farm Lake shoreline near Benton for the past 1812 log cabin can accommodate 20 to May 6 64 years, offers a variety of retreat and 30 people for a meeting in its living Georgetown meeting possibilities that range from room and can sleep up to 15. Varied- (502) 863-1775 rustic to upscale. capacity condos also have spacious living oldfriendsequine.org The first resort built on Kentucky rooms in addition to kitchens and sleep- • International Bar-B-Q Festival Lake, this 52-acre, family-owned-and-run ing quarters. May 11-12 property boasts a number of employees “We’ve had boat manufacturers hold Owensboro (270) 926-6938 with more than 20 years of service and a retreats for their best customers,” said bbqfest.com few generations of guests that have Janet Meier, who owns Big Bear with her • Chamber Music Festival of the Bluegrass returned annually for 60-plus years. Ideal husband, Rick. “And we can organize May 26-27 for corporate retreats and one-day or team-building fishing tournaments that Harrodsburg multi-day meetings, Big Bear offers meet- emphasize working together. Our fish- (800) 734-5611 ing guides take participants out on the shakervillageky.org lake and run the tournaments.” • Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival May 24-27 In addition, the family-friendly Pineville resort has a swimming pool, beach and (800) 325-1712 123-slip marina with rentable water parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/ skis, tubes, paddle and pontoon boats, pine-mountain/default.aspx jon and fishing boats. A short drive away, attendees and spouses can As at the previous two retreat sites, explore the Land Between the Lakes guests can instead choose to chill. At and spy animals on its elk and bison Big Bear, that translates into watching prairie, gaze at stars in its planetarium, glorious sunsets over Kentucky Lake watch farming as it used to be on a and taking in the fresh air. Nature is, working 1800s homestead, and learn after all, the best hostess and planner. ■ about the moonshiners and stills that Maple Hill Manor near Springfield, Ky. once populated Golden Pond at its visi- Katherine Tandy Brown is a correspondent for The Lane tors’ center. Report. She can be reached at [email protected].

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 39

April Lane 19-44.indd 39 4/9/12 9:48 AM Kentucky’s source for hospitality industry news LINE Including food, beverage, tourism, meetings and conventions by Kathie Stamps, Meredith Lane and Anne Sabatino Hardy

QUICK CUTS SABIO: OLD SCHOOL, NEW FOOD

FRANKFORT FOR LEXINGTON LANDMARK ● Through the years, much debate has taken place in the whiskey industry about the barrel aging warehouses and what effect they have on the finished UDLEY Square, product. Does a concrete warehouse offer a different taste from a metal clad once home to the warehouse? What about the upper floors versus the lower floors? In the fourth much-loved Lexing- release of the Single Oak Project , Buffalo Trace Distillery Dton landmark Dudley’s Res- experiments with some of these questions by focusing on warehouse placement, using two particular warehouses, to compare taste profiles. As with the other taurant, has undergone a three releases, Buffalo Trace hopes consumers can continue to rate each whiskey they taste online at singleoakproject.com. This feedback will help Buffalo Trace major transformation and determine which Bourbon connoisseurs prefer most. now features a new restau- rant, Sabio, inside the his- LEXINGTON ● Coles 735 Main is now open in the former toric school-house building. Furlong’s (and Onizim’s) location on the corner of Diners may be surprised by From chandeliers and recycled cork- Main Street and Ashland Avenue. The restaurant the dramatic decorative bottle chairs to contemporary art and a recently underwent a major makeover, creating a giant red-lacquered statue behind the lighter, softer space with a French country vibe. changes, but if they’ve sam- bar, the modern interior has a bright, The eclectic menu, designed by Executive Chef pled food from Executive and Owner Cole Arimes, features international fun vide that is the signature of building fare such as Latin, Japanese and French, plus Chef Javier Lanza, they prob- owner Bobby Freisberg. American staples including burgers, steaks and ably won’t be disappointed seafood and, of course, Southern fare. Open Mon- by the dishes. The chef behind Migdalia’s in Paris, Ky., and, for a day through Saturday for dinner, the gazebo/bar menu includes small plates ranging from $4 to $12 and the dining room menu has more upscale options, time, Jean Farris Winery, Lanza’s enthusiasm for food is evidenced in with the highest priced item being $28 for a nice cut of beef. Try one of their his dishes, and his inspiration is varies widely, from French haute craft and seasonal beers, or a glass of Coles’ unique wines – the first restaurant cuisine to Spanish comfort food. “We will be casual fine dining,” said in the state to offer keg wine. Lanza. “We will have a lot of different things. Some Asian, some ● The former Murray’s Restaurant on Harrodsburg Road is the new site for Spanish - Paella will be a regular special.” Lanza also is currently Josie’s on 68, the second Josie’s location for owner Bobby Murray and fam- ily, of Murray’s fame, who also own the Merrick Inn. Josie’s on 68’s menu is planning a garden on the property to provide some fresh, local veg- American fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. etables and herbs. Sabio opened April 12.

● Jean Farris Winery was the only winery outside of California to win a double gold award in the cabernet sauvignon class at the 2012 San Fran- cisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the world’s largest competition of LOUISVILLE GAINS NOTORITY American-produced wines. More than 5,000 people attended a public wine tasting to sample the winning wines. The Lexington-based winery also won a silver medal for its 2008 cuvee, a combination of the Mourvèdregrape AS A DINING DESTINATION

variety and the cabernet franc, which is grown on the O’Daniels’ farm. Estes PR photo OUISVILLE received more ● Rupp Arena is ranked No. 5 in social evidence of its growing repu- media power, according to Venues Today, an tation as a great place to eat international industry trade publication that Lwhen it was named one of the released their first Social Media Power 100 ranking. Researching more than 300 “Best Foodie Getaways around venues in North America to measure social media strength and effectiveness, The Roxy the World” by Zagat and one of the in West Hollywood came out on top, fol- South’s “10 Tastiest Towns” by lowed by Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Southern Living magazine. In addi- Madison Square Garden in NYC and the Staples Center in LA. Rupp Arena rounded out the top five, under the tion to world-class fine dining res- leadership of marketing director Sheila Kenny and team members Matt taurants, programs like Farm to Johnson and Paul Hooper. Louisville’s KFC’s Yum! Center ranked No. 36. Proof on Main in downtown Table have helped connect local Louisville’s 21c Museum farmers to caterers, chefs and school LOUISVILLE Hotel is a favorite bar and ● Hyatt Regency Louisville is undergoing a $5.8 million renovation, involv- restaurant for locals and cafeterias; excellent culinary-arts ing a new front entrance, lobby, fitness center and a new restaurant and bar. The visitors alike. Sullivan Uni- front entrance has been moved to Fourth Street, with a canopy for guests who education programs at want valet service. The former entrance will continue to be utilized as a motor versity and Jefferson Community lobby, where guests have access to self-parking. The lobby’s facelift includes and Technical College have supplied local restaurants with three separate pods for check-in and check-out. Louisville-based Glassworks was commissioned to design an artistic glass wall behind the front desk. The top-quality chefs; and the Healthy Hometown program makes Hyatt Stay Fit Fitness center (at 1,200-s.f., it’s double the size of the previous fresh produce available in areas of the city underserved by full- center), is adjacent to the lobby. The new Sway Restaurant will offer a sea- service groceries. Healthy Hometown received the national sonal menu of classic, Southern dishes with a contemporary twist. Childhood Obesity Prevention award.

40 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 40 4/9/12 9:48 AM DOWNTOWN LOU GETS NEW QUICK CUTS

EATERY WITH ANTIQUE FLAIR LOUISVILLE ● Tin Roof is soon coming to St. Mat- OUISVILLE thews. Scheduled to open in late May or natives and early June in the former Brendan O’Shea’s entrepreneurs spot on Shelbyville Road, Tin Roof will be open seven days a week. Company president Bob Franklin is excited to LRob Frey and Amy bring “our brand of live music, great food and friendly service” to Louis- Hoffmann Frey have ville. The company already has a Lexington location and also operates bars partnered with family in Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina. The live music venue is coming soon to Cincinnati and Indianapolis, too. and close friends ● The Brown Hotel has been named to Travel + Leisure’s 2012 list of the from Philadelphia to Rendering of the new restaurant and bar Top 500 World’s Best Hotels. Each year, the magazine’s Top 500 list bring a new restau- St. Charles Exchange, which will be reminis- allows readers to vote on thousands of hotels through an online voting rant bar concept to cent of a 1900s hotel lobby bar. system. The Brown Hotel was a new addition to the list and was also distin- downtown Louisville. guished as being top in value with an overall score of 88.56. St. Charles Exchange, slated for an April opening, will breathe ● Royal Cup Coffee is the new owner of Con- new life into the 3,800-s.f., formerly vacant space in one of the sumers Choice Coffee, after acquiring 100 oldest buildings in the West Main Street corridor. The 7th Street percent of the common stock from CCC Presi- dent Bob Patterson and another stockholder. restaurant will be reminiscent of a 1900s hotel lobby bar, with a Royal Cup Coffee plans to maintain the CCC menu of innovative interpretations of food classics from the headquarters in Louisville and the company will keep the entire sales and service staff, as well as turn of the previous century, along with a lengthy cocktail list. other support functions. Royal Cup Coffee will Local contractor Bosse-Mattingly Construction and local archi- also continue supporting several nonprofits and charitable organizations in tect K. Norman Berry Associates are handling renovations. St. the Louisville community. Family-owned Royal Cup Coffee has been a roaster partner of Consumers Choice Coffee for more than 25 years. Charles Exchange shares a complex with the St. Charles Build- ing on West Main Street, which was built in 1832 and formerly ● Two students of Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality housed the St. Charles Hotel. Unlike many of the early struc- Studies won gold medals at the American Culinary Federation competition in Pontiac, Mich. Kelsee Newman and Halie Raymer represented Sullivan Univer- tures that were damaged by fires, tornadoes and dilapidation, sity’s Baking and Pastry Arts program and brought home the top prizes. Compe- the building has remained unscathed through the decades. titions play a vital role in culinary arts as they continually raise the standards of culinary excellence. Participation in ACF-approved competitions also earn stu- dents continuing education hours for ACF certification. CRAFT EXPERTISE ON TAP ● The restaurant development and management team that opened Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar on Whiskey Row in 2011 is bringing a new French bistro to NuLu. Basa owners Steven and Michael AT NEW LEXINGTON BAR Ton, along with master sommelier and veteran restaurateur Brett Davis and attorney Chip Hamm, are opening Bistro Voliere in April on East Market EXINGTON Beerworks is Street. The menu is French comfort food with entrées priced at $20 or less on North Limestone in the and a cocktail program that includes wine infusions and French aperitifs, former Limestone Club. for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Saturday. LOwners Michael Vincent, Greg NICHOLASVILLE Leimer and Jason Wolf have 12 ● The 9th annual Kentucky Wine & Vine Fest is May 19 on York Street in downtown rotating taps of craft beers, Nicholasville. Jessamine County is the site ranging from beers made here of the first commercial wine vineyard in the United States, started by Frenchman John

in Lexington to those from McDanald photo Jeff James Dufour in 1798. The 2012 celebra- other countries. Try a flight of tion of Kentucky vineyards and winemaking four 4-ounce tasters, starting at will feature Kentucky Proud food, live $6. The focus is on American music, a grape stomp, the “run for the merlot” obstacle course and a selection of international wine samples. Participating wineries include Chrisman Mill craft beers and there are 100 Vineyards, Nicholasville; Elk Creek Vineyard, Owenton; Generation Hill, Alex- varieties in bottles. Snack food includes chocolate-covered pea- andria; Prodigy Winery, Versailles; Purple Toad Winery, Paducah; Rose Hill Farm Winery, Butler; and Wight-Meyer Vineyard, Shepherdsville. nuts and chocolate-covered potato chips from Old Kentucky Chocolates and beer cheese from River Rat in Winchester. Lex- ● The Father’s Cup Café on Main Street in Nicholasville celebrated its grand ington Beerworks is open seven days a week, with seating for 50 opening in March. The new business is part of the Downtown Renaissance Project. First-time restaurateur Mary Henderson has a fun mix of artwork and inside and 40 on the two-level deck in the back of the building. furniture for the décor, accompanied by an eclectic menu of sandwiches, Monthly classes are available for those do-it-yourselfers who soups, salads, mini pizzas and sides for lunch Monday through Friday. Special- want advice from an expert home brewer. ties include a daily quiche and soup. The café also offers catering.

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 41

April Lane 19-44.indd 41 4/9/12 9:49 AM PASSING LANE Commentary on Kentucky

University of Kentucky men’s basketball team players celebrate on the court in the New Orleans Superdome after winning the school's eighth NCAA national championship April 2 over Kansas by a score of 67-59.

The WKU Hilltoppers rode a late-season run into the NCAA tournament. The State of Basketball HAT state has better college basketball than Kentucky? For W2011-12, none. The University of Kentucky men fin- ished 38-2 and earned their eighth national title, entering the NCAA tour- nament as overall number one seed. Above: The University of Louisville Cardinals Fifth youngest team in the country, they finished an up and down season by winning the Big were the youngest team to make the East tournament and making it to the Final Four in NCAA tournament field. New Orleans. Coach John Calipari started three freshmen and two sophomores for most Right: The UK Lady Wildcats had their best season of the season, with senior and former in 30 years, winning the SEC title and making it to Kentucky Mr. Basketball Darius Miller the NCAA Elite Eight. coming off the bench. Freshman Anthony What about Western Kentucky? The Davis became a national sensation as the The Louisville Cardinals had the defi- amazing Hilltoppers had a losing record most impactful defensive player in the nition of an up and down season. Ranked and fired their coach midway through the country. He broke the NCAA freshmen in the Top 10 when they played Kentucky year. But after giving interim coach Ray shot-blocking record and was named best at Rupp Arena last New Year’s Eve, they’d Harper the job permanently, the Toppers overall player in the nation. fallen out of the Top 25 at the end of the won the Sun Belt tourney to also earn a regular season as player after player bat- surprising NCAA tournament berth – tled injuries. But then Louisville won the then won their play-in game with Presi- Big East Tournament and four more dent Barack Obama watching. games in the NCAA behind point guard Matthew Mitchell led his UK women Peyton Siva to make the Final Four and a on a historic run this season also. The SEC rematch in New Orleans with UK that regular season champs were a two seed in brought the state to a standstill. the women’s NCAA tournament, their Murray State was perhaps the sur- highest seed since 1982, and made it to prise team in the country this year, los- the Elite Eight before the season ended. ing only one regular season game en Mitchell was named the SEC coach of the route to winning the OVC season and year by the AP, A’dia Mathies was named tournament championships. The Racers league player of the year and Bria Goss was spent most of the year in the Top 25, SEC freshman of the year. Their fans set a and the last two months in the top 10. season attendance record. Murray State’s Racers had a fantastic 31-2 season They were led by first-team All-Ameri- It was quite a year for basketball in that included hosting Dick Vitale and the ESPN can Isaiah Canaan and won their first- the state of Kentucky, but what else “Game Day” crew. round NCAA game. would you expect?—Mary Jo Perino

42 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 42 4/9/12 9:49 AM Keeneland, Churchill Downs UofL Launches Are Good Bets, HANA Says HEY are international icons to even the casual Logistics Index observer, but Keeneland and Churchill Downs NIVERSITY of Louisville Talso are two of the top four Thoroughbred race- engineering researchers tracks in North America in the view of the gaming com- Uhave created a new eco- munity. The latest annual Horseplayers Association of nomic indicator to measure logis- North America (HANA) ratings have Keeneland No. 1 tics and distribution activity in the and Churchill Downs No. 4. region. They believe their The HANA Track Ratings are based on an algorithm monthly LoDI Index will be a use- designed by HANA board member Bill Weaver, a ful tool to monitor economic retired engineer. Using studies and empirical data activity and guide business invest- directly correlated to horseplayer value and handle as ment decisions. key factors – including takeout rate, field size, wager Akin to the Consumer Confi- variety, pool size and signal distribution – a composite dence Index, the LoDI Index will North America’s score is tabulated and the tracks are ranked. report activity on a 1-to-100 scale Best Tracks For 2012, Keeneland tops the North American rank- intended to gauge potential risk ings for the fourth consecutive year. and reward. It launched in April 1 Keeneland (last year 1st) “With takeout rates of no higher than 19 percent on at a value of 58, indicating increas- 2 Tampa Bay Downs any bet, a field size of 9.51 horses per race, and an almost ing activity. (last year 3rd) 10 percent increase in handle in 2011, Keeneland came The tool 3 Gulfstream Park out on top,” said Jeff Platt, president of Charlottesville, is named for (last year 5th) Va.-based HANA. and was 4 Churchill Downs “We are so humbled to once again receive this developed at (last year 2nd) honor,” said Keeneland President/CEO Nick Nichol- the UofL- 5 Oaklawn Park (last year 9th) son. “This ranking is very important to us for many based Logis- Source: Horseplayers Association reasons, especially because we have enormous respect tics and Distribution Institute, of North America for HANA and its mission to give horseplayers a voice whose director Sunderesh Heragu in our industry. It is equally gratifying that we can attain developed it along with industrial the top ranking while maintaining the emphasis on the health and well-being of our engineering professor Gail DePuy equine and human athletes, as well as wagering integrity on our racing product.” and doctoral student Erin Gerber The 2012 spring session at Keeneland is April 6-27. Churchill Downs’ spring ses- of Louisville. sion is April 28-July 1. Primary users are expected to The full factor sheet is posted at horeplayersassociation.org. be logistics-related businesses and warehouses around Louisville and Southern Indiana. Other potential Pikeville Ranked Among Top users could be government, cham- bers of commerce and individuals, U.S. Rural Medical Schools said Heragu, who is the Mary Lee and George F. Duthie endowed HE University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine ranks chair in engineering logistics at the 12th among all rural medical schools in the nation, both D.O. and M.D., in J.B. Speed School of Engineering. TU.S. News & World Report’s 2013 edition of Best Graduate Schools. The institute plans to issue the Founded in 1997, the osteopathic medical school moved from fifth place last year index on the last Thursday of each to second in the percentage of graduates who enter primary care, and another U.S. month and to offer the informa- News & World Report listing last year ranked it fourth best in affordability among the tion in advance to subscribers. 10 least expensive private medical schools in the nation. Future plans include broadening “It is gratifying to be recognized and ranked by our peers for excellence in rural the index into a national metric. medicine and our contribution to alleviation of the shortage of primary care physi- The index uses data primarily cians in rural areas,” said Boyd R. Buser, D.O., dean of Kentucky College of Osteo- from the four transportation pathic Medicine and vice president of Health Affairs at the University of Pikeville. modes (road, air, rail and river) The University of Pikeville is nearing completion of a new $34 million home for that are important to the region’s the medical school. logistics and distribution econ- The Coal Building, named in recognition of an industry that has provided signifi- omy. Organizations that are part cant support to the institution for many years, will feature a clinical skills training and of Greater Louisville Inc.’s evaluation center, state-of-the-art robotic simulation, research and teaching laborato- Advanced Manufacturing and ries, as well as classrooms, offices and student study spaces. It will also accommodate Logistics Network have provided a larger yearly class size, which is in keeping with the school’s mission to alleviate data for the model. physician shortages in Kentucky and Appalachia, especially in rural areas. Businesses and individuals can Of nearly 700 graduates since its first class of physicians in 2001, 60 percent are find out more or subscribe by con- serving in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, tacting Heragu at (502) 852-2741 or South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia, as well as rural [email protected]. areas of eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and New York. Currently, 69 percent of these physicians are serving in primary care.

THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM APRIL 2012 43

April Lane 19-44.indd 43 4/9/12 9:49 AM KENTUCKY PEOPLE

SOMERSET: FIRST LADY PROMOTES LEXINGTON: MULLINEAUX PRESENTED IMPORTANCE OF READING SKILLS WITH UK FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARD

Educators and parents from seven southern and eastern Kentucky counties met with Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear on March 8 at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset to collaborate improving reading skills in young children. Pictured here are (front row, left to right) Keith Lyons, coordinator of communications, marketing, and promotions for the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development; First Lady Jane Beshear; Jim Tackett, executive director of Forward in the Fifth; and Vickie Slone, Hazard; second row, Debbie Goble Donald Mullineaux, the duPont endowed chair in banking and financial services and Jennifer Sheens, Prestonsburg; third row, Danna Duff, Hazard; Eunice in the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics, was Waddles and Alisa Huff, Hindman; Patricia Burgan, Harlan; and Donna honored on March 1 with the 2012 Kentucky N. Robertson Faculty Leadership Singleton, Hazard; and back row, Mindy Ketcham, Tonya Halcomb, and Carla Research Award. The honor, which also carries a cash stipend, recognizes notable Hinkle, Barbourville; and Pam Miller and Susan Lacey, Campton. Mrs. research achievements by a Gatton faculty member and is named in honor of the Beshear was presented a framed print of different photographs of Reading UK alumnus who currently serves as chair of the Gatton College Dean’s Advisory Recovery students throughout the region. The meeting was hosted by Forward Council. Pictured here with Mullineaux (right) is Merl Hackbark, University of in the Fifth in partnership with the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative. Kentucky professor and former interim dean of the Gatton College.

LOUISVILLE: CAUDILL SEED PRESENTED SOMERSET: BUSINESS LEADERS OFFER WITH KY PROUD EXCELLENCE AWARD CAREER ADVICE TO KY STUDENTS

The Center for Rural Development and Forward in the Fifth recently wrapped up a week of live web video broadcasts to middle- and high-school students in 32 Jennifer Mueller, right, of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, recently south-central and southeastern Kentucky that emphasized the importance of presented Caudill Seed Co. President Pat Caudill with the Kentucky Proud education in preparing for their future careers. Pictured here are (left to right) “Partner in Excellence Award,” an honor awarded in recognition of the host Michael Cornett, director of marketing and public relations for The Center company’s commitment to growth and sustainability of agriculture in the for Rural Development and Forward in the Fifth board member; Kentucky commonwealth. Louisville-based Caudill Seed, which is celebrating its 65th Education Commissioner Terry Holliday; and co-panelists Connie Hunt, general year in business, is a leading seed and supply distributor in the region and has manager of The Arena in Corbin, and Dave Mather, executive director of the operations Louisville, Allen and Morehead, Ky., as well as in Granite, Okla. Small, Rural, Tribal and Border Regional Center (SRTB-RC).

44 APRIL 2012 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT

April Lane 19-44.indd 44 4/9/12 9:49 AM April_CoverJM.indd 3 4/6/12 2:44 PM April_CoverJM.indd 4 4/6/12 2:44 PM