Business Lexington March 15, 2013

Educationreform program

lands at UK

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MARCH 15, 2013VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

INSIDEPOINTS OF INTEREST: KENTUCKY INNOVATION PAGE 3 • BRIEFS PAGE 4 • WHO’S WHO IN LEXINGTON PAGE 6 • BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW PAGE 8 FINANCIAL PLANNING IN 2013 PAGE 10 • “IT’S YOUR REALITY” PAGE 11 • WORKING FROM HOME PAGE 14 • MEANINGFUL WORK PAGE 16BIZLISTS: VENTURE CLUB RECIPIENTS PAGE 20 • LANGUAGE B PAGE 21 • PARTING THOUGHTS PAGES 24-25 • LEADS PAGE 26

By Doug MartinCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Lexington is enjoying an upsur ge ofentrepreneurial energy. In recentyears, a great many public and private

efforts have focused on ener gizingLexington’s startup community.

In January, the Lexington Venture Club(LVC) held its annual “Who Got the Money”celebration for local entrepreneurs at theToasted Barrel in downtown Lexington.Warren Nash, director of UK’s LexingtonInnovation & Commercialization Center ,announced that during the past year , 87 ofLexington’s emerging tech companiesreceived a total of $83.8 million in venturecapital and startup funding. Thesebusinesses have a large effect on our localeconomy, employing more than 820people with full-time salaries averagingabout $70,000 per year.

SEE HIGHER ED PAGE 9

White, Greerand Maggard’sintentionalphilanthropyPAGE 7

UK Collegeof Agriculture’sMaine Chance FarmPAGE 12

MargauxFarm’s

JoshStevensPAGE 13

The NAWBOand Local FoodInitiativesPAGE 22

THE BUSINESS OFFAMILY-FRIENDLY

Focus: The New Office

Want to keep employees closely committed to your business? Invest inkeeping their families closer . That’s the message resonating withcompanies in Lexington and beyond that want to recruit and retain top

talent, particularly in today’s more competitive job markets. As companies seek toenhance the value of their human capital, many are finding what employees mostneed, beyond the standard security of a solid 401k and good health benefits, is anextra hand to help them juggle a multitude of family responsibilities, from child-care arrangements to elder care for aging parents to financial aid and admissionsplanning for college-bound dependents.

Business is boomingfor Lexington’s startup

community

SEE VENTURE CAPITAL PAGE 19

By Jane S. ShropshireCOLUMNIST: HIGHER ED MATTERS

Imagine every student in this countryprepared for life, prepared forcitizenship, prepared for a career of

success. … Imagining is not enough,” saidGene Wilhoit, at a press conferenceannouncing the new National Center forInnovation in Education at University ofKentucky’s College of Education.

Wilhoit, a for mer educationcommissioner in Kentucky and, morerecently, director of the Council of ChiefState School Of ficers in Washington, D.C.,was instrumental in the development andadoption of the Common Core StateStandards by 45 states. He will now headthis national center , which opens withfunding from the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation and the W illiam and FloraHewlett Foundation.

The center will contribute to thenational education refor m agenda with afocus on ensuring more states are adoptingand implementing a standard definition ofcollege and career readiness that embodies“deeper learning” outcomes, implementingmeaningful measures of those outcomesand holding all levels of the systemaccountable for results.

PHO

TO FU

RNISH

ED

“

HIGHER ED MATTERS

SEE HUMAN RESOURCES PAGE 15

Paulie’sToastedBarrelPAGE 23

BY SUSAN BANIAK | BUSINESS LEXINGTON

April 4 – TNL Begins!Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing Payback. Join us at theFifth Third Bank Pavilion in Cheapside Park for weekly concerts.

April 11• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing Swing Street

April 18• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing Those Crosstown Rivals

April 19• Downtown Trash Bash.Come downtown and help us cleanup our center city.

April 25• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing McNeese

May 2• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing Domino

May 9• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing The Squirrels

May 11-12• Mayfest Arts Fair Presented by PNC Bank. A Mother’s Day tradition in Gratz Park

May 16• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing Girls Guns & Glory & AmyBlack

May 17• Fountain Films on Friday Presentedby Hilliard Lyons. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure in Triangle Park

May 18• Bike Lexington Presented by PedalPower. A day of biking fun includinga 10-mile car-free bike ride

May 23• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing The Johnson Brothers

May 30• Central Bank Thursday Night Livefeaturing Scott Said & The Backroads

May 31• Fountain Films on Friday Presented by Hilliard Lyons

Also on the horizon and not to be missed…

June 1 – August 31• DLC Artist’s Market

June 15• Vintage Kentucky Wine & BeerFestival

July 2• Great American Pie Contest and Ice Cream Social

July 3• Patriotic Concert featuring the Lexington Philharmonic

July 4• Lexington’s Fourth of July Festivaland Fireworks Presented by RJ Corman

August 30• Lexington Fest of Ales

For more information please visitwww.downtownlex.com or find us onFacebook and Twitter.

Downtown Lexington Corporation would like tothank the following companies for their continued

support and stakeholder membership in DLC.These members make a significant investment in

downtown and their commitment ensures that DLC is able to provide quality programming

for everyone to enjoy.

For more information about DLC ordowntown Lexington visit www.downtownlex.com.

S A V E T H E D A T E

We are hard at workto ensure your Summer fun!

THANK YOU!

Business Lexington • March 15, 2013 3

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1963

1965

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Number of PatentsKentucky, Competitor States, and the U.S., 1963-2011(PER 1 MILLION POPULATION)

Venture Capital InvestmentsKentucky, Competitor States, and the U.S., 1995-2011(CURRENT DOLLARS, PER $1 MILLION/STATE GDP)

SOURCE: US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE AND U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

US

KY

CS

US

CS

KY

$12,000

$10,000

$8,000

$6,000

$4,000

$2,000

$01995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

SOURCE: PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPER AND BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

$1,962

$731$76

Average Annual Small Business Innovation ResearchFunding, Kentucky, Competitor States, and the U.S.(SBIR FUNDING $/$1 MILLION GDP)

KY

CS

US

$160

$140

$120

$100

$80

$60

$40

$20

$02000-02 2004-06 2008-10

SOURCE: NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD, SCIENCE OF ENGINEERING INDICATORS, 212

Innovation: One giant step behindIn terms of innovation and entrepreneurial energy, Kentucky’s economy continues to lag be-hind, according to some key indicators included in the 2013 Kentucky Annual Economic Re-port, produced by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University ofKentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics. According to statistics included in thereport, the state’s innovators have consistently been issued fewer patents, attracted less venturecapital and garnered less Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding than both compet-ing states and the United States in general.

For example, in 2011, Kentucky’s venture capital investments were $76 per $1 million of stategross domestic product. By comparison, Kentucky’s competitor states, including Alabama,Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee,Virginia and West Virginia, received an average of almost ten times more, or $731 in venturecapital per $1 million in state GDP. The national average, at $1,962 per $1 million of state GDP,was more than 25 times as much as the investment in Kentucky.

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A state-by-state

legal strategy

Big Ass Fans moving

into residential market

with a “whoosh”

SEE E-LAW PAGE 9 �

OWL celebrates50 years ofprovidingemploymentopportunities

PAGE 18

Maui Cranefashion takescenter stage asdowntownentertainment

PAGE 26

Law firm looks to combine online

presence with counsel in 50 states

By Mary Hemlepp, APR

COLUMNIST: LOCAL MARKETING

Think of it as ceiling art with a purpose. It may

not be as awe-inspiring as a fresco in Rome,

but Big Ass Fans’ new Haiku residential fan is

eye-catching. With only three blades and a high-tech

motor, the company says that, like the poetic form

for which the fan is named, it is deceptively simple,

yet required a lot of research and development to get

it just right. SEE HAIKU PAGE 13 �

MAY 11 , 2012 • VOLUME 8 , I SSUE 10

speakingvolumes

With eReadership on the rise, local bookshop owners

share a passion for the printed word

By Erik A. Carlson

BUSINESS LEXINGTON

It’s not a model that fits big firms,” said Jamie

Hargrove, a founder of Lexington-based

Hargrove Madden LLP, concerning the firm’s

plan to become the biggest in the nation by

establishing offices in each of the 50 states.

“Historically what’s happened with law firms as

they get bigger, they don’t tend to be a 50-state

practice. They tend to only be in money centers,”

he said. Established in February of 2011, Hargrove

Madden is taking a different approach to law,

evolving the legal document “do it yourself” concept

BY ERIK RUST | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It’s the era of the iPad, the Amazon Kindle, and the Barnes & Noble Nook. In December, USA Today

offered statistics indicating that “e-book” sales have doubled in a year, accounting for roughly 20

percent of the book market. And, to bring it home, the April edition of The Atlantic placed

Lexington, Kentucky at the very top of a list of American cities ranked by per capita sales of e-readers.

“When you dig into the data about where Kindles are actually bought and sold,” wrote Rohin Dhar, “the

most ‘cosmopolitan’ cities in America are soundly beaten by mid-sized cities in the Midwest and South.”

But as technological, cultural and marketplace shifts continue, Lexington’s used bookstore circuit is

thriving and offers a variety of options for shoppers who are just not ready to give up the “tactile thing.”

Contributing writer Erik Rust visited eight shops around the city.

Ronald Davis

and Crystal

Wilkerson,

owners of

The Wild Fig

PHOTO BY

EMILY MOSELEY

SEE BOOKSTORES ON PAGE 16 �

LOCAL MARKETING

INSIDE2012 LeadingWomen in Central Kentucky

“

Global sales exploredat UK Supply Chain ForumUPS, which liberally sprinkles the word “lo-gistics” throughout its print, broadcast andonline advertising, is bullish on expandingthe supply chain further across Kentucky,the nation and the world.

“Globally, markets are really expanding,and U.S. companies are taking advantageof great opportunities. We’ve just scrapedthe surface, because emerging marketscontinue to open up. We can grow bigtime,” said Zachary Scott, president of theOhio Valley District for UPS. His territory in-cludes Kentucky and several nearby states.“Big companies like IBM already knowwhat’s going on because they’re multina-tional and get it,” Scott continued. “Butsmall and medium-sized companies need tograb these opportunities. UPS suppliesmuch of what I call ‘backroom’ opportuni-ties through logistics.”

Scott’s comments came during an interviewat the third annual Supply Chain Forum, re-cently held at Fasig Tipton in Lexington andsponsored by the University of Kentucky’sGatton College of Business and Economics.Of course, an international shipping com-pany like UPS, with a major hub inLouisville, would benefit from more globaltrade.

“The world has seven billion people with300 million-plus in the United States, so themarket opportunity is huge,” Scott againemphasized. “UPS has about 35 percent ofcompanies shipping internationally. How-ever, many are only shipping to one or twocompanies.”

Scott said the Internet has “brought thewhole world to a smaller place.” Countrieslike China and South Korea are developinga middle class as people are able to buyconsumer products from the United Statesand other countries.

“Kentucky exports have grown 28 percentin the last five years, even during the downtime. I just saw our exports were up ninepercent, just in January. Two strong areasare automotive and aerospace parts,” Scottsaid.

Kentucky wants to remain competitive insupply chain management, said Jake Barr,retired after 33 years at Procter & Gamble,and who now is a principal at BlueWorldSupply Chain Consulting.

“Like most states, Kentucky firms are grap-pling with how to re-engineer themselvesto deal with a couple of issues. One is animmense lack of talent with the skill set todrive this change,” said Barr.

Barr believes that when the price of petro-chemicals peaked about a year ago, itforced companies to focus more on theirbusiness models and how to remain prof-itable. It drove a lot of investment and re-engineering, including facility layouts,

where and how operations were being car-ried out and what processes could disman-tled, improved and put back together.

“Some companies in the state I am consult-ing with are going to a different operatingmodel, like from a single manufacturing fa-cility to multiple locations and distributionoutlets,” said Barr.

Barr said the state has done great work inrecruiting new firms, emphasizing that Ken-tucky is the nucleus for 35 percent of theU.S. population.

- BY DAN DICKSON

Pest survey underwayYou may soon start noticing objects at-tached to or hanging from trees this spring,and chances are they were put there bypersonnel from the Kentucky Office of theState Entomologist, which is housed in theUniversity of Kentucky College of Agricul-ture.

The 2013 Cooperative Agricultural Pest Sur-vey is designed to detect — and in somecases, eliminate — exotic pests before theybecome a problem.

“We see these surveys as an integral part ofpreventing the spread of non-native peststhat can cause economic damage to ourstate,” said Carl Harper, senior nursery in-spector.

Commodity-specific insect surveys will beconducted in western and eastern Ken-tucky, thanks to a grant from the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture. These surveystarget corn, soybean and small-grainsfields. Inspectors will monitor for a varietyof pest insects that haven’t been found inthe state before. In a similar survey, inspec-tors will monitor the presence of insectpests at state parks.

Idea Festival holds first eventin Lexington since 2004What began three years ago under the TEDbrand (Technology, Entertainment and De-sign) as TEDxLex has morphed into a newevent, marrying the rapid-fire, thought-pro-voking talks of TED with the programmingof Idea Festival (IF).

Last held in Lexington in 2004, the biennialIF conference became an annual affair in2006, when it was relocated to Louisville.Since the move, viewed by many as a sig-nificant loss to Lexington, TEDxLex founderKent Lewis and IF founders at the KentuckyScience and Technology Center (KSTC)came together to form Creative Disruption,IF Lexington.

“TED, they’ve got to keep a pretty strongcontrol on their brand, and now they have700 events worldwide. It’s gotten to thepoint that there’s (on average) two a day,”said Kent Lewis, a salesman for HP and

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founder of IF Lexington. Lewis wanted todevelop a concept that was more local forLexington, either by partnering with an es-tablished initiative or creating a new one.Lewis approached KSTC about four monthsago, and the ball began to roll.

Antony Miers, the director of educationservices for KSTC, said with outcroppings ofthe Idea Festival starting to grow, theywanted to have one back in Lexington,KSTC’s home.

On March 7 and 8, Creative Disruption, IFLexington was held at Fayette County’sagroscience high school, Locust Trace. Thefirst day was aimed at students, as 10speakers from high schools in four countiesspoke on topics ranging from interspeciesheart transplants to reducing the use ofplastics through a program to install water-bottle fillers in high-school drinking foun-tains.

“I want something that is going to be sus-tainable, that is here. We have Idea Festivalin our backyard,” Lewis said.

Two of the student speakers were voted bythe nearly 300 in attendance from Fayette,Franklin, Scott and Woodford counties toparticipate the next day in the adult session.“It shows a need and a desire by kids inhigh school today to experience this type ofevent, and to share what they’re doing,”Miers said. “If you give them enough roomand challenge them enough, they’re reallygoing to do just about anything.”

Lewis’s partner in the project, Brad Clark, agifted coordinator in Woodford County,said it was important to make this eventopen to students and accessible.

“This event was born out of trying to (com-bine) service, leadership, creativity and per-forming arts,” Clark said. “We made it free;that way, it’s accessible. We let a lot of peo-ple fall through the cracks, and this sort ofcatches people and gives them a way of in-teracting with each other that theywouldn’t get school-to-school.“

Lewis said he plans to keep the TEDxLexbrand alive through quarterly “salon” ses-sions starting at some point in the next sixmonths.

Info on the event is available at www.iflex-ington.com.

BY ERIK A. CARLSON

Bourbon Trail makes NationalGeographic listingKentucky’s Bourbon Trail among Bluegrassdistilleries has made National Geographicmagazine’s Top 10 list for “Best Spring Tripsof 2013.”

The list highlights the magazine’s selectionsof the world’s most appealing places.The lineup of suggested spring tours placesthe Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Bour-bon Trail Craft Tour between a tulip festivalin The Netherlands and a bird-watching ex-cursion in Romania. Other U.S. destinationsinclude West Virginia, noted for its trail sys-tem, and New Jersey’s Cape May HistoricDistrict.

Other sites making the list are in SouthAfrica, Argentina, Portugal, India and NewZealand.

THEGRAMMARGOURMETPronouncing PronunciationBY NEIL CHETHIK

“Misspell” is one of our language’smost frequently misspelled words, so itseems appropriate that “pronuncia-tion” would be one of our most fre-quently mispronounced. Peoplestumble because when the word goesfrom its verb form (pronounce) to itsnoun form (pronunciation), it randomlyloses an o in the second syllable.

Pronunciation may be unique in its o-shedding, but it has plenty of companyamong mispronounced English words.

For example, one could easily mispro-nounce multiple words in this sen-tence: The barbed wire fence hungacross Antarctica. Barbed wire toooften comes out as “bob wire”; acrossoften turns into “acrossed”; andAntarctica too often loses its first cwhen it’s spoken aloud. It’s supposedto be pronounced as it’s written: Ant-ARC-tica.

And what about this sentence? Useonly potable water to make espresso.Too many people mispronouncepotable, employing a short o in thefirst syllable. Potable actually rhymeswith notable. The word espresso,meanwhile, should be pronounced ex-actly as it appears, not with an x as thesecond letter.

And consider these words, in which a“th” sound often appears or disap-pears without reason.

Clothes: Most people say “cloze,” butthere’s a soft and subtle “th” soundnear the end; don’t miss it. Height:Some people add an h at the end andpronounce it “heighth,” as if it weresimilar to width and breadth; in fact,height ends the same way as weight— with a stolid t.

What hard-to-pronounce words giveyou fits?

Neil Chethik, aka the GrammarGourmet, is executive director at the

Carnegie Center for Literacy andLearning (www.carnegieliteracy.org)

and author of FatherLoss and VoiceMale. The Carnegie Center of-fers writing classes and seminars for businesses and individuals. ContactNeil at [email protected]

or (859) 254-4175.

LexArts .org 859.255.2951

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New Hires & PromotionsBB&T Corporation has announcedthat Heath Campbell has beennamed regional president of itsLexington-based Kentucky CentralRegion. Campbell, who previouslyserved as city executive in PrinceGeorge County, Md., replaced LeeHess, who retired earlier thismonth after a 41-year career inbanking.

AMR Management Services haspromoted Will Engle, CMP, to theposition of director of conferencesand events. Chad Grant, currentlyserving as senior policy analyst atAMR for the National Associationof State Chief Information Officers(NASCIO), recently accepted theposition of program manager forthe Kentucky Association of NurseAnesthetists. Lauren Mangnallwas promoted to programmanager for the NationalChristmas Tree Association (NCTA)and Christmas Spirit Foundation(CSF). Liz Fossett, who had beena research assistant for NASCIO,has been promoted to the role ofproject coordinator for theNational Association GovernmentDefined ContributionAdministrators (NAGDCA), andSamantha Wenger has beenpromoted to research coordinatorfor the NASCIO team. LindsayMarshall joined the AMR staff asdirector of member services.Meredith Ward was recently hiredto serve as NASCIO’s senior policyanalyst. Natasha Stamper hasjoined AMR as conference andevents manager, and WilliamLong has joined AMR as anaccountant.

The International SPA Association (ISPA) has namedDeLaine Bender, CAE, as vicepresident of operations andJonathan Sexton as vice presidentof marketing and sales. Crystal

Ducker, formerly ISPA’s vicepresident of membership andmarketing has been named ISPA’svice president of research andcommunications.

Board AnnouncementsThe Lexington-Fayette UrbanCounty Airport board hasannounced the appointment ofNancy Wiser as chair for 2013.Larry Deener has been appointedby the airport board as vice chairand treasurer, and Doris Bensonhas been reappointed as secretary.

The following new members havejoined the 2013 board of directorsof Hospice of the Bluegrass: JoanPalmore Key, SouthcreekProperties; Katie LaMonica, Darley;and Nana Mensah, Xports, Inc.

The Public Relations Society ofAmerica – Thoroughbred Chapterhas named the following membersto its 2013 board of directors:Brant Welch (Fifth Third Bank) aspresident; David Kitchen (UnitedWay of the Bluegrass) as pastpresident; Heather Baber (KCTCS)as secretary; Elise Menold(Lexington Podiatry) as treasurer.Cliff Feltham (Kentucky Utilities),Tom Harris (University ofKentucky), Tim Hill (HillCommunications), Sue Patrick(Kentucky Council on PostsecondaryEducation) and KatelynRademacher (Preston-Osborne)serve as directors at large.

KudosCardinal Hill RehabilitationHospital has been awarded athree-year accreditation by theCommission on Accreditation ofRehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for itsamputee, spinal cord, brain injury,stroke and comprehensive inpatient

programs for both children andadults. This is the seventhconsecutive three-year accreditationCARF has awarded to Cardinal Hill.

Nathan Paris, institutional

retirement plan consultant forUnified Trust Company, has earnedthe Qualified Plan FinancialConsultant (QPFC) credential fromthe American Society of PensionProfessionals & Actuaries.

WHO’SWHOEMPLOYMENT AND AWARDS IN OUR COMMUNITY WENGERFOSSETTMANGNALLGRANTENGLE

BENDERLONGSTAMPERWARDMARSHALL

WELCHMENSAHLAMONICA

PALMORE KEYBENSONDEENERWISERSEXTON

PARIS


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By Kathie StampsCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dr. James “Greg” White is an ortho-dontist, entrepreneur, restaurateurand philanthropist. Over the past six

years, the practice of White, Greer and Mag-gard has donated $1.3 million to specificprojects, with $700,000 of it going to schoolsystems in central Kentucky and a half-mil-lion to other organizations.

“These are the things we’re involvedin,” White said. “Some involve our patientsand some don’t, but all of it involves com-munity.”

The orthodontics practice has made

charitable contributions since 1991, but itwas in 2005 that adding a philanthropiccomponent to the business was “very inten-tional,” according to White.

“We realized the more we became in-volved with people, the more people be-came involved with us,” he said.

The majority of the practice’s marketingbudget is earmarked for the or ganizationsmoms are passionate about, includingschools, extracurricular activities andchurches. Aside from the company’s name-sakes, almost all other staf f members arewomen, and most of them are mothers.

“I see what moms do,” White said. “It

is an unbelievably dif ficult schedule tomanage.”

Rather than purchase an ad in a pro-gram or on a website, White finds it farmore beneficial to sit down and have ameeting with the president of a local sportsleague, a school principal or the head of a PTA.

“It’s a one-on-one process,” he said. “Iwant to see that need face to face.”

The practice has purchased uniforms forsoccer teams, smartboards for classrooms,basketball goals for an elementary schooland customized take-home folders for 50local schools. For the July Fourth weekend

in 2011, White’s Beaumont office hosted anoutdoor party with hot-air balloon rides andface painting for anyone who showed up.About 2,500 people did.

“There are so many distractions for kidsnow that move them away from activity,”White said. “Just play.”

Many families have children attendingdifferent schools and participating in variousactivities, so chances are good that thoseparents will see several examples of White,Greer and Maggard sponsorships. Whitehears comments from his young patients’parents almost daily, in the for m of “we’rehere because of this.”

The practice has six offices in Lexington(Beaumont and Hambur g), Danville,Georgetown, Nicholasville and Richmond.With the blessing and support of partners Dr.Jim Greer and Dr. Michael “Brent” Maggard,White handles the practice’s charitable dis-bursements. Each of the partners has fourchildren, and all are in agreement of sup-porting organizations that benefit moms andkids. It is marketing coordinator AlyssaVance’s full-time job to field 15 to 25 re-quests per day.

“I feel like Santa Claus,” she said. Acombination of Santa and elf, that is, withlots of spreadsheets and cell phone re-minders to help her keep track of every-thing. And yes, sometimes the answer to arequest is no.

“They know what I’m going to say yesto or not,” White said of the in-house mar-keting department. “There are tons of organ-izations we would love to be involved with,but they are not really within the scope ofwho we are as a practice.”

When too many people are involvedwith decision-making, it’s too easy for timeand money to be wasted. White receives alot of ideas, then takes it to committee andmakes a decision.

“The most ef fective committees aremade up of an odd number of people, lessthan three,” he said.

Among other entrepreneurial venturesover the past 17 years, White is also theowner of four Fazoli’s restaurants and sev-eral of his own concept — Harvey’s Grill &Bar, Hayden’s Grill & Bar and Freakin’ Un-believable Burgers — located in Michigan.

“Some people have a calling,” Whitesaid. It is his opinion that people who openrestaurants aren’t called but lured.

“Like a fish biting bait,” he said. Fun and positive attitudes are rampant

throughout the orthodontics practice, andemployee retention is good. The doctorshonor staff members with a David Yumanbracelet at the 10-year anniversary mark.Out of a staf f of 75, 20 have received thatparticular piece of jewelry. Forty employeeshave been with the practice more than fiveyears.

For new hires, White conducts the finalinterview and lays out his three steps to suc-cess: believing that the work you do is im-portant, being mature by putting otherpeople’s needs ahead of your own, and hav-ing a passion to leave any organization youenter better because you were there.

“It’s not about punching keystrokes orsterilizing instruments,” he tells new employ-ees. “You have the opportunity to have apositive impact on every person you meet.Your primary job is to make everyone feelspecial. What you do technically is asidefrom that.”

By practicing what he preaches and fo-cusing on doing things for other people,White has seen a pretty nice retur n on in-vestment for the practice’s philanthropy.

“Once we started giving, it was amazinghow much we started receiving,” he said.

Learn more about White, Greer and Mag-gard Orthodontics at www.wgmortho.com.


The business karmaof intentional philanthropy

Dr. James “Greg” White is seeinga nice return on investment

from his orthodontics practice’sphilanthropic ventures

PHOTO BY EMILY MOSELEY


BUSINESS BOOK REVIEWS

Marilyn Tam is among the most sin-gularly accomplished leaders inAmerican business today. Her dis-

tinguished profile listsexecutive roles at in-ternational compa-nies, including CEO ofAveda Corp., presi-dent of Reebok Ap-parel and RetailGroup, and vice pres-ident of Nike. Her ac-complishments havegained her a reputa-tion as a keen busi-ness strategist and aneffective leader.

She also has hadsuccess as an entre-preneur, founding acorporate training and

consulting company, a web portal company,a health and wellness company and a soft-ware company.

The way Tam has achieved such re-markable success is as interesting as her ros-ter of accomplishments. She has a reputationfor building success by doing business fairlyand ethically and for always giving back. Ac-cording to Brand Channel, she is one of thefour most prominent names in brand ethicsglobally.

She co-founded and serves as execu-tive director of the Us Foundation that fa-cilitates global action plans to addresssocial, economic and environmental issues.She also serves as a director on the nationalboard of SCORE, a partner of the U.S. Small

Business Administration.There’s more: Tam has worked tirelessly

on behalf of human rights and has an exten-sive list of philanthropic achievements. Shewas award the Reebok Human Rights Awardfor her humanitarian work. Also presentedwith the Artemis Award by the Greek gov-ernment for her business and humanitarianwork, she was further honored with her like-ness appearing on a Greek postage stamp.

Certainly part of her giving back ex-tends to readers. She has written two previ-ous books, How to Use What Y ou’ve Got toGet What You Want, and Living the Life ofYour Dreams. The latter was an eBook ofthe Year in 2011.

This month, her newest book, The Hap-piness Choice: The 5 Decisions That WillTake You From Where You Are To Wher eYou Want To Be, is being released. In thisnew book, Tam shares insights not abouther rise as an international business success,but how she did so without sacrificing per -sonal health and happiness.

Tam overcame obstacles early in life onher journey to discover happiness and bal-ance. She did not grow up happy. Born thesecond daughter in a traditional Chinesefamily, she was unwanted and neglected.Her mother left her at the hospital and hadto be called and ordered to pick her up.Growing up, she was mistreated both phys-ically and mentally.

Tam came to believe that she had achoice. She could live the life she dreamedof living. She could choose happiness.

And as she rose to inter national fame,she continued to choose happiness and de-

termined that she would not only succeedat business but at happiness.

The Happiness Choice argues that de-spite your upbringing or your current cir-cumstances, you can choose it as well.

“People want contentment, love andhappiness derived from meaningful work.They want nourishing personal relation-ships, a healthy mind and body, a spiritualcore, and a reason for living,” says Tam. “Butwith only 24 hours in a day and all of thecompeting demands of moder n life, thequestion is — how? Is it even possible?”

Tam gently guides readers in definingand prioritizing their roles so they can ac-complish goals and still feel balanced. She iswell aware of the difficulties in such a task.While the United States ranks No. 1 in theworld for productivity, it takes 11th place forhappiness. As shown by the rankings ofmany other countries, the dif ference be-tween these two numbers does not correlateinto a positive workforce.

Tam relies not only on statistical analysison happiness but also calls on a cadre of ex-perts whom she has had the good fortuneto know during her own journey.

Among the prominent figures are psy-chologists, business experts and self-help au-thors. In sharing the stage with theseindividuals, Tam shows a broader, more in-clusive, picture of the search for balance incontemporary work life.

The book often focuses on women,though not to the exclusion of men. Women,Tam acknowledges, are culturally trained todo it all — although this is often true of busi-ness leaders of both genders. This translates

into an inability to ask for help on what theyconsider to be their job.

By acknowledging the imbalance in ourlives, we can find balance, Tam suggests.

Prioritizing roles focuses expectationsless on how much is done and more onwhat is done. Tam’s accomplishments andremarkable achievements may havebrought her recognition and acclaim. Hap-piness, she claims, came to her by over-coming daunting odds in making thechoice to claim it as her own. It’s a choiceanyone can make.

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The Happiness ChoiceThe 5 Decisions That Will Take

You From Where You Are To WhereYou Want To BeBY MARILYN TAM

WILEY, JOHN & SONS; FEBRUARY, 2013

Ten states commitWilhoit was in San Diego last month,

meeting with representatives from the 10states involved with the center . Thesestates, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine,New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon,West Virginia and Wisconsin, have about 20million students combined and are highlyinterested in moving ahead aggressively. Toparticipate, each state had to commit its fullsystem to refor m and pursuit of theseinitiatives:

• Engaging business and highereducation in serious conversation about thegoals of public education, and aligningeducation expectations to emer ging needsof business;

• Using technology more directly inthe learning process;

• Examining how roles of teachersand students will change as they explorecustomization of education, of feringmultiple pathways;

• Committing not only to literacy andmathematical capability, but also todevelopment of students’ ability to work inteams/groups and dependability, thusfocusing on knowledge expectations aswell as skills and dispositions needed forsuccess in the workplace.

Many innovative networks arebeginning across the nation, although theyare primarily small in scale and focused onlocal schools. The new center will examinethe big picture. It will bring local

innovations together on a lar ger scale thaneach network can individually, engagingstate policymakers, school district teachersand administrators.

Change is hereBusiness today, W ilhoit said, is vastly

different than business 15 years ago, yetteachers are not always aware of thesechanges. Input from the businesscommunity is crucial in determining what’simportant in education today and couldlead to new career and technical educationoptions. Cross-fertilization at the universitylevel and in the community will be apowerful part of how the center learns andguides alignment of expectations.

There ought to be multiple choices tomeet different students’ lear ning styles,Wilhoit believes. He imagines down the road

that a school might team with a privateenterprise to create an academic

program that speaks to students’interests. This would challenge

traditional thinking about who canbe a teacher and what kinds of

experiences may lead to academic credit.“We ought to do everything in our power tokeep all of our students in school andgraduating,” said Wilhoit. “What’s at stake

is our societal future. We can’t afford to havedisenfranchised individuals out there withoutjobs, without support; we can’t as a societyassume the costs to support that long-term.”

He continued, “Our teachers want todo the right thing. They get excited and arechallenged by the fact that they can see achild learn and begin to see the worlddifferently than they did before theyentered the classroom.” However , teachersmay need to learn new approaches: insteadof imparting knowledge to students non-stop, education refor m means supporting

learning in dif ferent ways and providingwhat teachers need in their own knowledgedevelopment and in their classrooms.

Reform: not just for teachersEight districts in Kentucky have

stepped forward to lead the way inimplementing reforms; they’re asked toreflect on what might inhibit teachers frommaking productive change. For example, iftextbooks are selected centrally, shouldlocal sites have more influence andautonomy? Should school sites haveauthority to manage the lear ning process,rather than following what centraladministration may mandate?

Further, the education communityneeds business partnerships, if productivechange is to result.

“The business community is so criticalto what we are trying to do,” W ilhoitexplained. “People respect business. If they[business] can speak up and address wherethe gaps are and what we need to refor m,and if they can look for ways to engage, weneed the creativity coming out of businessand the innovation occurring there.”

“Education … has served us so wellover many years, but it was created indifferent times and for different outcomes,”Wilhoit said of the need for educationreforms. Kentucky has been recognized inrecent years for great progress on theeducation front. And now, as W ilhoit saidin the opening press conference,“Kentucky can be the lighthouse … for theother states.”

Jane S. Shropshire guides students andfamilies through the college search process

and is Business Lexington’s Higher Ed.Matters columnist. Contact her at

[email protected].


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Higher edCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

By Seth SalomonCONTRIBUTING WRITER: FINANCE

As 2012 wound to a close, the ongoingfiscal negotiations in Washington, aswell as the ef fect on taxation, were

well publicized. Lost in this conversationwere updates to several vehicles many in-vestors rely on each year.

Changes to IRAs, ROTH IRAs and gifting limits

While it is not too late to take advantageof an IRA or ROTH IRA contribution for2012, it is worth noting that the allowable

annual contribution for 2013 will move to$5,500, with an extra $1,000 still available asa catch-up for those 50 or older.

The ability to contribute to IRAs willphase out at $95,000-$115,000 in annual in-come for married couples with workplaceretirement plans and $178,000-$188,000 formarried couples with at least one person nothaving a workplace retirement plan. RothIRA phase-out will be $178,000-$188,000 formarried couples.

Annual gifting exclusions have also in-creased, now allowing for a yearly gift to anunlimited number of individuals of$14,000/$28,000 (individual/married cou-

ple). These exclusions will continue to notcount toward the $5.25 million/$10.5 millionlifetime gift tax exemption.

Planning for higher net-worthindividuals

With the rise in long-term capital gainstax from 15 percent to 20 percent for familiesearning more than $450,000 as well as theinclusion of a 3.8 percent Medicare tax, thetaxation of long-term gains for non-retire-ment investments has essentially risen bymore than 58 percent for these investors.

This complicates investment strategy for

these individuals, many of whom are notable to contribute to a ROTH IRA and are al-ready maxing out their workplace retirementplans. Now may be the time to assess alter-native strategies with the potential for bene-ficial tax treatment, such as deferredcompensation programs for key executivesor the use of life insurance as a tax-advan-taged growth vehicle.

If you have not already, speak with a fi-nancial planner to see how you can adjustyour strategies to address these changes.

In closing, as the year begins, now is thetime to address any planning concer ns thatwere not taken care of prior to the end of2012. Are you taking advantage of ever -changing estate and personal tax legislation?Are your investment and insurance strategiesupdated to meet the needs of you and yourfamily? Do you know how much insurancecoverage is appropriate or how much capitalwill be needed for retirement or other key ex-penditures? If you have any concerns, find atrusted advisor to take a look at your planningas well as provide feedback and guidance.

While the market has started the yearstrong, ongoing uncertainty will likely causefluctuation in the marketplace over the com-ing months. An agreement was reached toavoid the “fiscal cliff,” but the debt ceiling andspending cuts have yet to be addressed in along-term fashion, a debate that will likely bemore complex than that on taxation.

In times of fluctuation, it is important toremember that, dating back to 1955, therehas never been a year that ended where theprior 30-year period would not have seenat least an 8 percent annualized retur n forthe S&P 500 (Mor ningstar, 2012). Hang inthere, as with strong planning, time is onyour side.

Have any questions or requests for fu-ture article topics? Please feel free to emailme at [email protected].

Seth Salomon specializes in strategic finan-cial planning for business owners, individ-

uals and families. Seth returned toLexington after 14 years in Atlanta and

New York City to join his father at Salomon& Co., a comprehensive wealth manage-ment group serving small businesses and

families. (Securities and financial planningoffered through LPL Financial, a registeredinvestment advisor, member FINRA/SIPC).

The opinions voiced in this material are for general infor-mation only and are not intended to provide specific ad-

vice or recommendations for any individual. To determinewhich investments or products may be appropriate for you,consult your financial advisor prior to investing. No strat-egy assures success or protects against loss in periods of de-clining values. Past performance is no guarantee of future

results. Indexes cannot be invested into directly.Source of all tax and IRA data: www.irs.gov.

By Brian LuftmanCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Very few of today’s retirement portfo-lios have adequate diversification.Having a diverse portfolio can help

an investor capture steady gains while hope-fully avoiding violent market swings.

Investors want returns that outperformthe broad market through a portfolio thatwill also weather an economic downtur n.Many of today’s portfolios are missing a keycomponent — true diversification. Lately,many financial advisors are turning to “alter-native investments” to help their clients trulydiversify.

The global nature of today’s economicsystem has caused assets with little correla-tion to behave shockingly alike. Conven-tional wisdom tells us that stocks and bondstend to move in opposite directions, but

both enjoyed solid gains in 2012. In 2008,however, both saw steep simultaneouslosses.

Even REITs (Real Estate InvestmentTrusts) and international equity funds havetended over the last few years to mimic thebroad market more than they have in thepast. Conventional diversification tools arestill quite helpful, but they do not fully solvethe problem.

Many of today’s portfolios are heavilyweighted in equities, bonds and mutualfunds. These investments have one thing incommon: their performance is closely tiedto the overall health of the global economy.

Alternative assets such as energy and in-frastructural MLPs (master limited partner -ships), commodities, managedoptions/futures funds and various privateplacements have been gaining steam. These

types of assets are not as closely tied to oureconomy’s overall health, and some evenhave a negative correlation with the market.

“Alternatives” can provide the diversifi-cation investors are looking for, but that di-versification comes with a price. Theseinvestments often provide issues with valu-ation and liquidity. Not all alter natives arecreated equally, and investment in such assetclasses should be carefully analyzed with thehelp of a financial advisor and/or a CPA. De-spite the risks, investors are flocking towardthese alternatives to gain that ever-importantdiversification they provide.

The world population is growing, foodand energy resources are becoming morevaluable, and as many have pointed out be-fore, “They aren’t making any more land.”For these reasons and more, “alternative as-sets” are quite hot in the industry.

But investors should not get carriedaway.

Conventional investment tools havedominated portfolios for decades, providingsimplicity, liquidity, transparency and lastingoverall performance. Most portfolios, as cur-rently assembled, are likely well positionedfor either prosperity or the unexpected.However, investors should take a broad lookat their assets and re-evaluate their definitionof a diverse portfolio. A 10 percent to 20 per-cent allocation toward carefully chosen “al-ternatives” would be a step in the directionof true diversification.

Brian Luftman founded Luftrade, a commodity options company, at age 27.

He recently moved back to his hometown ofLexington to create American Farm Investors

( www.AmericanFarmInvestors.com).


A CASE FOR ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

Financial planning in 2013:What you should know

By Margaret BuranenCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Thanks to some local business peopleand other experts, University of Ken-tucky students will lear n about per-

sonal finance through an interesting and funsimulation experience. The event allows stu-dents to interact with adults from the variousfinancial sectors they will encounter in “reallife” after graduation.

“It’s Your Reality” will be held at the UKStudent Center on W ednesday, March 20,2013, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Any UK studentcan participate at no charge.

Jennifer Hunter, assistant extension pro-fessor for family financial management, andKatie Keith, cooperative extension associate,have been working for the past six to sevenmonths to create the event. It’s adapted froma Kentucky 4-H youth development program.

Funds for the event came from UK’sCollege of Agriculture.

“It’s part of the ‘Managing in T oughTimes’ program that Dean Scott Smith puttogether to help Kentuckians recover fromthe recession,” Hunter said.

Hunter gets a lot of questions from thestudents who take her Family Financial Man-agement course. The financial simulationevent will allow students to “see the typesof decisions they’ll have to make and howstudent loans they have will affect their de-cisions,” she said.

Hunter expects that the students whotake time to participate will realize “they haveto prioritize their needs over their wants.”

“It’s Your Reality” will feature some 20booths to show students the typical typesof financial expenses they will encounter .Their first stop, the employment booth, willdetermine their paychecks, based on theaverage starting salary for their fields ofstudy.

Then the students visit each booth, de-ciding how much of their income to spendon that section of their budgets. Expendi-tures at one booth — Uncle Sam — aren’toptional but may be an unpleasant surpriseto some students.

At the banking booth, just as at a realbank, the students will have to pay fees foropening accounts and getting checks. Therethey can consult Megin Morgan, member de-velopment specialist at UK’s Federal CreditUnion.

Morgan said the Credit Union staf fmembers sometimes do financial educationon campus and serve as “a resource for UK101 instructors, if they want a person to talkabout money management.”

Having participated in a 4-H financialprogram for middle schoolers, Morgan saidshe is looking forward to this event. She ex-pects the UK students to have questionsabout credit and credit scores.

“They’re so new to it and may just havegotten a credit card,” she said.

Ben Bransom, secretary and partner atKentucky Insurance Agency, will help stu-dents at the insurance booth. He hasn’t hadthe opportunity to be involved with such anevent but readily agreed to volunteer histime.

“I’m excited about it,” Bransom said.“Having had kids that age, I know thatsometimes they don’t see the total picture.This will help them get a handle on their fi-nancial situation.”

Emily McCarthy, marketing manager atDon Jacobs Honda, Volkswagen and BMW,will handle the transportation booth. Mc-Carthy said that while the automobile deal -ership has been involved with UK in variousways for years, “this is one of the first times

we’ve worked directly with students.” Many of the students drive cars that

their parents bought. McCarthy wants themto know that when they buy their first cars,they will have to budget for additional ex-penses, such as property tax, title, licenseand insurance.

Community volunteer Jeff Markel willhelp students with financial planning. W itha background in accounting, Markel is “a bigbeliever in financial education.”

When the Fayette County Public Schoolshosted a Reality Store financial event foreighth-graders, Markel helped with the pro-gram. He has also taught the financial literacyclass for members of Junior Achievement.

Markel said that young people “tend to

overestimate their income and underesti-mate their expenses. To attain in life whatthey want will be a lot more expensive thanthey realize and the cost to maintain it is sur-prising to them.”

Other booths represent typical ex-penses for young adults, such as child care,entertainment (movies, concerts), travel,furniture, utilities, and housing (renting orbuying). The clothing and health andgrooming booths will remind students ofexpenses associated with a proper appear-ance for work.

If students need to go back and recon-sider some of their choices, they can findhelp at the supplemental income and SOSbooths. The chance booth mimics life’s un-

certainty. Students may draw the unexpectedexpense of an accident or a divorce or thesurprise of a raise or inheritance.

For a final dose of reality there will bea student loan booth. It will help studentsrealize how much student loans af fect theirmonthly budget, starting six months aftergraduation.

Keith said that support from faculty andstaff across campus has been great.

“They say, ‘It’s so relevant, so needed. Iwish I’d had it,’” she said.

“It’s Your Reality” will be filmed andmay become a pilot for other universities.“We’re excited about the opportunity andtruly appreciative of all the support we’vereceived,” Hunter said.


UK students to get a lesson in the realities of personal finance

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Cabinet for Economic Development

By Natalie VossCONTRIBUTING WRITER: EQUINE INDUSTRY

In a college town, it’s not unusual to findthe University of Kentucky’s name em-blazoned in many places off campus, and

the Fasig-Tipton Thoroughbred auctions areno exception.

The UK College of Agriculture’s MaineChance Farm is a horse-breeding operationlocated at the Kentucky Agricultural Experi-ment Station of f Newtown Pike, near theFasig-Tipton sale grounds. For the past sev-eral years, the farm has brought yearlings tothe Fasig-Tipton October and February sales,usually bringing modest prices of a fewthousand dollars.

While it’s always nice to get surprisedby a bidding war over one of the school’sThoroughbreds, that really isn’t the pro-gram’s main goal.

“Our goal for the breeding program isthe students,” said animal resource managerBryan Cassill, who manages two full-timeemployees and several student workers atMaine Chance. “That’s our biggest goal — tohave them involved as much as possible.”

Though the land on which the facilitysits has far med Thoroughbreds for manyyears, it became known as Maine ChanceFarm in 1956 when it was purchased by cos-metics tycoon Elizabeth Arden. Arden bred1947 Kentucky Derby winner Jet Pilot onMaine Chance, as well as several other no-table stakes winners, before donating theproperty to the university upon her death.

These days, Maine Chance is more fo-cused on teaching and research than pro-ducing a Derby winner (although it does

boast a stakes-placed 6-year-old). The farm’sherd is about 100 horses, most of which areThoroughbreds, and produces 20 to 25 foalseach year. Much of the day-to-day far mwork is done by under graduate students,who work part time at the farm doing every-thing from cleaning stalls (“lots of stalls,”they say) to assisting veterinarians and farri-ers to helping mares deliver their foals andvisit the breeding shed.

“Everything that we’re lear ning in theclass is very practical, and when we cometo the farm, we can apply what we’ve beenlearning,” said sophomore Fallon Jackson,who is studying equine anatomy as part ofworking toward her degree in equine sci-ence and management.

“If we were working at a different farmthat wasn’t a learning facility, the vet wouldcome look at the horse and it would be adiscussion away from the person holding thehorse,” said senior Matt Zehnder. “Here, ourveterinarian is very descriptive and shows us[the ultrasounds], and it’s very interesting.”

For Zehnder, the farm’s teaching mis-sion allows him to learn about a wider vari-ety of management practices than he couldas a groom at a private facility.

The biggest lesson he’s learned from thehorses?

“Patience. Each one has its own person-ality,” he said. “For me, it’s not how muchthey sell for. People like the big numbersand all, but it’s about them looking present-able for the buyers.”

Student workers choose a yearling towork with through the summer and fall, andoversee that horse’s preparation for the

Fasig-Tipton October sale, where they showoff the horse to prospective buyers.

In some cases, the bond that forms dur-ing that process can be a permanent one —Maine Chance worker-turned-graduate stu-dent Laura Strasinger keeps in touch withthe owners of Bruceville, the UK-bred geld-ing she helped prepare for sale, and looksforward to giving him a home when heleaves the track.

The farm’s horses are also used in han-dling classes for students in the equine sci-ence and management degree program,where they learn to groom, take vital signs,bandage legs, and take young horsesthrough basic ground training.

The other primary purpose for MaineChance’s breeding program is to supplyhorses for researchers to study. Currently,faculty and staff are examining everythingfrom the most effective type of hay feedingapparatus for reducing waste to the life cycleof equine parasites.

Kristine Urschel, whose work as assis-tant professor, Department of Animal andFood Sciences focuses on quantifying essen-tial amino acid requirements and studyingmuscle mass in aging horses, said that hav-ing a herd readily available helps her planher studies in advance — especially for stud-ies where her subjects’ ages are crucial.

“It gives me more time to focus on theresearch, and to focus on the teaching aspectof my job,” said Urschel. “It makes it easierfor me to sell my research to a fundingagency because there’s something tangiblethat I have access to. I’m not just selling anidea, I’m selling a program.”

The focus on Thoroughbreds isn’t a co-incidental reflection of the breed’s popularityin Lexington. Laurie Lawrence, a professorin the Department of Animal and Food Sci-ences said that the research conducted at thefarm is more easily applied by managers ofneighboring farms if it’s based on a similarspecimen of horse. The far m relies com-pletely on donations of broodmares, younghorses and stallion seasons, which gives it agood sampling of the average KentuckyThoroughbred. Typically, a donated horse isone who had a physical flaw that preventedits public sale, but it can still be used forbreeding or light work.

Additional research projects on thefarm include studies of drug resistance inparasites, composting, disinfection in thebarn, hay digestibility, pasture manage-ment, phosphorous digestion, and excre-tion, and development of the equinehindgut.

While the variety of topics is wide andhighly technical, researchers and their assis-tants say that the university’s extension spe-cialists can take most of it straight to horseindustry professionals to help them improvetheir farms.

“All this research that I’m doing outthere helps support what I take in outreachto ‘regular folks,’” said Mary Rossano, assis-tant professor, Department of Animal andFood Sciences. “And of course I use it in theclassroom too.”

By the time a UK yearling steps into theFasig-Tipton ring, its participation in thefarm’s mission has already touched potentialbidders, whether they know it or not.


PHOTO BY MATT BARTON, UK AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

Maine Chance Farm, run by the UK College of Agriculture, familiarizes students with the day-to-day management of a horse-breeding operation.

THESE HORSES ARE WILDCATS, TOO


By Natalie VossCONTRIBUTING WRITER: EQUINE INDUSTRY

Josh Stevens is the communications andmarketing manager at Margaux Farm inMidway, Ky. Stevens is a graduate of the

Kentucky Equine Management Internshipprogram, a program that combines practicalexperience on a Bluegrass far m with class-room learning. Stevens is a graduate of theUniversity of Louisville’s Equine Industryprogram with a minor in finance.

What are some of the major issuesin the horse industry (particularly inKentucky) that concern you the most?

The Thoroughbred industry as a wholefaces a multitude of issues that make it diffi-cult to run a sustainable operation in today’seconomy. One of the larger issues the indus-try is facing is the lack of profitability andthe sheer amount of time and capital in-vested in our product.

This is by all means a capital-intensiveindustry. The commercial breeders who re-main are just now getting out from under in-vestments made before and during therecession. Those breeders with limited re-sources were forced to either disperse theirbloodstock to reduce expenses or decreasethe amount of money they could invest into

stud fees. Those that were able to surviveare now trying to dig out from under severalyears of churning losses.

Another issue the industry is facing ismarketing and customer service. I’m not justtalking about the way we treat the racingpublic, but also the way we treat our in-vestors and new owners.

Racing is all about the experience; ithooks you instantly. If we expect to bring innew owners, we need to give them a first-class experience. If they can’t expect tomake a profit, they should at least expect tofeel like they got their money’s worth. Opendoors and communication can take that along way.

I have seen some promising public ini-tiatives that are in the works, and I’m opti-mistic that we can turn a corner in marketingour product and creating new fans. A greatexample is Churchill Downs and what theyhave done with night racing, concerts, pro-motions, etc. America’s Best Racing atwww.followhorseracing.com also has somegood things working.

On the state level, I’d like to see us doa few things. As a young person in the in-dustry, it frustrates me sometimes to seethe lack of cooperation from our state gov-ernment and the overall lack of apprecia-

tion for the state’s largest agricultural prod-uct. Our state imposes a 6 percent sales taxon any yearling bought in Kentucky thatstays in Kentucky, yet if you take the year-ling out of the state, you do not have topay taxes.

We have completely changed opera-tions at Margaux to encompass a trainingcenter in order to keep horses in Kentucky,yet our own state government is openly in-centivizing buyers to take our own horses toother states. I’d like to see horses get thesame agricultural tax breaks on feed andsupplies as other livestock.

What do you see as potential solu-tions to these issues?

Profitability has been a cause of concernfor years, as demand for our product de-creased and supply stayed level. I think thatslots are obviously not the long-term answer.Governments in other states have alreadybegun pilfering money from the racetracksthat were receiving slot money. I think thebest solution to our problem is that we haveto run our operations from a business stand-point; you have to look at the financials. Youhave to make decisions based on the bottomline, which is hard to do when you becomeattached to these beautiful animals.

If you wer e the “racing czar” andcould change any one thing about thebusiness you wanted, what would it be?

If there were a “racing czar ,” our onebiggest issue would’ve been solved. W ehave absolutely no uniformity.

It amazes me that there are studies toshow tracks how much more money theywould handle if they coordinated their racetimes with each other, yet they still refuse tochange. I’m also amazed at the dif ferencesbetween state medication rules; this shouldbe the same across the board. Finally, Iwould hope that the racing czar could stepup to the plate and clear out the cheatersand swindlers that give our sport a badname. It’s laughable sometimes to see howbad we are at enforcing suspensions or im-posing penalties.

What's it like to be a young personin the horse business these days?

Despite the negativity we so often bringon ourselves, it’s an awesome industry andthere are a ton of opportunities waiting tobe embraced. Every day is different, and younever know what’s coming next. I am ex-cited to see what’s in store for our industry,and I think that we will weather the stor mand come out better in the end.

JOSH STEVENSK E N T U C K Y ’ S E Q U I N E I N D U S T R Y : T H E N E X T G E N E R A T I O N

Margaux Farmcommunications

and marketingmanager

Josh Stevens

PHOTO BYEMILY MOSELEY

Flex with me: Kentucky workersjoin growing work-at-home trend


By Dan DicksonCONTRIBUTING WRITER

When Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer an-nounced recently that her employ-ees were now banned from working

from home, it set off a firestorm of controversy.Mayer, hired last summer to tur n around thestruggling media giant, believes speed andquality are sacrificed when people work fromhome and that the Yahoo! needs to be “one,”meaning workers physically in the same place.

The move seems to go against the grainof current work trends. More and more com-panies offer flex-time opportunities to theiremployees.

“I hope that isn’t a trend, because re-search shows flexible work arrangements re-ally do improve employee engagement,motivation and job satisfaction,” said MeredithWells-Lepley, senior research associate foriwin, the Institute for Workplace Innovationat the University of Kentucky.

The institute says its mission is to developand disseminate knowledge about the 21stcentury workplace to create work environ-ments that boost the bottom line, employeehealth and work-life fit.

That last part — work-life fit — may bethe key.

“The way people work is much differentthan in the past,” said W ells-Lepley. “Nowa-days, people want work-life balance and re-

quest flexible work arrangements, like work-ing from home or coming into the of ficefewer days of the week.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reportsthat nearly 25 percent of American employeesworked at home at least sometime in 2010. Thenumber may be higher since the deep reces-sion has forced companies to cut costs.

Call it the “new office.”“It’s mostly being initiated by Generation

X [born 1965-1976] and Generation Y , a.k.a.the Millennials [born from the late ’70s/early’80s to 2000],” said W ells-Lepley. “Many ofthem want that work/life balance more thanmoney and status. Also, some baby boomersare actually saying, ‘Hey, I like this,’” said theresearcher.

“I think businesses will realize their ‘of-fice-ing’ is outdated, and they must spendmoney to upgrade their offices to make themsupport the way people work today,” saidWells-Lepley.

Companies may fear some workers aregoofing off while away from the office.

“Some firms still operating in the oldmodel are afraid of that,” she said. “Theythink people need to be at their desks from 8a.m. to 5 p.m., and if the supervisor is seeingthem, then the work must be getting done.Thankfully, I think that’s rare.”

Wells-Lepley believes if companies seework being completed on time, then it won’t

matter where, when or how it happened. “Maybe the worker has young children

and is working late into the evening when thekids are asleep,” she said.

Examples of successful flex-time compa-nies in central Kentucky, according to iwin, areKentucky Employers Mutual Insurance (KEMI),which is consistently listed as one of iwin’s bestplaces to work. Others include Central BaptistHospital; Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloneyand Dinsmore & Shohl, two law firms with of-fices in Lexington; and Gallatin Steel.

Meanwhile, a growing company based inLexington is helping to support the work-away-from-office trend. Of fices Suites Plusrents office and work space for an hour , day,week, month or longer. It has flexible work-space options, as well as virtual offices, meet-ing rooms and video conference services. Youcan arrange to work in their offices at 32 loca-tions in nine states. Lexington has two of thesites, on Richmond Road and Alexandria Drive.

Brad Roark, who works in marketing forOffice Suites Plus, provided a couple of ex-amples.

“Attorneys, paralegals or court reportersmay need to do depositions. They may use ourvideo conferencing or in-house clerical serv-ices. Recruiting companies may want to inter-view job candidates from one city to anotherand may want to videoconference. The meet-ing room needs may range from intimate one-

on-one discussions to 10 to 20 people who aredealing with a large corporation issue,” he said.

This “new office” scenario helps big com-panies that must send workers to other citiesand who need to step into an office to work,manage documents, meet, phone or video-conference.

The concept also services smaller com-panies that only need occasional office spacebecause they can’t af ford the high overheadof a permanent space.

“Small businesses and entrepreneurscan’t meet all their clients out of their homes,”said Roark. “They may later upgrade to a per-sonal office; then try a temporary of fice forsix months or a year in order to land venturecapital. Or they may expand their real estatefootprint. They can grow as they choose tobut still maintain the ability to test new mar -kets without laying down roots. They canconcentrate on products and services and noton where the office is located.”

Office Suites Plus is af filiated with othervirtual office companies. These networks ofoffices are available regionally, nationally andinternationally. If you wish, the network willwork with you as you travel from city to city.

“You can get an of fice in Chicago orPhoenix, or in many other places. They takecare of it for us,” said Roark. “You don’t needto live in New York to work for a New Yorkcompany.”

At Lexmark, construction is currently un-derway on a 25,500-square-foot onsite child-care facility, located halfway between thecompany’s core campus and its R&D building,with a projected opening scheduled for thefall of 2013. When it is completed, the centerwill offer full-time, part-time and emergencyback-up child care for up to 186 children andgrandchildren of Lexmark employees, frominfants up to age 12, with summer camp pro-grams planned as well.

“It’s a deep commitment to our employeepopulation,” said Jeri Isbell, vice president ofhuman resources for Lexmark. “W e have agood base of employees here, and we reallyfelt like the time was right. W ith the demo-graphics of our population and our futurepopulation, and looking at attraction and re-tention, it all just seemed to come togethervery nicely for us.”

Today’s job market for software engi-neers is highly competitive, said Paula Ander-son, Lexmark’s director of diversity, recruitingand corporate citizenship, and benefits likehigh-quality onsite child care help Lexmark todifferentiate itself as an employer.

The center, which will be operated byMassachusetts-based Bright Horizons, will fea-ture indoor and outdoor play areas for everyage group, along with a full kitchen that willenable partnering opportunities with localculinary programs and other wellness initia-tives. The center will emphasize a STEAM cur-riculum (science, technology, engineering, artsand math), which Anderson said will nicelyalign with the talents and interests of the Lex-mark workforce. It is also designed to accom-modate the needs of nursing mothers, as wellas parents who might want to visit or havelunch with their kids during the workday.

“When you are a new parent and you arestruggling to think about who is going to takecare of your baby, it is a difficult thing,” Isbellsaid. “To have such a high-quality facility rightnext door to you, ... that is a huge stress re-ducer every day.”

Just up Newtown Pike, at the new Bing-ham McCutchen headquarters opening in theColdstream Research Campus this month, em-ployees with young children or aging parentswill enjoy a different kind of dependent caresupport from their employer . The law fir mcontracts with Bright Horizons to of fer em-ployees emergency back-up care for bothchildren and elders. If an employee’s regularcaregiving arrangements fall through for theday, or if an aging parent needs some extrahelp for a few days after sur gery, the em-ployee can call a dedicated hotline for help.A representative will then either schedule aplace at a local care center or send a caregiverto the employee’s home.

“One of the signature benefits in ourwork-life programs is our emergency back-upchild care and adult care,” said L ynn Carroll,chief human resources of ficer for BinghamMcCutchen. “We understand that last-minutechanges in care providers can be very stress-ful for employees, and having that consistentsafety net in ter ms of a resource to go to,whether or not it is for child care or adultcare, can really alleviate that stress and enableour employees to be able to come to workand know that their families are being wellcared for.”

Even with the tighter budgets experi-enced by many companies over the past fiveyears, employer-sponsored solutions that helpworkers manage their dependent-care re-sponsibilities have been viewed as a worth-

while investment, said Jonathan Dotson, vicepresident of client relations for Bright Hori-zons, which also works with T oyota MotorManufacturing Kentucky in operating its on-site child care center in Georgetown, Ky.

“What we’re continuing to hear , eventhrough the last few years, from top employersis that it’s a great investment of their resourcesin their human capital,” Dotson said. “Theywant to recruit and retain the top talent, that’salways an issue, and strong dependent careprograms make them stand out from otherplaces that people could choose to work.”

Retirement and health care options are rel-atively standard, Dotson said, and it’s not toodifficult for employees to find a suitable sub-stitute from one workplace to the next. Childcare and elder care arrangements and supportcan be more difficult to leave behind. That isespecially true for the increasing number ofdual-earner families in today’s workforce whofind themselves squeezed in the so-calledsandwich generation, caring for young childrenand aging parents at the same time.

“Once they have their family involved inthose kinds of benefits, it’s very sticky. Whenthey think about changing employers, it’s abigger decision for them,” Dotson said.

A company doesn’t need to be as lar geas Lexmark to offer dependent care options,Dotson said. Bright Horizons serves clientswith as few as 500-600 employees that of feronsite child care facilities. Back-up dependentcare for children and elders is used by com-panies with workforces of just a few hundred,and such options can serve a national em-

ployee base that would not be able to benefitfrom a bricks-and-mortar solution because ofgeographical constraints.

For employees with older kids in highschool, their family focus often changes tocollege preparation. To help this segment ofits workforce manage the anxieties surround-ing the college admissions process, BinghamMcCutchen also contracts with Bright Hori-zons to offer college planning help to its em-ployees, through its CollegeCoach program.That includes webinars and onsite seminarsat the workplace, as well as more individual-ized counseling for parents who are trying tonavigate the college admissions and financialaid application process with their kids. Col-legeCoach also serves those with children inmiddle school who want to set their kids onthe right track for college, as well as recentcollege graduates looking for the most cost-effective ways to pay of f their college loans.Currently, Bright Horizons has more than 60clients that opt to offer the service to their em-ployees, Dotson said.

“It saves the parent a ton of time,” Dotsonsaid. “Colleges and financial aid of fices areopen during business hours, so parents haveto call during business hours, and it can taketime away from their work. This really helpsto streamline that, so they are focused at workand they have support in figuring out the rightchoices for their college-bound student.”

Bingham McCutchen has been recognizedamong Fortune 100’s Best Companies to Workfor multiple years running, as well as garneringlocal Best Place to Work recognition in individ-

ual cities. Carroll said that the company’s work-life benefits play an integral part in those hon-ors and in demonstrating that Bingham caresabout its people and wants to help them bal-ance their personal and professional lives.

“Our back-up care programs and ou rwork-life programs are often cited as a ke yfactor in our employees’ happiness, in ter msof working at the firm,” Carroll said.

Beyond its back-up dependent care andcollege planning support, Bingham also offersa shared leave program that allows employ-ees to donate unused vacation and sick timeto other employees in need of time of f, aswell as a volunteer day program and an adop-tion/surrogacy benefit. At Lexmark, in addi-tion to offering employees paid time of f tovolunteer, the company has flex-time andtelecommuting options. The company re-cently instituted an “unlimited vacation” pol-icy, in which employees can manage thei rown vacation schedules, as long as they gettheir work done and obtain approval fromtheir supervisors, Isbell said. And Lexmarkalso recently opened an onsite wellness cen-ter with its own medical staff, which employ-ees can visit for anything from the treatmentof acute illnesses to routine immunizationsprior to international travel.

“It’s really about trying to work with peo-ple in a way that matches their need,” Isbellsaid. “In today’s environment, when man ycompanies are taking things away, it makesus feel good to be able to be giving back andproviding something for our employees in amajor way, for the long term.”

Focus: The New Office Focus: The New Office

Human resourcesCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

PHOTOFURNISHED

WHEN YOU ARE A NEW PARENT AND YOU ARE

STRUGGLING TO THINKABOUT WHO IS GOING TO

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BABY, IT IS A DIFFICULT THING.

TO HAVE SUCH A HIGH-QUALITY FACILITY RIGHT

NEXT DOOR TO YOU ... THAT IS A HUGE STRESS REDUCER EVERY DAY.”

JERI ISBELL, VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES FOR LEXMARK


By Meredith Wells-Lepley, Ph.D.CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Employee engagement has been gettinga lot of attention in the business com-munity for the past few years as re-

searchers consistently find that organizationswith engaged employees — employees whoput forth more effort than required — are farmore productive and profitable, have betterquality products and services, enjoy greatercustomer loyalty and have fewer problemswith absenteeism and turnover than organi-zations with disengaged employees.

It’s no wonder that nearly every organi-zation wants engaged employees. So whatmust an organization do to get engaged em-ployees? An abundance of research, includingresearch conducted by University of Ken-tucky’s Institute for W orkplace Innovation(iwin), finds that meaningful work is the key.The employee engagement surveys that iwinconducts for some of Kentucky’s top compa-nies consistently find that meaningful work is

the biggest predictor of employee engage-ment, not pay, not benefits, not coworkers orbosses. It’s meaningful work, every time.

People have strong motivation to seekmeaning in their work. Employees want tofeel worthwhile, useful, valuable and asthough they make a difference.

According to researchers at Boston Uni-versity and George Washington University,meaningfulness is influenced by several factors:

• The work role — Is it challenging anddoes it allow for creativity, variety, learning,and autonomy?

• Sense of self — Do employees feelthey can bring their whole selves to workand fully integrate themselves into theirwork?

• Work interactions — are relationshipswith coworkers and clients rewarding andbased on respect and appreciation?

According to Bill Kahn of Boston Uni-versity’s School of Management, there must

be a balance between the employee’s workrequirements and their own personal pur -pose, values and interests. The more em-ployees draw upon their true selves toperform their roles, the better their perform-ances and the more content they are withtheir roles. Disengagement occurs when theemployee does not have a personal connec-tion to their work role, which leads to poorperformance.

Although meaningful work may be per-ceived as an individual employee issue, thereare many things that managers can do to pro-mote it:

• Use realistic job previews in the inter-viewing process to ensure job candidatesknow exactly what tasks the job entails andcan assess whether they will get satisfactionfrom them.

• Learn about employees’ goals and de-termine which roles would enable them toexpress themselves best.

• Give employees autonomy and allow

them to make decisions pertaining to thei rwork and solve their own work-related prob-lems. This enables employees to use thei rcreativity and allows them to be innovative.

• Give employees opportunities to learnnew skills. Expanding one’s skill set andgaining a sense of mastery is exciting andsatisfying.

• Give employees thorough informationabout the organization, how it works andhow it is performing. Let employees “see thebooks” and explain how their roles are vi-tally important to the or ganization as awhole.

• Develop supportive, trusting relation-ships with employees and demonstrate yourconcern for them.

• Give performance feedback. Let em-ployees know how they are per forming,praise them for good work and help themimprove areas of low performance.

These ingredients will make work moremeaningful for employees and enable themto truly thrive.

Associate Professor Christine Porath o fGeorgetown University studies thriving andwill be speaking at iwin’s Innovative Em-ployer Roundtable in May. She ar gues thatgiving employees a chance to lear n andgrow is essential to thriving. Businesses canpromote thriving by giving employees deci-sion-making discretion, sharing or ganiza-tional information with them, givingperformance feedback and by eliminatingincivility from the workplace. In addition,Porath explains that employees can use cer-tain strategies to promote their own thriving.

First of all, take a break. Breaks, evenshort ones for a walk or lunch in the park,can renew the spirit and create positive en-ergy. Second, look for opportunities to becreative and to make your work more mean-ingful. Keep an eye out for projects and tasksthat you would enjoy and talk to your su -pervisor about incorporating them into yourrole. Similarly, realize that you are influencedby those around you, so spend your timewith co-workers who ener gize you, notthose who deplete your energy.

Eric Ward also encourages thriving. Hetook over as president and CEO of BigBrothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass in Feb-ruary 2012, when the or ganization was inshambles and near closure.

“Morale was extremely poor, and em-ployees were frustrated with the previoustop-down leadership style that discouragednew ideas and creativity, which therefore ledto mediocre performance,” he said.

Ward shook things up by telling em-ployees that he valued their enthusiasm andnew ideas and was implementing a bottom-up leadership style, by which all employeeswould be leaders. W ard gave employees“permission to be great” and to make BigBrothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass great.

Ward said that employees embraced theconcept, and within nine months they werea completely different staff.

“Morale was at an all-time high, and thestaff was functioning as a true team, workingcollaboratively and moving the agency fromcrisis management to growth and innova-tion,” he said.

The Institute for Workplace Innovationis currently beginning a series of studies onmeaningful work. If you or your or ganiza-tion would like to participate in a focusgroup or survey, please contact us at [email protected].

Meredith Wells-Lepley, Ph.D., is acting co-executive director at UK’s Institute forWorkplace Innovation (iwin). For more

information on meaningful work and otherworkplace issues, visit www.iwin.uky.edu.


MEANINGFUL WORKT H E K E Y T O E M P L O Y E E E N G A G E M E N T


By Hannah LeGrisCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Akey to fostering an innovative work-place that encourages workers to col-laborate involves recognizing the

differences among the generations — babyboomers, Generation Xers, Millennials —and capitalizing upon them.

Though it is important not to createblanket statements about workers, studieshave shown that there are qualities thatmembers of each generation are more likelyto embody. Such commonalities emer ge asa result of a variety of factors, includingthose relating to the time these workers werecoming of age, the economies they have wit-nessed and the technological advancesthey’ve benefited from. The following pro-files are not meant to be exhaustive, butrather to serve as the beginning of a conver-sation about finding the strengths of eachmember of your team. Recognizing workers’strengths can lead to more effective partner-ships and mentoring relationships — espe-cially if leaders are willing to thinkcreatively.

Baby boomers — the approximately 79million born in the United States between1946 and 1964 — came of age in a time ofaffluence and were generally optimisticabout their chances of upward mobility.Boomers are now viewed as “older” work-ers, but according to The Sloan Center for

Aging and Work, 42 percent of boomers sur-veyed believe they are in a mid-career ratherthan late-career stage. Thus many are inter -ested in further developing their competen-cies and diversifying their career portfolio,despite the false belief that older workers areunwilling to learn and adapt to change.

Boomers are traditionally loyal, hard-working employees, and it is important notto assume that they want to coast until retire-ment. These workers wish to be engaged andfurther challenged. They usually have a re-spect for institutionalized knowledge andpractices, in contrast to many of their youngercolleagues. Boomers, on the whole, also viewrigid work schedules as important for main-taining order and ef ficiency, seeing technol-ogy more as a tool for archiving informationthan for generating workplace flexibility.

According to the Families and Work In-stitute, boomers are more work-centric thanother generations are, sometimes sacrificingfamily time for more job time. Younger em-ployees, however, were found by the samestudy to be more family-centric thanboomers, rejecting what the Families andWork Institute calls “their father’s work-place” when it comes to maneuvering intheir own career arc. Their decreased desirefor upward mobility at the expense of per -sonal life indicates a shift away from thementality of older workers. According tomany workforce studies, Generation Xers

and Millennials would prefer to move awayfrom the long-hour work culture in order todecrease negative spillover into personal orfamily life.

Pragmatic, self-reliant workers, Genera-tion Xers — those bor n from 1965 to 1976— are more likely to reject traditional rulesabout how to do business. Generation Xersembrace technology and enjoy the chal-lenges of multitasking. They are often self-reliant and individualistic and thrive whengiven flexibility and freedom to explore inthe workplace.

According to a 2009 study produced bythe Midway College Business and T eacherEducation Divisions, Generation Xers seetraining and development as an investment inthemselves and their marketability. However,they do not necessarily believe in corporateloyalty. This generation witnessed their par -ents’ negative experiences of corporatedownsizing despite long hours and years de-voted to the same organization. Perhaps dueto the economic circumstances surroundingtheir entrance into the job market, they be-lieve that money can be made by taking risks.Xers often seek immediate gratification andwish to use their skills and experiences toseek out opportunities for advancement.

Like Generation Xers, the Millennialgeneration — individuals bor n between1977 and 1998, also known as Generation Y— grew up surrounded by an ever -increas-

ing progression of information technologies.They often want to multitask quickly, usingtechnology to break free from a traditional9-to-5 work schedule.

According to the Midway Collegestudy, Millennials expect flexibility, gravi-tate toward group activities, and desire avoice in the workplace. Like boomers, thisyounger generation finds value in collectiveaction. Millennials want to voice their opin-ions and expect supervision and frequentfeedback about the results they’ve pro-duced and are especially open to thinkingoutside of the box.

Understanding the dominant attitudesand workplace styles across the generationsallows employers to more effectively producepartnerships and environments that are con-ducive to the highest levels of innovation.Mining the differences, similarities and valuesof your workforce requires understandingwhat shapes the experiences of your employ-ees — and then capitalizing upon it. Structur-ing a dynamic workplace requires maintainingan open attitude about the potential that eachworker holds and examining the ways thatemployees can collaborate and mentor eachother across the age spectrum.

Hannah LeGris is an intern at the Institutefor Workplace Innovation and is currentlypursuing a master’s degree in English at

University of Kentucky.


GENERATIONAL WORK STYLES:CAPITALIZE ON THE DIFFERENCES


By Kathie StampsCOLUMNIST: INDEPENDENT BUSINESS

Business owners and directors ofhuman resources know that a healthyworkforce is a productive workforce.

Throw in some competition and reward,and you have Bluegrass Wellness at Work,a new program with two components: en-couraging people to be active, by way of amonth-long fitness challenge, and recogniz-ing companies that make wellness a priorityas the “healthiest places to work in the Blue-grass.” Area businesses can register onlinefor either or both parts of the program be-ginning in April.

Bluegrass Wellness at Work started as abrainstorming session late last summer ,when 42 members of the 2012-’13 Leader -ship Lexington class broke into small groupsto work on different projects.

“HR people are looking for ways to mo-tivate and reward the workforce for mov-ing,” said Catherine Wright, a partner withDinsmore & Shohl. She is one of six Leader-ship Lexington members who designed theBluegrass Wellness at Work program, withElizabeth Croney, Ryan Daugherty, AmyHatter, William Lanter and Nathan Simon.

The fitness challenge runs May 13 toJune 9, with participating companies catego-rized as small (under 25 employees),medium (25-50) or large (more than 100).

Based on the honor system, employees willearn one point for every 15 minutes of exer-cise they do. A designated representativefrom each company will send the employ-ees’ weekly totals to Billy Lanter , who is incharge of the master spreadsheet. He is get-ting some points-tracking software help fromKVC Health Systems.

“One of the requirements is to have oneof the senior staff members be on board withit,” said Amy Hatter. She is the executive di-rector of Radio Eye, a nonprofit radio read-ing service that broadcasts printed materialstatewide to people who are blind or print-impaired. Radio Eye has two full-time paidstaff members. For her part in the fitnesschallenge, Hatter plans to work out withZumba, via her Nintendo Wii.

“We wanted the fitness challenge to besimple enough that people who walk couldparticipate, the same as people who run ordo mountain climbing or swim,” Hatter said.

“Companies have different things goingon, but there’s no great way to communicateand share what they’re doing,” said Leader-ship Lexington’s W right. At a roundtablemeeting with HR professionals in October ,she heard comments about the need for di-alogue in the community. Wright hopes theBluegrass Wellness at Work’s aspect of rec-ognizing the healthiest places to work willallow employers and employees to share

their success stories and learn from one an-other.

Along with KVC Health Systems andUnited Way, another organization partneringwith the Bluegrass Wellness at Work pro-gram is the YMCA of Central Kentucky.

“This is work that we should be doing,”said David Elsen, district executivedirector of the YMCA. “It’s not just about in-dividual goals but collectively, it’s about thehealth of the community.”

The Y operates three Lexington facilitiesseven days a week — on High Street, Beau-mont Centre Circle and West Loudon — andhas “lots of moving parts,” according toElsen. “People sometimes think of it as agym and a swim,” he said, “but it is really acommunity service organization. We’re hereto make the community a better place.”

Leadership Lexington also honors com-munity. The 11-month program throughCommerce Lexington is an opportunity forresidents to learn more about the city of Lex-ington and develop leadership skills alongthe way. The first graduating class was in1980; since 2007, one of the official compo-nents of the curriculum is a service project,which is how Bluegrass W ellness at Workcame into existence.

“The project component of the programis now viewed as the crucible,” said AmyCarrington, vice president of leadership de-

velopment at Commerce Lexington. “Partic-ipants practice and apply leadership skills ina small-group experience, work with com-munity leaders, gain an in-depth understand-ing of a community or ganization and/orcommunity need and make a positive differ-ence in the lives of others.”

Beginning in April, businesses are en-couraged to complete a wellness survey on-line and register, for a nominal fee, to beentered in the “healthiest places to work inthe Bluegrass” component of Bluegrass Well-ness at Work. The survey focuses on physi-cal fitness, nutrition, culture, healthassessment and innovation.

“My goal is really to encourage and tohelp these companies gain momentum withwhat they’re doing for their employees,”Wright said. “I think it develops a sense o fcommunity. Lexington works very hard tohave these walking trails and other things tomake it an active community.”

A recognition ceremony for winners o fthe fitness challenge and healthiest places towork will take place June 15 during theUnited Way’s “5K on the Runway” at BlueGrass Airport.

Sign up for Bluegrass Wellness at Workat www.bluegrasswellnessatwork.org.

Kathie Stamps posts grammar tips atwww.facebook.com/GrammarTips.


Bluegrass businesses competefor title of ‘Healthiest Place to Work’

By Rob HoenscheidGUEST WRITER

Kentucky employers could be facingsignificant increases in their workers’compensation premium. And they

may not even be aware that the increases arecoming.

The National Council on CompensationInsurance (NCCI) is a nationwide or ganiza-tion that collects and analyzes workers’ com-pensation insurance information. The NCCIprovides insurance carriers guidance on in-surance rates and loss potential.

Employers should realize that the NCCIis adjusting the calculation of its ExperienceModification factor, a mandatory rating foremployers that meet a state’s insurance pre-mium eligibility criteria. In Kentucky, thepremium criteria is $5,000.

The Experience Modification rating fac-tor is calculated using a split-ratingsystem that takes into consideration acci-dent frequency and accident severity. Anemployer’s individual claim history is com-pared to industry averages, and then either

a debit or credit rating factor is assigned tothe individual insured. Currently, any claimsunder the $5,000 threshold are considered“primary” and weighted 100 percent in theformula. Any dollar amount over the $5,000threshold is considered excess and notweighted as heavily.

The $5,000 threshold in Kentucky hasnot changed in 20 years. In 2013, however ,the NCCI is instituting a new threshold thatmay severely impact the Experience Modifi-cation factor of Kentucky employers. In Oc-tober, the threshold will jump to $10,000,followed by increases of $13,500 in 2014 and$15,000 in 2015.

Here is how the increases could impactKentucky employers:

In November of 2011, the average claimin Kentucky was $8,787, according to NCCI.Currently, the first $5,000 of the average losswould be weighted at 100 percent; the re-maining $3,787 is partially weighted. But inOctober of this year, with the threshold in-creasing to $10,000, the entire $8,787 claimwould be weighted at 100 percent.

These threshold changes will not onlymake it much more dif ficult for Kentuckyemployers to achieve a favorable NCCI Ex-perience Modification factor rating. Becausethe rating is such a critical factor in calculat-ing a workers’ compensation insurance pre-mium, Kentucky employers stand to paythousands or even tens of thousands of dol-lars in increased workers’ compensation in-surance premiums.

Construction companies are particu-larly vulnerable to the consequences of therating change. They are often required tohave a 1.00 Experience Modification ratingto even enter a job worksite; owners andgeneral contractors utilize the ContractorsExperience Modification factor as a qualify-ing requirement. Contractors with an Expe-rience Modification factor in excess of 1.00are often disqualified from bidding. In-creased workers’ compensation costs cou-pled with decreasing revenues could provedevastating to local contractors who con-tinue to struggle and recover from dif ficulteconomic times.

To prepare an accurate short-ter mbudget, employers should obtain their Ex-perience Modification factor at least sixmonths prior to the expiration date of theirpolicy and have an insurance professionalverify the accuracy of the factor. It shouldbe pointed out that Experience Modifica-tion systems are an ef fective long-termbudgeting and risk-management planningtool for protecting future modificationfactors.

To successfully offset the costs associ-ated with medical inflation and the potentialincrease in costs associated with the NCCI’sadjusted Experience Modification ratingmethodology, businesses should develop aproactive plan that implements a wide vari-ety of preventative risk management strate-gies and cost containment controls for claimsthat are made.

Rob Hoenscheid is executive vice presidentof Roeding Insurance Group in Lexington.He can be reached at (859)296-4580 or by

email at [email protected].

Major changes coming for workers’ comp premiums

At the LVC’s “Who Got The Money”event, the room was packed withentrepreneurs, investors, bankers, lawyers,public officials and other business-mindedindividuals, sharing new ideas andproducts and discussing funding sources,marketing, and Lexington’s future. At onepoint, Rick Gersony, of MedMovie,whipped out his iPad to show of f animpressive high-definition animated modelof the human heart and cardiovascularsystem — and that was just one example.

These folks are smart and ener getic,but they need funding to tur n their brightideas into new products and inventions.They also need funding to keep the lightson until their products make it to marketand generate positive revenues.

Many of these young companies arenot yet in the black and lack assets topledge to banks, and thus they needfunding from private investors and fromfederal, state and local gover nmentalincentive and assistance programs. Andmany of these entrepreneurs are still in the“3F” stage, looking to gar ner support from“friends, families and fools” — andanywhere else they can find funding.Putting money into a startup can be a riskybet for investors, especially when thecompany’s founders, ideas, products andmarkets are all untested.

The Lexington Venture Club togetherwith Commerce Lexington, A wesome Inc.and the Bluegrass Business DevelopmentPartnership, also sponsors the event 5Across. 5 Across is centered aroundbusiness pitches to a panel of experiencedentrepreneurs — five pitches from fivedifferent teams, each five minutes inlength, with a 5 p.m. start time and a $500prize to the winning pitch.

At the 5 Across event in February, thejudges awarded the prize for best pitch toGift Pool, a crowd-funding website thatallows family and friends to pool theirmoney to give more expensive gifts. Thecrowd favorite vote went to Home Unity,which featured home automation hardwarethat saves homeowners energy and moneyby learning their daily routine.

In addition to its role in 5 Across,Awesome Inc. is heavily involved inLexington’s startup community in manyother ways. Its mission is simply to createand grow high-tech startups. Awesome Inc.runs a number of events and programs forentrepreneurs and operates a businessaccelerator that provides successfulapplicants with $20,000 of investmentmoney, free of fice space, advice frommentors and an environment designed tomaximize a startup’s success.

Awesome Inc. also co-hosts developerevents with IN2LEX, a consortium ofentrepreneurs and professionals in thecreative and technology sectors, sponsoredby Commerce Lexington, LexmarkInternational and Adam Kuhn Design.

Supporting and leading many of theseefforts is the Bluegrass BusinessDevelopment Partnership (BBDP), a one-stop, super-service provider linking smallbusinesses and entrepreneurs with theinformation they need. The BBDP is acollaboration among the city of Lexington,Commerce Lexington and three Universityof Kentucky-based organizations: the VonAllmen Center for Entrepreneurship, theLexington office of Kentucky’s Innovation& Commercialization Centers (ICC) and theLexington office of Kentucky’s SmallBusiness Development Centers (SBDC).Working through its partner agencies, theBBDP offers a full range of businessdevelopment services directed atentrepreneurs.

In addition to co-hosting the LexingtonVenture Club and 5 Across, UK’s LexingtonInnovation & Commercialization Centerfocuses on projects for seed and early stagetechnology-based high-growth companiesin the region. The Lexington ICC alsoassists entrepreneurs working throughtechnology issues, high-growth businessplanning and fundraising, and it helpsbusinesses apply for various state andfederal business incentive grant and loanprograms.

A longtime player in Lexington’s high-tech community has been the KentuckyScience & Technology Corporation (KSTC),a private, nonprofit corporation focused onadvancing science, technology andinnovative economic development inKentucky. For decades, KSTC has been apersistent and enthusiastic advocate forKentucky initiatives in education,economic competitiveness and scientificresearch, and it sponsors the LouisvilleIdeaFestival and the Kentucky Innovation& Entrepreneurship Conference each year.

In addition to those or ganizationsalready mentioned, a number of venturecapital, seed capital and angel investinggroups work to channel public and privateinvestment to entrepreneurs. These includethe Bluegrass Angels, the Kentucky SeedCapital Fund, Chrysalis V entures, theKentucky Enterprise Fund, the KentuckyHighlands Investment Corp., CommunityVenture Corp., and Commonwealth SeedCapital. Funding from these groups is thelifeblood of Lexington’s startup community,and many of our young companies simplywould not exist without their support.

The buzz and ener gy in Lexington’sstartup community has increased greatly inrecent years, and many more individualsand organizations have contributed to thissuccess than can be highlighted in this shortarticle. What is obvious, though, is thatvastly greater financial resources are neededto nurture these gifted entrepreneursthrough their lean years. New products andnew technologies don’t just appearovernight out of thin air . We must supportour best and brightest talent while theycreate new technologies and new products,so that tomorrow’s breakthroughs can bemade at home right here in Lexington.

Doug Martin is a partner with theLexington law firm of Sturgill, Turner,Barker & Moloney, PLLC, which is a

corporate sponsor of the Lexington VentureClub. Martin served as general counsel to

the Kentucky Cabinet for EconomicDevelopment during the Jones

administration. For more informationabout Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney,

PLLC, visit www.SturgillTurner.com.

Venture capitalCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1


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MANY OF THESE YOUNGCOMPANIES ARE NOTYET IN THE BLACK ANDLACK ASSETS TO PLEDGE TO BANKS, AND THUS THEY NEEDFUNDING FROM PRIVATE INVESTORS AND FROM FEDERAL,STATE AND LOCALGOVERNMENTALINCENTIVE ANDASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.


Source: www.lexingtonventureclub.com, Commerce Lexington Economic Development Department, Commercialization and Economic Development at the University of Kentucky. 87 Companies were recognized. Visit www.lexingtonventureclub.com for a complete list.Note: Ranking defined alphabetically and FIRST-TIME recipients.

Venture Club RecipientsCompay NamePhone or EmailWebsite

[email protected]

Bluegrass Vascular Technologies, Inc. (BVT)[email protected]

CivicRush/CirrusMio, [email protected]

Fan Bouts859-559-1483www.fanbouts.com

Float Money, [email protected]

Gun Media Holdings, [email protected]

Innovative Energy [email protected]

International Network for Outcomes Research, Inc. (INOR)[email protected]

Invenio Therapeutics, [email protected]

Minerva Systems & Technologies, [email protected]

Reflectronics, Inc.888-415-0441Fred.Payne@reflectronics.comwww.reflectronics.com

Skipping Stone Technologies, [email protected]

Smart FarmTM Systems, [email protected]

Stadionaut, LLC (Crowded)[email protected]

Super Soul, [email protected]://supersoul.co

Telehealth Holdings, LLC/[email protected]

White Stratus859-280-3228roderick.forsythe@whitestratus.comwww.whitestratus.com

Xact Associates, LLC (dba Xact Communications)[email protected]

2012 First-Time Recipients of Venture Club Funding

BizListResearch was conducted bySharon Lee Metz, for questions,contact [email protected]

Biomedical Development Corporation has two initiatives in Kentucky, Frio®, anti-inflammatory mouth rinse, and KIOSTM m-health. Frio® oral rinse fightsoral inflammation and may lower cholesterol. KIOSTM m-Health, a patient management software, provides real-time support for bipolar patients,doctors, and caregivers.

The business of innovating lifesaving devices and methods that address shortcomings in v ascular access procedures. We have developed a uniquelifesaving device that redefines the standard of care for centr al venous access procedures.

The Civic Network: Connecting Needs and Good Deeds.

The best videos, images, and news about YOUR team.

Pro-consumer Lending. Float is a Lexington-based company that is pioneering a safer w ay for people to borrower money. We are a shopping club thatrewards members with a no-cost line of credit to use however they lik e.

Gun is a group of people that share the idea that game development is more that the creation of a product, it is the culmination of something thatevery single one of us would want to play and enjoy.

The Science of Innovation. IES is a clean-tech company developing wast-to-energy technologies for the petroleum and coal sector s. The company hasobtained a broad patent on its organically developed technology . IES is projects that will lower energy costs for local clients .

Providing innovative solutions to capture and report real-world, clinical outcomes data to evaluate benefits and risks associated with various strategiesfor treating chronic diseases.

Invenio Therapeutics Inc., of Lexington, facilitates the development of a therapy for patients who have acute myeloid leukemia.

Is a emerging technology company with expertise in navigation and guidance , satellite & wireless communications, signal processing, and embeddedhardware and software design and development. Our business focus is to develop advanced products and systems for the defense an d homelandsecurity markets.

A locally owned manufacturing company. It manufactures intelligent optical sensors for food process monitoring and control. the most successfulsensor is the CoAguLite sensor which is used in automating the coagulation of milk for cheese making and is being implemented w orldwide.

Making your Smart Device Smarter!

It provides large-area wireless monitoring and control systems for precision irrigation farming applications . Our turn-key solutions reduce energyconsumption, ground water consumption, improve crop yields, and reduce equipment maintenance and form labor costs . We are a self funded start-upcomprised of industry veterans with experience in hardware and software design, farming techniques and automation systems insta llation.

Crowded brings the games on the field into the stands . It is a free mobile application that uses live inter active play prediction and trivia at baseballgames to test the knowledge of fans in the stadium. Players compete for accolades and are offered prizes for top scores , which will be tied intostadium concessions and other prizes.

Super Soul’s mission is to develop interactive experience with an emphasis on fun, innovation and experimentation. Super Soul was founded in late2011 by John Meister and Richard Hoagland. The company recently released Compromised on the Xbo x 360. Super Soul has also produced severalexperimental games and showcased interactive installations.

TeleHealth Holdings LLC is sole distributor of MedSignals , a line of medication management devices and solutions .

It is a leading partner of companies seeking to drive v alue by moving a pert, or all - of their business into the cloud. In order to achieve this objective,we focus on 4 key areas where costs can be taken out of the business, or new revenue streams can be generated.

Through Xact Communications is a new telecommunications company providing superior cloud based and tr aditional IP voice and data technology,there is nothing new or inexperienced about its management or services . Founded on knowledge and experience gained in over 15 y ears in theindustry, Xact is focused on becoming THE leading provider in business telecommunications by combining that accumulated knowled ge and superiorservice offerings with a very "simple-to-do-business-with" attitude and unpar alleled world class customer service. Xact is headquartered in Lexington,Kentucky and serves a nationwide footprint.

Description of Business/ Services/ Products

Phyllis B. Siegel(President & Founder)

Jim Clifton (CEO)

Andrew Beck

Jim Wombles (Founder)

Shane Hadden (CEO)

Wes Keltner

Jacques P. Bingue

Jeff Luross

Mukesh Agarwal

Kalyan Ganesan

Fred Payne (President)

Christopher A. Manzo(Founder)

Bob Farinelli(President & CEO)

Evan Leach

John Meister

Vesta Brue(Founder & Chairman)

Roderick Forsythe

Dale Cooper

Executive/Founder

UPCOMING LISTS:03-29 Residential Real Estate

Companies & 2012 Most Expensive Homes Soldin Fayette County

04-12 Distilleries / Wine & Beer04-26 Local Restaurants05-10 Top Employers05-24 Hotels / Meeting Facilities06-07 Home Health Agencies06-21 Mortgage Lenders07-05 Law Firms07-19 HVAC Mechanical08-02 Advertising Agencies08-16 LexArts Donors

Business Lexington’s2013 Book of Lists is nowavailable. Pick one up todayat the offices of Smiley PetePublishing, 434 Old Vine St.

$19.95

BusinessLexington


By Wesley RobinsonCONTRIBUTING WRITER: MADISON COUNTY

Brian Ragsdale may have crackedRosetta Stone with his new innovativeonline language learning program.

Ragsdale is the creator of Language B, aforeign language software platfor m that al-lows users to take lessons from the 20 lan-guages they currently of fer. Learning alanguage is something that Ragsdale valuesgreatly, as he learned Spanish in high schoolas well as German and Japanese in college.He said he has been working on the Lan-guage B in abstract since 2001, but he didn’tmade the leap to working on the project fulltime until 2011. Ragsdale’s passion comesfrom the fact that, as a language learner andJapanese teacher, he felt there could be abetter option to teach language.

“In studying all of these languages, I’venever found anything that I’ve really liked,”Ragsdale said. “So I came to the conclusionthat I was going to have to write [the soft-ware] myself.”

From that idea, Language B was bor n,and Ragsdale decided to create a platfor mthat users can use to create their own lessonsand integrate their unique learning styles inan affordable way, rather than buying ex-pensive books and a static software designedfor mass consumption.

“With Rosetta Stone, you get what youbuy,” Ragsdale said. “We try to make [Lan-guage B] very customizable. We are givingpeople a voice to teach language the waythey think it ought to be taught.”

Ragsdale is also a programmer , some-thing he has done as a hobby since the fifthgrade. He said some people learn in differ-ent ways, and whether it be through speak-ing, hearing or visually, Language B gives alltypes of learners the opportunity to grasp aforeign language.

“We’re trying to set it to give [users] con-trol of how they learn the language the best,”Ragsdale said.

Another advantage Ragsdale sees withLanguage B is its pricing. Rather than payinghundreds of dollars for software of a singlelanguage, Language B allows users to sub-scribe to the service for a monthly fee, givingthem access to all of the content the websitehas to offer.

Language B is also free for instructorswith an .edu email account. For anyone elsewith an .edu email account, the languageservice costs $6.95 a month, or $59.95 for theyear. For anyone else who is interested inthe software, the price is $9.95 a month or$74.95 for the year.

“I think [Rosetta Stone] prices way toomany people out of the market,” Ragsdalesaid. “We are taking the opposite approach,that gives subscribers access to every lessonfor every language that we of fer, as well asthe lessons that users create or publiclyshare. We want to keep it inexpensive andworthwhile enough to get people to con-tinue their subscriptions.”

Ragsdale is an Eastern Kentucky Univer-sity alumnus and currently operates his Lan-guage B business from the university’s

Business and Technology Accelerator Pro-gram (BTAP), which offers low-cost officespace, as well as access to EKU faculty, staffand students, along with other businesscoaching and services. Because of this part-nership, anyone with an eku.edu email canuse the software for free.

Ragsdale has been working with theBTAP since February 2012. He said the pro-gram has been tremendously successfulsince it was taken under the wing of theBTAC and many doors have been opened.

Language B has eight people on staf fand five student interns who program for thesite. Ragsdale describes all of the full-timeemployees as “language people” on somelevel.

Colin Keefe writes content and lessonplans for Language B and has been with thecompany since 2011. He is certified to teachhigh-school Spanish and also knows Japan-ese, German and some French. Keefe said heenjoys developing content for Language B.

“I feel like I’m actually putting my edu-cation to use,” Keefe said, adding that hehad worked at Lexmark as a software tester,rather than teaching.

Keefe said Language B is a great tool forlearning languages but is especially good atteaching vocabulary, something most stu-dents struggle with.

“The thing we do best right now is vo-cabulary acquisition and lear ning thewords,” Keefe said.

The interactive learning and the com-munity of speakers are other areas Keefe

said Language B provides to its users, includ-ing different games, video and flashcards.

“Any time you can teach throughgames, people learn better because they areengaged and active,” Keefe said.

Ragsdale said the company started mar-keting the software in January, and the yhave seen a small but growing number o fsubscribers joining daily.

“I do expect it will be growing quite abit this year,” Ragsdale said.

Plans for growth are already underway,as evidenced by the ability to view the web-site in English, Japanese, Spanish, Korean,French and Arabic, enabling prospectivelearners from other countries to access to thesoftware, Ragsdale said. He added that cus-tomer service is also a strong suit of Lan-guage B. Because the software is online, anybugs or issues are fixed quickly after a userpoints them out rather than having to waitfor a patch or a fix that must be bought o rdownloaded.

Ragsdale said the company wants toreach out to tutors and instructors to continuerefining the website and spreading to a largercustomer base. He said most of the lessonsare for beginners, but the catalog of languagelessons will grow as the user base grows andcustomers develop and share their lessons.He said Language B will continue to gro wand provide content, but added that it is alsoa platform for users to develop.

“We are a young company,” Ragsdalesaid. “There are a lot of things in the plan-ning phases.”

EKU-based entrepreneur speaks to the needfor cheaper online language lessons

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By Sarah MullinsCONTRIBUTING WRITER

The National Association of W omenBusiness Owners (NAWBO) began inthe 1970s as a way to accelerate

women’s efforts in the business world asproprietors. The or ganization has sincegrown incredibly, even reaching out interna-tionally.

The Lexington chapter recently enjoyeda discussion about the benefits modern busi-ness techniques have afforded the local foodefforts during its January luncheon, titled“Why You Are What You Eat, and the Moti-vation behind a New Nonprofit.”

The voices for this discussion wereOuita Michel, executive chef and owner ofHolly Hill Inn, Wallace Station and W indyCorner Market; and Rebecca Self, executivedirector of FoodChain.

The desire to engage the community “ina hands-on manner,” said Self, is in part whathas driven the two together while workingon the Bread Box. The Bread Box is the for-mer Rainbo Bread factory, now home toWest Sixth Brewing Co., FoodChain andmany other unique new businesses.

Another part is, as Self stated, “helpingpeople learn the consequences of our ac-tions, closing the loop, lear ning where ourfood comes from.” Michel echoed the pas-sion by stating, “Local food is not new, nota trend.”

What it is, perhaps, is refreshed. Thereis a return to the old ways with renewedstrength, even newer technology and fastermodes of communication.

Beyond the local food and community-driven aspects of the business venture, theduo had practical advice for those with aworld-changing dream.

When asked how Michel tur ned herdreams into realities, she readily re-sponded, “be not afraid.” She talked of tri-umphs and lessons learned and describedthe dreams becoming reality aspect assomething more fluid or malleable ratherthan concrete, claiming business is “cre-ative” and “dynamic.” Michel recom-mended to “find the path where you areunique, create an authentic vision to followand get a mentor.”

Self echoed this mentality. There is noroom for arrogance when launching or own-ing a business, she said, and people shouldnever assume they know all there is to knowand have nothing to learn.

She found as she was developing Food-Chain that she grew as a person as the non-profit grew, describing the need to

“constantly reach out for help and recognizeyou can grow,” leading you to “find yourselfin an unanticipated place in life.”

While being true to yourself and yourvision is very important, it is also necessaryto take a step back, look at the bigger pic-ture and realize the ways you can change.Self learned this through FoodChain.

“You can’t do business as usual,” shesaid. “It’s a different ball game. You can’t sus-tain a nonprofit on donations and charitablegiving; it has to be sustainable as is.”

Had Self been set on one way of doingthings, she never would have discoveredmore about herself, as well as the many

doors a business such as hers can open andthe different avenues it could travel down.She suggests a person should “be direct andspecific with expectations” and willing to“learn from mistakes.” She believes it is help-ful to “surround yourself with encouragingand knowledgeable people” and readily “ac-knowledge insecurities or weaknesses.”

Another example of approaching busi-ness differently is to not get caught up withappearances, especially those of your em-ployees and colleagues. Michel explainedthat “not all business people look like you.”In previous generations, the way someonedressed might portray the seriousness and

amount of commitment they attributed totheir work. Now, things have changed. Youmay see someone who dresses casually butwho is the best at what they do.

Michel says it is important to “take risksand think unconventionally.” She alsowarned that “if we all only stuck to what weknow, nobody would ever be different”.

Being different, being set apart anddoing things in a new and unique way arekey elements in business success. However,it is also vital to be sure you are not differentsimply for the sake of being different.

In doing these things, Self said, “Y oucan surprise yourself.” The special thingabout these two women is that their businessand ventures all reflect them, and in the bestway possible. FoodChain is a surprising en-deavor, giving life to old ideas and even en-couraging new ways of thinking about theold methods.

“It all works in a cycle,” Self said. “Thelandlord works with the person leasing, andthe person leasing then contributes to Food-Chain. [They are] symbiotic relationshipsbenefiting from each other.”

The entire premise behind FoodChainis the idea of a closed loop. However , it isclear that extends beyond the aquaponic sci-ence of the nonprofit. It is how they functionas a business, how they relate to the worldaround them and how they will ultimatel ychange their environment.

March NAWBO speaker:Cynthia Bohn of Equus Run

Cynthia Bohn, theowner of Equus RunWinery who pio-neered the rebirth ofthe Kentucky wine in-dustry, is the speakerat the National Asso-ciation of WomenBusiness Owners(NAWBO) LexingtonChapter’s March meeting.

She will present “From Soil to Shelf –the Rebirth of Kentucky’s Wine Indus-try” on March 19 at 11:30 a.m. at Sal’sin the Lansdowne Shoppes on Tate’sCreek Rd. The cost is $20 for membersand $24 for guests. To register, log on-towww.lexnawbo.org.

NAWBO speakers discuss the creative ambitionbehind local food initiatives

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By Mark SieversCOLUMNIST: THE RESTAURATEUR

One of the newer arrivals on thedowntown bar and entertainmentscene is Paulie’s T oasted Barrel

(www.pauliestoastedbarrel.com). This con-cept is the brainchild of experienced restau-rant industry executive and entrepreneurPaul Nierzwicki, who saw an opportunity totake an existing location and propel it to anew level, with a broader and more versatilebusiness model.

The location was previously The Pen-

quin Dueling Piano Bar . Nierzwicki, wholives in a condominium in the same building,observed the concept, the facility, the tradearea and the evolving downtown businessdynamics and concluded there was a nicheopportunity for a new business idea. Out ofthis thought process, Paulie’s Toasted Barrelwas conceived. Using a combination of per-sonal investment and an SBA loan, the ven-ture was launched.

Several important components havecome together to create this concept. The firstis the human resource aspect.

Nierzwicki is an experienced and ac-complished former food-service executivewho spent 26 years with the A&W Restaurantconcept, including serving as an officer withYorkshire Global Restaurants. Subsequent tothat, he was a franchisee in the YUM! Brandssystem, owning A&W and Long John Silver’srestaurants in central Kentucky. That restau-rant ownership venture was a family af fairthat involved his wife, Denise, and his twodaughters, Erica and Erin. This is a seasonedteam that has brought its collective skills tothis latest venture as well.

The second component is the facility it-self. When he took over the space in Sep-tember 2012, he knew he had to change thelook and feel of the place to make the newconcept credible. The main floor is 5,100square feet, and the second floor , or mez-zanine level, is 1,600 square feet, with aseparate bar. Hardwood flooring was in-stalled, and the columns were tastefull yresurfaced. The stage was raised, and thesound system was upgraded. Nine flat-screen TVs and a 110-inch stage screenwere added.

For tables and seating, he added 50whiskey barrels and bar stools. Somecouches create a separate seating area anda pool table. He elected not to add food-service capability and has instead workedwith food truck operators, such as That’sHow We Roll, which park outside and offerevening and late-night food options. Theresult is a comfortable looking and feelingatmosphere that is very versatile.

Next are the multidimensional aspectsof the concept that all work together.

Sports bar (and more)This venue is a great sports-bar option,

and more than 200 patrons watched theSuper Bowl at Paulie’s T oasted Barrel.Game nights are lively. Additionally, the lo-cation gets a regular crowd on Sunda yevenings to watch The Walking Dead onthe big screen.

Live-music venueWith the enhanced stage and sound

system, it is now a great downtown optionfor local bands and entertainers. Someevenings feature an open mic, and there arealso time slots for Bluegrass music, whichagain speaks to the diversity of this venue.A jukebox provides music when there areno live performances. Examples of perform-ers booked for early March included TheVelvet Blue, Jamin’, Something and Sittin’ onReady.

Bourbon barOn the second floor, there is the Wood-

ford Reserve Bourbon Bar with more than100 Bourbons available for serious bourbonaficionados or anyone who just wants to trynew and dif ferent bourbons. Patrons canenjoy everyday bourbon options, such as JimBeam, or niche small-batch options, such asPappy Van Winkle 23. Additional seating inthis area is available with a view of the bigscreen and stage.

Special-events venueWith a facility of this size and flexibility,

it is also a nice option for special events suchas meetings, private parties, wedding recep-tions and more. A recent example of thiswas on Jan. 24 when the Lexington VentureClub had its annual entrepreneurial celebra-tion, titled “Who Got The Money,” atPaulie’s. With its close proximity to down-town hotels and the Lexington ConventionCenter, it is perfect for private corporate, or-ganization and themed receptions.

Nierzwicki has also embraced socialmedia and the Inter net to give Paulie’sToasted Barrel awareness. In addition to arecently updated website, they are also onFacebook, Twitter, www.guestlineky.com,www.partytutor.com/uk, www.lexington-nightout.com, www.tadoo.com, and others.Web users can go to the site and link thevenue’s event calendar to a personal calen-dar through an RSS feed. It is also conven-ient to stops on the Lextran Colt Trolley BlueRoute.

This is a locally owned business andvery worthy of putting on your downtownspirits and entertainment radar screen. It’slocal, family-owned businesses like this thatare transforming Lexington.


Paulie’s Toasted Barrel brings venue diversity to the downtown scene

Roll out the barrel

Paulie’s ToastedBarrel owner

Paul Nierzwicki


Chuck Creacy PublisherChris Eddie PublisherTom Martin Editor in ChiefSusan Baniak Features EditorPARTINGTHOUGHTS


As leaders of institutions of higherlearning in Kentucky, we have cometogether to urge Congress and the

President to work together to find a path toreform our nation's outmoded immigrationpolicies.

Foreign-born students are a vibrantpart of our university and college commu-nities across Kentucky. Many are leadersin studying in the high skill areas of sci-ence, technology, engineering and math(STEM) and are central to key innovationsand important research taking place on ourcampuses.

Unfortunately, far too often we see thebright minds we have trained — and whowant to stay and work in the United States— told they must go home simply becausethere is not a visa available for them to stay.It makes no sense for us to spend our timedeveloping great minds that want to be hereand contribute meaningfully to our cultureand economy only to send them away.

It is estimated that the United States willsee a shortfall of 230,000 qualified advanced-degree workers in STEM fields in just thenext five years. Kentucky's universities areactively seeking more domestic STEM stu-dents, but the needs of the American econ-omy simply cannot be met in the near termwithout access to foreign-born, U.S.-trained,high-skill workers.

Compounding this problem is the factthat scientists and engineers from abroad(most notably India and China) educated inthe United States often wait years — evenmore than a decade — to secure a visa. Ed-ucating these high-skill workers here makesit very difficult for them to return. What hap-

pens is we ship them home to compete withus, and the jobs they could have filled in theUnited States remain vacant.

Not only do we fail to fill the jobs wehave open with available high-skill workers,but instead we force them to competeagainst us? This is not a smart strategy forgrowth and is most certainly not a path for-ward for our economic needs.

Beyond STEM, we also see many brightand talented students who were brought tothe United States as children without legalstatus and now struggle to find their identityand reach their full potential because of theirquestionable status. These are lives in limbothrough no fault of their own. Only moreuncertainty faces these individuals upongraduation.

The needs are clear , and fortunately,the solutions are becoming more and moreclear. There are now multiple legislativeproposals on the table to meaningfully re-form and update America’s broken immi-gration system. There is much debateto be had on the specifics —and we encourage that —but there is no debate onthe fundamental need tomodernize our immigra-tion system.

As leaders of Ken-tucky's academic institutions,we enthusiastically supportbroad- based immigration reform.

The needs are great, the implica-tions are real, and the opportunities aresubstantive.

Reforming our outdated immigrationlaws will greatly help America's universities

as well as fuel our economy. We encourage Kentucky's esteemed

U.S. Senators and Congressional delega-tion to do all in their power to movethese reforms forward and help them be-come law. It is the right thing to do, andKentucky and its economy will be betterfor it.

University presidents unitedon need for immigration reform

Eli Capilouto PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

Randy J. Dunn PRESIDENT, MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY

Robert L. King PRESIDENT, KENTUCKY COUNCIL ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

James R. Ramsey PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE

Gary A. Ransdell PRESIDENT, WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Doug Whitlock PRESIDENT, EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Geoffrey S. Mearns PRESIDENT, NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Wayne D. Andrews PRESIDENT, MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY


DRONES: YEA OR NAY?

Investing for the long haul

By John D. Stempel GUEST OP-ED

The use of “drones” — small, model-sized, radio-controlled, pilotless air -craft — to find, tar get, and vector

weapons to kill al Qaeda and other terroristleaders who are attacking U.S. citizens andAmerican allies from North Africa toAfghanistan — is coming under increasingfire from U.S. citizen groups and lawmak-ers. Some of our foreign allies — Pakistanand Afghanistan, for example — supportU.S. efforts, but even there, and in manyother places, such as Y emen, peopleprotest that innocent civilians are beingkilled as well.

The U.S. government has been slow inspelling out the legal justifications for theseattacks. A recent U.S. Council of ForeignRelations (CFR) study asserts that U.S.drones are responsible for more than 400non-battlefield killings since 2004, includ-ing the 2011 killing of U.S. bor n citizen,Anwar al-Awlaki, the head of Al Quaeda’sYemen-based affiliate, and his Americancitizen son.

Both Democratic and Republican law-makers on the House Judiciary Committeehave recently expressed concer n aboutdrone strikes against American Citizens andthe administration’s secrecy thus far in layingout the legal justifications. This issue is likelyto come to a head in the next month or so,and the public will have its opportunity tocomment.

U.S. counterterrorist officials and otherstudents of the problem point out that dronewarfare has been highly ef fective in break-ing down the Afghan al Qaeda organization.A distinguished professor of peace studies,Amitai Etzioni, surprisingly sides with thegovernment’s position, noting “is it justifiedto use a drone to kill an American terroristoverseas is best answered if we imagine thatthe target had acted in the same manner —but wearing a uniform.” For him, terrorist ac-tivity, not nationality, is the critical factor.

There have been serious differences ofopinion as to whether the drone attackshave created a significant backlash againstthe United States.

In Pakistan, where authorities claim 60cross-border predator (drone) strikes fromJanuary 2006 to April 2009 killed 14 wantedal Qaeda leaders and 687 Pakistani civilians,both civilian and military authorities contin-ued to let the drones operate until Novem-

ber 2011, when NATO forces accidentallykilled 24 Pakistani soldiers. This incidentprompted a two-month stop — but strikeswere resumed in January 2012.

The issue has come to a head now be-cause the appointment of Obama countert-errorism advisor John Brennan to head theCIA has opened debate at the highest level.As lawmakers have expressed concern overthe secrecy about U.S. policy, the Obamaadministration has tried to ease the pressureby showing secret papers to the House andSenate committees responsible for this nom-ination, which was confirmed by a vote of63-34 on March 7.

Representative John Conyers, a Demo-crat from Michigan, has also questioned thetargeted killing of non-citizens and said hewas troubled by “signature strikes” againstsuspects who appeared to be engaged insuspicious activities but whose identities areunknown. Others have noted that no othercountry has publicly said that they agreewith our position on drones.

Under pressure from congressional De-

mocrats, the administration recently madeavailable four highly classified documentsbut has refused to tur n over at least sevenother similar documents. At least one senatoron the intelligence committee said this pastweek that the committee should not vote toconfirm the nominee until the committeehad all the information. The administrationcontends that potentially compromising in-formation on the drone campaigns wouldweaken their effectiveness.

In an ideal world, drone strikes wouldeither be unnecessary or the tar gets wouldbe clearly known. The strikes have in factsucceeded in greatly weakening al Qaeda in

Pakistan and Afghanistan and have been sig-nificant in uncovering potential operationsand crippling al Qaeda’s operations in SouthAsia and North Africa. In short, the dronecampaign has probably saved a number offriendly lives. It is not clear whether this out-weighs the hostility it generates in peoplewho have lost relatives and friends to suchstrikes.

Critics argue that there are too many col-lateral casualties — serious mistakes in tar-geting that enrage civilian populations.Others argue that the criticisms are overrated.Most Americans understands the value ofdrone activity; it was recently used to corneran escaped rogue policeman in Califor nia.Scholars and those more familiar with droneactivity believe the need for control requiresformation of a special committee or court to“clear” drone activity. The government’s po-sition has been that the more drone opera-tions are publicly discussed, the easier it willbe for terrorists to learn how to avoid them.

The current U.S. political situation sug-gests that some middle course, per hapsmodeled on security committees used in thepast to approve covert intelligence opera-tions, should be adopted to assuage humanrights activists, yet per mit continued, con-trolled use of this most effective counterter-rorist weapon. This might even be followedup by international efforts to establish rulesand norms for drone use, sort of an adden-dum to the laws of warfare.

John D. Stempel is senior professor at theUniversity of Kentucky’s Patterson School ofDiplomacy and International Commerce.He was director of the school from 1993-2003. His 24-year career in the U.S. For-

eign Service includes assignments inGuinea, Burundi, Zambia, Iran and India.His Washington assignments included dutyfor both the State and Defense Departments.

He taught at George Washington andAmerican Universities, as well as the U.S.

Naval Academy.

From The State Journal

Happy days are here again. Well, notexactly. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage hit a record high T uesday,

at one point during the trading sessionreaching 14,286.37 before finishing the dayat 14,253.77.

For the day, the Dow was up 125.95points, or about 0.9 percent.

The previous record, 14,164.53, hadstood since Oct. 9, 2007.

The index continued to move upwardWednesday, closing at 14,296.24.

Investor confidence in the economy iscertainly a positive sign. But before euphoriasets in, we must remember that the country’smany complex problems are still here.Things like unemployment, the sequester ,the federal deficit, the cost of gas…

Still, make no mistake about it: the stockmarket being up is a good thing.

There are signs as to why the market isin the midst of a bull run.

For instance, the housing market ap-pears to be showing signs of recovery. Thenumber of foreclosures has dropped and

home prices have seen a slight uptick. In ad-dition, 30-year fixed mortgage rates remainlow (about 3.5 percent).

It is interesting to note that of the stockson the S&P 500, the leader in 2012 by per -cent gain (187.8 percent) was PulteGroup,the nation’s leading homebuilder.

Also helping drive the Dow numbers isthe unemployment rate, which was at 9.3percent in 2009 and 9.6 percent in 2010, buthas been holding steady at 7.8 or 7.9 percentsince September.

Kentucky’s unemployment rate has fol-lowed the national trend, dropping to 8.2percent in 2012 from 9.5 percent the previ-ous year.

Not to be underestimated in this equa-tion are the trillions of dollars the Federal Re-serve has thrust into the economy, andperhaps more importantly, the low interestrates that always make the stock market lookmore appealing to investors.

Historical statistics from W all StreetJournal Market Data Group show T uesdaymarked the 15th time since 1896 that theDow eclipsed a previous record. When that

has happened, the index has experienced a0.4 percent decline in the next threemonths. But it has experienced a 1.3 per -cent increase when that is extended to sixmonths.

Looking even further long ter m, eachtime the Dow has hit a new high, the markethas gone up an average of 8.1 percent thenext 12 months.

Consider what has happened over thepast five-and-a-half years. The Dow was at14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007, fell to 6,547.06 atits lowest point March 9, 2009, and Tuesdayclosed at 14,253.77.

So, from March 9, 2009 to March 5,2013, a stretch of 1,004 days, the Dow morethan doubled and hit an all-time high. Whenit set its record Tuesday, it was up 8.8 per -cent for the year.

Stock Traders Almanac points out thecurrent bull market has already lastedtwice as long as the average bull marketof the past century (1,475 days comparedto 755) and has seen considerably moreupside (up 120 percent compared to 86percent).

Sometimes a quick buck can be madein the stock market. But the wisest investorsalways talk about being in the market for thelong haul. As the past five-and-a-half yearsshow, that advice has once again proven tobe prophetic.

Perhaps the most famous investor of ourtime, Warren Buffett, has said the following:

• “Always invest for the long term.”• “Someone’s sitting in the shade today

because someone planted a tree a long timeago.”

• “If you don’t feel comfortable owningsomething for 10 years, then don’t own it for10 minutes.”

• “Our favorite holding period is for -ever.”

While some signs of recovery from therecession are apparent, we still, as a nation,have serious problems to deal with.

Confidence in the stock market is agood sign. But we caution against actinghastily during a run up. The best approachis always one of long-term growth.

As those in Pamplona will attest, run-ning with the bulls can be dangerous.

BIDSLFUCG is seeking bids for DigitalSwitch and Camera Equipment. Con-tact 859-258-3320. Request No. 21-2013, deadline 3/20/13.LFUCG is seeking bids for Rainsuits forWaste Management. Contact 859-258-3320. Request No. 19-2013,deadline 3/20/13.LFUCG has issued a Request For Pro-posals for Urban Tree Canopy Assess-ment and Planting Plan. Contact859-258-3320. Request No. RFP5-2013, deadline 3/18/13.LFUCG has issued a Request For Pro-posals Division of Grants and SpecialPrograms Request for Proposal – Ap-praisals. Contact 859-258-3320. Re-quest No. RFP8-2013, deadline3/18/13.LFUCG has issued a Request For Pro-posals for Produce Food Stand Pro-gram. Contact 859-258-3320.Request No. RFP6-2013, deadline3/22/13.LFUCG has issued a Request For Pro-posals Traffic Signal Retiming Project.Contact 859-258-3320. Request No.RFP7-2013, deadline 3/25/13.

CONVENTIONSMarch 15 – 17Benevolent and Protective Order ofthe Elks of the USA, 93rd Annual Elks

National Bowling Tournament withrooms at the Clarion Hotel. 2,800people expected.

March 19 – 24NCAA Basketball Tournament at RuppArena. 60,000 expected.

March 21 – 24Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma 2013North Central District Convention athe Griffin Gate Marriott Resort andSpa. 1,500 people expected.

March 22 – 24Kentucky Society of Professional Engi-neers, 2013 State MathCounts Com-petition at the Clarion Hotel. 500people expected.

March 22 – 24Benevolent and Protective Order ofthe Elks of the USA, 93rd Annual ElksNational Bowling Tournament withrooms at the Clarion Hotel. 2,800people expected.

COMMERCIALBUILDING PERMITSThe UPS Store, remodeling commer-cial, 1588 Leestown Road Suite 130(The UPS Store), $20,000.Denham-Blythe Company Inc, addi-tion to a warehouse, 2500 Sander-sville Road (US IOL Inc), 6,100 sq.ft.,$311,000.

Quality Construction Company, re-modeling commercial, 153 TradeStreet (Hub Coffee Holding), $79,000.Angelucci Acoustical, remodel generalbusiness office, 921 Beasley StreetSuite 145 (Fortune Reality), $10,000.Bartley Construction, remodel generalbusiness office, 108 Esplanade Suite210 (Galmont Consulting), $25,000.East Tennessee Specialty Builders Inc,nursing home, 225 Ruccio Way (Lex-ington Alzheimer’s Investors), 32,947sq.ft., $3,000,000.White Horse LLC, remodel generalbusiness office, 1088 Wellington Way(CS Desgin), $30,000.Churchill McGee LLP, remodel bank,2801 Palumbo Drive (TraditionalBank), $60,000.Long Construction Management LLC,addition to general business office,245 Old Virginia Aveneue (Lextro),1,595 sq.ft., $200,000.

NEW BUSINESSLICENSESCabinet/Counter Top Installation |Renovation Planning, owned byMichael W Turner, 260-482-7922.Commercial Rental | Stone HavenProperties, owned by Alan Chelf,1771 Cotton Tail Drive, 606-524-7933.Construction | Futuregate Company,owned by Louis Yi, 132 Londonderry

Dr., Lexington, Ky., 678-849-0700.Construction | American Pavement,1455 Gruber Rd., Green Bay, Wis.,920-662-9662.Consulting | Mark Yanik Landscape,owned by Mark Yanik, 1822 Mcdon-ald Ave., Lexington, Ky., 859-327-1800.Consulting | Rrm Consulting Inc,owned by Rick Mcclure, 1271 ToddsStation Rd., Lexington, Ky., 859-494-0251.Education | Hope International,owned by John L Derry, 714-879-3901.Electrical Contractor | Atkins & StangInc, owned by Fred Stang, 1031 MetaDrive, 513-242-8300.Electrical/Construction | Owned byDouglas S Burgess, 212 Pindell Ct.,Lexington, Ky., 859-321-6407.Handcrafted Soap | My Ole KentuckySoap, owned by Tamara Brennan,1117 Meridan Drive, 859-806-0323.Insurance Premium Tax | DelawareAmerican Life, 13045 Tesson FerryRd., 314-525-9486.Insurance Premium Tax | Metlife Insur-ance, 13045 Tesson Ferry Rd., 314-525-9486.IT Consulting | Web Yoga Inc, ownedby Tamiko C Lawton, 938 Senate Dr.,Dayton, Ohio, 937-428-0000.Landscaping | Owned by Bryan TCampbell, 3415 Briarcliff Cir., Lexing-ton, Ky., 859-277-2661.Landscaping | Owned by Jeffery K

Douglas, 320 Duke Rd., Apt. 4, Lex-ington, Ky., 859-797-1297.Locksmith | Avega Locksmith Inc,owned by Marielys Hernandez Vega,1890 Star Shoot Pkwy., Ste. 170, 859-536-1053.Nursing Home Operations | TrilogyManagement, owned by David Mc-donald, 2531 Old Rosebud Rd., Lex-ington, Ky., 502-112-5847.Prevention/Wellness Program | MdvipInc, owned by Daniel Hecht, 1875 NWCorporate Blvd., Ste. 300, 561-982-4314.Rental Real Estate | North Eagle CreekLLC, owned by Gess Family, 175 EMain St., Ste. 325, Lexington, Ky.,859-288-5008.Rental Real Estate | Lexst InvestmentsLLC, owned by Sharon Smith, 407 WNew Circle Rd., Lexington, Ky., 502-367-4900.Taxi Driver | Owned by Tijan A Ceesay,859-338-3642.Wood Renewal | Owned by Charles AGarnett, 5831 Ky Hwy 1842 N, Cyn-thiana, Ky., 859-234-1663.

COMMERCIALLOANS Highlands Home Serv LLC from Tradi-tional Bank for $57600.Edm Prop LLC from Traditional Bankfor $60000.Spring Fork LLC from Whitaker BankInc for $63575.Entrust Ira Admn Inc from Cumber-land Valley Natl Bank & Tr Co for$65000.Midland Ira Inc from Cumberland Val-ley Natl Bank & Tr Co for $65000.Garry Milton Real Est Inc fromWhitaker Bank Inc for $67000.Sjm Homes LLC from Lexington HomeOwnership Commission Ii I for$85500.Logan Bldr LLC from Lexington HomeOwnership Commission Ii I for$86250.Db Homes LLC from Lexington HomeOwnership Commission Ii I for$86250.35 Co from First Sec Bank Of Owens-boro Inc for $87200.Gfy Inv Inc from Town Square BankInc for $96000.Eirecon Inv LLC from Bank Of Lex for$98400.Eirecon Inv LLC from Bank Of Lex for$100000.Screech Prop LLC from Bank Of TheBluegrass for $100000.Delong Est Dev LLC from Bank Of KyInc for $100196.Blue Grass Realty & Appraisal Servfrom Spring Fork LLC for $101500.Eads Prop LLC from Kentucky Bank for$105000.Troutman Prop LLC from AmericanFounders Bank Inc for $107000.Eirecon Inv LLC from Bank Of Lex for$110800.Eirecon Inv LLC from Bank Of Lex for$116800.Gardner Law Office PLLC from BankOf Lex for $144200.Legacy Of Lex LLC from TraditionalBank for $150783.

Commonwealth Designs Inc fromWhitaker Bank Inc for $152000.Jacktree LLC from Traditional Bank for$155000.Eirecon Inv LLC from Bank Of Lex for$158400.Ark Constr LLC from Bank Of Lex for$164000.Griffith Catlett Hampton Prop Incfrom Bank Of Lex for $182000.Jaglets Prop LLC from Central Bank &Tr Co for $183750.Commonwealth Designs Inc fromWhitaker Bank Inc for $188000.M & M Prop Mgt LLC from First SecBank Of Owensboro Inc for $200000.Villa At Chevy Chase LLC from Com-munity Ventures Corp for $213000.Papanias Inc from Traditional Bank for$215000.M C J Prop LLC from Branch Banking& Tr Co for $218400.Welcome Homes By Bryant Inc fromCentral Bank & Tr Co for $221250.Kjlma LLC from Central Bank & Tr Cofor $225000.345 Kingsway Dr., LLC from Tradi-tional Bank for $238000.M C J Prop LLC from Branch Banking& Tr Co for $238400.M C J Prop LLC from First Sec Bank OfOwensboro Inc for $240000.Sapphire Racing LLC from 1337797Alberta Ltd for $265000.Deborah Ball Realty LLC from CitizensBank for $283050.Kraska Prop LLC from Bank Of Lex for$295000.Central Ky Lodging Inc from CentralBank & Tr Co for $297000.Bluegrass Cottages Inc from First SecBank Of Owensboro Inc for $448800.Advantage Physical Therapy PLLCfrom Bank Of The Bluegrass for$497443.Morton Prop LLC from Bank Of Lexfor $502406.Central Ky Lodging Inc from CentralBank & Tr Co for $600000.Lexmack Land Co LLC from CentralBank & Tr Co for $600000.Bluegrass Cottages Inc from First SecBank Of Owensboro Inc for $608000.Kingdom Ctr Inc from Quintana, Jodyfor $648046.How Did That Occur Inc from FarmersNatl Bank Of Danville for $681066.Ashland Prop LLC from Central Bank& Tr Co for $740000.Tlm Gatehouse Place LLC from BankOf Lex for $805000.Old Vine Prop LLC from Pnc Bank Nafor $956000.Demoss Bros Prop LLC from BranchBanking & Tr Co for $982463.Morton Prop LLC from Bank Of Lexfor $1018423.Demoss Bros Prop LLC from BranchBanking & Tr Co for $1775000.Anderson Homes for Rent LLC fromUnited Bank & Tr Co for $2300000.Ck & W Ptnr LLC from Bloomfield MbV LLC for $2345216.Commonwealth Designs Inc fromBank Of Ky Inc for $2500000.Versailles Land Group LLC from Com-munity Tr Bank Inc for $8000000.New Lex Clinic Psc from Fifth ThirdBank for $10123288.


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