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sector grows by giving visitors a taste of the authentic the of taste a visitors giving by grows sector
Beyond its ‘bourbonism’ boom, $14.5 billion hospitality hospitality billion $14.5 boom, ‘bourbonism’ its Beyond IN KENTUCKY IN
GOES YEAR ROUND YEAR GOES
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KENTUCKY’S BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE FOR 32 YEARS 32 FOR Report SOURCE NEWS BUSINESS KENTUCKY’S Lane SEPTEMBER 2017 2017 SEPTEMBER $4.50
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September Lane 1-23.indd 1 9/5/17 1:19 PM SEPTEMBER LThe ane Report 2017 Kentucky’s Business News Source For 32 Years Volume 32 Number 9
24 MEDICAID EXPANSION BETTER THAN FEARED Stable conditions for Kentucky healthcare finances, but chronic uncertainty remains in the prognosis
28 MAKING EMPLOYEE AGE DATA AN ASSET Direct-to-employer care program’s analytics tool helps provider anticipate and manage care needs
31 COVER STORY TOURIST SEASON GOES YEAR ROUND IN KENTUCKY Beyond its ‘bourbonism’ boom, $14.5 billion hospitality sector grows by giving visitors a taste of the authentic
Departments 4 Perspective 36 Emerging Lane 6 Fast Lane 38 Lane List 16 Interstate Lane 39 Spotlight on the Arts 17 Kentucky Intelligencer 40 Exploring Kentucky 18 Corporate Moves 42 Passing Lane 19 On the Boards 44 Kentucky People 20 Lane One-on-One: Ben Chandler President and CEO, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
On the Cover lanereport.com Coordinated presentation and marketing Kentucky Business News Online of Kentucky’s authentic Americana cul- Read up-to-the-minute Kentucky business news stories, ture and mild climate has built its $14.5 current and archived copies of The Lane Report, Market Review, BG – A way of life, Next – Your Future After billion tourism industry into a year-round High School in Kentucky, Health Kentucky, Research Kentucky business sector that supports more than special reports, white papers and community profiles. 190,000 jobs. Faster Lane Email news bulletin Three or more times a week, the editors of The Lane Report publish Faster Lane – email bulletins of fast breaking and important Kentucky business and economic news. Visit lanereport.com to sign-up for this free, must-have, at-your-fingertips news service.
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September1979-Lendin Print d 5.indd Lane 1-23.indd 3 1 4/24/179/5/17 11:201:19 PM M LThe ane Report PERSPECTIVE Kentucky’s Business News Source for 32 Years EXECUTIVE EDITOR/VICE PRESIDENT economy, thus taxes are focused on Mark Green TAX REFORM GOAL what people choose to consume. ASSOCIATE EDITOR MUST BE GROWTH Since Kentucky’s income and corpo- Karen Baird rate taxes were introduced in 1936, the DIGITAL EDITOR Current tax structure has state has relied heavily on production Jonathan Miller left Ky. with broken economy taxes. Today, the two make up approxi- CREATIVE DIRECTOR mately 46 percent of all revenue to the Jessica Merriman BY JORDAN HARRIS General Fund. When gross receipts and CREATIVE SERVICES other production taxes are added, the Stone Advisory percentage increases to more than half Paul Blodgett of General Fund revenue. CORRESPONDENTS OST of us know the centuries- The broader impact of this structure is Michael Agin; Katherine Tandy Brown; old parable of the boiling toad. evident. Kentucky’s household income is Russ Brown; Chris Clair; Shannon Clinton; Kevin Gibson; Susan Gosselin; Robert Hadley; If you place a toad in boiling 18 percent below national average, rank- Mwater, the story goes, it will detect the ing it 45th in the nation. Our labor force Lorie Hailey; Debra Gibson Isaacs; Kara Keeton; Abby Laub; Tim Mandell; Esther Marr; threat and immediately jump out. If participation rate as of May 2017 was 60 Greg Paeth; Robin Roenker; Josh Shepherd; you instead place it in lukewarm water percent, ranking it 43rd. By virtually every Sean Slone; Katheran Wasson; and slowly increase the temperature to metric, our antiquated structure has given Gary Wollenhaupt; Dawn Yankeelov a boil, it will remain there until it dies us a broken economy. PUBLISHER/CEO from the heat. Pegasus Institute, the public policy Dick Kelly For several decades, Kentucky’s econ- think tank that I serve as co-executive SENIOR ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER omy has been a slowly boiling toad. director of, released a plan last month to Donna Hodsdon By the very nature of their business, provide a roadmap for tax reform that ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER political leaders often think in short two-, can help reverse these trends. We believe Melissa McGarry four- or six-year cycles. This makes it easy that it should eventually be the goal of DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS to recognize and respond when a crises our state to join the nine other states that Nicole Conyers White occurs, but more difficult to see slow ero- don’t have an income tax, but under- MARKETING CONSULTANT sions taking place over multiple decades. stand that a gradual process might be Curtiss Smith Retrospective economic growth numbers required. For that interim we have pro- CIRCULATION/IT provide a clear picture though – we’re posed what we call the 3-3-6 Plan. Josiah White nearing the boiling point. The 3-3-6 Plan will immediately Since 1977, Kentucky’s GDP growth make Kentucky one of the top business FOUNDER has been a pathetic 30 percent below climates in America by eliminating the Ed Lane national average, ranking it 44th in the graduated income tax and cutting the United States. The last decade is top marginal rate in half, to a flat 3 per- SYNDICATED COLUMNS equally troubling. The common- cent. We propose doing the same to the Creators Syndicate wealth’s real per-capita GDP growth in corporate tax rate, also moving to a 3 PRINTING & CIRCULATION SERVICES the last decade is only 0.3 percent, put- percent rate. Closing existing sales tax Publishers Printing Co. ting us well behind our neighbors. Ten- loopholes will help make up for this WEB MARKETING & PUBLISHING nessee’s per capita GDP growth is 2.56 revenue shift. The sales tax remains at 6 Able Engine percent in that same period. Indiana is percent, but current exemptions IT SERVICES even higher at 4.7 percent. should be curtailed. NetGain Technologies The immediate next question turns This change will give the average to fixing the problem. To do so, we Kentucky household nearly $1,000 in INTERNET SERVICES QX.net must first note that the tax structure of additional take-home pay, allowing Lane Communications Group a state is the single most important way them to use their money as they see fit. is a member of it dictates the direction of its economy. Equally important, it allows for busi- A nation, which has a central bank, nesses of all sizes to grow, providing guides its economy through monetary more opportunities for employment, a policy and tax policy, with long-stand- wider variety of job options, and the The Lane Report is published monthly by: Lane Communications Group ing debates about which is a more hope of upward mobility. 201 East Main Street 14th Floor important factor. For a state, which can- With bold tax reform, Kentucky law- Lexington, KY 40507-2003 not produce its own money, it is clearly makers have an opportunity to com- [email protected] For more information and tax policy. pletely reshape our economy and build advertising rates contact: There are two basic theories about a tax structure that exists for the “com- PHONE: 859-244-3500 how to shape a tax structure to encour- mon wealth” of every Kentucky citizen. The annual subscription rate is $29. age growth. One theory, known as the Doing so will be the most important (Kentucky residents add $1.74 sales tax.) Newsstand price is $4.50. Keynesian Theory, believes that economic change in nearly eight Send check or money order to: increased consumption is the key to decades, and ensure that people at Circulation Manager economic growth, therefore taxes every level are more prosperous in the The Lane Report should be concentrated on production. eight to come. ■ 201 East Main Street 14th Floor Lexington, Kentucky 40507-2003 The other theory offers the opposite or go to lanereport.com/subscribe view, believing that the production side Jordan Harris is founder The Lane Report corrects all significant errors that of the economy should be relieved or and co-executive director are brought to the editors’ attention. even spurred, providing more money of Pegasus Institute. © 2017 Lane Communications Group for hiring, expanding and innovating, ultimately driving and growing the
All editorial material is fully protected and must not be 4reproduced SEPTEMBER in any manner 2017 without prior permission. LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
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September Lane 1-23.indd 5 9/5/17 1:19 PM FAST LANE A compilation of economic news from across Kentucky
STATE: BEVIN SAYS KENTUCKY IS GOING FULL THROTTLE LOUISVILLE: KKR ACQUIRING TO LAND PLANNED $1.6B TOYOTA-MAZDA AUTO PLANT PHARMERICA IN $1.4B
Toyota photo DEAL TO TAKE IT PRIVATE ENTUCKY Gov. Matt Bevin says Kentucky OUISVILLE-based PharMerica will go all out to con- Corp. is being acquired by private Kvince Japanese automakers equity firm in a transaction KKR and that the Lvalued at $1.4 billion. Toyota Mazda Bluegrass state is the ideal Under the terms of the agreement, location for a $1.6 billion PharMerica – a national provider of factory that they plan to institutional pharmacy, specialty infu- build in the United States as sion and hospital pharmacy manage- a joint venture. ment services – will be acquired by a The proposed plant is newly formed company controlled by expected to be operational New York-based KKR, a leading global by 2021 and would produce investment firm. Walgreens Boots Alli- Toyota’s Corolla model and ance Inc., one of the largest retail phar- Mazda crossover vehicles. macy health and wellness companies in With up to 4,000 new the United States and Europe, is a jobs at stake, Kentucky will minority investor in the new company. not be alone in fighting for such a high-profile project. Toyota and Mazda are evaluating sites for a new $1.6 billion Tennessee – already home automotive plant they plan to build as a joint venture. to General Motors, Nissan and Volkswagen plants – PharMerica’s customers are institu- has said it plans to pursue the project. The same goes for Mississippi, where Toyota tional healthcare providers, such as already has a Corolla plant and numerous parts suppliers. Of course, Toyota also has skilled nursing facilities, assisted living a plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, that is undergoing a $1.3 billion upgrade, a proj- facilities, hospitals, individuals receiv- ect for which it received $43.5 million in incentives from Kentucky. Toyota has long ing in-home care and patients with can- been a major player in Kentucky’s economy, spawning dozens of businesses that cer. The company currently operates 96 supply parts to the Georgetown plant. institutional pharmacies, 20 specialty Speaking at the Kentucky Automotive Industry Association’s annual conference home-infusion pharmacies and five spe- in Lexington in August, Bevin noted that a 1,500-acre greenfield site in Glendale cialty oncology pharmacies in 45 states. that is owned by the state would be the perfect location for the plant. Glendale is PharMerica CEO Gregory Weishar said located along I-65 just south of Elizabethtown. the acquisition will offer substantial bene- fits to PharMerica’s clients and employees. CARTER LUMBER TO BUILD $10 MILLION “With the support of KKR and a stra- BOWLING GREEN: tegic partner in Walgreens Boots Alli- MANUFACTURING CENTER AT KENTUCKY TRANSPARK ance, PharMerica will have additional resources and expertise to advance and ARTER Lumber Co., an Ohio- based building materials sup- grow the business,” said Weishar. plier, is investing $10 million to Walgreens Boots Alliance Co-Chief Operating Officer Alex Gourlay said the Clocate a manufacturing facility in War- ren County. acquisition presented his company with The new location in the Kentucky the opportunity to expand into a growing Transpark will operate under the segment and through a national footprint. division and will Carter Lumber is one of the nation’s largest lumberyards, The transaction is expected to be Kight Home Center operating 150 locations across 12 states. produce roof and floor trusses, wall complete by early 2018. panels and other engineered wood products. Construction of the 70,000-s.f. facility is slated to begin later this year and is expected to be operational by late 2018 or early 2019, creating 50 new full-time positions. The manufacturing operation will support existing retail locations, including a Kight Home Center and building supply store and a Kight Kitchen and Design , both in Bowling Green. We want to know what’s going on Center If you have news “As a family company, we always feel that it is important to expand our offerings at your company! to share with Kentucky’s business in communities we already service and maximize the potential of the area for our business. This new manufacturing facility in Bowling Green is a great example of community, please forward your that,” said Jeff Donley, president of Carter Lumber. “This new facility will be a tre- press releases and photos/logos/ mendous asset to the growth of our Kight operation and the many builders we ser- graphics to editorial@lanereport. vice in the area.” com. In order to reproduce well, Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1932, Carter Lumber remains family owned and has images must be large enough to become one of the largest lumberyards in the nation, with locations across 12 states. publish in high resolution (300 dpi). The company’s four branded divisions include Carter Lumber, Holmes Lumber Co., Kight Home Center and Kempsville Building Materials.
6 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 6 9/5/17 1:19 PM 2017_Sept_Final_LaneReport_LexClinic_PEP_fullpg.indd 2 8/25/2017 8:48:30 AM September Lane 1-23.indd 7 9/5/17 1:19 PM FAST LANE
BUSINESS BRIEFS EASTERN KY: FORMER COALFIELDS BEING DEVELOPED FOR RECREATIONAL TOURISM ASHLAND WO Eastern Kentucky projects are ■ Kentucky Power has launched a pro- gram to strengthen and upgrade its regional receiving nearly $4 million from the power grid over the next five to seven years. Kentucky Energy and Environment The Eastern Kentucky Transmission Program TCabinet’s Division of Abandoned Mine will replace aging equipment to ensure reli- Lands (AML) program to help revitalize able electric service for its customers in Bell, coalfields in the state’s Appalachian region. Clay, Knox Leslie and Perry counties. The first of the projects is a $30 mil- The has been lion improvement for Perry and Leslie counties and the city of Hazard that City of Prestonsburg includes rebuilding 7 miles of transmission line and making upgrades to given preliminary approval for a $1.95 mil- additional transmission facilities. The work will reduce the likelihood of lion grant towards the development of its outages and decrease restoration times. Kentucky Power, an operating Prestonsburg-to-David “Rails to Trails” project. In addition, company of American Electric Power, provides electric service to Royalton Trail Town Inc. has been preliminarily approved for approximately 168,000 customers in 20 counties of Eastern Kentucky. a $1.9 million grant for the development of a campsite/recre- ational area on a 15-acre tract in Royalton that lies along the BOWLING GREEN Dawkins Line Rail Trail and the Licking River. ■ A new community kitchen and culinary incubator is scheduled to open this month near downtown Bowling Green, providing rentable The “Rails to Trail” project will acquire old CSX rail lines space and commercial appliances/equipment for entrepreneurs inter- to develop trails from Prestonsburg to David, including a ested in opening or expanding a food-related business. The building, Levisa Fork water trail beginning at the Middle Creek which was once home to the Taylor Chapel AME Church and has National Battlefield. been renovated to house the new community kitchen, will be available The Royalton Trail Town Development project will include to rent for functions such as wedding receptions. It will also serve as the campsites with cabins for rent and horse barns. The project is winter home of the SoKy farmers market, enabling vendors to market designed to spur economic development and recreational their goods year-round. growth in Magoffin County and the three-county area directly ■ Commonwealth Health Corp., parent company of The Medical Cen- impacted by the 36-mile Dawkins Line Rail Trail. ter, has acquired OrthopedicsPlus Physical Therapy, a private company Both projects are part of Kentucky’s $30 million portion of that has seven locations throughout Bowling Green, Brownsville, Elkton, the federal AML pilot program, first funded in 2016 through the Morgantown, Russellville and Scottsville. The acquisition will allow Med U.S. Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement, to Center Health, Commonwealth Health’s flagship brand, to enhance its help revive communities in coal-producing states hardest hit by existing rehab services and expand its sports medicine and occupational the downturn of the coal industry in recent years. medicine programs. Med Center Health has hospitals in Bowling Green, Albany, Caverna (Horse Cave), Franklin and Scottsville. Another recently approved AML project includes nearly $2 million to develop trails for horses and off-highway vehicles in CAMPBELLSVILLE Breathitt County, along with both primitive and RV campsites. ■ Automotive supplier Murakami Manu- facturing U.S.A. Inc. is investing more than $2.7 million to build a new ware- house at its campus in Taylor County. SOUTH-CENTRAL KY: WALMART KY STORES The company, which produces rear and TO TEST NO CHECKOUT SHOPPING APP side-view mirrors for the auto industry, is adding 50,000 s.f. to its current facility to ALMART has consolidate storage, increase manufacturing capacity and streamline selected stores product flow. The expansion is expected to be completed by March in Franklin and 2018 and will add 20 new jobs to the existing 256-member staff. WRussellville to begin test- EDGEWOOD ing its new “Scan & Go” ■ St. Elizabeth Healthcare has technology, a concept signed a letter of intent to create a that allows customers to new laboratory joint venture with Tri- scan items as they shop in- Health, a Cincinnati-based healthcare store and skip the tradi- system. The partnership will bring Walmart’s Scan & Go technology utilizes an tional checkout line. together TriHealth’s Oak Street out- in-store device (shown here) or customers To utilize Scan & Go, patient laboratory operations with St. can download an app on their smartphone Elizabeth’s Edgewood outpatient laboratory operations to form a single customers can either down- to scan and pay for in-store items. regional laboratory organization at St. Elizabeth’s facility in Edgewood load the app on their that is expected to be in operation by May 2018. St. Elizabeth CEO Gar- mobile phone and open the app inside Walmart or use devices ren Colvin said the collaboration will allow the two healthcare entities available in the store. They then scan the barcode of each item to “employ some of the most advanced technology in the country, stan- they want to purchase and place it in the cart; the app keeps a dardize practices, and ultimately provide faster turnaround times.” running total of the items. Checkout and payment are available through the app. To complete the purchase, customers show the ■ HealthSouth Northern Kentucky Rehabilitation Hospital has broken ground on a multimillion-dollar expansion that will add 11 beds receipt on their phone to a Walmart employee on their way out. and a new therapy gym as well as about 30 new jobs. The hospital pro- The Franklin store is also testing a pickup tower, which func- vides comprehensive rehabilitation services to patients recovering from tions like a high-tech vending machine and can fulfill a custom- debilitating illnesses or injuries such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord er’s online order in less than a minute. Customers choose from injury, hip fracture and amputation. items available on Walmart.com from their computer or smart- phone, and select the pickup option at checkout. When custom- EDMONTON ers visit the store with the tower offering, they scan a barcode sent ■ Cumberland Agricultural Management, a company that specializes in agricultural reclamation services, has opened a new facility in Edmonton. to their smartphone at the pickup tower to receive their order. The 12,000-s.f. facility recycles reclaimed material into marketable products Walmart is also offering a discount for customers who pick up such as cosmetics, animal and pet feed, and leather goods. online orders in stores.
8 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 8 9/5/17 1:19 PM BARBOURVILLE: CITY UTILITY INSTALLING BUSINESS BRIEFS GIGABIT-SPEED FINAL-MILE INTERNET ELIZABETHTOWN new fiber optic cable ■ Louisville-based Baptist Health network is being has agreed to sign a letter of installed in Barbour- intent to acquire Hardin Memo- Aville that will bring internet rial Hospital in Elizabethtown, download speeds of up to 1 where it has provided manage- gigabit per second to more ment services for the county- owned hospital and its health than 4,000 Barbourville system for some 20 years. Under Utilities customers. the terms of the proposed transaction, Baptist would acquire all assets In August, trucks arrived in Barbourville The new service, named carrying more than 90 miles of fiber of HMH and, in return, would commit significant capital for reinvest- optic cable that will be installed in four Blink – Barbourville’s giga- ment into the healthcare system and make an additional monetary phases over the next nine months. bit link – is one of the first commitment to Hardin County. Baptist Health currently owns and gigabit internet services to be operates nine hospitals throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana. introduced in Kentucky. The 1 Gbps download speed – or 1,000 ERLANGER megabits per second – is more than 100 times faster than the cur- ■ The rent, standard Barbourville Utilities internet service. Building Industry Association (BIA) of Northern Kentucky’s Enzweiler In addition to hanging fiber, Barbourville Utilities representa- Building Institute has formed a partner- tives will go door-to-door during each phase to upgrade existing ship with Gateway Community and equipment at individual customers’ homes and businesses. The Technical College that allows graduates equipment upgrade is being provided at no cost to customers. of the BIA electrical program to acceler- A news release announcing the new service notes that “the city ate their career through Gateway’s associ- ate degree programming. “Our of Barbourville is no stranger to pioneering development and traditional earn-while-you-learn evening adult postsecondary students technology. In 1750, our city was home to the first settler’s house historically rarely consider additional education outside of licensure in the state. In the 1950s, Barbourville was the first city in the attainment or hands-on skills-based training that our institute offers,” United States to introduce cable television. And in the 1990s, said BIA Executive Vice President Brian Miller. “By including Gateway Barbourville established one of the first internet cable modem credit into the institute, we believe we have a better chance to not only systems in the country, and earned the distinction of ‘One of the fill the tens of thousands of regional construction workers we are going 6 Best Wired Towns in the U.S.’ from Yahoo.” to need in the next 10 years, but the thousands of construction manag- ers we will need to provide the region.”
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September Lane 1-23.indd 9 9/5/17 1:19 PM FAST LANE
BUSINESS BRIEFS STATE: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS PRODUCING STRONG RESULTS FLORENCE N independent study has found that the ■ VanTrust Real Estate, a Missouri-based real estate development Kentucky Small company, is building a new 540,000-s.f. speculative distribution center Business Development Center continues to make a sig- in Florence to help meet increased demand for leasing space in North- nificant positive impact on Kentucky’s economy. ern Kentucky. The structure, which is being built by Fort Mitchell con- APart of the U College of Agriculture, niversity of Kentucky struction management company Paul Hemmer Co., will be situated on Food and Environment, KSBDC is a network of 12 offices land adjacent to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International located throughout the state. The center helps existing and Airport. The project is slated to be complete by January 2018. start-up businesses succeed by offering high-quality, in-depth FRANKFORT and hands-on services. ■ Hayashi Telempu North America has announced plans to expand its The study, conducted by James J. Chrisman, professor of Frankfort plant, where it produces automotive interior parts for the management at Mississippi State University, found that Toyota plant in Georgetown as well as nearby Subaru and Honda facili- for every dollar invested in KSBDC, $3.03 is returned to the ties. The expansion will add 100 new jobs to the existing 150-member economy. And, for every dollar invested directly into counsel- staff and will include bringing employees from the company’s plants in ing services, the return is $10.13. Ohio and Michigan in addition to hiring local candidates. The company The study found that during the 2015-2016 years, KSBDC also plans to relocate a sales branch in Lexington to Frankfort. clients: FRANKFORT • Created 1,927 jobs. ■ DMD Data Systems Inc. has completed a renaming and rebranding • Generated $88.6 million in incremental sales. initiative to become Volta Inc. In late 2016, after a change in majority • Yielded $10 million in tax revenue ($3.5 million from ownership from Dave Sevigny to Marshall Butler, DMD’s shareholders established business clients and $6.5 million from pre-ven- felt it was time to rebrand with a new identity that reflected “the spirit of ture, new businesses). the current technological age and its new leadership.” • Obtained $82.8 million in financing (compared to $58,9
HARRODSBURG million in previous years). ■ Campbellsville University has broken ground on a new building STATE: KY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2017 at its Harrodsburg campus to help accommodate its growing student STATE CHAMBER OF THE YEAR FOR U.S. population there. The new 4,500-s.f. facility will house classrooms, offices and a multipurpose chapel. The university’s Conover Educa- HE Council tion Center offers undergraduate and graduate programs in general of State education, Christian studies and business administration as well as cos- Chambers, metology and allied-health certificate programs. Tthe professional association for HAWESVILLE the nation’s state ■ The Southwire Kentucky plant near Hawesville is slated to undergo $30 million in upgrades over the next five years, on top of a recent $7 chambers, has million investment that went toward technology improvements and new named the Ken- equipment. The $30 million investment will further improve automa- tucky Chamber tion, efficiency and safety at the aluminum-wire manufacturing plant to of Commerce as ensure that the plant stays competitive. The facility opened in 1969 and the State Cham- currently employs around 400 workers. ber of the Year. Staff members of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce The annual celebrated the chamber being named as the Chamber HEBRON of the Year by the Council of State Chambers. ■ The competition is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Pictured here are (left to right) Katie Krebs Shanks, is undergoing a $6 designed to high- International Airport Hilary Morgan, Kelly Cinnamon Wolf, Ashli Watts, million makeover to upgrade the airport’s light best prac- Dave Adkisson, Jacqueline Pitts, Aimee Hiller and terminal and concourses. The project tices among state Travis T Burton. includes more energy-efficient lighting, new chambers of carpet and wall treatments, and improved commerce. Entries were judged in six categories: public affairs, signage. The project will be completed in political action, communications, membership development, six phases by spring 2018 with an emphasis on minimizing disruption to passengers. membership services and organizational development. The Kentucky Chamber was commended for the success ■ WOW Air, Iceland’s low-cost of its business agenda during the 2017 General Assembly, transatlantic airline, will begin fly- the creation of the Kentucky Chamber Workforce Center, ing out of the Cincinnati/North- and for being the first chamber in the country to create its ern Kentucky International own news bureau with a professional reporter to produce Airport beginning next May, offer- state government news content for a business audience. The ing flights to Europe via the Kefla- news site, , also serves as the vik International Airport in KyChamberBottomline.com Iceland. Flights out of CVG will Frankfort bureau of The Lane Report. operate four days a week and will provide one-stop, low-cost service to Pennsylvania was the first runner-up, with Nebraska more than 20 destinations across Europe, Israel and the Canary Islands. named as the second runner-up. “This is great recognition for our organization, our HIGHLAND HEIGHTS 60-member board of directors made up of the top business ■ Northern Kentucky University has added three new transdisci- leaders of Kentucky, and our staff of 30 professionals at our plinary degree programs that will begin being offered this fall. Diana McGill, dean of the NKU College of Arts and Sciences, said the new headquarters in Frankfort,” said Chamber President and bachelors degrees in environmental science, mechatronics engineering CEO Dave Adkisson. “Our slogan is ‘Uniting Business, technology, and neuroscience will help meet the current high demand Advancing Kentucky’. Our team is passionate and works hard for professionals in those areas. every day to create progress for our commonwealth.”
10 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 10 9/5/17 1:19 PM THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COMPANIES: THOSE THAT HAVEN’T BEEN HACKED, AND THOSE THAT WILL BE.
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September Lane 1-23.indd 11 9/5/17 1:19 PM FAST LANE
BUSINESS BRIEFS LOUISVILLE: MCM ANNOUNCES MERGER WITH INDIANAPOLIS ACCOUNTING FIRM LEXINGTON ■ A new restaurant has opened in Lexington that is the first “social CM CPAs & Advisors, a Louisville-based regional enterprise” restaurant in the city, according to owner Rob Perez. DV8 accounting firm, has entered the Indianapolis market Kitchen is a fast-casual concept that is also committed to hiring and with the acquisition of CPA practice K. B. Parrish & Co. training people who are trying to redirect their lives after dealing with M“It has been a long-term strategic goal of the firm to con- substance abuse. Perez, who is also the owner of Lexington’s Saul tinue growth up the I-65 corridor and into Indianapolis,” said Good Restaurant & Pub, says one third of the staff at DV8 Kitchen will MCM Managing Partner Diane Medley. “Our industry and be employees trying to “deviate” from their past lifestyle. In addition to consulting expertise offering employment, the restaurant will provide workshops designed to pass along basic life skills and knowledge to help employees become are great fits for the successfully employed in any field. Indianapolis market, and by adding new ■ The University of Ken- members of the K. B. tucky has opened two new Parrish & Co. firm to residence halls, the latest our existing team, we’ll be able to continue raising the bar for phase of a campus trans- all of our clients, with more expertise, more capabilities and formation designed to cre- ate a modern housing more resources.” system at the state’s flag- Prior to the acquisition, which was effective Aug. 1, MCM ship university. University had nearly 350 employees across five offices across Jefferson- Flats is a seven-story build- ville, Indiana; Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; and Cin- ing that provides separate cinnati, Ohio. Approximately 30 KBP employees, including living communities for four partners, have joined MCM as a result of the merger. upper-level undergraduate Founded in 1952, K. B. Parrish & Co. is the 17th largest students, and graduate and professional students. It provides 771 beds in 312 apartments in accounting firm in Indianapolis and serves a variety of client various styles and sizes, from studios to four bedrooms. Lewis Honors types, from closely held businesses to large corporations. The College houses 350 students in a live-learn environment and serves as a firm has had a strong focus in four core industry niches – learning nexus for UK’s top-tier students. auto dealerships, real estate, not-for-profits and employee benefits – that dovetail with MCM’s current practices in those ■ The University of Kentucky’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital ranks as key areas. the No. 1 hospital in the state, according to the latest annual listing produced by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, four major healthcare areas were ranked in the top 50 nationally, with UK coming HENDERSON: AUDUBON METALS ADDING in at No. 37 in diabetes and endocrinology; No. 43 in geriatrics; No. 44 MORE SPACE, JOBS TO MEET DEMAND in neurology and neurosurgery, and No. 50 in cancer. is investing more than $8.3 million LOUISVILLE UDUBON Metals to expand its plant in Henderson, where it produces ■ The Sullivan University System board of directors has metal parts for a variety of industries. AAudubon is building a 21,000-s.f. addition to its existing voted unanimously to merge the system’s three individual facility, enlarging it to more than 333,000 s.f. The project will educational institutions – Sulli- create additional space for a fifth reverbatory furnace for alu- van University, the Sullivan College of Technology and Design minum smelting and will include an extension of the ingot- (SCTD) and Spencerian College – into a single entity that will be casting line, expansion of a production storage building, and known as Sullivan University. Sullivan University Chancellor A.R. Sulli- van, who founded the school with his father in 1962, said bringing the a new warehouse. schools under a single brand will “offer efficiencies, save resources and “Since our Henderson aluminum smelting operation eliminate some current redundancies.” began in 1996, Audubon Metals LLC has steadily grown its market share in providing quality products to the secondary ■ Menards, a Wisconsin-based hardware and home improvement aluminum die-casting industry,” said Audubon Metals Presi- retailer, has purchased 34 acres in Louisville with plans to build a dent and CEO Jim Butkus. “This project will expand and 207,000-s.f. store. The new location, which will be situated at the south- diversify our product mix, and give us the required capacity east corner of Preston Highway and Cooper Chapel Road, will be the company’s first Louisville store. Menards currently operates a store in to grow and enter new markets.” Owensboro and has another location planned for Elizabethtown. Using shredded automotive metal, Audubon separates, dries, melts and blends aluminum alloys to meet the specifica- ■ Louisville-base Republic tions of individual customers. Diecasting companies through- Bank has launched a new air- out the Midwest use Audubon’s ingots to produce automotive craft lending division for indi- parts, lighting and metering equipment, appliances and viduals interested in buying small-engine components. aircraft, refinancing a previ- ous purchase or needing to Audubon, a subsidiary of Evansville, Indiana-based Koch finance engine overhauls and Enterprises Inc., opened the Henderson facility with 55 avionic upgrades. Personal employees and a monthly capacity of 7 million pounds. It now aircraft loans are available in employs 270 and can produce more than 30 million pounds amounts ranging from monthly. The expansion will create 39 new full-time positions. $55,000 to $500,000, with Kentucky’s aluminum industry has seen significant growth in terms up to 20 years. recent years as automakers, seeking higher fuel efficiency, turn to lightweight aluminum components including body panels, ■ Buffalo Construction has purchased a 35,000-s.f. building and 4.1 acres in Louisville’s Blankenbaker Station Business Park for approxi- mechanical components and housings. Since 2015, Kentucky mately $3.6 million. The commercial construction company plans to has announced more than $2 billion in aluminum-related cor- occupy the space this fall. porate investment and about 2,100 new full-time jobs.
12 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 12 9/5/17 1:19 PM LEXINGTON: UK LAUNCHES KY’S FIRST BUSINESS BRIEFS MASTER OF FINANCE DEGREE PROGRAM LOUISVILLE HE University of Kentucky’s Gatton ■ The Hyatt College of Business and Economics Regency hotel in has launched the state’s first Master of Sci- downtown Louisville Tence in Finance degree program. has been sold by an “There is a great need for highly trained affiliate of Hyatt finance professionals in our commonwealth,” Hotels Corp. to said Mark Liu, associate professor of finance in Pennsylvania-based Mark Liu will Roch Capital Inc. the Department of Finance and Quantitative direct UK’s new for nearly $50 million. The 19-story hotel, which includes 393 rooms Methods, who will direct and teach in the pro- Master of and 26,000 s.f. of upscale meeting space, is currently undergoing a $200 gram. “Our objective is to place students in a Science in million renovation and expansion. Dallas-based Aimbridge Hospital- position to become employed in the finance Finance degree ity has been chosen to manage the hotel. industry, which offers significant, well-compen- program. sated career opportunities.” ■ The University of Louisville is launching its first 100 percent online The 10-month, 10-course curriculum is not only for certificate program this fall. The certificate in accounting is for those who have a non-accounting bachelor’s degree and want to pursue an finance or business majors; there are no specific course pre- accounting career without completing a second undergraduate degree requisites other than college-level math and introductory and is designed to help working professionals enter the accounting statistics. field or advance into managerial or executive positions. Students who The signature course of the new MSF program is Finance earn the certificate will have enough accounting credit hours to sit for 685: Investment Practicum, which continues over the entire the CPA exam in Kentucky. 10 months. Students will manage $5 million of real money, ■ making all buy/sell decisions on U.S. stocks and gaining first- Construction is now underway on Riverport Landings, a new 36-acre residential development in southwest Louisville that will feature hand money-management experience. housing geared toward seniors, single-parent families and young adults “Our MSF graduates will be perfect candidates for portfo- who have moved out of the foster system. Riverport Landings is a joint lio managers at mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds or venture between Marian Development and LDG Development – two other asset management companies,” Liu said. “They also will of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing – and will also be in the market for positions in corporate treasury depart- include retail services, a 2.5-acre community park and other amenities. ments and financial institutions.” Construction is expected to be complete by January 2019.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 13
September Lane 1-23.indd 13 9/5/17 1:19 PM FAST LANE
BUSINESS BRIEFS LOUISVILLE: XLERATEHEALTH SELECTS 8 STARTUPS FOR ACCELERATOR PROGRAM LOUISVILLE , a Louisville-based accelerator ■ GE Appliances is moving production of its LERATEHEALTH Zoneline hotel air conditioners from Louisville for early-stage healthcare companies, has selected eight to Tennessee, where the company is investing companies to participate as part of its fifth cohort. The $9.3 million to expand its plant in Selmer. The Xaccelerator’s 12-week intensive program began Aug. 9 and expansion in Selmer will create 210 jobs – dou- will run through Oct. 26, 2017. The program is designed to bling the plant’s workforce – with about 140 of help early-stage startup companies prepare their product/ those being moved from Louisville. The Selmer service for commercialization and connect them with part- plant, which is approximately 90 miles east of ners in the healthcare system that can provide feedback from Memphis, also produces GE’s Monogram line of refrigerators and freezers. actual potential customers. The selected companies include: ■ Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Louisville-based clinical-stage bio- • Digital Health Solutions (Indianapolis) delivers a pharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of treat- clinical decision support system to improve patient care and ments for autoimmune diseases, has closed on $60 million in Series E streamline documentation. Families are prescreened for preferred stock financing that will enable the company to move forward clinical risk factors via an electronic tablet screener that pres- with clinical trials to test a treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglo- binuria, a rare blood disorder. The funding will also help advance test- ents questions tailored to each patient. Medical records are ing on treatments for autoimmune hemolytic anemia and geographic then analyzed to identify the most important items for the atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. clinician to address. The system integrates with commercial electronic health records. ■ Weller Equity Partners, a Louisville-based company that invests in • Fourth Dimension Medical lower-middle market companies throughout the mid-South, has Solutions (Louisville) is a medi- acquired a majority state in Vogt Ice, a Louisville supplier of ice equip- cal software company that uses ment. Vogt revolutionized the commercial ice-making industry in 1938, when it built the first tube-ice machine. Prior to that time, ice was made diffusion weighted magnetic reso- only in block form. Today, Vogt designs, manufactures and distributes nance imaging and phase con- heavy-duty ice-making machines, chillers and parts to commercial and trast imaging to assess the acute industrial customers worldwide. Vogt Chairman and CEO J.T. Sims said rejection state of a transplanted the recapitalization and partnership will help the company expand its kidney. Used instead of biopsy, distribution and product offerings. the noninvasive imaging is less expensive to conduct, provides faster results, does not expose ■ Louisville biotech firm , in conjunction with the The Exscien Corp. the patient to infection or other complications, and provides LSU Health New Orleans Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, has been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and high accuracy. Blood Institute. The funding will be used to study a new class of drugs • Innovative Therapeutix Inc. (Louisville) aims to reduce that repairs DNA damage to reduce cardiac tissue injury and improve healthcare costs by developing innovative therapeutic devices. outcomes in cardiovascular diseases. The first product under development addresses infant feed- ing problems by using a biofeedback baby-bottle device. MORGANTOWN • (Lisbon, Portugal) is a mobile online plat- ■ Stratus Plastics International is investing $4 million to locate a new MYNURSE manufacturing factory in Morgantown. The privately held Canadian form that identifies nurses, aides, physiotherapists, therapists company is purchasing a 165,000-s.f. facility to house its first Kentucky (speech, occupational, osteopathy and acupuncture), and operation, creating 29 full-time jobs. The facility will focus on supplying home palliative care teams within a preset distance from the the automotive and appliance industries in the Southeast and Midwest client. MYNURSE is available in Portuguese, English, Span- and will operate as Stratus Plastics KY. Stratus supports multiple Tier ish, French and German. 1 automotive suppliers as well as nonautomotive customers. Its Windsor • Pahoola (St. Louis) produces and distributes high-qual- operation employs more than 30 people and offers a wide range of ity video content to educate patients and family members injection-molding abilities at its headquarters as well as state-of-the-art machining, 3D printing, robotics and auxiliary processing equipment. about medical procedures before, during and after their hos- pital visit. Pahoola will ultimately cover 80 medical proce- NORTHERN KENTUCKY dures, with a library of over 400 videos. ■ A new community foundation has been formed in Northern Kentucky to • RCM Brain (Louisville) is a revenue cycle workflow auto- help fund key community needs and programs in the region. The goal of mation platform that makes claims-processing staff three to Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky is to increase philan- 10 times more productive. It uses artificially intelligent work- thropic giving by Northern Kentucky individuals, corporations and organi- flow bots to connect data and execute tasks across legacy bill- zations to build a public charity resource base. The foundation will focus on helping break the cycle of poverty, supporting the arts, sparking develop- ing systems, clearinghouses, and payer websites. Clients ment and innovation, enriching education, and improving the health and include internal revenue cycle departments and third-party wellness of Northern Kentucky. The primary service area will be Boone, claims processing service providers. Campbell and Kenton counties of Northern Kentucky. • Thaddeus Medical Systems (Rochester, Minn.) improves healthcare outcomes by tracking, protecting OLDHAM COUNTY and documenting temperature-sensitive products and speci- ■ Ashbourne Farms, a third-generation, 2,000- mens through the supply chain. acre working farm near La Grange that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is • TheraPeptics (Doylestown, Penn.) is an emerging artifi- restoring a barn to serve as a new event venue. cial intelligence-enabled therapy discovery and development While farming and land conservation will remain company focused on developing novel, nature-inspired at the core of the farm’s business, the renovation AMPs/host defense peptides from animals with superior of the 15,000-s.f. “show barn” and surrounding immune systems, carried by novel drug delivery tools to the lawn will add a new branch to the business. The right place at the right time to cure animals and humans. venue will have the capacity to host weddings Targets include viruses, bacteria, special immune cell sub- and corporate events, including chef-driven din- ners using Ashbourne’s own farm-to-table fare. populations and cancer tissues of all types.
14 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 14 9/5/17 1:19 PM NORTHERN KY: 1% HOTEL TAX INCREASE BUSINESS BRIEFS FUNDS CONVENTION CENTER PROJECT PRINCETON ITH Boone County ■ Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation’s board Fiscal Court’s of directors has approved donating $1 million approval of a 1 per- to initiatives at the University of Kentucky Wcent increase in Northern College of Agriculture, Food and Environ- Kentucky’s hotel bed tax, the ment’s Research and Education Center at Princ- eton. The money will go toward two specific Northern Kentucky Con- projects: $500,000 will be provided over a five- vention and Visitors year period for the naming rights of the main entrance once the new facility is now moving for- Northern Kentucky executives say Bureau has been completed. An additional $500,000, paid over a five-year period, expanding the Northern Kentucky ward with plans to expand will support a statewide water resources initiative targeted at enhancing Convention Center will help the region the Northern Kentucky water management as part of the center’s ongoing research efforts. maintain a competitive edge in attracting Convention Center. meetings and conventions. Boone County’s vote fol- WINCHESTER lowed unanimous votes ear- ■ Clark Regional Medical Center is now an affiliate with the University lier in the summer by the Campbell and Kenton fiscal courts. of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, giving patients in the Winchester/ Clark County area access to additional specialty and subspecialty care – Under state statute, the region’s three county fiscal courts including clinical trials and advanced technology – closer to home. The UK were required to approve the increase. Markey Cancer Center is one of only 69 medical centers in the country to “This modest 1 percent increase in the region’s hotel tax will earn a National Cancer Institute cancer center designation. Because of pay tremendous dividends through the development of a capi- the designation, Markey patients have access to new drugs, treatment tal fund that will be used to expand the convention center in options and clinical trials offered only at NCI centers. downtown Covington, which will create jobs, attract visitors to hotels, restaurants, businesses and attractions throughout the STATE ■ The most recent data compiled by the region and allow our center to remain competitive with other Outdoor Industry Association shows cities and regions,” said Eric Summe, president and CEO of that outdoor recreation in Kentucky gen- MeetNKY/Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors erates $12.8 billion in annual consumer Bureau. “The hotel bed tax is expected to generate an esti- spending and directly creates 120,000 mated $1.2 million to $1.5 million annually.” jobs that result in $3.6 billion in wages Expanding the 204,000-s.f. convention center, Summe said, and salary and $756 million in state and will help the area maintain a competitive edge in the tourism local tax revenue. Kentucky has been working to position itself as a destination industry, which contributes nearly $400 million to Northern for travelers who are looking for outdoor Kentucky’s economy. According to statistics from MeetNKY, the activities, adding programs such as the region has lost 246,000 room nights and $115 million in revenue Kentucky Trail Town Program and the due to the lack of size at the convention center. Meanwhile, Lou- Cross Kentucky Master Trail Plan to help isville has expanded its convention center, Owensboro has develop more recreational opportunities. opened a new center, Lexington is preparing to build a new ■ center, and Paducah is contemplating a new center. Presidents and others representing colleges of the Kentucky Com- munity and Technical College System recently took part in a profes- Even with the increase to 12.36 percent, Northern Kentucky’s sional development training seminar that focused on the importance of tax would still be lower than the hotel bed tax in Dayton (13.3 adopting an entrepreneurial mindset. Topics for the session focused on percent), Lexington (16.1 percent), Cleveland (16.5 percent), how an entrepreneurial mindset can help leadership in rural communi- Indianapolis (17 percent), Louisville (17.1 percent), Cincinnati ties better engage with business and industry, donors, students and fac- (17.5 percent) and Columbus (17.5 percent). ulty and staff. Do you find your intelligence shrinking? Get your daily boost at WUKY, 91.3 FM. Listen to WUKY and be enlightened, inspired and entertained!
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September Lane 1-23.indd 15 9/5/17 1:19 PM INTERSTATE LANE Business news from Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia
BUSINESS BRIEFS OHIO: VANTIV TO ACQUIRE BRITISH COMPETITOR WORLDPAY FOR $10B INDIANA ■ The Indiana Commission for ANTIV Inc., a Cincinnati com- Higher Education has granted the pany that is one of the nation’s necessary approvals that will allow largest payment processors, Purdue University to launch and Vhas announced plans to acquire Brit- oversee the state’s newest public ish payment processor institution, currently being called Worldpay Group in a $9.9 billion deal. NewU. In April, Purdue announced the creation of the new online public university to advance its land-grant mission, expanding access to The transaction will create a higher education for working adults and others for whom traditional global payment provider with campus study is not accessible or attainable. By acquiring Kaplan Uni- products and capabilities spanning Vantiv’s acquisition of versity, through NewU, Purdue will target adults who started but did traditional merchants, integrated Worldpay will create a not complete a degree and those with no college credit at all. NewU will payments and global ecommerce. company that will process rely only on tuition and fundraising to cover operating expenses, and “This is a powerful combination some $1.5 trillion in payments no state appropriations will be sought. that is strategically compelling for each year. both companies. It joins two highly complementary businesses, ■ Midwest Fertilizer is moving forward with plans to construct a major nitrogen fertilizer production plant on 220 acres in southwest Indiana and it will allow us to achieve even more together than either that will create up to 185 new jobs by the end of 2021. The new facility organization could accomplish on its own,” said Charles will be a major source of U.S.-produced fertilizer, working to reverse the Drucker, president and chief executive officer of Vantiv. need to import nitrogen fertilizers from overseas. In recent years, more The combined company will do business as Worldpay with than 50 percent of U.S. nitrogen product consumption has been Drucker as executive chairman and co-CEO. Based on 2016 imported. The $2.8 billion project is one of the largest fertilizer manu- financial statements, the combined company will have a net facturing investments in the United States in more than 20 years. revenue of more than $3.2 billion. OHIO Originally formed as a payment systems division of Cincin- ■ Facebook has selected New Albany, Ohio, as the site nati-based Fifth Third Bank, Vantiv became a publicly traded of its newest data center. The company’s data centers company in 2012. Vantiv currently has 3,700 U.S. employees, house the infrastructure that makes it possible to accom- some 1,600 of whom are employed at the company’s Cin- modate the growing number of photos and videos being cinnati-area headquarters. shared via Facebook. The new center will create 50 full- time positions, generating more than $4 million in new annual payroll. TENNESSEE: DISCOVERY SET TO BUY ■ Medical device manufacturer NuVasive has opened a new $45 million manufacturing plant in West Carrollton, Ohio. The 180,000-.s.f. facility will SCRIPPS NETWORKS IN $14.6B DEAL produce all of the California-based company’s medical implants and other devices for global distribution. The company plans to add nearly 200 new ISCOVERY positions to its existing 97-member staff, who are transferring to the new Communi- facility from Nuvasive’s current facility in Fairborn, Ohio. cations Inc. Dhas signed a defini- ■ , a manufacturer of power fastening tools and SENCO Holdings Inc. tive agreement to fasteners, has been acquired by Japan-based Kyocera. Kyocera entered the industrial tools market in the 1970s with a line of high-speed metal acquire Knoxville- processing tools and has steadily expanded into precision tools for the based Knoxville-based Scripps Networks’ portfolio Scripps Net- electronics, aerospace, automotive, medical and woodworking applica- includes some of TV’s most popular networks, works Interactive tions. SENCO, which is one of Cincinnati’s largest private companies, particularly among women viewers. Inc. in a $14.6 bil- has been renamed KYOCERA SENCO Industrial Tools Inc. lion transaction TENNESSEE that will give the combined company nearly 20 percent of the nation’s ad-supported pay-TV viewership. ■ HYLA Inc. has invested more than $1 mil- lion to locate a new operations center near Scripps’ portfolio includes HGTV, Food Network, Travel Nashville. The company, which works closely Channel, DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Great with Fortune 100 companies to provide the American Country as well as TVN, a multi-platform provider technology that powers the collection, pro- of entertainment, lifestyle and news content in Poland; UKTV, cessing, renewal and distribution of previ- an independent commercial joint venture with BBC World- ously owned mobile devices, has moved into wide; Asian Food Channel, the first pan- regional TV food net- an existing 100,000-s.f. facility in La Vergne and plans to hire up to 225 workers. work in Asia; and lifestyle channel Fine Living Network. Discovery’s brands include the Discovery Channel, ■ Fitzgerald Collision & Repair, a company that provides collision repair TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Science for commercial truck fleets across the nation, is investing $9 million to and Turbo/Velocity, as well as OWN in the U.S., Discovery expand an existing facility in Rickman, Tenn., and establish a new operation Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, a leading provider in Sparta, Tenn. The expansion will create 220 new jobs. The company has of locally relevant, premium sports and home of the Olym- also added a new vocational program and partnership with the Tennessee across Europe. College of Applied Technology Livingston, which offers students train- pic Games ing in commercial fleet truck maintenance and repair. The combined company will be home to five of the top pay-TV networks for women. ■ Textile Corporation of America Inc. is investing more than $27 mil- The companies say the deal is expected to produce $350 mil- lion to establish a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Pikeville, lion in savings over two years. Scripps employs approximately Tenn., that is expected to create 1,000 new jobs. The company, which pro- 3,500 employees worldwide and around 1,000 in the Knoxville duces a wide variety of textile goods ranging from apparel to bed linens, area. Maryland-based Discovery has 7,000 employees. plans to move into an existing 186,000-s.f. building that sits on 16 acres. The transaction is expected to close in early 2018.
16 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 16 9/5/17 1:19 PM KENTUCKY INTELLIGENCER® A sampling of business and economic data
CEO ACTIVISM Many business leaders are wary of taking a public stance on contentious political or social issues for fear of losing customers while other executives maintain that voicing their views on current affairs can end up be a marketing asset. But what do their customers think? A recent study asked the public’s opinion as to what topics they thought company leaders should – or should not – weigh in on.
TOPICS CEOS SHOULD & SHOULDN’T SPEAK OUT ON % of Americans who think particular topics are (un)suitable for CEOs to express opinion on Rather should ob/ i trainin 0
a pay
ea th are
Rather shouldn’t L T ri ht
n ontro
e ee 30
0 20 40 60 80 100 pre opinion ot re Don’t express opinion Source: Weber Shandwick/Statista TECH STRESS? While technology has most certainly changed life for many Americans – a 2015 Gallup Poll found that nearly half of American adults said they couldn’t imagine life without their smartphones – more and more studies point to the negative effect technology has on both physical and mental health. However, for “constant checkers” – those who constantly check their emails, texts or social media accounts – the attachment to their devices and constant use of technology is now being associated with higher than average stress levels.
U R S NS N NN N S W RR S % of Online Adults Who Used It in 2016 Typical Work Day I worry about negative effects of social media % (of Employed) Often or Constantly on my physical and mental health Connected to at Least One Device (% that strongly/somewhat agree) FACEBOOK ST TL T
3 48 37 INSTAGRAM
T T MILLENNIALS GEN XERS 3 PINTEREST 0
For employed respondents.
22 15 LINKEDIN TYPICAL NON-WORK DAY % Often or Constantly Connected to at Least One Device ST TL T BOOMERS MATURES TWITTER 3 dditiona y a mo t ha o Mi ennia 45 per ent report that be a e o te hno o y e en hen their ami y i to ether they T T ee di onne ted rom them. Thirty-ei ht per ent o en er 23 per ent o oomer and 16 per ent o Mat re ay the ame.
6 Pe nternet meri an Li e Pro e t. Perhap n rpri in y Mi ennia are more i e y to report that 2016 o ember 11 . So ia Media pdate te hno o y i a o r e o onfli t in their home 38 per ent 2016 etrie ed an ary 24 2017 rom ompared to 27 per ent or en er 12 per ent or oomer http:// .pe internet.or /2016/11/11/ and 4 per ent or Mat re . o ia -media- pdate-2016/
For unemployed respondents: Typical day. For employed respondents: Typical day o from work. Source: American Psychological Association
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 17
September Lane 1-23.indd 17 9/5/17 1:19 PM CORPORATE MOVES New leadership for Kentucky businesses
ACCOUNTING ■ Jimmy Workman has ■ Jason Field has been ■ Kevin Mays has been been promoted to vice presi- named vice president of named business development dent, corporate information Owensboro Health Medical executive for the Kentucky security officer of Community Group. offices of Carr, Riggs & Trust Bank. Ingram accounting and con- ■ Charles Powell has been sulting firm. BUSINESS/ECONOMIC named president of Sts. Mary DEVELOPMENT & Elizabeth Hospital in Kevin Jimmy Jason BANKING/FINANCE ■ has been Louisville. Mays Hal B. Goode Workman Field ■ Fifth Third named chief operating offi- Bank has cer for the Danville-Boyle LEGAL announced County Economic Develop- ■ Melanie S. Marrs, David A. Trevey and the following ment Partnership (Develop Tonya S. Rager have joined Kinkead & Stilz appoint- Danville). as members of the firm. ments: Adam Hall – com- ■ Brent Cooper has been ■ Bingham Greenebaum Doll has named munity eco- named president and CEO of Mark Grundy to serve as litigation depart- nomic Andrew Tracey the Northern Kentucky Brent ment co-chair alongside James Hinshaw. development Walker Ballard Chamber of Commerce. Cooper Benjamin Lewis has been named fiduciary manager for litigation practice group co-chair. R. Clay Lar- Louisville and ■ April Kinkade Spalding has been named kin has rejoined the firm as a partner and the northwest executive director of the Grayson County member of the corporate services department Kentuckiana Chamber of Commerce. and energy practice group. communities; Andrew EDUCATION Walker – vice ■ Tim Walsh has been president, appointed associate vice pres- senior private Julio Valerie ident for alumni engagement banker; Driggs Marshall at the University of Kentucky Tracey M. Ballard – vice president, senior and executive director of the trust officer and certified trust and financial University of Kentucky advisor; Julio Driggs – vice president, wealth Alumni Association. Mark Benjamin Clay Tim management advisor; Valerie Marshall – vice Grundy Lewis Larkin Walsh president, wealth management advisor and ■ Victor A. Hazard has been certified financial planner. named associate vice president for student MANUFACTURING engagement at the University of Kentucky. ■ Braidy Industries has appointed the follow- ■ Hilliard Lyons has ing executives to lead the company’s initiative announced the following new ■ Moira Scott Payne has been named presi- to build an aluminum rolling mill in South appointments: Alan New- dent of The Kentucky College of Art + Design Shore: Blaine Holt – executive vice president man – executive vice presi- at Spalding University in Louisville. of operations; Thomas Modrowski – execu- dent and director of private tive vice president of construction and facili- client group; Bary Dedge – FOOD/SPIRITS/ ties; Alan Blankshain – executive vice executive vice president and HOSPITALITY president of engineering; Barrington Owens director of information tech- ■ Pedro Gonzalez has – executive vice president of manufacturing; nology, operations, and enter- Alan joined The Bardstown Bour- – chief procurement officer; Newman Stephen Miller prise project bon Co., where he will head Jaunique Sealy – senior vice president of management the company’s food and bour- business development; Nathan Haney – office bon experience and restau- senior vice president of government relations; (EPMO); rant operations. – senior vice president, head Joe Pedro Curtis Carson – of human resources; – manag- Cutsinger Gonzalez Ben Markham executive vice ■ Bryan Alvey has joined the ing director; Johanne Medina – financial president and Kentucky Distillers’ Association controller and headquarters facilities man- director of as senior director of govern- ager; Karlo Vartan – director of information budget and Bary Joe mental and external affairs. technology and cybersecurity; and Julie financial ana- Dedge Cutsinger Kavanaugh – chief of staff administration. lytics; Nick GOVERNMENT Papachris- ■ Kendall Boyd has been SALES tou – chief named director of the Louis- ■ John D. Hill has joined the Neil Huffman marketing ville Metro Human Relations Bryan Automotive Group as director of operations. officer; Mark Commission. Alvey Nickel – UTILITIES chief invest- ■ Dr. Kelly Giesbrecht has been named as ■ Paul Massie has been ment officer; Kentucky’s public health veterinarian. named plant manager of Ken- Nick Mark Gary Eng- tucky Power’s Big Sandy Papachristou Nickel land – chief ■ Kevin Henderson has been appointed Plant. legal officer; Curtis McCubbin – general Grayson County judge-executive. counsel; and Andy Dytrych – vice president ■ Kentucky American Water and director of EPMO. HEALTHCARE Co. has announced the follow- Paul ■ has been named president ing appointments: Jennifer Nolan Dorothy Massie ■ Movement Mortgage, a national retail mort- of Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown. Rader – water quality man- gage lender, has hired Daniel Marlin as mar- Nolan will continue as president of Our Lady ager; Jasmine Mungo – superintendent of field ket leader for Louisville. of Peace hospital in Louisville. operations, central division (Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Harrison, Jessamine, Nicholas, Scott and Woodford counties); and Amy Caudill – super- intendent of customer advocacy.
18 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 18 9/5/17 1:19 PM ON THE BOARDS Kentuckians named to organizational leadership roles
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU GOVERNOR’S MINORITY LEXINGTON-FAYETTE COUNTY ■ The Better Business Bureau serving Louisville, EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS BOARD OF HEALTH Southern Indiana, and Western Kentucky has AFFAIRS AND ECONOMIC ■ Kacy Allen-Bryant has been elected chair announced its board members for 2017-2018: DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL of the Lexington-Fayette County Board of Chair – Sharon Kerrick, Bellarmine University; ■ Chester Hicks, Kem Delaney-Ellis, Olivia Health. Allen-Bryant is a lecturer for the Uni- Chair-Elect – Vern Eswine, The Marketing Davis and Deandra Hart have been versity of Kentucky College of Nursing. Company; Vice Chair, Business and Consumer appointed to the Governor’s Minority Employ- Affairs – Ann Gregory, The Door Store and ment, Business Affairs and Economic Develop- LOUISVILLE REGIONAL Windows; Vice Chairman, Membership and Mar- ment Council. Hicks, of Louisville, is an AIRPORT AUTHORITY keting – Cindy Seiler Reichert, Brown-Forman administrative officer for Lexington-Fayette ■ The following individuals have been Corp.; Vice Chairman, Budget, Finance, Audit Urban County Government. Delaney-Ellis, of appointed to the Louisville Regional Airport and Personnel/Treasurer – Scott Graf, Cafe- Shelbyville, is director of health policy for Nor- Authority board of directors: Chair – Jim Press; Vice Chairman, Event Planning and Wel- ton Healthcare. Davis, of Lexington, is an Welch; Vice Chair – Mary Rose Evans; and coming Committee – Sam Cilone, FASTSIGNS; assurance manager for PricewaterhouseCoo- Secretary-Treasurer – Les Seibert. Chair/Lincoln Trail Area Business Advisory pers. Hart, of Louisville, is office manager for Committee – Steve Wright, The Wright Legacy Results Physiotherapy. MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY Group; Secretary – Michael Bailen, Texas Road- ALUMNI ASSOCIATION house; President/CEO – Reanna Smith-Hamb- GREATER LOUISVILLE INC. ■ Murray State University has named the follow- lin, Better Business Bureau; Immediate Past ■ Jim Allen, chairman and CEO of Hilliard ing individuals to its alumni association board of Chair – Raymond G. Strothman, Strothman & Lyons, has been named chair-elect of the governors: Tab Brockman, Hopkinsville Parks Co. Newly elected board members include: Greater Louisville Inc. board of directors. New and Recreation; Taylor Cline, Fifth Third Bank, Cindy Effinger, McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & board members include James Beckett, Louisville; Cameron Gish, Mill Creek Middle Kirkland; Wes Henderson, Louisville Distilling Qualmet; David Gray, Baptist Health Louis- School, Nashville; Kip Roberts, Medtronic Inc., Co.; Jacque Ramsey, Mortenson Family Den- ville; and Shelley Neal Shaughnessy, Memphis; Jonathan White, ABM Government tal; James Reynolds, Eclipse Roofing & Resto- KentuckyOne Health; Drew Eckman, Frost Services (retired), Hopkinsville; and Sandra ration; Adolfo Ben Ruiz, Adhawks; Karl Brown Todd; and Marty Pollio, Jefferson Wilson, Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce. Truman, Karl Truman Law Office; and Alesha County Public Schools. Elected to the board of governors executive Yaney, Universal Woods. Returning board mem- board for 2017-2018 are: President – Jerry bers include: Michael Anderson, Anderson KENTUCKY BOARD OF NURSING Penner, Murray; President-Elect – Iain Howard, Business Group; Sharon Y. Board, Chemco ■ Crystal Lynn Morgan and Christina Cole- Owensboro; Vice President – Taylor Cline, Lou- Federal Credit Union; Kelly Burke, Office Envi- man Johnson have been appointed to the isville; and Immediate Past President – Elizabeth ronment Co.; Kevin Connelly, University of Kentucky Board of Nursing. Morgan, of Mar- Bailey-Smith, Marion, Ill. Louisville; Robert Frank, Stock Yards Bank and rowbone, is a nurse with Metcalfe County Trust; Saul Garcia, Los Aztecas Mexican Restau- Healthcare. Johnson, of Owenton, is a com- NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY rant; Jan Gordan, Spencerian College; Jack- munity health coordinator for Three Rivers ■ Ashley Himes of California, Kentucky, has son C. Mullins, Fulfillment Concepts Inc.; District Health Department. been appointed to the Northern Kentucky Nancy Smith, Callistus Smith Agency; Brian University Board of Regents. Sternberg, Sternberg Automotive Group; Dave KENTUCKY COMMISSION Vogel, Louisville Water Co.; and Brad Warren, ON PROPRIETARY EDUCATION STATEWIDE ADVISORY COUNCIL MPI Printing. ■ Lucinda Pease, Jonah Mitchell, David Wil- FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION liam Floyd and Gerria Berryman have been ■ The following individuals have been appointed BRAIDY INDUSTRIES appointed to the Kentucky Commission on Pro- to the Statewide Advisory Council for Vocational ■ Charles Price has been named to the board prietary Education. Pease, of Hillsboro, is an Rehabilitation: Carrie Blackham, Whitesville; of directors of Braidy Industries, a newly formed administrative coordinator for the Kentucky Sharon Kay Fields, Salyersville; Deanna company that is building a $1.3 billion aluminum Welding Institute. Mitchell, of Nicholasville, is an Sokacz, Louisville; Zella Faye Wells, Paintsville; rolling mill in South Shore, Kentucky. Price is adjunct professor at the University of Kentucky. Michelle Bazeley, Louisville; and Dorothy president and CEO of Louisville-based Charah. Floyd, of Bardstown, is a retired state legislator. James Jenkins, Shelbyville. Berryman, of Nicholasville, is owner of Emer- EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY gency Medical Training Professionals. UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ■ Juan Carlos Castro and Christopher Pace ■ Raymond Burse has been appointed to the have been appointed to the Eastern Kentucky KENTUCKY COMMUNITY AND University of Louisville board of trustees. University board of regents. Castro, of Lexington, TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM Burse, of Prospect, is a retired vice president is managing partner of JCC Accounting Solutions ■ Karen Finan has been and general counsel for GE Appliances and a and chairman of the Lexington Hispanic Educa- appointed to the Kentucky former president of Kentucky State University. tion Association. Pace, of Winchester, is an inves- Community and Technical tor and attorney. College System board of WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY regents. Finan, of Fort Mitch- ■ George Nichols III has been appointed to the GATEWAY COMMUNITY ell, is president and chief board of regents at Western Kentucky University. & TECHNICAL COLLEGE executive officer of the Nichols, of Potomac, Maryland, is a former Ken- ■ The follow- Northern Kentucky Regional tucky commissioner of insurance and currently ing individu- Alliance. Karen serves as executive vice president of governmen- als have been Finan tal affairs for New York Life Insurance Co. named to the KENTUCKY board of TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY directors at TRUST FUND Announcements for the Corporate Gateway Com- ■ Jessica Shannon Pettigrew, Mary Moves and On the Boards sections of munity & Catherine Hass, Jacquelyn Jean Graven, The Lane Report can be submitted to Technical Kathlyn Sharmili and David Sun have been appointed to the [email protected]. Due to space College: Burkhardt Reddy Kentucky Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund restrictions, announcements for the Blevins board. Pettigrew, of Lexington, is a social Corporate Moves section are generally Bowlin, Bowlin Group; Kathlyn Burkhardt, worker at Eastern State Hospital. Hass, of Lou- limited to upper management positions. Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School Dis- isville, is the owner of Hass Marketing Co. Photos to accompany announcements trict; Patrick Henshaw, Cintrifuse; and Graven, of Louisville, is the owner of Graven are welcome. High-resolution images Sharmili Reddy, City of Fort Mitchell. and Associates. Sun, of Louisville, is a neuro- (minimum 300 dpi) are required in order surgeon for Norton Healthcare. to reproduce well.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 19
September Lane 1-23.indd 19 9/5/17 1:19 PM LANE ONE-ON-ONE Kentucky’s leaders express their opinions
– New York is a good example – with Ben Chandler very high tax rates on cigarettes that you Ben Chandler was named president and CEO see a decline in the rate of smoking. It of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky in September 2016. An eighth-generation Wood- correlates very closely; the cost of ciga- ford countian, he has a B.A. in history from the rettes and the rate of smoking go University of Kentucky, a J.D. from the UK Col- together. And we could do smoke-free lege of Law and studied at the University of laws. Lexington had the courage to London and Trinity College in Dublin, includ- enact a smoke-free law, and it has had ing an internship in the British Parliament. an effect; the smoking rate has gone Chandler practiced law with Brown Todd & down, and it’s a healthier place than a Heyburn and with Reeves & Graddy. He was elected Kentucky state auditor (1992-1995), lot of the rural areas of the state, which and served two terms as attorney general (1995- have not enacted laws like that. You 2003). Chandler was the Democratic nominee could raise the age for smoking from 18 for governor in the 2003 general election. He to 21. That’s another easy way. All three was elected to the U.S. House from Kentucky’s of those things – a tax increase on ciga- 6th Congressional District in February 2004 rettes, raising the age for smoking, and and served through January 2013. He was exec- smoke-free laws – none of them cost the utive director of the Kentucky Humanities Council from 2013 to 2016. Chandler is a mem- taxpayer anything. ber of the board of Bluegrass.org, which pro- Smoking and obesity contribute to vides mental health services in a 17-county almost every health problem our people area, and the state Board of Elections. have. Obesity causes so many problems – diabetes, for example, is one it contributes to. But we can impact the obesity problem, FOCUS POLICY ON HEALTH for instance, by enacting a sugary-beverage tax. Now, the chances of that happening RATHER THAN HEALTHCARE in Kentucky right now, I think, are quite Cancer, diabetes, heart disease rates hinder economic development, slim. But it’s something cities in this coun- try have undertaken, and they believe that says Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky CEO Ben Chandler those measures have a positive effect on the obesity rate. BY MARK GREEN MG: Medical experts now identify over- use of sugar in commercially prepared foods as a key trigger for the diabesity Mark Green: What is the current mis- MG: What are the key mechanisms to epidemic. What is the foundation posi- sion statement of the Foundation for a addressing Kentuckians’ high rates of obe- tion toward sugar taxes? Healthy Kentucky? sity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease? BC: We think sugar taxes are a good way Ben Chandler: Our mission is to try to BC: It’s complicated because there are to go. You’ve got to figure out a way to improve the health of the people of Ken- no easy answers for a question like this. get the public to not consume as much tucky. Kentuckians are not very healthy. If there had been, it would’ve been sugar. There isn’t any question but that We lag behind in health indicators like solved a long time ago. We need to work it causes you to gain weight. There isn’t cancer, heart disease, diabetes, drug prob- on what we call the social determinants any question that we have a significant lems, all of those things. We’re down in of health: poverty, education, access to obesity problem that affects the overall the very bottom of the country. It’s unfor- decent healthcare, access to opportuni- health of not only the individuals but tunate and very harmful not only to the ties to exercise, and access to good, the state. And one of the obvious ways lives of the individuals who have those wholesome fresh food. All of these to attack that problem is to raise taxes health problems but also to the economy things play a role, and many more. on sugary beverages in particular. of the state generally. Answering all those questions is not an Now, why single out the beverages easy thing. and not other forms of sugar? Because, MG: Do we know why Kentucky is trend- But there are particular things we do really, these sugary beverages have no ing toward the wrong end of these that are harmful, that stick out. One of other nutritional value. health metrics? those is smoking. Our smoking rate in BC: Really, it’s poverty, a lack of education. Kentucky is 27 percent; the national MG: Has the foundation searched out in There are correlations there that you average is 17 percent. We’re well above dollar terms some of the costs of Kentuck- always see. When you have poverty and the national average, and as a result we ians’ above-average rates of obesity, diabe- you have a lack of education – and those have the highest cancer rate in the tes, cancer and heart disease? two things go together – poor health fol- nation. We could easily be called the BC: You can’t get an exact figure on it, lows. It’s a chicken-and-egg thing because cancer capital of the country, which is but I can tell you that the costs are dra- it’s very hard to be successful economically not somewhere you want to be. We also matic. For instance, the Campaign for when you have poor health; poor health is have a high obesity rate. Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that the a big factor in causing poverty and a lack There are certain solutions for these annual cost of smoking in the Common- of economic success. There is a chronic smoking and obesity rates that are a lit- wealth of Kentucky is $1.92 billion. And cycle, and how that cycle began I can’t tle easier than working on some of these $590 million of that is to the Medicaid answer, but there is no question that we’ve social determinants, but you have to program alone. The cost of cancer treat- got one. For the economy to thrive here in have the political will to put them in ment, according to the Kentucky Cancer Kentucky we need a healthy workforce, place. One of those is a higher tax on Consortium, will be $3.8 billion annually and we don’t have one. cigarettes. We have seen in other states by 2020. The cost of diabetes in Kentucky
20 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 20 9/5/17 2:17 PM is $3.85 billion, according to the Ken- Economically, the Kentucky Chamber There are a handful of things we can tucky Department of Public Health. The of Commerce will tell you very quickly do that would impact this in a favorable cost of heart disease is $351 billion one of the first things companies looking way, the principal one being a signifi- (including treatment and lost productiv- to locate in different places want to see is cant hike of a dollar or more in the ciga- ity from death and disability). Now, that’s a healthy workforce. Why is that? In rette tax. It would cause a significant a huge number. And that comes from the terms of productivity, they want employ- number of people to either quit smok- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family ees who don’t lose days, and they don’t ing or not begin the habit. And not only Services. And obesity costs us an esti- want to pay high premiums for health does it not cost the taxpayers anything, mated $6 billion in healthcare costs, insurance. We’re losing a lot of eco- it brings in revenue to the state. according to the United Health Founda- nomic development opportunities as a tion, the American Public Health Associa- result of the poor health of the people of MG: What community or state or coun- tion and Partnership for Prevention. the state, which is a tremendous loss to try is doing a good job addressing health our economy, to our business and econ- concerns and bringing about improve- MG: Those are big dollars. omy climate here in Kentucky. ments? What tools are they using? BC: Oh my, they are! And of course, you BC: Almost every country does better hear the argument, for instance, on smok- MG: What health improvement steps than we do. The ultimate measure in ing that tobacco is an economic force in can Kentucky take that might quickly terms of your health outcomes is your Kentucky and is a positive economically. pay for themselves and begin producing longevity. Our life expectancy is below The costs from smoking far outweigh any dividends? every other industrialized country in the economic gain we get from tobacco. BC: Addressing the smoking rate is the world. The European countries’ life obvious one because we are 27 percent expectancies are in the low ’80s. Ours is MG: What are some of the indirect costs compared to the national average of 17 about 78. All those countries are doing of these health conditions? percent. That’s dramatic. It’s nearly 60 it better than we are. BC: Just as a result of the smoking habit, percent above the national average. If And there are states in this country every household in Kentucky has to pay we were just to get to the national aver- that do it better than we do – the North- $1,100 a year more than they otherwise age on smoking, it would mean over eastern states in particular, because they would for health insurance. That’s 300,000 fewer smokers. It would save don’t have some of the same habits we whether you smoke or not. So that’s an taxpayers in the neighborhood of $600 have in Kentucky. Their smoking is dra- indirect cost. The indirect costs start million a year. And that’s just getting matically lower. Their obesity rates are with loss of productivity and the cost of down to the national average, not hav- lower. We’re 47th or 48th in obesity. For health insurance. ing everybody quit. population, keep in mind, this state is
September Lane 1-23.indd 21 9/5/17 1:19 PM LANE ONE-ON-ONE
about 26th in the country, yet we’re BC: Companies that enact those policies Blue Cross/Blue Shield entity had were 47th or 48th or 49th in a lot of these end up making money as a result of charitable in nature – they received tax health indicators. And in the case of their investments that encourage the benefits from the public over several cancer, we’re last. health of their workers. It ends up help- decades that were not accounted for in A report from the American Medical ing the bottom line, even though the the merger. As attorney general I filed Association recently showed cancer company is giving incentives and paying a lawsuit to recover those charitable mortality in this country since 1980 is workers to engage in more healthy assets. We entered into an agreement down 20 percent, except in Kentucky, behaviors. It not only causes their health for a $45 million settlement, and that where it’s up. Now, if that isn’t a call to insurance rates to go down, it also helps money was used to set up this founda- action, I don’t know what is. productivity. So they see an increase in tion to try to improve the health of the the bottom line for the company. people of Kentucky. And it opened its MG: What steps are they taking? What doors in 2001. are they doing differently in terms of MG: Should there be tax incentives of After the settlement I went on and public policy? some sort for wellness programs? did my thing, I ran for governor and I BC: Behavior is what you want to BC: It would certainly suit me. We ought served in the Congress and I was direc- impact. You want public policies that to do everything we can to try to affect tor of the Humanities Council here in encourage people to exercise more, this issue. Kentucky. Then they approached me in that encourage and make it easier for In this country we spend almost all of 2016 about heading it up after my pre- people to have access to nutritious food. our money on a rescue system. We wait decessor retired, and it sounded like an Good farmers’ markets that are avail- until people get sick, and then we res- interesting opportunity for me to come able, and the ability for low-income peo- cue them. We talk about healthcare all full circle and to try to make a real ple to be able to afford the food at those the time, but I have yet to meet a person impact in the health of our people. farmers’ markets, are important poli- who wants healthcare if they can have cies. A lot of states have those policies. health. It’s important to have a system MG: And what is the foundation’s Kentucky, to some degree, has made an that helps people when they’re sick, but annual budget and number of employ- effort in that regard, but we need to it is also the least efficient way to spend ees today? make a greater effort. your healthcare money. That’s why we BC: The foundation was begun with $45 The Foundation for a Healthy Ken- spend twice as much per capita as any million. It gave million-dollar grants to tucky itself has undertaken programs in other country in the world, and our out- both UofL and UK to establish endowed seven counties, to bring coalitions comes are, according to the World health chairs at those universities. We’ve together in those counties, schools, gov- Health Organization, 37th in the world. given away over $27 million, and we ernments, hospitals, concerned citizens If you spent twice as much in your now have $54 million in the endow- – anybody who might be interested in business as everybody else and only had ment. We’ve given a significant amount joining a coalition – to work to enact the 37th-best result, how long would you of money to worthy causes here in Ken- healthy policies in that locality. Clinton stay in business? That’s what we’re doing tucky. Now we want to move into being County, Ky., in Appalachia is a good in healthcare in this country. active on public policy because we example. It has enacted policies that What we ought to do is redirect some believe the health needle in Kentucky allow the school gymnasium to be used of that spending to prevention pro- needs to be moved, and we’re not going by the community after school. Another grams. We can do that through the pub- to do it unless we have strong public good policy is complete streets policies: lic health departments, for instance. We policies like the ones I’ve talked about when you’re developing a street, you have 61 public health departments in that encourage healthy behaviors. have to have sidewalks, you have to have Kentucky. They need to be the chief One reason we need to go in that bike paths. Being healthy is an easier health strategists for their communities. direction is that our budget is about $2 option that way. Being able to exercise is Public health departments are under- million a year, and it’s just not enough an easy choice rather than a difficult utilized and underfunded. to make the kind of impact we want sim- choice. We’ve got to spend more money on ply by giving out grants. We’ve got to encouraging health. Acute conditions have a strategy to affect public policy in MG: Why is cardiovascular disease mor- caused by poor health cost more to treat the state, and that’s what we’re going to tality increasing in some areas of Ken- than money spent keeping people try to do. tucky while it is decreasing significantly healthy in the first place. That’s what As for employees, we have seven. in the United States as a whole? other countries do a whole lot better BC: Heart disease in Kentucky is very, than we do. MG: Opioid abuse has become a major very high. It’s a hugely expensive and health issue in the past several years. deadly problem, and it is directly related MG: Why and how was the Foundation Should the makers or marketers of opi- to the two big behavioral indicators: for a Healthy Kentucky founded? oids be sued? smoking and obesity. Again, we are off BC: In the late 1990s, I was elected BC: The opioid problem is the focus of the charts on both of those. We’ve got attorney general, and there were a lot our annual conference this year in Lex- to address those behavioral factors, and of health conversions going on across ington at the Griffin Gate Marriott on until we do we’re not going to make any the country. Different Blue Cross/Blue Sept. 25. The author Sam Quinones, progress in heart disease, or cancer, or Shield plans in different states around who wrote the book “Dreamland,” is diabetes or any of the other problems. the country were converting to for- going to be our keynote speaker. He profit companies. And in the case of gives a pretty interesting history of how MG: Many employers have wellness pro- Kentucky, the Anthem insurance com- this opioid problem came about. And grams that encourage or even include pany merged with the Blue Cross/Blue there isn’t any question but that it was hard financial incentives for employees Shield entity. That’s a valuable market- encouraged and fueled by the drug to adopt positive health practices. What ing thing, to be the Blue Cross/Blue companies, starting in the late 1990s. I impact is this having? Shield entity, and those assets that the remember because I was attorney gen-
22 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 1-23.indd 22 9/5/17 1:19 PM eral and helped create the KASPER MG: Do you have a closing statement? going to help the business climate. program to try to combat it here in BC: The key to this whole thing is that We’ve got everything to gain and noth- Kentucky. We did combat it, to some we’ve got to start focusing on health as ing to lose by taking that position. We extent successfully, by limiting the opposed to healthcare. Not to dimin- just haven’t done a good job of it in number of prescriptions people had. ish the importance of healthcare, but if this country. ■ But the unintended consequence of we can have a healthier population on that was that heroin came in, mostly the front end, and if we can invest in from Mexico, and it filled the gap policies that cause our population to because we already had an addicted be healthier, then not only are people Mark Green is executive editor population. going to have more fulfilling lives, but of The Lane Report. He can be reached at [email protected]. What the drug companies have we’re going to help our economy, done is encourage doctors to give out we’re going to create jobs, and we’re opioids for pain. It used to be opioids were considered to be tremendously addictive and quite dangerous and typi- cally not given for pain unless you were a terminal patient. That changed in the 1990s as a result of lobbying on the part of the drug companies, and it became standard medical procedure to give opioids for regular pain. If you had a knee operation, or a shoulder TEG ARCHITECTS operation, or any other sort of normal pain in the course of living, you had an opportunity to get a prescription for Architecture | Planning | Interior Design opioids. That new policy that devel- oped in the 1990s was largely at the behest of the drug companies who were selling opioids. So in our view, they absolutely have culpability. They have been sued before. In fact, Kentucky has sued Purdue Pharma for this very thing. So we’ve already had these lawsuits, and these lawsuits have been successful. At least they’ve been settled for large amounts of money already, in both Kentucky and in other states in the country.
MG: Recent community health needs studies in Kentucky have identified behavioral health as a top need. Are we in the early stages of awareness regard- ing the need to provide better behav- ioral healthcare? BC: We’ve been talking about this for years. Behavioral health is really another term for mental health services. Mental health problems have been stigmatized in the past. That’s wrong. We need to take the stigma away. Mental health problems are really just like physical problems. They’re often chemically related, and they can be dealt with by a lot of measures that allow us to have a positive impact on behavioral health problems. But they’re also very closely associ- Creating Healing Environments ated with drug use, with our addiction problems. Consequently, we need to be funding behavioral health treatment options as best we can because it’s extremely important. It’s becoming more important all the time, particu- Health Care | Commercial | Educational larly with all the stresses we deal with in modern society. I’m happy to see us www.teg123.com | 502.561.8440 trending toward being more interested in treating behavioral health issues.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 23
September Lane 1-23.indd 23 9/5/17 1:20 PM HEALTHCARE
In May, KentuckyOne Health cited “significant challenges in the healthcare industry” as the reason it severed a man- agement deal with 404-bed University of Louisville Hospital and announced its intention to sell most of its Greater Lou- isville properties, including 462-bed Jew- ish Hospital, Jewish Hospital-Shelbyville and affiliated KOH medical centers in Jefferson County. In March, another major Kentucky health system, Baptist Health, announced it was cutting 288 full-time positions – roughly 1 percent of its employee base – and changing its top management. The cuts may offset the cost of Bap- tist’s 2016 acquisition of Floyd Memo- rial Hospital in New Albany, Ind., continuing systemwide implementa- tion of the Epic electronic health record network and losses from the organization’s foray into health insur- ance, Baptist Health Plan (formerly Bluegrass Family Health). The organi- zation also is completing a massive $246 million expansion of Baptist Health Lexington and major renova- tions to other member hospitals. A Baptist Health news release on the Medicaid Expansion reductions clarified that most cuts were administrative personnel from corporate headquarters in Louisville. Few, if any, were from its 320-plus care-provider oper- Better than Feared ations. Some of its eight community hospi- tals had no cuts. In its 2016 annual community report, Stable conditions for Kentucky healthcare finances, Baptist reported total revenue of $2.13 but chronic uncertainty remains in the prognosis billion but provided no income data. In terms of revenue performance, Todd BY JOSH SHEPHERD Jones, Baptist Health Richmond’s president, said his hospital is on far better financial footing in ITH news on the sec- ance coverage sought care and created a 2017 than it was in 2012 tor’s financial status a revenue surge. More importantly, she when the former Pattie A. Todd Jones, whirl of uncertainty, said, provider systems have shifted away Clay Hospital formally President, upheaval and contra- from overreliance on inpa- joined the health system. Baptist Health diction, it’s easy to tient hospitalization to “We’ve made capital Richmond speculateW Kentucky’s healthcare indus- generate income. improvements, recruited new physicians try is in an economic downturn. How- Hospitals responded in primary and specialty care, added ever, there is plenty of evidence to show to the ACA’s push for bet- new services, and offset some of the the news is more good than bad. ter patient outcomes with perennial challenges we face relative to A few hospitals did, indeed, close soon value-driven approaches reimbursement,” Jones said. “Since after implementation of the Affordable to care that emphasize Elizabeth becoming a Baptist hospital, we are Care Act. But Elizabeth Cobb, vice presi- outpatient services, home Cobb, Vice offering better care and access to care dent for health policy at the Kentucky health and rehabilitation. President for to our community.” Hospital Association, points out that there “It’s been proven that Health Policy, The community has responded with have been no hospital closures in the past patients recover better at Kentucky Hospital improved utilization of the Richmond several years and revenue from Medicaid home than in a hospital Association hospital’s expanded array of services – expansion has stabilized several commu- bed,” Cobb said. particularly outpatient services, he said. nity hospitals that were considered finan- However, the positive has been offset Jones’ remarks are similar to com- cially at risk in 2014. by well-publicized developments likely ments from Lori Ritchey Baldwin, In general, Cobb said, Kentucky’s to skew perceptions negatively. Months senior vice president and chief financial healthcare provider industry is much of efforts in Washington to “repeal” the officer of St. Elizabeth Healthcare in more stable now than earlier this decade. ACA were accompanied by news of Northern Kentucky, and Michael Medicaid expansion is partially responsi- organizational setbacks among large Gough, chief financial officer for Nor- ble because residents who gained insur- Kentucky hospital systems. ton Healthcare in Louisville.
24 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
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Norton’s annual report shows a posi- tive margin of $89.3 million for patient services with total revenue from all sources at $2.09 billion. UK Healthcare’s financial statement for the fiscal year ending in June 2016 reports a healthy positive margin of $125.1 million on $1.42 billion in opera- tional revenue. Its 2015 results were even better, with $199.2 million in income on $1.33 billion in revenue. St. Elizabeth Health- care’s public filings to the IRS report that its expenses were $86.8 mil- lion less than its total rev- enue of $1.01 billion in 2015, with the compara- ble 2014 figures having Lori Ritchey been $105 million Baldwin, Chief derived from revenue of Financial $984.2 million Officer/SVP, St. Elizabeth (NOTE: Kentuck- Healthcare increase in Medicaid/KCHIP (Kentucky Service area demographics important yOne Health and the Children’s Health Insurance Program) In St. Elizabeth’s Northern Kentucky ser- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family enrollment: from 13.4 percent of com- vice area, among the more populated por- Services were asked to be interviewed monwealth residents to 19.8 percent. By tions of the commonwealth, “70 percent for this article. KentuckyOne Health the third quarter of 2016, “more than of our patient population is either Medi- declined to comment. The CHFS 500,000 Kentuckians were enrolled in care, Medicaid or self-pay,” Baldwin said. acknowledged receipt of a request for Medicaid through the expansion.” That leaves 30 percent of St. Elizabeth’s an interview and questions regarding And those numbers have continued to patient base commercially insured, she the Medicaid program, but no one in climb. As of March 2017, Medicaid/ said, making its population characteristics the cabinet responded.) KCHIP covered 1,246,349 people in Ken- more similar to Bowling Green than to a tucky, according to federal Centers for city the size of Louisville. Medicaid grew, bad debt shrunk Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) The impact on revenue from shifts in When Kentucky Medicaid expansion estimates. That’s nearly 640,000 more payer mix depends on the demographic was first implemented in 2014, hospital since expansion began in fall 2013. makeup of a hospital’s service area. In con- administrators worried that expanding Contrary to fears, however, that 103 trast to Northern Kentucky, Baptist Health eligibility to families with incomes up to percent increase was mostly among self- Richmond serves a much more diverse 38 percent above federal poverty guide- pay patients coming onto Medicaid, range of incomes. It has a much greater lines would negatively affect their payer according to the payee mix shifts reported number of working families earning mix by shifting patients from commer- by St. Elizabeth, Norton Healthcare and hourly and retail wages. cial insurance to Medicaid, which pays Baptist Health Richmond. Richmond experienced a significant less reimbursement for services. “We did not see much shift in payer mix from patients formerly Additionally, expansion would move of a drop in our commer- covered by insurance to Medicaid cover- many uninsured self-payers, who often cially insured population, age. Meanwhile, Jones estimates the hospi- can’t pay, to Medicaid, which would though we expected it,” tal lost 2 to 4 percent of its private payers. bring more patients and more revenue, said Norton’s Gough. The In addition, the hospital experienced rev- but Medicaid reimbursement levels population of income- enue losses due to continuing government oftentimes do not cover providers’ costs. earning Kentuckians sequestration of Medicare funds and other For example, Norton Healthcare’s tax within the eligibility Michael cuts. The cumulative losses at Baptist filings for 2016 show Medicaid reim- threshold – between pov- Gough, Chief Health Richmond could go into the mil- Financial bursement was 14 percent less than the erty level and 38 percent Officer, Norton lions by 2020, he said. cost of providing care. above it – was narrow and Healthcare Overall, though, the increase in Med- There was, indeed, a big shift onto didn’t end up making that icaid enrollment has produced a signifi- Medicaid rolls in Kentucky. much of a difference in Norton’s overall cant net gain on most hospital revenues Kentucky had the second-largest mix of payers. across the commonwealth. According to decline in its uninsured population in Importantly, Norton Healthcare the Kentucky Hospital Association, rural the country when it expanded Medicaid reported significant reductions in bad hospitals have been helped tremen- eligibility, according to a Foundation for debt. Since Medicaid expansion, Nor- dously by providing a federal payer a Healthy Kentucky report released in ton’s bad debt, recorded as a percent- where there once was just mounting bad February 2017. age of its total net revenue, was 5.3 debt owed by private payers. “The commonwealth’s uninsurance percent in 2013; 4.6 percent in 2014; 3.6 The effect on Norton’s revenues has rate has been cut by more than half, percent in 2015; 3.2 percent in 2016. been profound. For the last three years, from 13.6 percent (of state residents) to Baldwin estimated about 10 percent Gough said Norton has operated at some- 6.1 percent in 2015,” the report states. of St. Elizabeth’s patient population was where close to a 5 percent profit margin. There was an increase in individual self-pay before Medicaid expansion. “Our goal each year is a 2 percent mar- health insurance coverage, from 4.4 Since expansion, that number has dwin- gin,” he said. “The last few years have pro- percent to 5.3 percent, and a huge dled to about 2 percent, she said. duced something of a windfall.”
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September Lane 24-44.indd 26 9/5/17 1:26 PM The unusual margins are not exclu- One would be a My Rewards Account A great deal of Baptist Health Rich- sively the result of Medicaid expansion, program that requires Medicaid enroll- mond’s current bad debt comes from Gough said. A significant contributing ees to complete certain actions, such as patients who’ve bought high deductible factor was that Norton Healthcare sys- earn a GED, participate in smoking ces- insurance plans, upward of $2,000 to tem has completed a more than $200 sation classes, or get job training, to $6,000. Of greatest concern, however, is million electronic health record system earn credits for vision and dental ser- that commercial insurers are getting out of investment, and getting that cost off the vices. Medicaid typically covers 100 per- state and federal exchanges. In Kentucky, books made a substantial contribution. cent for beneficiaries, but the Aetna and Humana have already bowed administration’s proposals include cre- out of the Kentucky market for 2018, leav- Uncertainty as subsidy drops ating deductibles for recipients as an ing only Care Source and Anthem. However, Gough sees no way the reve- incentive to “avoid unnecessary care.” Anthem has already announced that it will nue momentum can continue. Federal As of press time, the Kentucky Depart- no longer participate in the exchange in subsidies to states paying 100 percent of ment of Medicaid Services was awaiting Indiana and Ohio. It is also pulling out of the additional cost of Medicaid expan- approval of a waiver from the CMS. If nearly all its markets in California. sion conclude this year. If Kentucky stays approved, these and other changes could “It’s very possible that Kentucky could with expansion, subsidies will recede go into effect as early as January 2018. have just one choice in the exchange by every year until 2020, when CMS will (Visit the Kentucky Department for Med- 2018,” Baldwin said. Despite what looks cover 90 percent of Medicaid costs. icaid Services for more information on like rising hazard for hospitals’ future bot- States will have to fund the rest. And Kentucky HEALTH.) tom lines, Baldwin argued that it would be that’s dependent upon whether Ken- a mistake to return to the past. tucky stays with the Medicaid exchange High deductibles, higher bad debt? “Lifting the Medicaid eligibility as the ACA legislation intended. In the meantime, decreases in uncompen- threshold made a huge difference to Another change likely to affect Ken- sated care – bad debt on hospitals’ books families with only one income. This area tucky’s Medicaid program is Gov. Matt – seem to have reached a plateau. The has a large population of single, work- Bevin’s proposal for a Section 1115 waiver increase in insured patients has seen a ing mothers,” Baldwin said. “I don’t from the CMS to redesign Kentucky’s simultaneous rise in purchases of health think anyone could reasonably say that Medicaid expansion. According to the insurance plans with high deductibles. it’s appropriate to take Medicaid back to Health Insurance Resource Center at “A lot more people are going to high where it once was. That would be too healthinsurance.org, the governor’s pro- deductible plans, so the residual bal- dire, too draconian.” ■ posal, Kentucky HEALTH, would not elim- ance that the commercial payers don’t inate the expansion, but would introduce cover, well, there’s more of that these Josh Shepherd is a correspondent for The Lane Report. several key changes to the program. days,” Baldwin said. He can be reached at [email protected].
Big things are happening. Stay tuned.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 27
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Clinic Chief Administra- tive Officer Eric Riley said theirs takes a broader and more com- Making Employee prehensive approach. The program currently has around 30,000 mem- bers. It has employee Eric Riley, member groups from as Chief Administrative large as 7,000 down to 300, Age Data an Asset Officer, including a wide range of Lexington businesses from the auto- Clinic Direct-to-employer care program’s analytics tool motive industry to law helps provider anticipate and manage care needs firms and educational companies. “We are providing a service to a con- stituency of clients across the common- BY ESTHER ZUNKER wealth, as well as providing healthcare to our own employees,” Riley said. “We believe that fiduciary responsibility isn’t just an economic footprint; it’s also in USINESS executives trying to percent this year by using a population the health of those employees. This con- manage their margins in a health analytic software to manage cept isn’t totally unique in the nation, competitive environment employee well-being more efficiently but it is pretty forefront in this market have long been concerned and effectively. The goal is that those from the comprehensive structure of it.” about ever-increasing health- savings will increase in the future. The Provider Employer Pathways Bcare costs. Employers need to attract and Using those analytics, it works with program is customized to each retain top talent and keep their work- employers to customize benefits plans employer and looks different depend- force healthy and productive, but provid- around a care network emphasizing the ing on the health needs of particular ing attractive health benefits is a growing use of Lexington Clinic facilities and populations of employees, he said, drain from a financial standpoint. providers. because the aim is to create an actual Lexington Clinic, a multi-specialty Now three years old, Provider partnership among the program, the medical group with 200-plus providers, Employer Pathways is similar to other employees and the employer. thinks its new Provider Employer Path- direct-to-employer care programs Lexington Clinic has “a whole suite ways program will save employers 4 to 5 throughout the nation, but Lexington of specialty-based outpatient services,”
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September Lane 24-44.indd 28 9/5/17 1:26 PM Riley said. “That provides the opportu- nity for us to provide a cost-conscious network, so that we can share that sav- ings opportunity with some of our employer network and partners in the market.” Employees’ ages often shape ser- vices. “Some of our clients who are younger consume healthcare very dif- ferently than older individuals who are beginning to hit those chronic elements of life,” Riley said. “We really do work hard to help the employer understand what their employee population looks like, and the opportunities available to engage and navigate them.”
Lower costs and better outcome? The cost issue has become even more pressing since the passage in 2010 of the Affordable Care Act increased regula- tory burdens by creating minimum cov- erage requirements and introducing Riley said. “Our product is designed to employees covered under the program, measures that ostensibly improve condi- partner with an employer, understand 5,500 of whom reside in Kentucky. tions for the consumer. They also subtly their needs and help them design what “It’s been a fun partnership with transitioned more of the cost to employ- is unique for them to be more success- them,” Riley said. “We’ve done a lot of ers. It is a dilemma to which there is no ful in their population.” preventive and chronic (condition man- clear answer. agement) work for them, and looked at Faced with increasing costs in its own ‘Narrow’ networks rediscovered benefit and design across the program. traditional health plan, Lexington In the traditional sense, narrow net- They’ve seen significant savings, but Clinic knew there must be smarter ways works can be thought of as limiting most importantly more employee to design its health plan, and that is how enrollees on a plan to seeing around 70 engagement and care improvement. it turned to the idea of premier net- percent of providers in a service area. Those two have to go hand in hand.” works, or in this case, direct-to- Patients would face substantial upfront Provider Employer Pathways ful- employer. cost sharing to see the other, out-of-net- filled goals the employer had identified. Many employer-based health plans work providers. “Hitachi set out to have transitioned to what are known as Such networks originated in the 1980s find a program that “preferred plans,” contracting with pro- in California, where state legislators first would benefit our most viders that have proven records of effi- allowed insurers the ability to selectively valuable resource: our cient care at lower prices. With its contract, creating exclusive networks with employees,” said Craig multitude of providers and facilities, providers with whom they had negotiated Fisher, senior vice presi- Lexington Clinic saw the opportunity to lower reimbursement rates. dent of human resources contract directly with employers and be One study of a preferred network in and corporate secretary Craig Fisher, the exclusive provider for those popula- Massachusetts showed its structure and of Hitachi Automotive Vice President tions. The employer would see incentives produced a 40 percent Systems Americas. “We Human improved health outcomes at noticeably spending reduction in emergency have been so pleased Resources, improved overall plan costs, and Lex- Hitachi department use and visits to specialists. with the win-win partner- Automotive ington Clinic would benefit from an There was increased usage of primary ship we have developed Systems influx of new patients. care, leading to increased awareness of with Lexington Americas Inc. “Really everyone wins in this situa- preventive care and wellness. Other Clinic. We have improved tion,” Riley said. “Preferred networks studies found a nearly 40 percent our healthcare benefit plan and invest- are nothing new, so why shouldn’t Lex- decrease in spending for heart disease ment, and our team members are ington Clinic make up a significant por- and other chronic conditions treatment engaged. When they are healthy and tion of the network? We have providers that cost hundreds of billions of dollars feeling their best, that’s the greatest of virtually every major specialty, and we a year, according to the Agency for value we can provide to our employees offer exceptional care and quality at a Healthcare Research. and their families.” demonstrated value to the employer.” There are definite savings to be There are two areas he believes an claimed if providers and employers are Analytics improve care management employer should be sensitive to: cost willing to shift the paradigm in the Lower costs, while important, are not and value/outcome. Depending on the delivery and payment system. the only incentive offered by Lexington employee demographics of a particular One of Lexington Clinic’s main cli- Clinic’s direct-to-employer arrange- company, cost thresholds to employers ents in the Provider Employer Pathways ment. With innovative analytic technol- will vary. program is the large automotive parts ogy that gathers and filters data from “Depending on what their popula- manufacturer Hitachi Automotive Sys- both electronic medical records and tion looks like from a demographic tems Americas. With large plants in payer files, Lexington Clinic is taking (perspective) can determine their both Harrodsburg and Berea, the com- strides in efficiently managing the expense and disease burden sensitivity,” pany currently has more than 7,500 health of large populations.
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“Analytics allow employers to work with us to find out how benefits can really alter outcome,” Riley said. “With our data, we know more about the col- lective health of their employee popula- tion than they do.” OptumOne, the powerful analytic tool used by the Lexington Clinic team, amasses an impressive amount of infor- mation on patients. “We selected them (Hitachi) because they have the largest data cohort of lon- gitudinal information on patients … this allows us to look retrospectively at patient risk,” Riley said. “We are able to very accurately predict a disease pro- gression based on family history (and other factors), and we use that to try and redirect the outcome.” OptumOne can sort thousands of patients into cohorts based on different criteria – for example, those who haven’t made a “well visit” in the last 18 months, haven’t had a mammogram, or haven’t refilled prescriptions regularly. The Lexington Clinic team analyzes OptumOne data to determine if there are care interventions that could improve the overall health and experi- ence of patients. Engagement profes- sionals then contact members to urge them toward the right avenues of care. For example, care managers can con- tact those without well visits and help them schedule appointments, which leads to finding health conditions and treating them before they become something much more serious and expensive. “Without follow up, diseases can (healthcare) purchasing decisions and are aging and utilizing more care. The progress, and then treatment becomes assigning them a personal navigator, portion of the budget allocated for harder and harder,” Riley said. “It really you start to have good dialogue,” Riley health benefits has been steadily rising, is helping employers understand they said. “The employee determines how and until now there was no end in sight. not only have a fiduciary responsibility they will spend their resources, so Lexington Clinic, with its direct-to- (to control costs), but they have an obli- there’s material engagement instead of employer model, is providing an exam- gation to the health of their employees. a soft engagement.” ple of payment model innovation. If they’re going to provide a benefit, When patients make contact, the Contracting directly with large employer they should make sure it’s of the highest member navigator can determine where groups is saving both sides money, and value and highest quality they can pos- they are calling from in order to suggest overall patient health is better man- sibly provide. They can’t do that if they the most rapid point of care with the aged, resulting in improved outcomes have an illusion of choice that they can most cost-efficient method at any of for organizations’ most valuable asset: go anywhere for it; they really need to Lexington Clinic’s more than 200 pro- people. bring those provisions of care closer so viders. This process puts at ease the “I believe this is a key solution for they can navigate them ideally for the many enrollees likely to be over- employers in the market in terms of pro- outcome.” whelmed by sorting out the system’s viding good benefits to their employ- care options. ees,” Riley said. “My passion is Member navigators ease access embedded in doing what I can to help Another key feature of Lexington Clin- A new model for healthcare those employers understand there are ic’s direct-to-employer program is mem- As the U.S. Department of Health and ways to manage your employees from a ber navigation. Specific members of Human Services seeks to tie 90 percent benefit prospective and a health out- Lexington Clinic staff are dedicated of its healthcare compensation pay- come perspective that can be mutually exclusively to help employer groups nav- ments to value and quality by 2018, pro- enjoyable. Anything we can do to help igate the system and assist in their viders and payers are looking for new promote that, I’m happy to help with choice process. Easily accessible by models to maximize patient health at that pathway.” ■ intention, these navigators field ques- the lowest cost. tions from patients and help them get Employers are seeking savings in an Esther Zunker is a correspondent access to the providers they need to see. uncertain regulatory environment, but for The Lane Report. She can be reached “By engaging the employee in the facing the trend that their employees at [email protected].
30 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 30 9/5/17 1:26 PM COVER STORY Tourist Season Goes Year Round in Kentucky
Located on West Main Street on Louisville's historic Beyond its ‘bourbonism’ boom, $14.5 billion hospitality "Whiskey Row," the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience with its 3-story tall pouring bottle features sector grows by giving visitors a taste of the authentic an artisanal distillery, tours, tastings and an immersive experience that celebrates the legacy of Evan Williams, Kentucky's first distiller, and brings to life BY SUSAN GOSSELIN the history and tradition of America's native spirit.
And it’s going to be better for the ONTINUING an especially numbers. It’s driving a revival down old foreseeable future, according to Kristen good run in recent years, West Main Street in downtown Louis- Branscum, commissioner of the Depart- vibrant Kentucky tourism ville as well as hotel construction there ment of Travel and Tourism. grew another 5 percent in and elsewhere in the state. “The next three to five years are going 2016, the strongest expansion Long mostly a seasonal industry to be incredible” Branscum said. “Very Crate since 2005, according to Kentucky’s busy in spring and summer, tourism- simply, Kentucky is in a wonderful place as Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet. The sector members are developing it into far as the tourism sector goes. We have economic impact hit $14.5 billion last a year-round enterprise in Kentucky those authentic experiences that they are year, when all nine of the state tourism that generates $1.5 billion in tax reve- looking for. We are centrally located, and regions experienced increases. nue and supports 193,000 jobs – an the Southern region is hot right now … Rising global taste for and interest in important number that grew by 7,000 among international visitors who want to bourbon has certainly helped spike the in the 2016 measure. come for that authentic Americana.”
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numbers, which show steady growth and a new interest in visiting Louisville outside of Derby season. From 2014 to 2016 alone, visits to Louisville increased by more than 1.7 million to 24.7 million. From 2013 to 2017, scheduled conven- tions grew from 536 to 667. Unbundled ticket sales to Louisville events grew more than 130 percent last year.
Building it … because they will come Williams points specifically to 2005 as the year things began to turn around. It was the year the 591-room Louisville Marriott Downtown and the boutique 21C Museum Hotel opened – a critical expansion of hotel and meeting space downtown that caught the attention of event planners. The new venues also got the attention of restaurateurs, who began investing in new destination din- ing downtown to support the influx of tourists and conventioneers. A view in early September 2017 of the $180 million infrastructure that makes This launched a cycle that created reconstruction of the Kentucky International us the gateway to bour- its own momentum, Williams said. Convention Center in downtown Louisville, which will bon country like Napa Construction of the 22,000-seat KFC reopen in Summer 2018 with an increase in contiguous Valley is for wine. We’re Yum! Center in 2010 brought calls exhibit space from 146,000 s.f. to over 200,000 s.f., at the point now that all from more investors looking to bring add a 40,000-plus-s.f. ballroom and more meeting our plans and investment new hotels downtown. It led to the cur- space all within the center’s existing footprint. The project area is in the block bordered by Third and are starting to feed on rent development of the Omni Hotel each other,” Williams Karen downtown, a 30-story, $320 million Fourth Streets between Market and Jefferson. Williams, said. “The momentum is President/CEO, project that will have more than 600 taking us to some very Louisville hotel rooms and 225 luxury apart- Bourbon-related tour- interesting places.” Convention ments, opening in early 2018. ism spreads out across Owensboro, too, is and Visitor’s And an $180 million expansion of most months of the calen- enhancing its own long- Bureau the Louisville International Convention dar, and venues and com- standing authentic Ken- Center downtown will wrap up in early munities around the state tucky cultural attraction. 2018 as well, bringing its exhibit space are realizing success in “Construction of the Bluegrass Hall up to 200,000 s.f. and its ballroom space appealing to travelers who of Fame and Museum in Owensboro up to 40,000. The Louisville Convention want experiences not only Kristen began in 2016 and is scheduled to open & Visitors Bureau estimates the expan- during summer vacation Branscum, during 2018 as the newest piece of the sion will increase bookings by 25 per- Commissioner, season but all year long. Kentucky city’s $80 million river- cent, a move that could bring an Hospitality professionals Department front redevelopment additional $53 million in annual eco- are finding opportunities of Travel project,” Mark Calitri, nomic impact with it. to create new packages and and Tourism president/CEO of Visit Another sign of the momentum: The products. It’s a big reason Owensboro, said. “The 12-year-old Louisville Downtown Marri- tourism growth of hundreds of millions of region around Owens- dollars annually is happening. boro is known for ties to Kentucky’s local hospitality sector the roots of bluegrass Mark Calitri, members are making the most of things as music, so this uniquely President/ well, Branscum said. They understand Kentucky musical genre CEO, Visit marketing and positioning themselves factors into our cultural Owensboro appropriately, and they are presenting a tourism strategy. Bill Monroe was born, consistent message that is getting noticed. raised and laid to rest in nearby Rosine, “I love my job,” said Karen Williams, Ky., where a museum dedicated to him president and CEO of the Louisville Con- is currently under construction and will vention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It’s a great join his home place as a popular desti- time to be selling Kentucky, and Louis- nation in that community.” ville, in particular. People are looking for The facility under construction will real, authentic cultural experiences. And be a much larger home for the hall of we’re looked at as a city that’s authentic, fame and museum founded more than that has great events and attractions that 20 years ago in Owensboro, and will add are based on our strengths, like bourbon, a research library, restaurant and indoor food and horseracing. and outdoor performance spaces. “We’ve built up some very attractive Louisville’s ascent as a year-round tour- Revelers enjoy the Louisville Urban Bourbon Trail hotels and infrastructure around it – ist destination is borne out by its CVB’s at Proof On Main.
32 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 32 9/5/17 2:18 PM ott is undergoing a $30 million renova- tion set for completion in August 2018 when the Omni opens. “We’re seeing convention traffic, but we’re also seeing a great deal of regional tourism and even local people who are doing staycations,” Williams said. “That’s one of the key reasons our week- end packages have been doing so well.” Branscum said she views hotel con- struction around the state as “money in the pocket of Kentuckians.” New facili- ties appeal to travelers, but the compa- created its own farm distillery that’s true to Scheduled to open in late spring 2018, the $320 nies building them are doing so because its historic roots, and staffed with cos- million Omni Louisville in Downtown Louisville, is they “are paying attention to the trends. tumed interpreters. And then there are designed with intersecting towers that represent the They know they are going to get their the restaurants, which have been adding crossroads of the past, present and future of money back.” bourbon-infused foods and leaning into Louisville. It will transform an urban block one bourbon culture. It’s created a unique block from the Kentucky International Convention Center into a vibrant mixed-use environment with Bourbonism pours it on experience for people who visit here, 612 guest rooms and suites, 70,000 s.f. of meeting “A million people visited something they can’t get anywhere else.” and event space, two full-service restaurants, lobby the Kentucky Bourbon And that’s just the beginning. Several lounge, rooftop café, speakeasy and a bowling alley. Trail last year, and that’s a new attractions are slated to open in 2017- huge growth engine for 18 on Louisville’s now-ubiquitous Urban the state,” said Susan Bourbon Trail, including Rabbit Hole “Millennials in particular are more Reigler, bourbon writer, Spirits Craft Distillery in NuLu, Derby City interested in the quality of what they are event planner and presi- Susan Reigler, Spirits in the Highlands, and two new eating and drinking. When they find dent of the Bourbon President, Whiskey Row attractions – Old Forester something they like, something that Women’s Association. Bourbon and Michter’s Distillery. rings true as authentic and well crafted, Women’s Bourbons Bistro in downtown Louis- they want to share it. Word is spreading While many distillery Association stops are outside the city ville was early to sign on to the Urban about what Louisville has to offer.” limits, a whole new bevy of attractions in Bourbon Trail, which has grown to Picturesque Bardstown, 40 minutes the city limits are bringing vitality and some 35 bars and restaurants that carry south, has traded on its rich bourbon heri- growth to the trail, she noted. significant bourbon selections. Urban tage for a few generations, and its annual “There’s great, long-standing attrac- Bourbon Trail action now has changed mid-September Kentucky Bourbon Festi- tions on the trail like the Woodford the way they do business. val has exploded in the past decade. Reserve Distillery (near Versailles) and the “It’s a challenge to Like Louisville, Lexington likes to Maker’s Mark Distillery (in rural Marion keep up with the pace,” point out its role in the early days of County) among many others,” Reigler said Jason Brauner, owner bourbon distilling, but recently it has said. “But then you’ve got the new attrac- of Bourbons Bistro. taken a different strategy – creating its tions that are popping up in Louisville, “These days, we’re having own “Brew”grass Trail. The city has at such as the Evan Williams Bourbon Expe- bottle-signing events, get- least a half-dozen new craft breweries, rience and speakeasy, tastings at Angel’s ting single barrels for our and recently created a “passport” visi- restaurant, pairing up Jason Brauner, tors can get punched at destination Envy, The Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, Owner, Bulleit, Copper & Kings, Kentucky Peer- with liquor stores to do Bourbons breweries in Lexington, Paris, Danville less and a whole lot more downtown. on-premise promotions, Bistro and Harrodsburg. Non-distillers also see opportunity in hosting cocktail parties, Lexington’s bubbling Distillery Dis- Louisville’s “bourbonism” as Mayor and even getting our own private barrels trict just west of downtown is repopu- Greg Fischer has dubbed it on liquor store shelves. It’s a quick mov- lating historic warehouses with “The Frazier Historical Museum has ing industry, and you have to keep up restaurants, ice cream parlors and bars. stepped up to the plate to support it, too, with the demand.” The 2016 opening of 21C Museum with its Prohibition exhibit,” Reigler said. Brauner said the increased interest Hotel Lexington after a $38 million “Historic Locust Grove in the East End has in bourbon is a sign of the times. renovation of the century-old First
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SeptemberHAR-1421 Lane Report24-44.indd 1-4PgAd-Sept 33 2017.indd 1 8/24/179/5/17 12:531:26 PM PM COVER STORY
Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Com- merce. “And we’re always looking for ways to connect our attractions. For instance, we’re finishing up new bike trails that will allow us to link city trails to the trails at nearby Barren River Lake State Resort Park. It’s working out great for us.” For years Louisville has spun tourism revenue from long-standing annual events – the Kentucky Derby, The Derby Festival, the St. James Court Art Show in Old Louis- ville and now the two-day Forecastle Festi- val, which sells out every year. But Louisville’s reputation for great food and cultural amenities is making it a magnet for new event organizers. The Louder than Life Festival, a heavy-metal concert festival now in its fourth year, attracted 50,000 attendees and netted the city $13 million in eco- nomic impact, according to a recent study released by the promoters. The national Bourbon Women’s Association is based in Louisville, where The annual Kentucky Highland Games in Glasgow Glasgow renovated a it hosted its fourth annual “Sip-osium” are an authentic reference to the Scottish origins of long-abandoned vaude- last month and drew bourbon-lovers the founders of that South Central Kentucky city. ville venue to create the from across the nation for several days With traditional athletics competitions, dance and Plaza Theatre on Main of tastings, networking and food events. music, the games draw tens of thousands of visitors. Street, which in the past The Kentucky Distiller’s Association has few years has hosted pop ramped up its annual Kentucky Bour- and country concerts, bon Affair into six days worth of tast- National Bank Building presents a lure theatrical shows and Ann Stewart, ings, food events, parties and tours for for travelers looking for world-class more. With the state’s Marketing and Tourism the true bourbon aficionado. accommodations. improved film industry Director, The success of these events has helped incentives attracting busi- Glasgow- give rise to a new festival, Bourbon & Good events gather crowds ness, the Plaza has been a Barren County Beyond, that brings together top chefs, Glasgow in south-central Kentucky venue for filming and Chamber of master distillers and legendary performers understands the value of event tourism. opening parties. Commerce in rock and bluegrass. The event had sold Each year it hosts the Annual Glasgow “Between our Arts more than 14,000 tickets, Williams said, Highland Games, which brings nearly Guild events and workshops and the city’s several weeks before it was set to take 20,000 people from around the world to natural assets like the river, we’ve been able place. Talks are underway for a similar, watch the celebration of Celtic music, to lure people here from all over the country-music themed concert event. dancing demonstrations and Scottish region for overnight stays,” said Ann Stew- And this doesn’t count the steady Highland sports like ax throwing. art, marketing and tourism director for A-list concerts the seven-year-old KFC
GLASGOW/BARREN COUNTY FUN FOR ALL AGES! FOLLOW THE FUN! c Barren River Lake c c Brigadoon Nature Preserve c c Fort Williams c c Glasgow Highland Games c c Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese c c Historic Plaza Theatre c c Mammoth Cave National Park c c South Central Kentucky Cultural Center c
visitglasgowbarren.com 800.264.3161
Glasgow Third Page.indd 1 9/5/17 1:41 PM 34 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 34 9/5/17 1:42 PM Yum! Center has attracted, including and early spring golfers. The common- 30,000 people a year the best the Louis- Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jimmy Buffett, wealth is “the front porch of the South” ville area has to offer. Cher, Motley Crue, Katy Perry, Luke for Northerners who do not enjoy the “Our main demo- Bryan, Justin Timberlake, Lionel heat of the Deep South. graphic is people aged 30 Richie, Maroon 5 and many more. In an increasingly processed, com- to 45, and we are seeing mercialized and homogenized world, our biggest growth in cor- Experiential, bucket-list travel tourists come to Kentucky today to see porate entertainment, “Experiential travel is a and touch elements of life they consider corporate travel, and big buzzword these days. to have remained authentic incentive trips,” Higgins Sean Higgins, Kentucky Department of Parks photo We’re looking to connect said. “But we’re also see- Chief Fun visitors to Paducah in a ing a lot of local tourism, Officer, Mint new, and immersive way,” too, especially for our Julep Tours said Laura Oswald, direc- supper series. Culturally tor of marketing for the speaking, there’s never been more to do Paducah Visitor’s Bureau. Laura Oswald, in Louisville. People are coming back to New tours have been a director of us for the second and third time, part of that, capitalizing on marketing, because there’s always something new.” Paducah Paducah’s river city history Visitor’s Several large distillery, beer and gen- and its recent designation Bureau eral sightseeing public tours are always as a UNESCO Creative available. But Mint Julep has success City, an award that links them to other, also, Higgins said, with experiences, like-minded cities that are focused on the such as the “Heaven & Evan Behind the arts and creativity as a way to express their Scenes Bourbon Tour,” the “Secrets of local culture, Oswald said. Bluegrass Chefs” tour taking visitors to a Paducah has put together a signa- taping of the popular television show, ture experience around its nationally and the “Southern Supper” tour that known Quilting Museum, offering a goes to a different restaurant for each white-glove, behind-the-scenes visit to course of its participants’ meal. the museum that allows tourists to cre- Higgins was quick to say, however, ate their own quilt block. Paducah has a Lake Cumberland’s 65,000 acres of water and that the Kentucky mystique extends far tour centered around river culture, 1,255-mile shore attracts millions of visitors all beyond food, or even bourbon. with a trip to the River Discovery Cen- year round. “People come to us because Louisville ter, discussion with a modern day river is a place where craftsmanship is king. We captain, live river music and a dinner of make the best baseball bats at Louisville local cuisine. Another tour centers on “A lot of people we see are coming Slugger. We grow the world’s best race- the restored Hotel Metropolitan, high- here to cross things off their bucket list horses in Kentucky. We have some of the lighting the famous “chitlin’ circuit” – experiencing those things they’ve world’s best artists at the Saint James, or in blues performers who played there, always wanted to do,” said Sean Higgins, our museums,” he said. “We have a great capped off by a soul-food tasting and chief fun officer of Louisville-based tradition of making things, and making live entertainment. Mint Julep Tours. them well. People respond to that.” ■ Kentucky’s weather is attractive to Mint Julep’s staff fields an average of residents of Canada, other northern 100 requests a week for specialty tours, Susan Gosselin is a correspondent nations and residents of Northern U.S. and that business, combined with their for The Lane Report. She can be reached states, Branscum said, attracting winter general tours, amount to showing at [email protected].
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 35
September Lane 24-44.indd 35 9/5/17 1:26 PM EMERGING LANE Kentucky’s young professionals and creatives
field to work in, but if I can bring a single smile or laugh to an elder, it’s worth it. I think there are certain career paths that every kid is expected to go toward; you’ve got nursing, law, medicine, and so mine was nursing. I thought that I would go into nursing, but it wasn’t until I started volunteering at the home that I knew that’s what I wanted to do, and I didn’t want to take the clinical path but the administrative and business path. TLR: What are some of the challenges you face? HS: In my mind we were going to have a waiting list of people coming in, but healthcare and long-term care are very expensive so we’re finding that a lot more people when they’re discharged from the hospital are discharging home to take the cheaper route. People have Medicare and Medicaid, but that only goes so far. It’s tough to keep revenue coming into the building, and staffing has been hard. Also, long-term care is one of the most regulated industries in the U.S. My goal is always to transform negative energy into On the Fast Track positive energy. A stressful industry can create a lot of negativity in a building, so Passion for her subject drove Hilary Slone to a CEO role by 24 I always want to ensure that staff and elders know they are cared for. TLR: What are your long-term goals? T 24 years old, Prestonburg What did you like about that TLR: HS: I want to make sure I am leaving the native Hilary Slone is already interaction? world in a better place than it was. I real- achieving milestones in her HS: I loved hearing about their past, ize that the world is so much bigger than Acareer typically reserved for colleagues and how much life is different for them myself, and I want to benefit the lives of at least 10 years her senior. But the compared to how I was living life. And others. I don’t want to live my life seeking Morehead State graduate has an often their sense of humor! I learned that the American dream, I want to live my life elusive career ingredient: passion. long-term care is not a place to wait giving love and kindness to others. I think We asked her a few ques- until the end of life, but a new chapter it’s so important to focus on things that tions about her role as CEO in life to experience and be loved along are bigger than ourselves. If you go into a of Bracken County Nurs- the journey. When you enter this facil- career simply focused on making money ing & Rehabilitation Cen- ity, you are entering the elder’s home, then you’re going to burn out quickly. ter in Augusta, Ky., and where we just so happen to work. how she’s achieved the TLR: What’s next for you down the road? What types of things did you do title at a young age. Slone TLR: HS: I’m 24 and I’m already over my has a bachelor’s degree in with them? own building, so I feel like I’ve just healthcare management and HS: We ensure that elders are interact- been trying to keep my head above now works to ensure that the ing with people and having fun on a water and figure out what I’m doing. roughly 32 residents and 50 staff mem- daily basis. The stereotype that elders Eventually I’ll look at transferring to a bers are in the best environment possible. love to play Bingo rings very true; it’s bigger facility and continue to grow. their favorite game! TLR: Where did your love for working —Abby Laub in nursing homes begin? TLR: How did this steer the course of your life as you headed to college? HS: When I was a senior at Prestons- burg High School, I entered the men- HS: I had a driven plan to one day return toring program and it allowed me to to long-term care. College was never easy leave school every day for two hours for me, but I was determined to graduate and volunteer at Riverview Health Care and begin my journey in long-term care. Center in the quality of life depart- Upon graduation, I entered the adminis- ment. When I first got there I was trator-in-training program at Riverview totally intimidated. I thought, ‘How am and became a licensed nursing home I going to interact with these 80-some- administrator in February 2017. I worked year-old people?’ After a couple days I as an assistant administrator until I heard figured out it was a natural thing for about this job coming open. As CEO of a Hilary Slone said that even as a teenager she was me, and I could easily interact with the long-term care facility, I learn more about able to connect in meaningful ways with nursing elders. Not a lot of people can do it. this industry every day. It’s not an easy home residents.
36 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 36 9/5/17 1:26 PM Foodie Culture for Lexington’s South End
HE urban core of Lexington has long been the focus of the city’s burgeoning dining scene, but now Tthe south end is undergoing a major Elixir Kombucha owners are, from left, Ryan Cheong, Danielle Wood and Corey Wood. They started their injection of new flavors thanks to the company in 2016. newly opened Summit at Fritz Farm. New openings include local names like Athenian Grill, Atomic Ramen, Elixir Kombucha Brewers Are Smithtown Seafood, and Crank and Boom, which are now centered in the Growing a Good Business Culture all-new Barn at Fritz Farm. Also included in the space with reclaimed HE fermented tea known as kom- from our friends at some of the local barn wood thanks to Old World Timber bucha is gaining new popularity, breweries,” Corey Wood said. are the all-new Pasture, a concept by but this particular type of probi- In just over a year’s time, the local bot- Marksbury Farm, and Whiskey Bear, the Totic has been around at least 2,000 tled kombucha product is already avail- barn’s only bar. years in other civilizations. When a trio able at 50 retail and restaurant locations, The Barn is a not-to-miss food of friends in Louisville realized there including Whole Foods Market in Louis- destination. weren’t any local options for bottled ville, Lucky’s Market in Louisville and kombucha, they started commercially Lexington, and Branch Out Foods in brewing their own in April 2016. Paducah. Elixir Kombucha can also be “We developed a serious passion for found on tap at a handful of taverns and home brewing kombucha and promot- cafés in Jefferson County. ing gut health in our friends and family In a collaborative effort, all three before we ever had the idea to start a partners brew, bottle, label and deliver business,” said partner Corey Wood. to their house accounts. Danielle Wood “More and more research is emerging is the flavor architect and culture regarding the role that gut health plays farmer, using her background in well- in autoimmune issues, disease pathways ness and nutrition to research the sea- and even mental health.” sonal flavors and ingredients that can The kombucha recipe centers around be incorporated into the product. a culture called a scoby, which stands for The owners flavor their scoby with symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. organic fruits, juices, herbs and spices to CoreLife Eatery in The Summit at Fritz Farm Wood and his wife, Danielle Wood, and create such labels as Lavender Lemon- boasts scratch cooking in a fast casual service. friend Ryan Cheong named their com- ade and Pineapple Ginger, plus a Water- pany Elixir Kombucha. They operate out melon Jalapeno in summer and Harvest of Chef Space, a kitchen incubator in Cider in fall. Health-conscious eaters can head Louisville. The equipment necessary for “The final product is a semi-sweet, just around the corner to CoreLife Eat- brewing kombucha in small batches is semi-tart, bubbly, probiotic beverage that ery, which opened its second store in similar to that of brewing beer. promotes gut health and a strengthened Kentucky at the Summit. The fast-grow- “Being in Louisville, a city with a immune system,” according to Wood. ing active lifestyle restaurant offers a thriving beer scene, we have been lucky He is head of brew operations. variety of greens, grains and broth- enough to get advice about scaling Cheong is head of sales for the company based dishes. and the only full-time partner for now. CoreLife “brings together scratch The partners have chosen to focus cooking with flavorful source ingredi- on smart growth over fast growth. ents and a fast, casual service line for a “We hear horror stories about busi- healthy and affordable eating alterna- nesses outgrowing themselves before tive,” according to a press release. they have a focused and detailed plan Partner Todd Mansfield added, for scaling and keeping up with “Customers have been trained to demand,” Wood said. believe that healthy food can’t possibly Cheong has a background in food taste good. We’re debunking that service and was an original member of myth. We create our menu from fresh the NuLu restaurant Garage Bar. “We and simple, top quality ingredients are all foodies and love to cook, so that taste great and our customers coming up with flavor profiles is our want to eat.” idea of a good time,” Wood said. The CoreLife Eatery concept has “We are honored to have a crazy taken off quickly in New York, Ohio, supportive network of friends and fam- Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Michigan and ily. We are lucky to be in a city that sup- Utah, with the first location opening in Kombucha has been around for 2,000 years in ports small, independent 2015 in Syracuse, N.Y. other civilizations and promotes gut health. businesses.”—Kathie Stamps
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 37
September Lane 24-44.indd 37 9/5/17 1:26 PM THE LANE LIST
KENTUCKY’S LARGEST LAW FIRMS Ranked by number of attorneys in their Kentucky offices
NUMBER OF LAW FIRM ADDRESS, PHONE WEBSITE OTHER KY LOCATIONS OFFICERS ATTORNEYS 400 W. Market St., Chairman: John R. Crockett III; Suite 3200 Members-in-Charge: Geoffrey M. Frost Brown Todd 202 frostbrowntodd.com Lexington, Florence White, Louisville office; Jonathan Louisville, KY 40202 S. Miller, Lexington; Gregory S. (502) 589-5400 Schumate, Florence office 400 W. Market St., Suite 1800 Frankfort, Covington, 131 stites.com Chairman: Robert Connolly Stites & Harbison PLLC Louisville, KY 40202 Lexington (502) 587-3400 300 W. Vine St., Suite 2100 Louisville, Frankfort, Managing Director: Stoll Keenon Ogden 117 Lexington, KY 40507 skofirm.com Henderson, Morganfield, P. Douglas Barr (859) 231-3000 Owensboro 500 W. Jefferson St., Suite 2800 Wyatt, Tarrant & 116 wyattfirm.com Lexington Managing partner: Combs, LLP Louisville, KY 40202 Franklin Jelsma (502) 589-5235 101 S. Fifth St., Suite 2500 Covington, Lexington, Office Managing Partners: R. 115 Louisville, KY 40202 dinsmore.com Kenyon Meyer, Louisville; Dinsmore & Shohl LLP Louisville east, Frankfort (502) 540-2300 Chauncey Curtz, Lexington Co-chairmen: W. Tobin 101 S. Fifth St. McClamroch and Phillip D. Bingham Greenebaum 83 Louisville, KY 40202 bgdlegal.com Lexington, Frankfort Scott; James R. Irving, Managing Doll Partner – Louisville Office; (502) 589-4200 Timothy W. Dunn, Managing Partner – Lexington Office 401 S. Fourth St., Suite 2600 52 middletonlaw.com Managing director: Middleton Reutlinger Louisville, KY 40202 Henry S. Alford (502) 584-1135 201 E. Main St., Suite 1000 Louisville, Frankfort, McBrayer, McGinnis, 47 Lexington, KY 40507 mmlk.com Managing Partner: Greenup James H. Frazier III Leslie & Kirkland PLLC (859) 231-8780 400 W. Market St., Suite 2300 Lexington, Pikeville, Boehl Stopher 36 bsg-law.com Managing partner: & Graves LLP Louisville, KY 40202 Paducah Richard Edwards (502) 589-5980 106 W. Vine St. Landrum & Shouse Managing partner: 31 Lexington, KY 40507 landrumshouse.com Louisville William C. Shouse LLP (859) 255-2424 401 S. 4th St. O’Bryan, Brown Managing partner: 30 Louisville, KY 40202 obtlaw.com Christopher P. O’Bryan and Toner PLLC (502) 585-4700 333 West Vine St., Suite 1100 Ward, Hocker 28 whtlaw.com Louisville Managing Partners: Walter Ward, & Thornton PLLC Lexington, KY 40507 George Hocker, Gregg Thornton (859) 422-6000 207 Thomas More Parkway Dressman Benzinger Louisville Managing Partner: 28 Crestview Hills, KY 41017 dbllaw.com James A. Dressman III LaVelle (859) 341-1881 9301 Dayflower St. goldberg 28 Prospect, KY 40059 Louisville Managing Partner: Goldberg Simpson LLC simpson.com Jonathan D. Goldberg (502) 589-4440 716 W. Main St., Suite 300 Phillips Parker 27 Louisville, KY 40202 ppoalaw.com Lexington Manager: committee Orberson & Arnett PLC (502) 583-9900 9300 Shelbyville Road, Suite 400 Quintairos, Prieto, 27 ppoalaw.com Lexington Managing Partner: Wood & Boyer PA Louisville, KY 40222 Donald L. Miller II (502) 423-6390 1101 College St. English, Lucas, Priest Managing partner: 26 Bowling Green, KY 42102 elpolaw.com D. Gaines Penn & Owsley LLP (270) 781-6500 191S. 5th St., Suite 2700 Fultz Maddox Managing partner: 26 Louisville, KY 40202 fmdlegal.com Scott T. Dickens Dicken PLC (502) 588-2000 500 W. Jefferson St., Suite 2100 Lynch, Cox, Gilman 26 lynchcoxlaw.com Managing partners: Scott R. Cox, & Goodman PSC Louisville, KY 40202 Scott D. Spiegel (502) 589-4215
Source: Law firms’ websites
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September Lane 24-44.indd 38 9/5/17 1:26 PM SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS
Kentucky Crafted artist Deborah Greene, co-owner of LaGrange-based Life Celebrations, shows customers samples of her clothing designs at the 2017 Kentucky Crafted: The Market in Lexington. Greene is one of more than 1,000 artists who have participated in Kentucky’s premiere craft marketing program since its inception in the early 1980s.
LBB: What is the creative industry and its relevance in Kentucky? EM: The “creative industry” is a sector of the economy which includes arts and cultural businesses, organizations and entrepreneurs who meet a specific need in the marketplace. The Kentucky Cre- ative Industry Report released in 2014 helped the arts council gain traction more broadly with the state’s business community and increased our ability to create valuable partnerships that broad- ened access to resources for the state’s artists and creative professionals. We’ve had tremendous success in this arena. We’ve been able to develop relationships with organizations like Support for the Creative Industry the Kentucky Small Business Develop- Partnerships, service to state’s creative industry key to art council mission ment Centers, Kentucky Innovation Network, Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, BY LYDIA BAILEY BROWN Kentucky Highlands Investment Corp., Kentucky Community and Technical College System, University of Kentucky YDIA Bailey Brown, Kentucky Arts LBB: Do you view artists as small Cooperative Extension Service, the Council executive director, businesses? United States Department of Agricul- Lrecently sat down with senior staff EM: That’s a loaded question and not eas- ture, and many others. member Emily Moses to discuss the cre- ily boiled down. From the perspective of All of the organizations I mentioned ative industry, service to Kentucky artists my work at the arts council, I’d say yes. have been able to provide direct one-on- and upcoming opportunities for artists Professional artists have the same needs as one assistance to individuals who work sponsored by the arts council. other small businesses. However, you’ll within Kentucky’s creative industry. I often find what is most important to the think that’s pretty amazing. Whether it Lydia Bailey Brown: What do you do at artist is not to make money, rather to make has been providing small-business loans, the Kentucky Arts Council? work. Many of our agency goals are related creating hands-on programming in Emily Moses: I am currently the adminis- to assisting artists in career development, technical skill development, or provid- tration branch manager, but have had two and that includes developing professional ing valuable training to artists in basic other positions – creative industry man- business skills. That has always been the business practices, these partnerships ager and communications director – since case with the arts council. have all proved essential in supporting I started here more than five years ago. and growing the creative industry. The arts council gave me the opportunity LBB: In what ways does the arts council to blend my interests and training into assist artists in developing business skills? LBB: What professional and workforce one job. Working in different capacities at EM: The state arts agency has worked development opportunities are coming the agency has given me unique perspec- for more than 30 years to provide neces- up for artists and creatives? tive on our operations, which I appreciate. sary training to artists and arts busi- EM: Our fourth annual Creative Indus- nesses to grow and secure Kentucky’s try Summit will be Nov. 16 in Morehead. LBB: Did you ever imagine yourself creative sector. Kentucky has one of the This is our largest training event of the working in the business capacity you do oldest state-supported arts marketing year and usually draws a few hundred now, in arts administration? assistance programs in the country. The participants. I would recommend check- EM: In a word, no. When I graduated Kentucky Crafted Program, formerly ing the arts council’s website for more from college (Morehead State University, the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program information. Additionally, we have staff 2001) having studied journalism and the- started in the ’80s as an initiative of who are hitting the road to offer infor- ater, I was mostly interested in pursuing a then-First Lady Phyllis George Brown. mational workshops about arts council creative career. And I did. I worked in the- This program has assisted more than a grants and programs and how to get ater a couple of years and worked as a thousand artists in its 30-plus years of involved with the agency. ■ journalist/editor for several years. What I operation by providing business train- can say is that my initial career tracks pre- ing, marketing assistance, sales and pro- pared me for the roles I have taken on at motional opportunities, and other Lydia Bailey Brown is executive the arts council. So essentially, my artistic professional development, to Kentucky director of the Kentucky Arts Council. and creative training paved the way for me artists who jury into the program. It as an arts administrator. really is a feather in the state’s cap.
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September Lane 24-44.indd 39 9/5/17 1:26 PM EXPLORING KENTUCKY
The new Jeptha Creed Distillery is right alongside the eastbound lanes of I-64 in Shelby County. The historic vehicles and farm equipment scattered around the property are a nod to the old-fashioned ways of bourbon making.
The knob lies almost exactly midway between Louisville and Lexington. One of many unusual things about Jeptha Creed is the fact that it’s a craft farm distillery. Simply put, that means instead of extracts and artificial flavor- ings, the Netherys choose to use real produce to make their spirits, most of which the family grows itself. Autumn explains that with a goal of creating a higher flavor profile, they often use harder-to-find and harder-to-grow vari- eties. For instance, the distillery is the only one using Bloody Butcher corn, a heritage variety in use since 1845. Its kernels are a shocking dark red. On this farm sustainability is impor- tant, and leftover distiller’s solids become pig food and fertilizer. Due to the proxim- ity of the distillery to their farmland, the family can easily experiment with ingredi- ents such as agave, peppers and peaches just by stepping outside to pick something New Distillery Honors Family Traditions fresh and new. As for Jeptha Creed’s spirits…“We Jeptha Creed Distillery overlooks 250-year-old Shelbyville farm began aging our bourbon in October of 2016,” says Joyce. “It was the first bourbon BY KATHERINE TANDY BROWN barreled in Shelby County since Prohibi- tion. We plan to age it for a minimum of two years. We’ll have straight bourbon HEN you drive in for the first CEO and master distiller, who brings to coming out in 2019 and will hold some time, Jeptha Creed seems a bit the position two degrees in chemical engi- back a bit longer for reserves.” Wof an anomaly. Commanding neering from the University of Louisville If you just can’t wait, there’s a limited the parking lot, a beautifully restored Speed Scientific School and 15 years’ edition of bourbon made as a trial run 1932 Ford truck with a load of bourbon experience as a process engineer in an in 2014, Bloody Butcher’s Creed, avail- barrels in its bed sports the new craft dis- industrial-scale distillation facility. able now. tillery’s name. Atop a hill behind it towers Autumn herself spent a school year in a gorgeous, freshly built, 1,760-s.f. club- Edinburgh, Scotland, studying brewing house, rife with iconic timber framing and distilling at Heriot-Watt University to and wide windows overlooking lush prepare for the job. Shelby County farmland. Turns out that Both Netherys are high energy and numerous nods to old-fashioned ways – obviously passionate about the distilling more classic farm equipment and vehi- process and about the impressive com- cles, including a 1915 Ford Model T – are pany they’ve created. scattered around the property. A 1975 “When we decided to start a craft dis- International grain truck actually hauls tillery as a legacy for our children, we corn for the spirits’ base from the field to realized the only way to make it happen the grain bin. Here tradition is a byword. was to roll up our sleeves and do it our- “Our core values include respecting selves,” says Joyce, whose husband is a our elders and family history and hon- dairy farmer. oring the sacrifices that have been made Owned by Netherys for more than to allow us the independence and liber- 250 years, the family farm consists of ties we now enjoy,” explains Autumn several parcels that altogether total Nethery, marketing manager of the 1,000 acres. While the distillery is on 64 business that she helped start in Novem- acres, the main farm residence property ber of 2016. “Our family motto is ‘Don’t is home to historic Jeptha Knob, where forget where you come from.’” Squire Boone and his brother Daniel To date, it’s the only distillery owned found superb hunting before Kentucky Autumn and Joyce Netherly work the bar at Jeptha by two women entrepreneurs. The other became a state. They left behind a sur- Creed Distillery, which is on 64 acres of the 1,000- is Autumn’s mom, Joyce, Jeptha Creed vey stone with their initials carved on it. acre Netherly family farm in Shelby County.
40 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 40 9/5/17 1:26 PM In the meantime Jeptha Creed fea- tures vodka (Original, Honey, Apple and Blueberry). The original, says Autumn, is “so smooth, George Clooney could take lessons.” And moonshine – Original, Apple Pie, Blackberry or Lou- isville Lemonade, which can be consumed straight or mixed with tea for a fine time in the ol’ porch rocker! Those yummy flavors of fruit and the honey originate fresh-picked and fresh- gathered from the farm. All are Ken- tucky Proud products that are distributed throughout the state. (All military customers receive a discount.) Tours of the distillery highlight “every- thing from the ground to the glass.” There’s a short video and an explanation you sip and listen. Josh Bogard and the Inside the Jeptha Creed Distillery visitors of the distilling process, which is comput- Dirty South will liven the patio on Septem- get some of the modern science involved erized to provide consistency in quality ber 29. The distillery’s bartenders also in making Kentucky bourbon. and to “make old-fashioned new,” fol- teach monthly Creed Cocktails Classes – lowed by a gander at three handsome cop- including one on September 28. per stills. Tastings come next, and Creed The property is rentable for outside cocktails are available, including warm- events. With an enormous fireplace for weather slushies in yummy flavors. Tours chilly fall nights, the clubhouse can seat To find out more about tours, tastings can accommodate up to 50 people. 110 people indoors for an event. After and event rentals at Jeptha Creed, go to Recurring events at Jeptha Creed business hours, the 880-s.f. bar can be jepthacreed.com or call (502) 487-5007. ■ include a Friday night concert series, Jam- rented, as can a 5,000-s.f. outdoor patio min’ at Jeptha, on the patio with live with seating for 250, nearly 2,000 s.f. of Katherine Tandy Brown is a correspondent music, a food truck and a bar. You can try which is covered. Removable natural gas for The Lane Report. She can be reached your skill at cornhole and checkers while heaters are also available. at [email protected].
The Winter Wonderland of Christmas lights shine brightly mid-November to January 2
A Wealth of Adventure, History, and Mystery! Walk through history at the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park, dive into family fun at Pennyroyal Scuba & Blue Springs Resort, learn about the grain-to-glass bourbon making process at MB Roland Distillery, and taste the barely-legal moonshine recipe at Cayce Jones Distillery all in Hopkinsville! Enjoy some fall family fun at Christian Way Farm and Pennyrile Forest State Park! COME SEE OUR DISPLAY Spend some time with us, whether that turns out to be a few days, or a lifetime. OF OVER 500,000 CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! We will treat you right.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 41
September Lane 24-44.indd 41 9/5/17 1:26 PM PASSING LANE Commentary on Kentucky
Saving Kentucky’s Retirement Systems BY GOV. MATT BEVIN, SENATE our difficult decisions as we prepare we owe to our retired teachers and PRESIDENT ROBERT STIVERS AND for a special session. Some of the rec- public servants. HOUSE SPEAKER JEFF HOOVER ommendations will likely be adopted We must also make certain that and others will likely not be adopted. retired teachers and other public ENTUCKY’S pension systems are Our consultants discovered the big- employees are not negatively affected by in critical condition. While cer- gest cause of the shortfall was erroneous any required pension changes. Those Ktain state retirement plans are actuarial assumptions made by past who count on their retirement today arguably in "better shape" than others members of the boards of these systems, should be able to count on that same are, every system is severely under- which led to significant underfunding. retirement tomorrow. We intend to funded and rapidly spiraling downward Sadly, it seems past assumptions were meet the legal obligations we have to towards a single outcome: no more often manipulated by the prior pension each retiree. money to pay Kentucky’s retirees. boards in order to minimize the “cost” Likewise, any changes made to our Understandably, retirees and those of pensions to the state budget. Unrea- pension systems will not negatively influ- nearing retirement are concerned. ence the plans of those nearing retire- Over the past 10 years, Kentucky’s pen- ment. The General Assembly will not sion systems have lost more than $7 bil- pass any legislation with an emergency lion in value. If we keep with the current clause, which would make any changes pace, the only way Kentucky will be able immediately effective. Rather, public to fund these systems will be through servants and teachers eligible for retire- massive cuts to important programs, ment will receive adequate time to hurting education, healthcare, public understand and review any options they safety and infrastructure. may have. Additionally, it is not our Without significant fundamental intention to strip away any accrued ben- changes, our retirement systems will efits from current public servants or become bankrupt. Change will not be teachers. easy, but it is necessary. Our state's sonably high investment expectations We are fully committed to solving credit rating has been repeatedly down- were made and funding was based on this very important challenge by making graded in recent months and years as a false payroll numbers. The result was to thoughtful, but necessary, changes. We result of our unfunded pension liability. provide a false sense of security and jus- refuse to allow continued manipulation We must stop kicking the can of finan- tify smaller than necessary contributions of these plans for the benefit of a few cial responsibility down the road. We to the pension plans. This was a morally well-connected individuals at the must solve this problem – there is no negligent and irresponsible thing to do. expense of taxpayers, hard-working other option. We refuse to hide the problem by teachers and other public servants. For In order to fully understand the understating liabilities, as others have those now retired, for those still work- severity of this crisis, we hired an inde- been eager to do. Going forward, we ing and for those yet to come, we are pendent pension consultant firm to must require all of our state pension determined to save the Kentucky retire- analyze each of our pension systems. At systems to use a funding method that ment systems. this time, we have received three cannot be so easily manipulated by We will not kick the can down the reports from this independent group, politically appointed board members. road. We were elected to fix this prob- all of which are currently under review This change alone will ensure a much lem and we will. The fiscal abuse of Ken- by elected leaders in Frankfort. Going higher funding level is provided to tucky’s retirement systems is over. forward, these reports will help inform meet the legal and moral obligations
With $7 billion in negative cash flow Keeping Track of Pension Reform over the past decade, Kentucky’s pen- sion spending has been increasing HE Kentucky Office of the State plex issue, we want to educate the public, nearly five times as fast as revenues, Budget Director has launched a dispel myths, and set the stage for con- reducing money available for other bud- Tcomprehensive new website aimed structive dialogue. We will continue to getary priorities such as K-12 education, at keeping Kentuckians informed as state update the website as things progress.” Medicaid and infrastructure. legislators work to address the common- In a special session this fall called by The commonwealth has three major wealth’s public employee pension crisis. Gov. Matt Bevin, the Kentucky General public pension systems – Kentucky Visitors to KentuckyPensions.com Assembly will tackle the state’s $64 bil- Retirement Systems (KRS), Teachers’ can obtain answers to frequently asked lion unfunded pension liability – a fig- Retirement System of Kentucky (TRS), questions, view detailed reports and a ure that averages out to a staggering and the Kentucky Judicial Form Retire- glossary of key terms, follow the latest $15,000 per citizen. ment System (KJFRS) – which collec- developments, and offer feedback. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s tively administer eight retirement plans. “We hope that retirees, current state has ranked Kentucky’s pensions as the Using prior funding patterns, employees, and all Kentuckians will find most underfunded in the nation – with experts conclude that Kentucky Employ- this website to be a helpful, easy-to-navi- just 37.4 percent of the state’s total current ees Retirement System, Non-Hazardous gate tool,” said State Budget Director John obligations funded, compared to a (KERS-NH), will run completely out of Chilton. “As we address this vital and com- national median of 74.6 percent. money by the year 2022.
42 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 42 9/5/17 1:26 PM 8 Kentucky Sites Added to IdeaFestival 2017 National Register of Historic Places DEAFESTIVAL, an annual event that brings innovative thinkers and phi- HE National Park Service has Ilosophers from around the globe announced that eight Kentucky together to discuss ideas pertinent to sites have recently been listed in the the world around us, is scheduled to T take place at the Kentucky Center for National Register of Historic Places, including a Jewish cemetery, wholesale the Performing Arts in Louisville from grocery warehouse, and Victorian home Sept. 26 through Sept. 28. school for girls. This year’s agenda includes: The National Register is the nation’s offi- • Polarization: A View from the Front Lines, with John King – CNN national cor- cial list of historic and archaeological E. O. Robinson House, Highland Heights resources deemed worthy of preservation. respondent and anchor of Inside Politics. Kentucky has the fourth-highest number of listings among states, with more than 3,400. • Unleashing the Power Listing can be applied to buildings, objects, structures, districts and archaeological sites, of Play – Peter Gray, and proposed sites must be significant in architecture, engineering, American history or American psychologist culture. The Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office (KHC) and professor at Boston administers the National Register program in Kentucky and provides administrative sup- College, who explores how port to the review board. play makes children hap- Newly listed sites include: pier, more self-reliant and better learners for life. Peter Gray • Rock Cabin Camp near Cave City, an early motel and motor court consisting of a home/office • The Trash-Based building and nine limestone cabins, constructed in Economy of the Future – Anshu Gupta, 1928. 2017 Curry-Stone Design Prize Social Change Circle honoree, Indian social • Middlesboro Jewish Cemetery, established in 1904 for the burial of Jewish residents in the Ken- entrepreneur and founder of Goonj, tucky/Tennessee/West Virginia region. a Delhi-based non-governmental organization. • E.O. Robinson House in Highland Heights, a shingle-style home designed by architect • The Age of Disruption, with Emily Kentucky Home School for Girls, G.C. Burroughs and constructed in 1909 for one of Dreyfuss – senior writer at WIRED who Louisville eastern Kentucky’s premier timber industrialists. covers the intersection of technology, society and culture. • Montgomery-Sandidge House near Greensburg, a hybrid of dogtrot/saddlebag log-frame construction dating to the early 19th century and modernized in the 1940s. • The Art of Food as Medicine – , physician, chef and • Kentucky Home School for Girls in Louisville, a late Victorian estate home Timothy Harlan constructed at the end of the 19th century that served as a private school from 1948 director of the Goldring Center for through the 1970s. Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. • Visual and Transmedia Artist • Kellogg and Co. Wholesale Grocery Warehouse in Richmond, a two-story Lars building dating to 1906 and constructed of fire-resistant timber within masonry Jan – Founder of a genre-bending per- walls, a method known as mill construction. formance + art lab, which explores emerging technologies, live audiences • Westminster Presbyterian Church in Paducah, a late Gothic Revival building constructed in 1951 just as the town was flooded with new employees hired to work and unclassifiable experience. at the Gaseous Diffusion Plant. • Humans and the Planet: An Unnatural History – , biologist studying • Craig-Peak House near Georgetown, a Greek Revival home constructed Scott Hotaling between 1820-1860. the effects of global climate change. An additional 13 Kentucky sites have been listed in the National Register since • The Mind and Music of Chopin – January, including the Columbia Commercial District; Bold House in Foster; Doyle Richard Kogan, Julliard-trained con- Country Club in Dayton; Bush Warehouse in Winchester; Haury Motor Co. and cert pianist and Harvard Medical School Garage and Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Louisville; Scearce-Roush psychiatrist. House in Simpsonville; J.D. Dodson House in Bowling Green; Old Taylor Distillery • The Cyberpunk Future is Coming Historic District; Waveland (boundary increase/name change) near Nicholasville; for You – Rudy Rucker, mathematician, Rowan County Courthouse (boundary increase); Paducah City Hall; and the Pea- computer scientist and founder of the body-Fordson Historic District in Clay County. cyberpunk science fiction movement. Owners of National Register proper- • The Science and Engineering of ties may qualify for state and/or federal Whiskey – Eric Simanek, chemistry and tax credits for rehabilitation of the prop- biochemistry professor studying the sci- erties to standards set forth by the secre- ence of whiskey. tary of the interior, as certified by the • Beyond Pain and Horror: Rebuild- Kentucky Heritage Council, or by mak- ing a Future – William Kellibrew, inter- ing a charitable contribution of a preser- national advocate for civil, human, vation easement. National Register women, children and victims’ rights. status does not affect property ownership • To Innovate: Start at Crazy – The rights, but does provide a measure of Rise Group, a high-energy team that protection against adverse impacts from focuses on high-speed innovation, exe- federally funded projects. Westminster Presbyterian Church, Paducah cution and the mechanics of big ideas. For information, visit ideafestival.com.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 43
September Lane 24-44.indd 43 9/5/17 2:23 PM KENTUCKY PEOPLE
ASHLAND: KENTUCKY POWER GRANT LONDON: FARM CREDIT AND COBANK HELPS FUND AREA STEM EDUCATION PROVIDE FREEZERS FOR FOOD PANTRIES Kentucky Department of Agriculture photo
Ashland-based Kentucky Power recently delivered the third installment of a $815,000 multi-year grant that is funding efforts to boost science, engineering and math (STEM) education in Lawrence County Schools. The grant is being funded over five years in partnership with Ashland Community and Technical College (ACTC). Pictured here are (left to right) Brad Hall, Kentucky Power; Farm Credit Mid-America and CoBank recently provided more than 120 chest Sharon Parsons, Lawrence County Schools; Mia Brown, Credits County ACTC freezers for food pantries across the commonwealth. The donations were part of project director; Robbie Fletcher, Lawrence County superintendent; and Keith a new hunger initiative launched by Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Brammel, ACTC interim dean. Quarles and designed to bring farmers, charitable organizations, faith groups, community leaders and government entities together to help reduce hunger in Kentucky. In August, Quarles (second from right) joined Mike Halligan, CEO of LOUISVILLE: ANNUAL BOOTS & BBQ BASH God’s Pantry Food Bank in Lexington (third from left) and Tamara Sandberg, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Food Banks (center) to deliver a BENEFITS OUR LADY OF PEACE HOSPITAL chest freezer to the New Salem Baptist Church Food Pantry in London. Also pictured are, from left, Craig and Katina Singleton; Mike Waldroff; Greg Deaton, senior pastor of New Salem Baptist Church; Laurel County Judge- Executive David Westerfield; and Diane Hampton.
LEXINGTON: BCTC STUDENTS, FACULTY PART OF NATIONAL ECLIPSE PROJECT
The fourth annual Boots & BBQ Bash was held on Aug. 19 at the Louisville Marriott East hotel to raise funds for adolescent substance abuse programs and services at Our Lady of Peace Hospital in Louisville. The event committee (top photo) included A team of students and faculty from the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium at (bottom row, left to right) Kelly Gillooly, Bluegrass Community and Technical College launched a high-altitude balloon on Lisa Prewitt and Guy Prewitt; (second row) Aug. 21 as part of a nationwide, NASA-sponsored project to live-stream aerial Nancy Doctor; (third row) Laura Krebs- video footage of the Great American Eclipse. The team launched the 8-foot-tall, Lewis and Susan Riggs; and (back row) helium-filled balloon, which carried a video camera and other equipment, to an Janine Dewey, Evan Gold, Christopher altitude of up to 100,000 feet. Pictured here is the BCTC team: (kneeling) Tom Westmoreland, Michael Gosser, Greg Busby, software engineer; (first row, left to right) Tracy Knowles, TCTC Oerther and Matthew Brent. Pictured at professor of environmental science; Matt Smither, payload engineer; John Paul right are Shelley Neal-Shaughnessy (left), Beard, logistic coordinator; Rae Ann Gill, BCTC instructional specialist, president of ambulatory services, chemistry department; Jessica Glasscock, community outreach coordinator; KentuckyOne Health, and Jennifer Nolan, (second row, left to right) Leandro Braga, team co-leader; Alex Eberle, team co- president, Our Lady of Peace. leader; and Jacoby Gardner, payload engineer.
44 SEPTEMBER 2017 LANEREPORT.COM • THE LANE REPORT
September Lane 24-44.indd 44 9/5/17 1:26 PM Go TEAM, GO!
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