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Welcome our New Chamber Director

Krista Levee, the new executive director for the LaRue County Chamber of Commerce, is no stranger to the county – or the state.

Levee lived in LaRue County almost seven years before moving due to her husband Dave’s job change. They were gone four years before returning to the area.

“Now we’re back and it’s like coming home,” said Levee, a Hopkins County native. “It’s good to be back in a small town where you know everybody.”

Levee is familiar with many of the people she will be working with – both in Hodgenville and other communities.

She served as a field representative for Gov. Ernie Fletcher 2004-08.

“(Gov. Fletcher) had a vision of setting up field offices to bring Frankfort closer to his constituents,” said Levee. “I covered 20 counties – I loved that job.”

Levee was on board during the preparation for the Lincoln Bicentennial. She enjoyed watching the transformation of Lincoln Square to a roundabout or “squircle” and the old First Baptist Church into city hall.

“I was truly blessed to see that happen,” she said. “I loved to be in that process – to see the community have that vision and see it come to fruition.”

Former Mayor Roger Truitt was a frequent visitor to Frankfort during that time, she said. Truitt, who passed away earlier this year, enjoyed a spot on nearly every field report she submitted. Truitt was insistent that the community needed the state’s help to prepare for the observance of Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

Before that, Levee was an intern with Congressman Ron Lewis. Her first job was as an admissions counselor at Campbellsville University.

She graduated from CU in 2002; she met her husband while a student there.

They have one daughter, Alyssa, age 4, and a son on-the-way. The new baby is due in about eight weeks, Levee said.

With more demands at home, she appreciates having a reasonable schedule and fewer evening hours than at previous jobs.

Chamber President Pam Stephens said Levee will work two days a week with interim director Angel French until her maternity leave begins. She will return as the full time executive director by January.

Levee said she’s looking forward to leading the Chamber in upcoming months and working with the executive board.

“When I saw who was on the board of directors, I thought this is a great group to work with,” she said.

Her official first day was Sept. 18.

The Chamber of Commerce is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

 

**The Chamber of Commerce would like to thank The LaRue County Herald for allowing us to use their article to introduce our new Chamber Director.  http://www.laruecountyherald.com/content/levee-selected-chambers-executive-director

Lincoln Days Festival October 6-7

Come join our Lincoln Days Festival beginning October 6-7. Bring the family and join in the festivities.

Lincoln Days is holding a Children’s Scavenger Hunt this year.  The Chamber of Commerce is proud to take part in being a participant with this years festivities.  The Chamber of Commerce will help assist in the scavenger hunt and are in need of a few volunteers.  The scavenger hunt will be held both Saturday and Sunday.  We have a few slots open to fill.  Those willing to help with our booth or have any questions, please call our office at 270-358-3411 or email at [email protected]. We look forward in seeing you there.

Congrats to our Band of Hawks

Congrats to our LaRue County High School Band of Hawks!  The Band was awarded top honors last Saturday at the Taylor County Marching Invitational.  The Band earned the title of Grand Champion and Best Guard Overall.  The Band took first in the preliminary competition in Class AA, best guard in Class AA, and best percussion in Class AA.  Wishing our Band of Hawks the best of luck this weekend as they host the Lincoln Days Invitational at the LaRue County High School on Saturday at noon.

Looking for Local Employment?

The Sister Schubert plant, in Horse Cave, KY is now hiring.  They have 55 openings that they want to fill immediately.  Quality Temp in Glasgow is taking the applications for these positions.

Also, Dart is hiring.  Check out www.dart.com to check out these positions.

 

If you or anyone you know is looking for employment now is a great time to apply for these local positions. Also, please help them spread the word by telling your family and friends!

 

2012 Annual Meeting – The Allure of Living in LaRue County…

Last Thursday, May 10th, over 100 chamber and community members came together to celebrate the accomplishments of the Chamber of Commerce and the community during the 2011-2012 year. We had 10 table sponsors participate in our table decoration contest and this made the night even more festive. The night started with a silent auction. Silent auction items were donated by: Dr. Tom Davenport, Magnolia Bank, Paula’s Hot Biscuit, My Gal Boutique, Melanie Wells Photography, MAM Candy, LaRue County Schools, Lynn Claycomb, Lee’s Garden Center, Hosparus, Hometown Pizza, South Central Rural Telephone Cooperation, Brooks Fence, Allen’s Heating & Cooling, LaRue County Herald News, Nina Cundiff, US Bancorp Investments and The Sweet Shoppe.  A new addition to our silent auction this year was being able to bid on some of the centerpieces. The local florists, gift shops and table sponsors that donated centerpieces to our silent auction were: Almost Home, Nancy’s Gifts & Flowers, Heavenly Harvest, Upton’s Florist and Garden Center, Geneva’s Florist, Lawson’s Florist, Hinton’s Orchard & Farm, LaRue County Schools, Lincoln National Bank and LaRue County Herald News.

Dinner was catered by Paula’s Hot Biscuit and it was just as good as ever! During dinner, everyone had the opportunity to have their picture taken by Melanie Wells Photography. To view these pictures, visit www.melaniewellsphotography.com.

During our annual meeting, we had the privilege to hear from State Representative Michael Meredith, Judge Executive Tommy Turner and Mayor Terry Cruse.  Hearing these elected officials speak about LaRue County was a very important time as we learned a great amount of information on what is going on in Hodgenville and LaRue County. Kim Huston, author of Small Town Sexy was our guest speaker for the evening. She spoke on why being from a small community is so wonderful and the things that we need in place to continue to be a great place to live. We really enjoyed hearing her speak. If you would like to buy a copy of her book, we have a few copies in the Chamber office at a discount price of $15.00.

A part of our annual meeting is Leadership LaRue County graduation. The 2011-2012 class was the largest class we have had to graduate since the program started. This year’s graduates were Deidre Brooks, Lincoln National Bank; Patti Donahue, Elizabethtown Community & Technical College; Marsha Duncan, LaRue County Schools; Adam Gordon, Magnolia Bank; Jeremy Hinton, Kentucky Farm Bureau; Nedra Jurcak, Community Member; Diana Leathers, LaRue County Health Department; Faith Miller, LaRue County Community Action; Allison Shepherd, LaRue County Herald News; Beth Turner, Dow Corning and Clint Williams, LG &E. This class chose to make a promotional video about LaRue County. If you would like to view a copy of the video, please stop by the Chamber office.

The night concluded with our 2012 Annual Awards. We were happy to award the Outstanding Citizen Award to Joanna Hinton, the Outstanding Business/Professional Person Award to Dr. Glenn Catlett, the Spirit Award to LaRue County Emergency Services and the President’s Award was given in honor of the late Roger Truitt. These award recipients have made and continue to make a true difference in our community and it was great to recognize them.

We would like to thank everyone that had a part in making the 2012 Annual Meeting such a success. Claude and Deb Ramey and everyone that helped from First Baptist Church, Melanie Wells Photography for donating her time and work on the pictures, Paula Varney and her staff for doing such an excellent job with the catering, all of the annual meeting committee members and chamber board members that helped, Joey Gearon for helping clean up after the dinner, everyone that donated and bid on items for the silent auction and everyone that attended and made the evening so wonderful!

 

Annual Dinner – Reserve Your Seat Today!

The 2011-2012 year has been full of excitement! The LaRue County Chamber of Commerce is excited to be able to celebrate the happenings of this year on May 10, 2012 at our Annual Dinner. We plan to provide an opportunity for networking and a chance to bid on items in our silent auction. Of course, there will be a wonderful dinner, followed by our annual meeting and awards presentation. This year’s annual dinner will be an event you won’t want to miss. We hope to see you there!
 
Please see the Annual Meeting information below:
 
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Social Time & Silent Auction 5:30pm EST
Dinner 6:00pm EST, Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation 7:15pm EST – Awards sponsored by Elizabethtown Community & Technical College
 
Guest Speaker
Kim Huston, Author of Small Town Sexy
 
First Baptist Church, 730 Tonieville Road, Hodgenville, KY 42748
 
Cost to attend is $25 per individual or $15 for children 12 & under. Table sponsorships are available for $150, which will provide dinner for six people of your choice. Table sponsors are encouraged to participate in the table decorating contest. You may reserve your seat(s) with your credit card by using the menu below.
 

Annual Dinner

Opportunity for Community to Help Tornado Victims in Kentucky

Many lives were changed by the tornados that came through Kentucky last week.  Many families were displaced and lost all of their belongings.  Our community now has the opportunity to come together to help our neighbors around the state, by donating items that the adults and children need to make it through the coming weeks.  Marsha Duncan, Youth Service Coordinator at LaRue County High School is working with Family Resource Centers around Kentucky to take donations of immediate items that are needed by the affected families.  Some of the items needed are toiletry items such as baby wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and any other toiletry item.  Socks and underwear of all sizes, ranging from children to adults, are two other important items that are needed immediately.  Marsha stated that larger items such as tarps and building supplies will probably needed at a later date, but for now, the immediate items listed above are the most important.  Marsha will be taking these items until next Wednesday, March 14th.  If you or your business or organization would like to donate items, please email Marsha at [email protected].  Email is the best way to reach Marsha. However, if you prefer to call, you can call her office between 8:00am-12:00pm, Monday-Friday. Her office number is 270-358-9745.

LaRue County Chamber, Its Members Prepare for 2012 Tourist Season

Check out our article that was in the LaRue County Herald this week:

 

As the economy continues to show signs of recovery, the LaRue County Chamber and its members are looking ahead to the 2012 tourist season with great enthusiasm.

“We think it’s going to be the best year since the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial,” said Jessica Davis, Chamber executive director.

“The importance of tourism to our local economy cannot be understated.  It creates jobs, generates revenue and exposes our community to people from around the country and around the globe,” Davis added.

According to Kentucky Tourism Industry, direct expenditures related to Tourism in LaRue County in 2010 exceed $5.1 million and there were 263 jobs in the county related to tourism.

The public’s fascination with Lincoln’s legacy drives tourism here.  The National Park Service reports that in 2010 the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park saw more than 177,000 visitors.

And The Lincoln Museum sees nearly 30,000 paid museum tours annually.  In 2011, the museum had visitors from 49 states and 37 countries. Museum Director, Iris LaRue attributes other nearby tourist attractions such as the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the National Corvette Museum and Mammoth Cave with bringing even more visitors to LaRue County as one of several stops on their tour.

“These same visitors shopped in our stores, ate in our restaurants, filled gas tanks and saw everything that LaRue County has to offer,” said Stefanie Rock, President of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

Pat Durham, chamber board member and owner of The Sweet Shoppe, credits 75% of his business to tourism and estimates seeing 15-20 visiting families each day.

The chamber is proud to be Hodgenville and LaRue County’s welcome center and is taking that job seriously with capital investments in an updated website (www.laruecountychamber.org ) and an active social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

“We encourage all businesses to join us by putting out the welcome mat as we get ready for another successful tourism season in Hodgenville and LaRue County,” said Davis.

Welcome New Chamber Members!

The LaRue County Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome five new members! Make sure to check them out! Also, stay tuned for details about ribbon cutting ceremonies for each new member, one of which will be this Friday!

Please help us welcome:

 

Aflac Insurance  Independent Agent James Beery

Contact: James Beery

[email protected]

622 Hubbards Lane

Bardstown, Kentucky 40004

www.aflac.com

(502)275-9311

 

Allegro at Helmwood, LLC

Contact: Katrina Valliant/Steve Sanford

[email protected]

[email protected]

108 Diecks Drive

Elizabethtown, Kentucky 42701

www.allegroliving.com

(270)765-4414

 

Blazin Xpressions

Contact: Joshua Singer

[email protected]

1353 Dangerfield Road

Hodgenville, Kentucky 42748

(270) 361-8426

 

Melanie Wells Photography – Open House Friday, February 24, 2012, 10-2pm (Ribbon Cutting 10:30am)

Contact: Melanie Wells

[email protected]

212 North Lincoln Blvd.

Hodgenville, Kentucky 42748

http://www.melaniewellsphotography.com

(270)234-4810

 

Todd’s Lunch Box

Contact: Todd Akin

[email protected]

105 South Walters Avenue

Hodgenville, Kentucky 42748

(270)872-3161

Chamber Offers Bundle of Sponsorship Opportunities

DonLaRue County Bundle Up Winter sponsorship‘t miss your chance to “Bundle Up This Winter” with the LaRue County Chamber! Our bundle plan allows you to bundle your membership and other sponsorship opportunities so that you can save some money and the Chamber will have your commitment for the year 2012.

Contact Jessica at the Chamber office (270) 358-3411 for more information or you can email her at jessica@laruecountychamber.org.