BUSINESS CALLNovember 2015

Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s

Newsletter brought to you by

2nd Annual

CHAMBER CELEBRATES

U.S. SENATORRAND PAULVISITS EAST KENTUCKY

Inside the Chamber Chamber Hires New Membership Development Manager ........................ 3PLI Focuses on Education in Second Session ............................................ 4Chamber Hosts Eggs and Issues Membership Breakfast .......................... 5Chamber Hosts Meet and Greet with U.S. Senator Rand Paul .................. 6

Chamber ConnectionsSmall Business Appreciation Month .......................................................... 8Kentucky College of Optometry Set to Recruit Inaugural Class .............. 10Suddenlink Hosts Open House at New Location in Pikeville .................. 11

Events Calendar ............................................................................................. 12

2015-2016Executive Committee

Chairman: Shadd Walters

US BankChairman Elect:

Rick NewsomCommunity Trust Bank

Vice Chairman: Brad Hall

Kentucky PowerTreasurer:

Lynette SchindlerLynette Schindler, CPA

Secretary: James D. England Peoples Insurance

Immediate Past Chairman: John Blackburn

First Commonwealth BankJennifer Brown Day

Redd, Brown, & WilliamsJoel ThornburyNova Pharmacy

Howard RobertsUniversity of Pikeville

Sam Carter TECO Coal

Board of DirectorsMike Alexander

Hilton Garden Inn - PikevilleDavid Baird Baird & Baird

Russ Barker Appalachian Regional HealthcareBarry Clark Transamerica Agency

NetworkLaura Damron Pikeville Medical Center

Kevin Elam Food CityPhilip Elswick Summit Engineering

W. Allen Gillum Appalachian WirelessMike Harris Pepsi

Jim Hobbs Citizens National BankNeil Middleton WYMT-TV

Tony Mullins BT Media Group, LLCPaul David Slater SNF-Flomin Coal

G. Devin Stephenson Big Sandy Community and Technical CollegeDavid Stratton Stratton Law FirmTracy Syck Shred-All Documents

Jeff Vanderbeck Appalachian News-Express

Randy Walters Walters Auto GroupJim Workman Community Trust Bank

Shannon Wright Wright Concrete

Chamber StaffJacob Colley: President/CEO

Pam Mullins: Accounting ManagerKelly Rowe: Events & Programs Manager

Abigail Gibson: Communications Manager

November 2015 - Volume IX, Issue V

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS CALL | 3

INSIDE THE CHAMBER

Chamber Hires New Membership Development ManagerThe Southeast Kentucky

Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Amber Campbell has joined the organization as the Mem-bership Development Man-ager.

In her new role, Camp-bell will serve the local busi-ness community as a direct liaison for member services. She will be assisting our exist-

ing members in leveraging their Chamber membership to grow their business, while at the same time working with businesses in the community who have interest in joining the Chamber. She is available to meet with you at your convenience. She will be a consistent inside connection to the Chamber for businesses throughout the region.

“When I moved here over 12 years ago I immediately noticed what beautiful and unique communities Eastern Ken-tucky possesses and wanted to be an active part. In my career, I have worked for and partnered with local nonprofit agencies and local businesses to bring activities and programs to our region –

mainly focused on youth,” said Campbell. “I am excited to join the Chamber team and work on a new path to grow our region and its businesses.”

“Amber’s experience in community relations and relation-ship building make her a great fit for our organization, and we are excited to welcome her to our team,” said Jacob S. Colley, President/CEO, Southeast Kentucky Chamber. “Amber has an unbelievable work ethic and desire to improve our region. Those characteristics are perfect, as she will be focused on servicing the needs of our membership.”

Amber grew up in Norton, Virginia and now resides in Pikeville, Kentucky with her four wonderful children, Caleb, Canaan, Asheton, and Peyton. She holds two degrees from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Campbell can be contacted at amber.campbell@sekcham-ber.com or by calling her at 606.205.9591.

Charter Members, thank you for your continuous support!

AAA Real EstateBusy Bee Septic Systems

Economy Drug

Pamela C. Howard, PTLynette Schindler CPA, PSC

Shred-All Documents

Vantage Point, Inc.Peoples Insurance

F O U N D E R ’S C I R C L E

C H A I R M A N’S C I R C L E

4 | BUSINESS CALL

INSIDE THE CHAMBER

PLI Focuses on Education in Second SessionThe Patton Leadership Institute class

met for their second of nine monthly ses-sions on Thursday, November 12 at Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg. The focus of the session was on education in Eastern Kentucky. The day featured discussion with local education leaders and administrators from secondary and post-secondary institu-tions.

The session kicked off with a warm welcome to Prestonsburg from Mayor of Prestonsburg, Les Stapleton. Mayor Sta-pleton touched on a few challenges his city is facing as well as the exciting oppor-tunities that lie ahead for Prestonsburg.

Following the Mayor, Josh Ball, Director of College Relations for BSCTC, discussed workforce development and the strides Big Sandy is making to prepare their students to become skilled and ready to enter the workforce upon graduation. Ball also gave an update on the expansion of BSCTC’s Pikeville campus. The col-lege plans to build a 60,000 square feet building, nearly doubling the size of its current facility and constructing a parking garage to meet the demands of enrollment growth in and around Pike County.

Next, Governor Paul Patton, Chan-cellor and Interim President of the Uni-versity of Pikeville and PLI’s namesake,

visited with the class and discussed the Commonwealth’s education system and the tremendous progress that has been made in the last 20 years. He explained how Kentucky has been historically in the bottom of national educational rankings, but has steadily moved up over the past two decades. The major contributor to the increase is credited to the Kentucky Educa-tion Reform Act of 1990 which stemmed from the Kentucky Supreme Court found the financing of schools in the state to be unconstitutional. The Courts ruled that the “entire system of common schools is unconstitutional” and required the legis-lature to “recreate, re-establish” the entire system of public education.

Also, the class was able to have an open dialogue with three regional super-intendents including Dr. Henry Webb of Floyd County Schools, Mr. Thomas Salyer of Johnson County Schools, and Mr. Jerry Green of Pikeville Independent Schools. The class asked the superintendents to touch on the efforts each of their respec-tive school systems are making to ensure their students are becoming fully college and career ready, how common core has impacted statewide curriculum, and the challenges that lie ahead for education in Eastern Kentucky.

The final two presenters during the

session were Jacob S. Colley, President/CEO of the Chamber, who conducted a personal branding workshop, and Dr. Howard Roberts, Dean of the Coleman College of Business, discussed UPIKE’s College of Business and MBA program.

To end the day, the class had a guided tour of the East Kentucky Science Cen-ter (EKSC) by Steven Russo, Director at EKSC. The class was able to experience a Planetarium show and a laser light show. They also had the privilege of watching EKSC’s “Season of Lights” show which will not be available to the public until December 1. EKSC opened in 2004 and has an annual attendance of around 10,000 attendees per year. They offer 17 Planetarium shows, 40 classroom/out-reach lessons, and 34 laser shows. The East Kentucky Science Center is located at One Bert T. Combs Drive in Prestons-burg. Their hours are Tuesday through Friday 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday noon until 4 p.m. For more information please call (606) 889 – 4809 or visit www.bigsandy.kctcs.edu/EKSC.

BUSINESS CALL | 5

INSIDE THE CHAMBERChamber Hosts Eggs & Issues Membership Breakfast

On October 28, 2015, the Chamber hosted their membership breakfast, Eggs & Issues, at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Pikeville. Eggs & Issues was presented by National Community Devel-opment Services (NCDS). The event pro-vided a great opportunity for members to network with other attendees and to become more informed on the selected ‘issue’ that is affecting the region by hear-ing experts from the field. The issue dis-cussed at the October Eggs & Issues was regional economic development with Chuck Sexton, CEO of One East Ken-tucky and Haley McCoy, Cabinet for Eco-nomic Development.

Sexton presented data on the state of the region’s workforce and what One East Kentucky is doing to help and will do to improve the regional workforce. He dis-cussed the challenges of preparing a work-force for what industry seeks and how regional organizations can participate in developing a qualified workforce to grow our economy and create jobs.

To complement the workforce ini-tiative, One East Kentucky is currently

working on a comprehensive labor study to help companies better understand what skills workers in their 9 county region possess. “We are working on an in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis of our workforce that will reveal what trans-ferable skills our workers have to other industries, as well as match them up with appropriate training programs available within our community and technical col-lege systems,” said Sexton.

Sexton also mentioned that One East Kentucky will be working in conjunction with Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) on economic development proj-ects and job creation initiatives. One East Kentucky will be the boots on the ground organizations that focuses on attracting companies to expand or relocate to the 9-county region footprint in Eastern Ken-tucky. “SOAR is a macro organization whose mission is to help create the con-ditions for investment in 54 counties of Eastern Kentucky. One East Kentucky’s mission is to find the companies to make those investments in our 9 county region of Eastern Kentucky,” said Sexton.

Following Sexton, McCoy reiterated past history within her hometown of Jack-son County, where the local telephone cooperative, People’s Rural Telephone Cooperative, built its own fiber optic net-work, where 101 jobs have been created since January. “It’s not going to matter where you live,” McCoy said. “It’s not going to matter what you have access to. You will be able to be part of the work-force for all companies everywhere.”

The Chamber’s next Eggs & Issues Membership Breakfast is set for December 9, 2015 with Dave Adkisson, President/CEO, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. The ‘issue’ will be the Kentucky busi-ness community’s legislative agenda for upcoming legislative session.

SPONSORED BY

Chuck Sexton, CEO of One East Kentucky, speaks to Chamber members at October’s Eggs and Issues.

6 | BUSINESS CALL

INSIDE THE CHAMBER

BUSINESS CALL | 7

On Monday, November 23, the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Com-merce hosted Kentucky’s Junior U.S. Sen-ator Rand Paul at the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center in downtown Pikeville.

A crowd of Chamber and commu-nity members filled the Expo’s ballroom to hear the presidential hopeful discuss a number of issues affecting the region, nation, and world.

Senator Paul opened the event assur-ing attendees he will continue his firm stance in defending Eastern Kentucky and its ailing coal economy. He touched

on the recent passage of two Senate res-olutions that were introduced under the Congressional Review Act. The resolu-tions call for the repeal one of the Obama administration’s coal killing regulations, the Clean Power Act. The resolutions will most likely be vetoed by President Obama.

The presidential candidate also laid out his proposal of economic freedom zones for the region. The zones, he said, will dramatically lower taxes and leave hundreds of millions of dollars in the mountain communities of Eastern Ken-

tucky.A number of other topics were

touched upon including the ongoing challenges in the Middle East, the poten-tial for influx of refugees from Syria and other troubled nations, the national debt crisis, and many others.

The networking event was sponsored by a locally-owned document destruction services company, Shred-All Documents. The event provided an opportunity to connect the region’s business community to one of its most influential elected lead-ers.

Sponsored by:

Chamber Hosts Meet and Greet with U.S. Senator Rand Paul

8 | BUSINESS CALL

November 12 - Chamber Night Out at Jenny Wiley Theatre

The Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce hosted “Chamber Night Out” at Jenny Wiley Theatre on November 12 as part of Small Business Appreciation Month.

The Chamber held a reception at Jenny Wiley Theatre before the production of “The Lion, the Witch and the Ward-robe.” During the reception, Chamber members were able to network and enjoy refreshments and hors d’ oeuvres. Following the reception, Chamber members and the community watched the Footlights Theatre production at the Pikeville Main Stage.

“Chamber Night Out” was part of the Chamber’s month-long series of events created to celebrate and promote local, small businesses.

The Pikeville Main Stage is concluding 2015 with the pro-duction “A Christmas Carol.” For more information on show times and ticket prices, visit their website at www.jwtheatre.com.

INSIDE THE CHAMBER

2nd Annual Small Business Appreciation Month

November 2 - Bella Pooch Open HouseSmall Business Appreciation Month, presented by Community Trust Bank, kicked off on November 2, with Bella Pooch’s Open House at their new location in Pikeville. The Chamber and com-munity leaders joined Candice Meade, Drew Justice, and Tiffany Justice, to celebrate their new location’s grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. The ribbon cutting ceremony was presented by Kentucky Innovation Network – Pikeville Office, the official sponsor of all Chamber open houses and ribbon cuttings.Bella Pooch provides full service dog grooming, daycare, long term and short term boarding. Since opening their doors in 2012, Bella Pooch has built a strong reputation for excellent pet care and service. In May 2014, Drew and Candice made the decision to expand the business to Pres-tonsburg. Today, Bella Pooch is booming at over 1,300 customers from four different states and grooming nearly 30 dogs per day.Both locations offer a variety of treatments for grooming pets and specialize in AKC breed cuts, creative styling for mixed breeds, and all grooming can be customized to the owner’s preferences. Each pet and their owner are treated with respect and diligence. Dog grooming services include a complete shampoo and blow dry, flea shampoo and dip, medicated baths, nail care, styling, and ear cleaning. For more information regarding Bella Pooch’s services, please call (606) 433-9879.

Thank you to the official sponsor of all Chamber open houses and ribbon cuttings, Kentucky Innovation Network - Pikeville Office.

BUSINESS CALL | 9

INSIDE THE CHAMBER

November 17 - Family Eye Care Professionals Open House

On Tuesday, November 17, the Southeast Kentucky Cham-ber and Floyd County Chamber jointly hosted an open house to celebrate the grand opening of Family Eye Care Professionals in Prestonsburg.

As a licensed optometrist, Family Eye Care Professionals and Dr. Regina Compton provide comprehensive eye exams, contact lens exams, LASIK screenings – pre- and post-op co-manage-ment with LASIK surgeon, a large selection of fashionable eye wear, diagnoses, and treatments of all disorders that affect the eye or vision. Family Eye Care’s staff is able to recognize a range of health issues; such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabe-tes, and hypertension.

“Our commitment is to provide exceptional customer ser-vice to all of our patients. We take pride in our personalized care and strive to spend the necessary time with each patient to ensure a comfortable experience,” said Dr. Compton, O.D.

Family Eye Care Professionals is located at 4219 N. Mayo Trail in Pikeville and 338 N. Arnold Avenue in Prestonsburg. For more information please visit their website at familyeyecare-pros.com.

The official sponsor of all Chamber open houses and ribbon cuttings is Kentucky Innovation Network in Pikeville and this open house was part of the Chamber’s Small Business Appreci-ation Month, which is presented by Community Trust Bank.

Open House events are typically held monthly and are hosted each time by interested chamber members. The events are a great way to promote and showcase Chamber member busi-nesses. If your business is interested in hosting an Open House, contact Kelly Rowe with the Southeast Kentucky Chamber at (606) 432-5504 or by emailing kelly.rowe@sekchamber.com.

November 17 and 18 - Small Business Workshops

The Chamber partnered with the Kentucky Innovation Network in Pikeville to host two free small business workshops: “Protecting Your Business Data with Cloud Computing” and “Take Your Products Online without Breaking the Bank.”

The workshop “Protecting Your Business Data with Cloud Computing” featured several ways to protect valuable business data with inexpensive online backup solutions through various software programs such as Dropbox and other cloud based data storage systems.

“Take Your Products Online without Breaking the Bank” workshop discussed how small businesses with limited budgets can have a safe, professional, and affordable online presence. Organizations can create a website and storefront through a variety of cost-effective services such as Squarespace, Weebly, GoDaddy, and others.

The audience included small business owners and manag-ers. They were able to get important questions answered and received tips on how to make their business more successful. The Chamber strives to help connect small business owners and entrepreneurs to free resources that can help grow their business.

Small Business Appreciation Month is presented by:

10 | BUSINESS CALL

CHAMBER CONNECTIONS

Kentucky College of Optometry Set to Recruit Inaugural Class

SubmittedThe 22nd school in the nation and

the first in Kentucky, the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) has entered a new phase and will begin recruiting its inaugural class for the fall of 2016.

The Accreditation Council on Opto-metric Education (ACOE) voted to grant the Kentucky College of Optometry the pre-accreditation classification of “Pre-liminary Approval.” The notification was received Nov. 13 in a letter from ACOE Chairman J. Bart Campbell, O.D.

“The classification of ‘Preliminary Approval’ is granted to a professional optometric degree program that has clearly demonstrated it is developing in accordance with council standards,” wrote Campbell. “The program has approval to begin student recruitment, selection and admissions, and to begin offering the pro-gram.”

An ACOE evaluation team visited the university Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2015. As part of the process, the ACOE will review the preliminary approval classification annu-ally during the first three academic years of the program, including progress reports and/or site visits. A request for final accreditation status will be made by the university not less than 12 months prior to graduation of the program’s first class.

Sixty students will be admitted per class for a total of 240. With no other colleges of optometry in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia, KYCO will be the most accessible college of optometry in the Southeastern portion of the country.

“We are the first school to receive such recognition under the new, more

stringent accreditation standards, and in a record time of one year and three months from the time we initiated our self-study,” said Founding Dean, Andrew Buzzelli, O.D., M.S. “It is because of the profusely talented UPIKE employees that we will be working toward complying with all of the standards for final accreditation, which will be considered after graduation of our first class.”

In 2014, the university announced the Kentucky College of Optometry, the next step in transforming the culture and health care of the region through access and education. A continuation of the university’s strategic focus on health sci-ences, the college of osteopathic medi-cine, the school of nursing and the college of optometry will serve as an integrated health care model for rural medicine.

Central Appalachia is a region that has the highest incidences of severe vision loss from other factors such as diabetes and hypertension. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion reported on the U.S. counties with the highest prevalence of severe vision loss, the majority of which were located in the south. Overall, about three percent of people had severe vision loss. The high-est rate amongst all American regions was Owsley County, located in the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky, at more than 18 per-cent.

“Our Kentucky College of Osteo-pathic Medicine has provided a success-ful blueprint and the experience to build a sustainable model for rural health care education,” said Paul Patton, the univer-sity’s chancellor and interim president. “National statistics demonstrate the need for quality, affordable vision care in rural areas. Our objective is to provide access and education to the people of the moun-tains and to address a critical health care need in our region and throughout the nation. We expect that the college of optometry will be nationally renowned

as a premier college for teaching and research.”

The expanded scope of practice per-mitted by Kentucky state law governing the practice of optometry provides for selective laser and peri-ocular surgical pro-cedures, allowing the Kentucky College of Optometry to bring modes of treatment not previously obtainable on a significant basis in un-served and underserved areas. The approach to clinical care will also be unique. The college of optometry is part-nering with local federally qualified health care centers and hospitals to create a new patient-centered model for the education of eye care providers and creating access to vision care for the citizens of Appala-chia. Buzzelli noted that the past year has been spent developing curriculum, a clin-ical patient base and faculty and facilities that would satisfy the standards developed by the ACOE to insure that optometric schools and colleges provide cutting edge education to their students and clinical care to their patients. “A new curriculum was developed to address the expanded scope of optometric practice in Kentucky. In addition to an already rigorous opto-metric curriculum, the college has created diagnostic and treatment courses which would see that our graduates are skilled in specific surgical and laser surgical proce-dures as defined by the Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners,” said Buz-zelli. “Our modern, cutting edge vision care facility needed to be equipped with the finest ophthalmic instruments under the expert guidance of faculty members skilled and licensed in these optometric treatments.”

“The Kentucky College of Optom-etry will welcome its inaugural class in 2016, pioneers in the birthplace of rural optometry who will have an opportunity to make a real and lasting impact,” con-tinued Buzzelli. “As practitioners of the healing arts, the mission is to define the standard for excellence in optometric edu-

BUSINESS CALL | 11

CHAMBER CONNECTIONS

Suddenlink Hosts Open House at New Location in Pikeville

On November 4, the Chamber hosted an open house and ribbon cutting cere-mony to celebrate the opening of Sudden-link’s new retail store in Pikeville. Cham-ber and community members checked out the new location by receiving product demonstrations, connecting with the Sud-denlink team, and enjoying refreshments and hors d’ oeuvres.

The company’s new location will allow them to deliver their high touch approach that clients expect and deserve in today’s tech world. “The main focus for us is to be able to serve our customers and be able to display the products that we have,” said

Christy Hensley, Retail Sales Supervisor.Offering a complete team of trained

professionals, Suddenlink provides high speed internet, crystal clear HD television, unlimited local and long distance phone calls, security services, and much more. With stores Pikeville, Prestonsburg and Logan, West Virginia, Suddenlink is easily accessible to its entire customer footprint.

Hensley encourages everyone to come in and check out the new Suddenlink store and the great benefits they offer. “I want the customers to know that we do appreci-ate them and that we want to thank them for being a Suddenlink customer,” said Hensley.

With the opening of the new loca-tion Suddenlink has expanded their hours from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Tuesday they are open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and are open the first Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information please call (606) 488-0300 or visit suddenlink.com.

cation and vision care. This inaugural class will be a part of our great undertaking, called by many a vision of hope.”

In the coming days, the college’s recruiting staff, under the direction of Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Roya Attar, O.D., will be putting a detailed recruiting plan forward to attract the “best and brightest to Central Appalachia,” Buzzelli said. “We are devoting significant effort to meeting our mission of offering a professional education to students from our region and other rural areas of Amer-ica who will return to practice in those communities after graduation. The faculty is putting finishing touches on our cur-riculum for the competent practice of the future optometrist. The university is also working on complying with the ACOE’s recommendations for gaining full compli-ance with all standards in preparation for

our request for final accreditation which will occur after we graduate our first class of optometrists in ‘20/20.’”

Similar to the college of osteopathic medicine, the optometry program will offer the KYCO Advantage, a program developed around the university’s mission of access and educational opportunity, providing all first-year students with the same resources – at no additional cost – including equipment, books, clinical clothing and national board examination fees.

Construction began last spring on the new $55 million Health Professions Education Building, a 103,000 square-foot facility that will house the college of optometry and provide technology and clinical training that will enhance the learning experience for the school of nursing and other health professions pro-

grams. The building will also have a food court featuring major brands Chick- fil-A, Einstein Bros Bagels and a campus conve-nience store.

“It is the goal of the University of Pikeville to make this new college the best and most prestigious college of optome-try in America,” said Patton. “This college will be the center of the effort to reduce vision loss in this part of the nation. We are the leading agency seeking to solve this problem with diagnosis and research. We will create opportunities for learning, strengthen our knowledge-based economy and foster a new, healthier Appalachia.”

Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events

December 2015

Patton Leadership Institute Economic Development Session

Goodwill - Inez Ribbon Cutting - 2 p.m., 296 E. Main St. Inez, Ky 41224

Eggs & Issues: Legislative Preview with KY Chamber’s Dave Adkisson-7:30 a.m., The Landmark, 190 S. Mayo Trail Pikeville, Ky 41501

Pine Mountain Gifts Ribbon Cutting - 2 p.m., 101 Hibbard St. Pikeville, Ky 41501

CHAMBER OFFICE CLOSED

January 2015

CHAMBER OFFICE CLOSED

PRST STD

US Postage PaidPikeville, KY

Permit No. 20

178 College Street | Pikeville, KY 41501 www.sekchamber.com Phone: (606) 432-5504 FAX: (606) 432-7295

CHAMBER EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITIESVice President of Operations

For more information concerning Chamber employment, please visit

www.business.sekchamber.com/jobs

03

08

09

11

24-25

01

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSEast Kentucky Carpet and Flooring

Goodwill Industries - InezInterstate Natural Gas Co.

Pine Mountain GiftsRed Room Boutique