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Join us for a ribbon cutting celebrating Create It!
WHEN: Friday, June 21st at 11:00AM
LOCATION: 13 Lincoln Square (downtown across from the Sweet Shoppe)
Hodgenville, KY 42748
We hope to see you there!!
Concert from 7:00pm to 8:00pm EDT with President Lincoln’s Own Band as featured
in the movie Lincoln.
Luminary Event from 8:00pm to 9:00pm EDT throughout park grounds including the
Sinking Spring and steps leading up the First Lincoln Memorial.
Join us in welcoming our newest Chamber Member!
Ribbon Cutting for
Copley’s Garage
Friday, May 17th at Noon
Owner: David Copley
Location: 1302 Campbellsville Road
Hodgenville, KY 42748
The LaRue County Office for Economic Development will offer a free presentation to the public and local businesses concerning the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), according to Director Bob Sims. Sims stated that he is finding that most employers are struggling to understand how the PPACA will affect their bottom line in 2014 and beyond. As companies start budget reviews for 2014, they are faced with the question of “Pay or Play” in 2014. Should they pay a penalty and let their employees find their own health coverage through state exchanges or can they afford to continue offering health coverage to employees in 2014 and beyond.
The local economic development office has arranged for Steve Wilson, Senior Vice President with Benefit Insurance Marketing in Lexington to give the presentation to serve as an educational tool and to answer questions from the attendees. The program details how the law applies to each employer and how it will impact their company and employees from 2014-2020. Wilson will explain employer options and the financial ramifications of those choices for both the company and its employees.
This free luncheon program will be held Tuesday April 30th at noon, at the LaRue County Cooperative Extension Office, 807 Old E-town Road, Hodgenville. Attendees are required to RSVP to Bob Sims at [email protected] or 270-765-9541 due to lunches being prepared.
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.
Kenny Rambo was born and raised in Elizabethtown, KY and lived in Bowling Green, KY, Knoxville, TN and Atlanta, GA before returning to the region in 2003. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Western Kentucky University. He is now the Vice President of Heartland Communications Consultants, Inc. a marketing, communications & pr firm.
Kenny has volunteered with the Chamber since he returned to LaRue County. He serves on the Marketing Committee and was the 2009-2010 President. Kenny was just elected as President-Elect for the 2012-2013 year and will hold the office of President again in 2013-2014. He enjoys having the opportunity to help share what a great place our community is with others around the region, state and country.
Kenny and his wife are excited to be raising their children in Hodgenville and LaRue County. They feel the rich history and special places like Lincoln’s Birthplace and the downtown square serve as a great backdrop for making memories with our children. They appreciate the quality and size of the school system and the ability to personally know the teachers and administrators that are working with our kids. He and his wife know their children will live other places when they grow up, but they trust they will always remember their hometown as a special place with lots of great memories.
Pam Stephens is your 2012-2013 President for the LaRue County Chamber of Commerce. Pam was born and raised in LaRue County. After graduating from LaRue County High School, Pam attended Elizabethtown Community College (presently known as Elizabethtown Community & Technical College). She then graduated from American Institute of Banking and she has been with Lincoln National Bank for over 26 years, 11 years of that time she has been an Assistant Vice President and Loan Officer.
Pam states that her favorite part of Hodgenville and LaRue County is the people. She loves meeting new people, developing relationships and the spirit of the “hometown” community. She also loves the potential for this community to grow and prosper.
Pam has been involved with the LaRue County Chamber of Commerce for many years. Pam will begin her time as President beginning July 1, 2012. She currently sits on our Membership Committee, Annual Meeting Committee and the Golf Scramble Committee. Her favorite part of the Chamber is the opportunity to improve local commerce and the local economy. She wants to continue projecting awareness that Hodgenville and LaRue County are wonderful communities to live in and to prosper in as a resident.
Stefanie Rock will be the 2012-2013 Past President for the LaRue County Chamber of Commerce. Stefanie is originally from Hodgenville. She graduated from LaRue County High School in 1998 and attended the University of Louisville, where she graduated in 2002. She loves the community because of the friendly people that live and work here. Stefanie currently works for Magnolia Bank and holds the title Vice President.
Stefanie was the 2011-2012 President and currently sits on the Marketing Committee, the Golf Scramble Committee and the Personnel Committee. Her favorite part of the being a part of the Chamber of Commerce is actively serving with other business people to support and promote commercial and civic interests 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!