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AUGUST 2012 www.fourriversbusiness.com

Young LeadersMeet the 10 finalists for Young Leader of the Year INSIDE

INSIDE• “Ready for Jobs?”

report reviews the Commonwealth’s business climate

• What do small business investors look for?

• Job descriptions are like vegetables: Very important!

Diesel engines of economic growthDevelopers like what they see at VMV Paducahbilt

2 • August 2012 Four Rivers Business Journal fourriversbusiness.com

Four Rivers Business Journal is a monthly publication of Paxton Media Group.

PublisherJim Paxton

General ManagerGary Adkisson

EditorAdam Shull

[email protected]

Advertising DirectorCarolyn Raney

[email protected] advertise,

call 270-575-8750

Marketing DirectorKendra Mitchell

[email protected]

PhotographyAllie Douglass

ContributorsDave Adkisson

Darryl ArmstrongJanett Blythe

Loretta DanielRandy Fox

Jeffrey GitomerTerry Reeves

Johanna Fox TurnerChris Wooldridge

Our PartnersWe proudly salute

our community partner:

This business supports The Four Rivers Business Journal’s mission of providing

our business community withuseful news and information.

fourriversbusiness.com Four Rivers Business Journal August 2012 • 3

On The CoverALLIE DOUGLASS | The Sun

An arial view of the inside of VMV Paducahbilt’s railroad shops at 1300 Kentucky Ave.Find us online: fourriversbusiness.com

What’s Inside

Biz Buzz

3 Biz Buzz News nuggets and coffeeshop chatter from Paducah and the area.

4 People & Business Hirings, promotions, awards and honors.

6 Your Business Eight steps for diffusing anger

6 Entrepreneurship Tap into the power of business networking

7 Education Building a Work Ready Community

7 Human Resources Eating your job description vegetables

8 Government Ready for jobs?

9 Small Business - Innovation Investors: What do they look for?

9 Small Business - Training Export planning

10 Financial Planning The emotion quotient

10 Law Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Care Act

11 Sales Learning management or learning success?

12 Diesel engines of economic growth Developers like what they see at VMV Paducahbilt

22 Business Issues22 June Building Permits

ALLIE DOUGLASS | The Sun

Sleeping Dogs is a new antique and home decor shop owned by Barbara Nordman. The shop opened on 925 Caldwell in Paducah.

Green Door Floral & Decor opened at 315 Broadway inside the former location of The Market@315.

The Green Door moved from 3143 Broadway across from the former Coke plant after Independence Bank purchased the property with plans to begin construc-tion on a new bank later this year.

Owner Betty Hall said the new location for the full-service fresh fl orist and more represents a merger since Hall also pur-chased In Bloom Floral and Marketplace, formerly at 600 Broadway in the bottom of the Irvin Cobb building.

New store hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

■ ■ ■

Medical group West Kentucky Pul-monary and Sleep Medicine moved to Suite 307 East in the east wing of Murray-Calloway County Hospital.

The group moved June 1 from Suite 380 West. Dr. Kanchan Koirala’s offi ce is now connected to the new Sleep Disorders Cen-ter where he serves as medical director and will allow for effi cient patient fl ow between offi ces, according to a hospital release.

Koirala offers medical services for all pulmonary diseases, bronchoscopy ser-vices, various sleep disorders and critical care illnesses.

For more information call 270-762-1539.■ ■ ■

Computer Services, Inc., of Paducah released its new Personal Financial Man-agement service for its internet banking customers.

The PFM service delivers consumers a one-stop online location to manage all of their personal fi nances and accounts within their bank’s internet banking ap-plication. Powered by Geezeo, the service offers a dashboard, cashfl ow calendar, net worth graphs, budgeting tools and more.

CSI released a microsite that showcases its online banking solutions at csibankany-time.com.

Please see BIZ BUZZ | 16


People & BusinessVeteran painter and photographer-

Paul Aho was named the dean of the Paducah School of Art at West Ken-tucky Community & Technical College.

A photography and digital imaging instructor at the school, Aho had been interim director since November 2011, when Harvey Sadow stepped down as director.

A native of Milwaukee, Aho has held several administrative positions: chief program offi cer for the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, dean of the School of Art at the Armory Art Center, and North American sales representative for International Fine Arts Expositions.

Prior to moving to Kentucky, Aho was an adjunct professor of art at Florida Atlantic University from 2004 to 2010, and at Palm Beach Commu-nity College from 1980 to 1998.

■ ■ ■

William Alex Roman, branch manager at Regions Bank in Paducah, graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State Univer-sity. Roman was one of 160 bankers to earn a diploma that required three years of courses covering all aspects of banking, economics and related subjects.

During their three years in the program, students received 180 hours of classroom instruction, 30 hours of reviews, planned evening study and written fi nal exams at the end of each session.

■ ■ ■

Former Rep. Fred Nesler, D-Mayfi eld, was named deputy execu-tive director in the Offi ce of Strategic Planning and Administration, which oversees daily operations at the Ken-tucky Department of Agriculture.

Nesler did not run for re-election and began June 1 in his role at the agriculture department.

■ ■ ■

Teresa Morgan, APRN, joined the Baptist Express Care clinical staff in Paducah as a healthcare provider. Morgan has worked in the Baptist Healthcare System for 20 years, with

the 12 most recent being at Baptist Prime Care. Baptist Express Care, an affi liate of Baptist Healthcare System, has 18 clinics located in Walmart stores throughout Kentucky.

■ ■ ■

Dr. Angela M. Fiorita received a doctorate in clinical pshychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in Los Angeles.

Fiorita is a therapist, lecturer and a published author who earned a bachelor’s degree in dance from Loyola Marymount University and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

Fiorita is the daughter of Roblse Ann and Ted Fiorita of Paducah.

■ ■ ■

Alan Brown, a 24-year veteran of the Department of Corrections, was promoted to warden at Green River Correctional Complex.

In 1989, he served as correctional farm crew leader at Western Kentucky Correctional Complex. In 1990, he re-turned to the Kentucky State Peniten-tiary as a classifi cation and treatment offi cer, and was promoted to correc-tions training instructor in 2003.

He was promoted to unit adminis-trator the following year and served in this role until he was promoted to deputy warden in August 2007.

Brown graduated in 1987 from Mur-ray State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture.

■ ■ ■

Joe and Nick Parmley, rescue swim specialists, attained certifi ca-tion as Dive SSI Open Water Level 1 at Mermet Springs in southern Illinois. They recently began stress and rescue dive training, and will join Captains Don English and David Spears as McCracken County Rescue Divers with McCracken County Emergency Management.

■ ■ ■

KeeFORCE announced that David W. Cope was named support special-ist for the company. Cope is respon-sible for providing clients with daily support for a wide variety of technol-ogy solutions offered by KeeFORCE, a technology fi rm in Symsonia.

Cope comes to KeeFORCE from Tower International in Louisville where he was an IT system analyst. Cope is a 2010 graduate from ITT Tech with an associate’s degree in computer networking systems.

■ ■ ■

Destination Marketing Associa-tion International announced Laura Schaumburg, marketing assistant for the Paducah Convention & Visi-tors Bureau, was selected as one of 30 rising stars in the tourism and travel industry to participate in the associa-tion’s 30 Under 30 program.

Sponsored by SearchWide, a full ser-vice executive search fi rm primarily for companies in the travel and tourism industry, the 30 Under 30 program’s participants receive complimentary registration and hotel accommoda-tions for DMAI’s Annual Convention in Seattle, Wash., July 16-18.

A graduate of Murray State Univer-sity, Schaumburg earned Basic Certifi -cation through the Kentucky Tourism Institute in May. She is pursuing the Professional in Destination Manage-ment certifi cation, which is offered through DMAI and George Washing-ton University.

■ ■ ■

Dane M. Blythe was named a member of Blythe, White & Associ-ates, a Paducah-based accounting and consulting fi rm.

The Heath High School graduate earned bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky, where he graduated summa cum laude. Blythe is a Certifi ed Public Accountant and a Certifi ed Financial Planner and was previously a tax man-ager with Lattimore Black Morgan and Cain, PC, in Brentwood, Tenn.

■ ■ ■

Paducah-based Kalleo Technolo-gies is one of 12 Kentucky businesses inducted into the Kentucky Business Pacesetter Program.

The program recognizes Kentucky businesses that are changing the economic landscape by introducing innovative products, increasing sales and production and serving communi-ties.

Brothers John and Doug Truitt, and their father Roger Truitt, founded the company in 2004 to provide managed IT services for health care and govern-

Aho Roman Nesler Brown

Cope Schaumburg Blythe Paxton

ment organizations. Kalleo employs 22 people.

■ ■ ■

Jamie Paxton was named con-troller of Paxton Media Group, LLC, which owns The Paducah Sun.

Paxton will serve as group controller for the company’s daily newspapers in Paducah, Owensboro, Madisonville, Vincennes, Ind., and related weekly properties.

As controller, Paxton will be respon-sible for all fi nancial reporting and control activities, and will supervise the corporate accounting staff. As group controller, Paxton will have direct responsibility for accounting and control functions for four daily newspapers and several related weekly newspapers in Kentucky, Illinois, Indi-ana and Tennessee.

Paxton joined PMG in 2007 as con-troller for the Sun, and recently served as senior accountant on the corporate staff. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame.

PMG is a family owned company based in Paducah that publishes 45 community newspapers in print and online, as well as numerous related niche products and publications. PMG also owns WPSD-TV, Paducah’s NBC affi liated television station, and a radio station in Franklin.

■ ■ ■

Local Edward Jones employees received companywide recognition.

Heath Bowling won the fi nancial services fi rm’s Jim Harrod Award for his exceptional achievement in build-ing client relationships. Bowling was one of 192 of the fi rm’s 12,000 fi nan-cial advisers to receive the award.

Chris Sims won the fi rm’s Ed Armstrong Award for his exceptional achievement in building client rela-tionships.

Sims was one of 1,429 of the fi rm’s 12,000 fi nancial advisers to receive the Ed Armstrong award.

■ ■ ■

Two professors in the Bauernfeind College of Business at Murray State University were selected for editor po-sitions at academic research journals.

Dr. Martin Milkman will become editor of the Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, a pub-lication sponsored by the Academy of Economics and Economic Education. Milkman is a professor of economics in the department of economics and fi nance. He joined the MSU faculty in 1988.

Dr. Murphy Smith will become editor of the Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, a publication sponsored by the Academy of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues. Smith is the David and Ashley Dill Distin-guished Professor of Accounting, and joined the MSU faculty in August.

■ ■ ■

Tommy J. Smith, president and chief executive offi cer at Baptist Healthcare System, announced his retirement effective April 15, 2013. A Baptist Healthcare board search com-mittee is working to evaluate qualifi ed candidates for Smith’s successor.

Baptist Healthcare System, head-quartered in Louisville, owns and operates Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah.

■ ■ ■

Scott Awbery and Eric Young, both longtime employees of the May-fi eld Fire Department, announced they will retire.

Both began their careers as fi refi ght-ers/EMTs in June 1991. Awbery is the department’s assistant chief. Young will retire as a captain. Mayfi eld Mayor Teresa Cantrell will recognize Awbery and Young at the Mayfi eld City Coun-

cil meeting July 9.■ ■ ■

Lourdes welcomed new employees and promoted another.

Jeffi e Lewis joined Lourdes as Lourdes Mercy Medical Associates director of operations for specialty services. Lewis formerly worked at Southern Illinois Healthcare in Car-bondale, Ill.

Megan Woolard joined the Lourdes staff as medical staff manag-er. Woolard earned a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in health care man-agement. Woolard formerly worked at Herrin Hospital in Herrin, Ill.

Lourdes promoted Levi Lov-erkamp to human resources manag-er. Loverkamp has worked at Lourdes for two years after serving as the human resource director for Parkview Nursing Center in Paducah.

■ ■ ■

ViWinTech Windows & Doors, Inc., of Paducah, welcomed Evan Rittgers as its company president. Rittgers brings nearly nine years of experience in operations management, product management, product development and distribution to his new position.

ViWinTech Windows & Doors has been manufacturing vinyl window and patio door products for more than 25 years.

■ ■ ■

Marty Barnett, a paramedic with Murray-Calloway County Hospital for 18 years, was promoted to director of ambulance services after the retire-ment of Jerry Gorrell.

A Hickman County High School graduate, Barnett joined MCCH in 1994. Barnett also graduated from the University of Kentucky Paramedic Program, Eastern New Mexico Uni-versity with an associate’s degree in emergency medical services and Mid-

Continent University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

■ ■ ■

Law enforcement offi cers from 17 agencies in Kentucky were recognized at a graduation ceremony for com-pleting the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training’s Academy of Police Supervision.

Twenty offi cers graduated from the program, including Mayfi eld Police Department Sgt. Chris Watkins.

■ ■ ■

David Glass, who works with fi nancial services fi rm Edward Jones in Paducah, won the fi rm’s Edward Jones Sr. Founders Award for his exceptional achievement in building client relationships.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Edward Jones employs more than 12,000 fi nancial advisers who work directly with nearly 7 million clients.

■ ■ ■

Paducah attorney Glenn Denton became a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. The IADC is a global, invitation-only asso-ciation for corporate and insurance de-fense attorneys who are distinguished partners in large and small law fi rms, senior counsel in corporate and insur-ance law departments or insurance executives.

■ ■ ■

Barry Smith, president of Regions Bank in Paducah, took over as presi-dent of the Southern Illinois Univer-sity Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors on July 1. Smith replaced Ray Serati, who remains on the board.

Smith, who lives in Paducah, is a native of Eldorado, Ill., and was a four-year basketball player at SIU, scoring 1,066 points from 1977 through 1980.


Milkman M. Smith Awbery Young Lewis LoverkampWoolard Barnett Striklin

Please see PEOPLE | 14


Entrepreneurship

Your Business

“I am mad as hell and I am not go-ing to take this anymore!” said How-ard Beale, the long-time news anchor for the USB evening news in the 1976 movie, “Network.”

In today’s environment, many of our customers and clients, when their anger is not handled properly, can and do become “mad as hell!”

In the world we live in today, it is more important than ever to un-derstand how to diffuse anger when dealing with a customer or client. The same techniques can be used when dealing with the anger of a family member or even a stranger you meet in the parking lot.

This article is not meant to scare you. It is intended, however, to raise your awareness about what it means to live in a world where anger can and

often is expressed in terms of violence. These techniques will help you be prepared to deal with that anger.

First, we should all recognize that complaints are OK because, at the very least, the customer is letting us know what the problem is.

I would much rather know what the problem is because then I can work toward a solution. If I don’t know what the problem is, there is no way to make things right. We must remem-ber, though, not to become defensive

when the customer is telling us their issues with the product or service.

Statistics demonstrate that if a com-plaint is well handled, the customer will be more loyal than he or she was before they complained. And we may have learned something constructive for our business.

Second, try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

It becomes critically important to understand the other person’s point of view. We must accept the fact that he

or she is entitled to their point of view, although it may be totally different from our own.

Third, let the person tell their story.The best medicine for upset people

is to let them vent. Use your listening skills and give the person a chance to express their feelings. Draw him or her out with questions, or noncom-mittal and empathetic remarks like “I see” or “I can see why you are upset” or “I can understand why you would feel this way.” This will help calm the customer while revealing some points of agreement or settlement that are

Eight steps for diffusing angerI would much rather know what the problem is because then I can work toward a solution. If I

don’t know what the problem is, there is no way to make things right.

“Hello, I’m _________.”That simple little phrase (with your

handwritten name) has become the international badge for the process of networking.

The term networking is one that either opens a window of opportu-nity or strikes fear within the heart. Since the day we walked into our fi rst grade classroom we’ve been taught to network. Johnny gets to know Bobby. Bobby plays T-ball with Jake. Jake’s dad coaches the team. Johnny, Bobby and Jake don’t have a clue they’re networking, but their parents do, so you get the picture.

Now if Johnny is outgoing and driven to play on the T-ball team he’ll be anxious to jump in there and get

to know the other guys. If, however, Johnny is shy or lacks confi dence in his abilities then he’ll need a nudge to help him begin the networking pro-cess. Bobby will, hopefully, encourage Johnny to try out for the team.

If we substitute the word busi-ness for baseball, it’s likely everyone reading this article can relate to the process of networking. The best I re-call, the term networking worked its way into our vernacular in the ‘80s. The 2000’s introduced us to social networking and that’s a different topic altogether. While social net-working has grown beyond social into business networking, our topic today is basic business networking, how it’s done, and why it’s important.

Networking by simple defi nition is the process of introducing yourself to people who have a circle of acquain-tences which, hence, you become part of after the introduction. In most cases, business networking is simply part of your overall marketing plan. The more people you add to your network of contacts, the better chance you have of achieving your sales goals.

Networking isn’t always about making a sale. Networking for per-sonal development also plays a large role in entrepreneurial development. Peer and mentor relationships often result from networking.

How to network is as individual as our unique personalities. Outgoing

people seem to work a room effort-lessly at networking events. While they may be at ease meeting and greeting others, chances are they are very conciously working their plan.

Here’s a basic guide to business networking at events.

■ Know the crowd, thus know why you’re networking. In most cases, you’ll know from the invitation whether you’re mixing with decision makers. If you’re in a crowd of fellow entrepreneurs you may just want to

Please see YOUR BUSINESS | 19

Please see ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 21

Terry Reeves

Darryl Armstrong

Tap into the power of business networking


Human Resources

Education

Despite the progress that has been made in higher education, one veter-an educator believes there continues to be a disconnect between postsec-ondary education and employers.

More than 50 percent of employers believe that post-secondary educa-tion should prepare individuals for success in the workplace while only 28 percent of education leaders say their institutions “have a primary or at least secondary role for preparing people for the workforce,” said Dr. Keith Bird, senior policy fellow for Workforce and Postsecondary Educa-tion with the Ann Arbor, Mich.–based Corporation for a Skilled Workforce.

To improve the nation’s workforce, the current disconnect between the education being taught in post-sec-ondary institutions and what employ-ers need has to be reduced, Dr. Bird said. “Occupations and (educational) majors matter. The return on invest-ment to students in terms of what they major in and what their occupa-tion really is, is extremely important.”

Bird previously worked for 10 years as the fi rst chancellor of the Kentucky Community and Technical College

System and served as president of community colleges in South Carolina and New Hampshire. Bird said busi-nesses becoming more involved with what is being taught in postsecondary

institutions will play a vital role in the nation’s future.

“How do we know that we are teaching the competencies to stan-dards set by employers. This is really

where business engagement, what others call partnerships, will be more important in the future,” he said during a visit to Paducah in March. “We all know of great partnerships with business and industries that are doing great work but the fact is that we need to really deepen employee engagement. We need to address this disconnect somehow between busi-ness and industry and education.

That is why I am so excited about the Work Ready Communities.”

A Work Ready Community

The Certifi ed Work Ready Com-munity program from the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (KWIB) and the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabi-net assures employers that a local workforce has the talent and skills

Building a Work Ready Community

Work Ready Communities can:■ Attract new businesses and

investments.■ Gain a competitive advantage

over other communities.■ Help existing companies grow

and add jobs.■ Recruit creative, talented, and

innovative people.■ Revitalize their economies and

keep them growing.Criteria:To earn the designation of a

Certified Work Ready Community, counties musts gather local sup-port and commitment as well as meet and maintain certain criteria associated with:

■ High School graduation rate.■ National Career Readiness

Certification.■ Community commitment.■ Postsecondary educational at-

tainment.■ Soft skills measurement.■ High speed internet availabil-

ity.■ Supplemental criteria unique

to the community (Occupational credentials, GED attainment, etc.)

How can you help? Local busi-nesses can help the community’s effort to be designated as a Certi-fied Work Ready Community by:

■ Adopting the NCRC as a re-quirement for potential employees.

■ Using the NCRC to test exist-ing employees.

■ Encouraging employees and other to take the NCRC

Benefits of being Work Ready

Maintaining accurate and current job descriptions is like eating your broccoli. You know you should do it, you know it’s good for you … but most of us just don’t do it.

The cynic in me thinks the very fi rst Human Resources Department was formed to write job descriptions. No one else wanted to do it, so the boss created a new group whose job it was

to write, write, write. Even today, HR staff professionals can expect to be assigned the task of interviewing em-ployees and writing job descriptions at some point early in their career.

The truth is that job descriptions are easy to create, easy to keep cur-rent, and highly motivating to the employee involved, if done properly. Equally important, they are a serious

management tool for reducing the business risk of your organization.

How can a one-page written docu-ment reduce your business risk, you ask? It comes down to all parties agreeing in advance to the respon-sibilities and accountabilities of the job. Let’s start with how we are going to use the job description.

For a new position, the JD will

be used to justify the addition in headcount. It will defi ne who does what within the department and will

Randy Fox

Eating your job description vegetables

Please see EDUCATION | 20

Please see RESOURCES | 18

Janett Blythe

In sports, in business, and in educa-tion, rankings matter.

In education, top-ranked universi-ties attract the best students, and top-performing graduates get the best jobs and enjoy higher earnings. High-ly ranked businesses attract more customers and investors, have higher earnings and create jobs through expansion. Top-ranked athletic teams attract the best players and win more championships. In short, excellence is rewarded.

This is particularly true in the competition for jobs and economic growth. States with a good business climate have greater opportunities to attract investment, create jobs and build more robust economies than states that rank poorly.

A good business climate that spurs economic growth also benefi ts the state as a whole by generating more

revenue from the taxes paid by grow-ing businesses and their employees.

To determine how the Common-wealth compares with other states as a place to do business, the Kentucky Chamber has prepared a new report, “Ready for Jobs?,” that reviews the key elements we believe make up the Commonwealth’s business climate:

■ Economic Climate: An overview of Kentucky’s economy and the cost of doing business.

■ Regulatory and Tax Environ-ment: Rankings of Kentucky tax

and regulatory policies that have an impact on business.

■ Employment Climate: How Kentucky compares with other states on workers’ compensation, unem-ployment insurance, right-to-work legislation and other indicators.

■ Education and Worker Training: Kentucky’s performance on such key rankings as college and career prepa-ration, overall education attainment and others.

■ Quality of Life: How health and well-being in Kentucky ranks with

other states.■ Infrastructure: The relative con-

dition of the state’s roads and bridges.■ Government Policy: State govern-

ment spending trends and debt levels.We wanted to provide a look at the

Commonwealth from the point of view of current and potential employ-ers, using indicators to show how well Kentucky is doing in providing a business climate that encourages job growth through business creation, expansion and investment. The re-port also includes recommendations for improving Kentucky’s perfor-mance and moving the state — and its economy — forward. The full report can be found at kychamber.com/readyforjobs.

The data and rankings used in the report come primarily from na-tional organizations and government agencies. The results are not always fl attering. While Kentucky compares well in some areas, in many others we are falling behind as refl ected in the following chart that summarizes the key fi ndings.

The “Ready for Jobs?” report shows we have serious work to do to make Kentucky a more competitive place to do business and achieve economic prosperity.

It is our hope that the information will promote action to create policies that will help business grow, create good jobs and build a stronger future for all Kentuckians.

The Kentucky Chamber stands ready to work in a constructive partnership with policymakers and other businesses and organizations to achieve our shared goal of moving the state forward.

Dave Adkisson is president of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.


Government

Ready for jobs?Dave Adkisson

The Kentucky Chamber stands ready to work in a constructive partnership with

policymakers and other businesses and organizations to achieve our shared

goal of moving the state forward.


Small Business - Training

Small Business - Innovation

What heaven looks like for most en-trepreneurs needing money is a place where they can go and tell someone about their great idea and they will be so excited about it that they will give you all the money you need.

What a wonderful world this would be — insert sigh here. If only it were this simple.

The truth is that a good investor is going to look at a lot of things without the rose-colored lenses of passion to decide if something is worth investing their money in. The question they are really trying to answer for themselves is if this will make enough money to give them their money back with a suffi cient return in addition to the original investment. How do they go about answering this question?

One of the most important things you can do for you and for a potential investor is to write a quality business plan. This document will answer many

of the questions an investor will be asking. There are seven elements you must include.

1. What is the problem you are solv-ing?

The best idea in the world will not be successful if it is not solving some-one’s problem.

You should be able to explain the pain your potential customer is feeling now and how they are currently ad-dressing the problem. Give the inves-tor confi dence that someone would be interested in this product because they have a need to buy it.

2. Product/service/technologyYou need to explain what your prod-

uct is. How have you protected your idea? Do you have any intellectual property, patents, copyrights, trade-marks? How does this work, explain the technology.

What are your plans for future development and/or products? How

does this function? What are the fea-tures? Have knowledgeable people in the fi eld test your product and provide endorsements. Make sure the poten-tial investor really understands what you are selling.

3. TeamThe most important thing an inves-

tor will look at is the management team or you as the inventor/entre-preneur. Most people think the most important thing is the idea, product or technology but if there is not someone the investor believes can take that idea, product or technology and make real money the idea has no value.

They want to see people who have a history of being successful, preferably as an entrepreneur and people who know their subject matter better than anyone else and more than can be found with research on the internet. Who are the founders, do you have a board of directors or an advisory

board and who are they? Give the investor confi dence in your ability and the ability of your team to execute this business.

4. Market/customersBe able to explain your nearest mar-

ket, the people most likely to buy your product, not the dream of 1 percent of a billion dollar market. You should know what your ideal customer looks like. What is their typical age, income, likes, dislikes, location, etc. What is the best way to reach them with your message through advertising? Dem-onstrate some initial market traction, even if it is not very many sales this will show that your target customer

Investors: What do they look for?Loretta Daniel

This region is blessed to have the opportunity for new and increased import and export possibilities by vir-tue of the Panama Canal expansion. This expansion will allow for larger cargo ships to pass through the canal and dock at gulf ports.

It is expected that there will be an increase in the import and export trade along the Mississippi River. Such trade will be appealing to im-porters seeking an alternative way to reach the heartland of the nation.

This importing route opens the op-portunity to an enhanced exporting route as well. Many business owners

in our region are giving thought to exporting their product where previ-ously that was not a consideration.

Exporting to another country can open new doors for a business owner to an entirely new, and potentially untapped, market. Such a venture can be likened to both starting a new business as well as expanding an existing one.

Operating in another country can also bring additional challenges. Each country offers a unique set of rules, laws and customs that can affect the success of a small business owner. In addition, the United States also has

many laws and regulations to ensure safe and sound import/export prac-tices. Learning these new laws can be a dizzying experience.

A business owner should approach exporting well prepared. The fol-lowing are some steps in becoming prepared.

1. Export Readiness: I would recommend that any business owner considering the export business take the Export Readiness Self-Assess-ment. It is accessed at www.export.gov and it is free. The self assessment is a brief questionnaire to help you identify areas where your business is

strong and areas that need improve-ment, especially when compared to typical fi rms engaged in export trade.

2. Seek Training /Counseling: Busi-ness training, guidance and support are keys to starting well and strength-ening the chances for long term success. The Murray State University Small Business Center provides train-ing services in developing an Export

Chris Wooldridge

Export planning

Please see INNOVATION | 13

Please see TRAINING | 20

On June 28, 2012, in a 5-4 decision authored by Chief Justice John Rob-erts, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the “individual mandate” provisions contained in the Affordable Care Act, known to some as “Obamacare.” The Court also determined, in a 7-2 decision, that the states can opt out of the Medicaid expansion provisions of the Act. The Court did not review any other provisions contained in the act.

There are two mandates of concern businesses that are not health care providers or health care insurers: (1) the employer mandate and (2) the individual mandate. The em-ployer mandates requires a business

to provide its employees (and their dependents) with health care cover-age if the business is a large employer. A large employer employs at least 50 full-time employees during a calen-dar year. If a large employer fails to provide health care coverage starting January 1, 2014, the business will likely have to pay a “penalty” or tax

based upon the number of its full-time employees to whom it does not provide coverage.

A full-time employee under the Act is anyone who works 30 or more hours per week. A part-time employee is anyone who works less than 30 hours per week. An employer will not be required to pay a penalty for

failing to provide health care coverage for part-time employees. However, part-time employees are included for purposes of determining whether an employer has the required 50 full-time employees.

Part-time employees are converted into full-time employee equivalents by dividing the total number of hours worked by part-time employees in a month by 120. The result is the number of full-time equivalents to be included in determining whether the

We learn about and consciously think of money in terms of numbers: saving to reach a goal, calculating interest on a loan, putting 10 percent into the collection plate at church, and so on. Agree? However, we may cripple our ability to live balanced, fi nancially successful lives if we don’t consider the profound interplay between emotions and money habits. Clients seem surprised when I fi rst bring this up, but are usually con-vinced as they refl ect upon their own money history.

The columns for this month and the next are about observing our fi nances from a perspective that we can easily overlook — how your feelings may be infl uencing your money habits in ways that implicate all areas of your life, from relationships to occupa-

tion, to habits and, ultimately, to your general happiness.

Note that I am not saying that the amount of money you accumulate or spend is the problem, but that what you have (or don’t have) in your sav-ings account may be the result of a complicated relationship with money.

Money triggers are happenings in your life that “trigger” an inappro-priate or out of proportion fi nancial reaction. Here’s a big one of mine: stocking up to save another trip to the grocery or because something is on sale. I’ve got enough cream of mushroom soup on hand to fi x green bean casserole for all of Mayfi eld — and I haven’t skipped any trips to the grocery in the meantime. What are yours? Money triggers can allow our logical brain to convince us we’re

doing the right thing so that we can satisfy our emotions. Not all money triggers are related to spending, either.

For example, I have a client who earns a mid-six-fi gure salary but was deceived by an ex-spouse who cleaned out the client’s bank accounts. The cli-ent is quite fi nancially secure but now has deep-rooted fears of being poor and is afraid of spending.

Money’s role is to be used as a tool in our “life kit” but instead of using it as a means to an end, we see it as the end in itself. According to the Chris-tian Personal Finance site, the Bible contains 250 verses related to money — God must have known that we would need a lot of help in this area! In particular, have you ever wondered why 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us that “The

love of money is the root of all evil” rather than that “Money is the root of all evil” as it is often misquoted (em-phasis added). What useful advice! It’s the feelings about money that causes problems, not the money itself. Sadly, money management is rarely taught at home and almost never in school.

An important part of Financial Life Planning is to listen as clients talk about their money experiences as children. When did you fi rst real-ize that money was important? How did your parents talk about it, if at


Financial Planning

Johanna Fox Turner

The emotion quotient

Law

Robert Goff

Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Care Act

Please see PLANNING | 15

Please see LAW | 19

If a large employer fails to provide health care coverage starting January 1, 2014, the business will likely have to pay a “penalty” or tax based upon the number of its full-time employees to

whom it does not provide coverage.


Sales

Everyone needs sales and personal development training. Even you. The challenge is how much and what kind.

With thousands of training op-tions, it’s diffi cult to select the best programs.

I just got an email solicitation tell-ing me to “create a unifi ed approach to learning management.” Huh? What does that mean? Wouldn’t it be a better message to suggest “a real-world approach to learning success”? Or am I missing something?

Last time I checked, training and education were all about the learner.

The email meticulously listed every element of current day training, from classroom to mobile app. They left out one small item — RELEVANT CONTENT.

What’s your approach to training? What’s your approach to learning? What’s your approach to education?

The haunting words of Jim Rohn have rung in my ears for more than three decades. “Formal education will earn you a living. Self education will earn you a fortune.” And with the state of the economy and train-ing cutbacks, this message is more urgent and relevant than ever.

What’s your self-education plan for the next 24 months? Are you learn-ing about sales and success as many hours as you’re watching TV? Or are you waiting for the training depart-ment to give you new information?

The classroom environment is in total transition. With the maturation of e-learning, and the addition of mobile and tablet (ok, iPad), infor-mation is being transferred in new, faster, and better ways. “Just in time” has given way to “on demand.”

For the classroom to remain a rel-evant and vital part of anyone’s learn-ing success, several elements must be present – and beyond the classroom (or in place of it) the same elements apply.

Transferability and acceptance of the information

■ Information, examples, lessons, modules and instructors must be real world. • Information must directly relate to the learner and his or her challenges.

■ The learner must understand, ac-cept, and agree with the information provided, or it’s an exercise in futility.

■ The learner must believe in the information, and display a willing-ness to try it (even if it’s different from today’s comfort). That belief must also be present as a person, or the courage to execute will be non-existent.

■ The information and strategies must be viable in actual selling situ-ations.

Excellence of the presenter and the lessons

A dynamic presenter is not just “getting through the material.” The trainer’s presentation skills are the fulcrum point of transferability. The mentality of “getting through the ma-terial” rather than being dynamic is a sure death knell to the success of the outcome. NOTE: The presenter HAS A RESPONSIBILITY to be compel-ling.

Presentation of content

■ Sales systems DON’T WORK – selling strategies DO. But they must include other important aspects of the engagement process like buying motives, value proposition, reputa-tion, belief in what you sell, and love of what you do. Systems reek of ma-nipulation. NOTE WELL: “Outcome” (what happens after the customer takes ownership) is NEVER in a system, yet it’s the most important part of the selling process. “Value” is never presented in terms of the cus-

tomer in any selling system, yet it’s the true differentiator from competi-tors. NOTE VERY WELL: Concen-trate on helping the prospect win, not where you are in the system.

■ What questions are you teaching people to ask in order to gain true engagement?

■ Still teaching cold calling? Why not teach how to earn referrals?

■ Still stressing hunting and farm-ing? No wonder you don’t get any referrals.

■ Still trying to show how to qualify prospects? Just “like” them. If they like you, they will be forthright and most times qualify themselves. And have them like you on your business Facebook page (assuming you have one).

■ Still teaching people to “close the

sale” like they did in 1972? Joke.■ Teaching old world selling skills

rather than uncovering buying mo-tives is the difference between suc-cess and failure.

■ Teaching product knowledge in a classroom rather than at a customer’s place of business? Why?

Reality bites

■ How much of an expert are YOU on business social media?

■ How many new sales have YOU

Jeffrey Gitomer

Learning management or learning success?

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Please see SALES | 18


Encouraging growth and investment in existing local businesses was a talk-ing point when Chad Chancellor was hired two years ago as president and CEO of Paducah Economic Develop-ment.

“We are trying to help our existing companies grow every way we can,” Chancellor said. “The main thing we’re doing is making them aware that there are incentives out there for them.”

Chancellor said Kentucky’s require-ments for business incentives are geared toward helping companies of all

sizes qualify for help.If a business adds 10 or more new

jobs and invests at least $100,000, it qualifi es for tax credits, which worked perfectly for VMV Paducahbilt.

Arabic numerals painted onto shiny new locomotives sitting in the VMV Paducahbilt plant hinted at why the company is investing in new equip-ment and adding 25 jobs.

The blue and gray locomotives were set to ship to Saudi Arabia, one of the countries creating overseas demand for the diesel engines manufactured in Paducah.

“We’ll be adding 25 people in the

Diesel engines of economic growthVMV Paducahbilt’s 25 new jobs and investment just the kind of growth economic developers are looking for

BY ADAM [email protected]

VMV Paducahbilt’s railroad shops support local industry, such as Paducah & Louisville Railway based in Paducah.


Aubrey Leigh, a VMV Paducahbilt employee, is one of 144 full-time staff at the railroad shops off Kentucky Avenue in Paducah.



Jackie Duncan, a VMV Paducahbilt employee, works on a locomotive engine block at the railroad shops off Ken-tucky Avenue in Paducah. The company is adding 25 new jobs to help meet export demand.


likes the product and will pay for it.5. CompetitionKnow all of your competition, both

good and bad. Know their strengths and weaknesses and what makes you competitive with them. The one thing you cannot say is that you do not have any competition. Everyone has competition even if it is the way your customers are already solving the problem. List the competitors and how your product compares to them.

What is your competitive advan-tage? Make sure the investor under-stands who your competition is, how they are good or bad, how you com-pare and what your strengths are.

6. Business modelExplain how you are going to make

money. What is your revenue model, pricing, average account size and/or

lifetime value, sales and distribution model and customer/pipeline list. The purpose of a business is to make money.

It is not true that if you build a bet-ter mousetrap they will beat a path to your door. You must have a plan for how you will make money in this busi-ness. You have to show how this can be a business, not just a neat project.

7. Projected fi nancial statementsAn investor wants to know how

much money you think this busi-ness will make. If you are already in business you must also tell them how much money you have made in the last three years or however long you have been in business if shorter than three years. Provide historical and projected profi t and loss statements, balance sheet and cash fl ow state-ments. How much money have you in-vested in this project, have you raised

money from anyone else yet, even if it is friends or family?

How much money are you trying to raise from an investor, what are you going to use it for and what are you willing to give the investor in return?

These are all questions you need to plan for and have answers for in ad-vance. The investor wants to see that enough money will be made to justify his investment and know up front how much you want from them and what they can expect in return.

Always remember, if someone were asking you for your money, what would you want to know before you write that check?

Loretta Daniel is director of the Mur-ray State University Regional Business and Innovation Center. She can be contacted at 270-809-6071 or [email protected].

INNOVATION

CONTINUED FROM 9

• Architecture/Engineering

• Home Planning & Design

• Design-Build Commercial & Residential

• Master Planning, Feasibility Studies & Renderings

ACE Design Group, LLC624 N. 4th StreetMurray, KY 42071

270-759-4420www.acedesigngroupllc.com

Always play your best card.

next couple of months,” said Bob Ped-ersen, vice president and general man-ager, inside his offi ce adjacent to the towering plant off Kentucky Avenue. “We’re looking for welders, pipe fi tters, machinists and painters.”

Export business is nothing new for VMV Paducahbilt or its parent compa-ny, National Railway Equipment Co., based in Illinois. NREC ships locomo-tives to 13 countries, according to its website, nationalrailway.com.

Export demand for the locomotives made at Paducahbilt has never been higher, Pedersen said, with 26 set to ship to Saudi Arabia, and others head-ing to Australia and Africa.

To meet that demand, Pedersen con-fi rmed the company will spend more than $920,000 for building improve-ments and new equipment, and add the 25 jobs to its 144 full-time staff.

The investment is a boost to one of Paducah’s most historical and visible manufacturing plants, even if the scale of its modern use has become foggy for most locals.

When the brick complex with sky-lights throughout its green roof was built for $7 million in 1927, workers produced steam engines. Pedersen

said it was 1962 when the last steam engine was produced in Paducah as technology moved toward modern diesel engines.

In a sign of the recent development’s importance to the state, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Au-thority authorized $500,000 in payroll tax incentives for the new jobs. Those jobs will average about $18 per hour, according to state documents.

The incentives will be doled out in $50,000 payments each year for 10 years as long as VMV Paducahbilt

maintains its employment numbers. The incentives and investment is an injection of growth and energy to a long-time employer.

According to the company’s records, to fi nd the plant’s highest level of em-ployment you have to go back to Sept. 10, 1942, when 1,447 workers toiled in the brick and steel building. The bricks and steel covering 21 acres of land routinely has the building running 5 to 10 degrees hotter in the summer, and cooler in the winter, than outside temperatures.

And although employment at the railroad shops has steadily fallen over the years — in 2000 the workforce contracted to about 300 workers after hitting 650 the previous year — the plant remains a career destination for many.

Pedersen said employment has re-mained steady for the last three years.

Pederson said the company uses about 80 percent of the entire com-mercial complex. The scale of the operation remains overwhelming and as alluring as railroads tend to be to Americans.

Rolling 250-ton cranes glide up near the building’s tall roof, moving bulky engine blocks with ease.

Painting a locomotive takes seven days, and painting is a fi nishing touch on what’s a four-month construction process start to fi nish.

Give VMV Paducahbilt four more months, and the railroad shops will have 25 more workers, too.

Contact Adam Shull, Journal editor, at 270-575-8653 or follow @adamshull on Twitter.

By the numbers: VMV Paducahbilt’s railroad shops at 1300 Kentucky Ave.■ 8 — Acres of glass that make

up the windows and skylights.■ 21 — Acres of land under roof.■ 110 — Acres of land that make

up the entire operation off Ken-tucky Avenue.

■ 1,447 — Highest numbers of workers in the plant’s history reached Sept. 10, 1942.

■ 57,750 — Dollars, the value of

the 250-ton crane, the largest of 15 major cranes, used for opera-tions.

■ 6,542,500 — Bricks used in the construction of the railroad shops.

■ 7 million — Dollars it cost to build the railroad shops from 1925 to 1927.

*Source: VMV Paducahbilt records


■ ■ ■

Toni Stricklin, a real estate agent with Century 21 Service Realty in Paducah, was awarded the company’s Masters Diamond Award for meet-ing production levels, and the Quality Service Pinnacle Award for outstand-ing client service.

Stricklin also completed the Certi-fi ed Residential Specialist designation, the highest designation available to sales associates in the residential sales fi eld that recognizes professional ac-complishments in both experience and education.

■ ■ ■

Computer Services Inc. of Paducah promoted Jarrett Puckett from customer service manager to vice president of account management for the company’s NuPoint division.

Puckett is responsible for manag-ing personalized customer support strategies nationwide for a targeted segment of CSI’s core bank process-ing accounts, which includes directing multiple customer service managers and account management teams.

Puckett began his career at CSI in 2003 as an account manager in the St. Louis area.

He later worked as a customer service manager for CSI’s offi ces in Lincoln, Neb., and St. Louis.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information services, and a master’s degree in business adminis-tration, from Murray State University.

■ ■ ■

Mark Butler was named director of operations at Western Baptist Medi-cal Ventures, an affi liate of Western Baptist Hospital.

Butler will manage the organization that employs 20 physicians in eight specialties to provide medical care for individuals and families in a clinical practice setting.

Butler earned a bachelor’s degree from Union University and a master’s degree from the University of Ten-nessee at Martin, both in business administration.

Butler previously served as execu-tive director of Life Care Centers of

America in Bruceton, Tenn., as admin-istrator of Tennessee Valley Cardio-vascular Center in Florence, Ala., and as practice manager of HCA Physician Services in Brentwood, Tenn.

■ ■ ■

Peel & Holland, a Benton-based insurance and risk management company, announced new members to its staff:

Eric Stuber joined the company as director of information technology. Since May, Stuber has been respon-sible for maintaining and securing the agency’s technical infrastructure. Stuber studied mechanical engineer-ing at the University of Kentucky and has 14 years of experience in computer science and information technology.

Clare Boggess was hired as an ac-countant. Boggess earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in fi nance from the University of Memphis.

She also serves as the volleyball coach at Murray High School.

Ashley O’Daniel joined Peel & Holland as business development specialist.

O’Daniel earned a bachelor’s degree in literature and creative writing from Murray State University.

Christie Oakley was hired as an account administrator. Oakley has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, and earned her property and casualty license in 1990.

Julie Denfi p was named an executive assistant to the senior vice president of property and casualty.

Denfi p graduated from Mid-Continent University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and received a Certifi ed Professional Secretary designation in 2007.

■ ■ ■

Lone Oak High School graduate Sarah Parker was hired as executive account assistant at Preston-Osborne, a full-service marketing communica-tions and research fi rm in Lexington.

Parker’s position provides insight and oversees the logistics of Preston-Osborne’s business development and public relations efforts.

Parker earned a specialized degree in urban planning from the University of Kentucky, and she will work closely with Phil Osborne, Preston-Osborne CEO, on accounts that he manages.

■ ■ ■

Gov. Steve Beshear appointed several locals to Kentucky boards and commissions:

Paul E. Fourshee, of Cadiz, and Sonya G. Baker, of Murray, were reap-pointed to the Kentucky Arts Coun-cil for terms expiring Feb. 1, 2016. Fourshee is the owner of Fourshee Building Supply. Baker is a singer and an associate professor at Murray State University.

Doug Dotson, of Benton, was

reappointed to the Motor Vehicle Com-mission to serve a term expiring July 1, 2015. Dotson is a used car dealer at West Kentucky Used Cars.

Marty T. Ivy was appointed to the Kentucky Infra-structure Author-ity to serve a term expiring June 30, 2016. Ivy is general superintendent of Mayfi eld Electric and Water Systems. Ivy represents the Kentucky Municipal Utilities Associa-tion. The appoint-

ment replaces Thomas P. Calkins, whose term expired.

Danny B. Perry, of Murray, was appointed to the Statewide Indepen-dent Living Council for a term expiring May 20, 2015. Perry, a volunteer, rep-resents advocates of and for individu-als with disabilities. His appointment replaces Kimberly S. Parsley, whose term expired.

■ ■ ■

Mercy Medical Associates, Lourdes’ employed physician practice, wel-comed Dr. Ralph D. Millsaps to the medical staff.

Millsaps is a graduate of Oklahoma Christian College and the University of Texas Medical School. He is board-certifi ed in cardiovascular medicine, internal medicine, critical care medi-cine and echocardiography.

Millsaps’ offi ce is at Murray Car-diology inside Primary Care Medical Center at 1000 S. 12th St. in Murray.

■ ■ ■

Lourdes promoted Michelle Blankenship, R.N., to supervisor of clinical documentation specialists. Blankenship has worked for Lourdes for three years.

■ ■ ■

Jeff Joyce, of Paducah, became an independent consultant for Akea, a health and wellness company, repre-senting western Kentucky, southern Illinois and western Tennessee.

For more information call 509-540-

PEOPLE

CONTINUED FROM 5

B. SmithButler Parker

Case GrantCherry Gruber Korson

Milsaps Vernon


6858 or email [email protected].

■ ■ ■

ACE Design Group, LLC, in Murray hired two new employees.

The architecture and engineer-ing fi rm welcomed Josh Vernon as principal-in-charge of planning and design, and Alecia Cherry as a drafter and interior design leader.

Vernon worked for Riley Architects Services in Mayfi eld beginning in December 2010 after relocating from a mid-size fi rm in Montana, where he also taught as a part-time professor at Montana State University’s School of Architecture. Vernon’s work has gar-nered design awards from the Ameri-can Institute of Architects.

Cherry earned a bachelor’s degree of interior design from Murray State Uni-versity in 2009. Before joining ACE Design, Cherry worked on various residential and commercial projects independently in the region. Cherry specializes in CAD drafting as well as hand-drawn renderings.

■ ■ ■

Dr. Thomas J. Gruber joined the medical staff at Western Baptist Hospital.

Gruber is a board-eligible neuro-surgeon who offers a full range of brain and spine procedures, including

lumbar, thoracic and cervical fusions and laminectomy. At WBH, he joins Dr. Theodore E.C. Davies.

Gruber served as neurosurgery chief resident at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Department of Neurosurgery. He earned a doctor of medicine degree as well as a bach-elor’s degree in international strategic studies. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Gruber is accepting new patients at Paducah Neurosurgical Center, Doc-tors Offi ce Building 2, Suite 404, 2603 Kentucky Ave. Call 270-443-6472.

■ ■ ■

Dr. Rachel Korson signed with Murray-Calloway County Hospital to begin work in neurology and sleep medicine in August 2013.

In 2008, Korson graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, Calif., after earning a bachelor’s degree in 2003 in health science from Southern Adven-tist University in Collegedale, Tenn.

Korson also graduated from the Shenandoah Valley Academy in New Market, Va., in 1999.

She will complete a Stanford Sleep Medicine Fellowship in Redwood City, Calif., in June 2013.

■ ■ ■

The City of Mayfi eld hired Betsy Case as a new dispatcher. Case, a Kentucky certifi ed dispatcher, worked for several years as a dispatcher in Carlisle County.

■ ■ ■

Barkley Regional Airport hired Eddie Grant as its new director of marketing. Grant earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Mur-ray State University. He previously worked as director of content and site manager for iSurfPaducah.com and was property communications special-ist for Harrah’s Metropolis Casino and Hotel.

Grant replaced Jackie Jones, who will move to Paris, Tenn., to assist with customer service management for a family owned business.

■ ■ ■

Western Rivers Corp. of Pa-ducah earned the senior partner designation from Grange Insurance, placing the agency in an elite group. The honor places special status upon independent agencies that sell Grange products based on their experience, professionalism and superior perfor-mance.

Western Rivers Corp. is located at 703 Jefferson St.

■ ■ ■

Fred Pelle, chief executive offi cer of Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfi eld, resigned effective July 17.

Jerry Dooley, a hospital admin-istrator with more than 30 years of experience, will serve as the interim CEO.

Dooley joins JPMC after working at LifePoint’s Georgetown Community Hospital in Georgetown, where he served as interim CEO since October 2010.

Prior to coming to Mayfi eld, Dooley served as interim CEO for three other LifePoint hospitals. Dooley earned a master’s degree in economics from In-diana State University and a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of Minnesota.

■ ■ ■

Four local Taco John’s restaurants received awards at the Taco John’s International Annual Convention in Huntington Beach, Calif. Taco John’s locations on Jackson Street and Bridge Street in Paducah, in Murray and in Mayfi eld were recognized for being in the top 75 stores company-wide.

The Taco John’s locations in Pa-ducah are owned by Tammi Wyatt Halvorson, Stephanie Houser and Danielle Cope. Halvorson and Kim Maddox Inman own the Mayfi eld and Murray locations.

all? Did you get an allowance, were you spoiled with “things”, etc.? For instance, one client told me that the only fi ghts her parents had were over money. This experience left a last-ing imprint on their children, both of whom grew up with unhealthy money relationships. Also, I frequently am told that money was a not a topic for discussion at home, which parents most likely learned from their parents — and the cycle continues. It can be broken, though.

As Ted McLyman states in his revolutionary new book, Money Makes Me Crazy, “Your feeling brain is always the fi rst responder in money matters. As much as you try, your initial reaction to money is emotional.

... Financially successful people have a deliberate strategic system to help them make better money choices. People with money issues tend to use an impulsive and emotional ap-proach.”

If you have children at home, teach them to have a healthy relationship with money. One of the best gifts you can give children is an understanding of money along with a healthy at-titude that money is a tool to be used sensibly.

Help them open a bank account, save, and spend wisely. Include practical lessons such as balanc-ing their checkbook, why they earn interest and, even more important, the calamity of borrowing on credit cards instead of paying cash. At the same time, include discussions on

the feelings that money creates and how to work with their emotions in a constructive way. Feelings aren’t necessarily bad as long as you use them to your benefi t which includes recognizing when an emotion is about to slide you into a bad decision.

If you don’t feel qualifi ed to begin teaching your children because you’re dealing with your own money hang-ups, you’ve got plenty of company. Here are some tips to start working on your money issues:

Make a list of your top 10 values – they don’t have to be about money

Make a list of your money triggersCompare the lists – is there a

confl ict between your money triggers and your values? If there is, you’ve got some work to do!

This is the fi rst step of building a

healthy money foundation. If you think you may be in over your head, though, don’t give up on yourself – help is available! To go to the next level, try Ted’s book (it’s a quick read) and call us to learn more about our MBA program (“Money Behavior Analysis”). Finally, stay tuned – next month’s article, You, Inc., will build on the groundwork of this piece.

Johanna Fox Turner, CPA, CFP, RLP, is CEO of Milestones Financial Planning, LLC in Mayfield. She is president of Johanna Fox, CPA and publishes a free monthly financial newsletter (email [email protected] to subscribe). Contact Turner at [email protected], 270-247-0555, 800-991-2721, or at www.milestonesfp.com.

PLANNINGCONTINUED FROM 10


■ ■ ■

Keith Jennings opened Jen-nings & Associates Financial Advisors, LLC at 821 Broadway.

A group of advisers moved to the offi ce in May with the aim of assist-ing clients with retirement income planning. The fi rm also offers fi nan-cial coaching for clients interested in making the most of their resources, according to a company release.

Securities are offered through LPL Financial.

■ ■ ■

Sleep Outfi tters held a grand opening celebration June 27 for its lo-cation at 3236 Irvin Cobb Drive. That store opened in December.

A second Sleep Outfi tters location has opened at 2875 James-Sanders Blvd.

The new stores are a positive move for the company and region, said Kimberly Brown Knopf, owner and president of Innovative Mattress Solutions, LLC, in a release.

Based in Charleston, W.Va., Innova-tive Mattress Solutions operates under the names Sleep Outfi tters and Mat-tress Warehouse.

“We now serve customers in a six-state area and employ nearly 400 people in sales, operations and corpo-rate support functions,” said Knopf, who founded the company in 1983 at age 23.

The new local showroom features name brand mattress sets, and in-novative sleep systems, including latex foam and visco-elastic foam. Sleep Outfi tters also offers complete beds, electric adjustable beds, bed bug pro-tectors, sheets and pillows. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Sat-urday, and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

■ ■ ■

A new gourmet cookie shop named Patty’s Cowpatties opened in Smithland at 200 W. Adair St.

Owners Patty Downey and hus-band Michael Downey opened the made-to-order shop about a month ago. The cookies are large — 3.5 to 4 ounces — and are inspired by Patty’s time growing up on a farm, said Mi-

chael Downey.Downey said the couple moved from

Waxahachie, Texas, to western Ken-tucky to be closer to grandchildren.

He said the shop isn’t a bakery with a retail front, but more of a made-to-order service where Patty will bake a cowdozen, or 13, cookies based upon occasions and special preferences. For example, the Downeys have baked University of Kentucky-theme cook-ies wrapped in UK memorabilia for parties. Michael Downey said the shop relies on internet business as well, having already taken orders from Cali-fornia and Florida from the website pattyscowpatties.com.

He said deliveries to Paducah come with a $10 fee. For more information call 270-928-2253.

■ ■ ■

Computer Services, Inc.of Pa-ducah ranked sixth in Nine Lives Me-dia’s second annual Talkin’ Cloud 100 report. Among companies that made the list, CSI was the highest-ranked managed services provider focused exclusively on the needs of fi nancial institutions.

The managed services division of CSI provides cloud-delivered IT performance and security managed services to help fi nancial institutions remain competitive, compliant and profi table.

■ ■ ■

Sleeping Dogs, a new antiques and collectibles shop open at 925 Caldwell St., is a sign of future devel-opment, according to owners Scott and Barbara Nordman.

Nestled in a vacated strip of build-ings across from Robert Coleman Park, the new shop features home decor items, antiques and “stuff a guy just needs,” Scott Nordman said. Mod-els of aged shrimp boats, lighted beer signs and movie-theme posters fi lled the freshly remodeled building Thurs-day. Nordman said many of the items are great for stocking a man cave, or a man’s leisure room.

Barbara Nordman operates the shop, which is open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The shop will open at 9 a.m. on Saturdays with no set closing time, Scott said. For more information call 270-442-1399.

The Nordmans have leased almost the entire block, including the aged vacant buildings fl anking the new business, in hopes of restoring busi-ness and interest in the area. Renova-tions are under way in what formerly was the 10th Street Liquors building, and Nordman said he hopes to attract entrepreneurs who need a commercial space.

■ ■ ■

Jessica Perkins, of Paducah,

launched Inkwell Creative Media, a marketing fi rm specializing in writing content for print and web-based mar-keting materials. Inkwell also provides editing and translation services for Spanish and Portuguese, according to a company release.

For more information call 502-938-3133 or visit inkwellcreativemedia.com.

■ ■ ■

Reed Electric, Heating and Air celebrated a grand re-opening with an open house Friday. The company moved to 201 W. Tenth St., Suite B in Metropolis, Ill.

Launching in 2004 as Reed Electric in the garage of Thomas and April Reed, the business added “Heating and Air” to its title in 2009 to refl ect its new services in southern Illinois and western Kentucky.

■ ■ ■

Each Friday beginning this week through Aug. 10, Paducah Bank will offer grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at a different bank location.

Friday, lunch will be served at the bank’s Strawberry Hill location at 4575 Pecan Drive.

For locations of future cookouts call Susan Guess at 270-575-5723.

Paducah Bank has long set out to prove that all banks are the same, said Wally Bateman, bank president, in a release. “And a customer appreciation event is one of the ways we hope to drive that point home.”

■ ■ ■

The board of directors of Comput-ers Services, Inc. in Paducah de-clared a quarterly cash dividend of 14 cents per share, a 12 percent increase from the previous cash dividend of 12.5 cents per share. The dividend is payable on Sept. 25 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 4, according to a company release.

This dividend marks CSI’s 24th consecutive annual increase in its cash dividend.

ATTUS Technologies, Inc., a divi-sion of CSI, is able to better market its WatchDOG Pro program after recent record-setting fi nes from the Offi ce of

BIZ BUZZ

CONTINUED FROM 3

ADAM SHULL | The Sun

Green Door Floral & Decor has moved to 315 Broadway from its former location at 3143 Broadway. The new store reflects a merger with another florist, In Bloom Floral and Marketplace.


Foreign Assets Control. The program screens entity and individual names against OFAC lists that are updated near real time helping fi nancial institu-tions better meet OFAC compliance standards.

To learn more visit attustech.com/ofac/ofac-white-papers.aspx

■ ■ ■

Kentucky earned “B” grades for manufacturing and logistics in a report from Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research which grades every state in several economic factors.

The center’s 2012 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card compared states in areas such as human capi-tal (Kentucky received a “D” grade), worker benefi t costs (C) and tax climate (C). Border states Ohio and Indiana garnered “A” grades. For more information about the research and grades assigned visit bsu.edu/cber/publications.

■ ■ ■

Local chiropractor Calvin Shanks moved his practice, The Fix, Chiro-practic Solutions, to 131 Nahm St. and opened the doors July 2.

Shanks opened his practice in Paducah two years ago at 4645 Village Square Drive in the commercial com-plex behind Home Depot.

A Poplar Bluff, Mo., native, Shanks said his offi ce’s billing and approach to administrative matters remains the same at the new location. Shanks’ cus-tomers can pay a monthly fee and can visit the offi ce as many times as they’d like without setting an appointment. Those without a monthly membership can stop by without appointments for a $20 fee.

■ ■ ■

Emily Clark, an interior design blogger from Mayfi eld, is featured in the July 2012 issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

Clark lives in Belmont, N.C., and writes for emilyaclark.com on which she chronicles her own home decorat-ing and money-saving design tips. The six-page article in Better Homes & Gardens magazine details how Clark decorated most of her home using thrift store fi nds, castoff furniture and online listings.

Clark graduated from Graves County High School and Murray State University.

■ ■ ■

Western Kentucky-based Four Dough, LLC has not fi led for a building permit in Paducah to build a Dunkin’ Donuts location as planned in November 2011.

Mike Spaulding at Four Dough

did not return phone messages last week.

In November, Spaulding told the Sun he hoped to submit a site plan by January for a Paducah site for the popular donut franchise.

No plans were on fi le in Paducah’s planning department or inspection’s offi ce as of July 3.

■ ■ ■

Owensboro-based Independence Bank was ninth in the nation in an American Bankers Association rank-ing based on consolidated statistics refl ecting the return on average equity.

The bank notched ninth out of 483 mid-sized banks with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to a bank release.

The ABA list identifi ed the top-per-forming mid-level banks and detailed a 14.5 percent growth in assets and 26.3 percent growth in deposits for Independence Bank in 2011.

Independence Bank employs 257 and has 20 offi ces in seven Kentucky counties, including three in McCrack-en County.

■ ■ ■

Paducah Power System added email and text reminders to customer accounts, allowing people to sign up for reminders about their bill pay-ments, according to a company release.

At a customer’s request, the com-pany will send him an email or text re-minding of a due date, past due bill or change to his online profi le. For more information, call 270-575-4000.

■ ■ ■

July 16 was the deadline for annual crop certifi cation for farmers to receive assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

Producers must fi le accurate reports for all crops and land uses, including failed acreage and prevented planting to ensure they receive the maximum FSA program benefi ts possible.

Acreage reports on crops covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster As-sistance Program should be fi led with a county offi ce either by July 16 or no later than 15 calendar days before the onset of harvest or grazing of the acreage being reported, according to a USDA release.

Keith Jennings, left, looks over docu-

ments in his office. Jennings & Associ-ates Financial Advi-

sors, LLC opened its doors at 821 Broad-

way in Paducah, below.


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made?■ How many sales has marketing

made with the slide deck they’re ask-ing you to present? (Answer: NONE.)

■ What is the reinforcement offered beyond the “day of learning.”

■ What is the implementation feedback from salespeople trying to actually make sales?

Measuring success beyond the classroom

Are you measuring the wrong return? Return on investment (ROI)

is a wrong measurement.■ Measure return on human capital

(including turnover).■ Measure return on sales (indi-

vidual performance, not just total increase).

■ Measure return on profi t (not just gross numbers, net bottom line revenue).

WHEW! That’s a brain-full. But if you do it right, and make the invest-ment, it’s also a wallet full.

Jeffrey Gitomer is an author and president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer. Email Jeffrey at [email protected].

SALES

CONTINUED FROM 11

probably cause other descriptions to be re-written to account for the re-allocation of the work.

In addition, a decision will have to be made for the knowledge, skill and ability requirements necessary to maximize the chance of success for the new person in the new role. Re-cruiting really cannot start until you know what you are looking for.

The review of applicants and selec-tion of the fi nalist also depends on the section of the job description known as the essential functions of the job. This is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (ADA).

Lastly, compensation decisions will need to be made based on the listed information. A position that requires skills learned in college plus the judgment capabilities of two years of related experience will result in a compensation package very much different from that which requires

only the skills of learning and execut-ing a simple task.

In the last 10 years, more and more companies are simplifying the job description by making it a question-naire rather than a narrative. The incumbent employee answers eight to ten questions about the job. These answers, once approved by the super-visor (and usually HR), then become the job description by itself.

This process makes total sense since it is the employee who knows most about what they actually do every day.

If done annually, not only does the employee get to toot their own horn to the boss about what they do, but the supervisor is kept informed of

changes that have occurred naturally, such as a new system or procedure that he/she might not have realized impacted the employee’s job duties.

Next month, I will bring closure to this annual job decription review process by writing about perfor-mance appraisals and showing the perfect way to integrate the two.

There is one other use of job descriptions that doesn’t get much attention until a problem arises.

Should anything go sour in the people side of your business and a dispute arises, having a job descrip-tion that was drafted by the employee and discussed with the supervisor is very strong for the defense of your business. This could be as simple as an unemployment hearing or as com-plex as a discrimination court case. By having a current and accurate job description, you have minimized the risk to your business.

There are some DOs and DON’Ts with job descriptions. DO include

the famous line at the bottom about “Other duties as assigned,” and DO be brief, but give enough informa-tion for a determination to be made whether the position is exempt from U.S. overtime laws (which will be the subject of an entire future article).

However, DON’T refer to rates of pay or compensation: that’s a sepa-rate arena which has many sources of reference, only one of which is the job description. And DON’T list the supervision of others as the reason the job exists. Nobody’s job consists of merely watching other people work.

On a separate note — Are you interested in learning more how Human Resources affects your busi-ness? The local Four Rivers chapter of the national Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is hosting an HR Conference on August 9 in Paducah. Please look to fourriv-ers.shrm.org for details.

Randy Fox, SPHR, is the founder and senior partner of Capstone HR Services, Inc., an HR consulting firm dedicated to serving the needs of the small employer in the greater western Kentucky region, including Evansville, Ind. and Clarksville, Tenn. Contact him at 270-703-9352.

RESOURCES

CONTINUED FROM 7 Should anything go sour in the people side of your business and a dispute arises, having a job

description that was drafted by the employee and discussed with the supervisor is very strong

for the defense of your business.

fourriversbusiness.com

important in leading to a solution.Fourth, learn to listen.It is not enough to sit passively

while a person talks. You have to listen with the mind (as well as the ears), looking for the paths that lead to un-derstanding and problem solving. Be careful not to give a reply before the person is ready. Until someone with a problem has completely vented his or her feelings, they will not be ready to listen to a solution!

Fifth, be empathetic not sympa-thetic.

Be sure to use empathetic language that illustrates you are trying to understand the caller’s point of view. Sympathy and empathy are both acts of feeling, but with sympathy you feel sorry for the person without truly understanding the what and why of their feelings. Empathy is a much

more active process, and it takes work and imagination to get there. See the above.

Sixth, speak the person’s language.It won’t help to use terms common

to your profession or company when dealing with a person who is upset.

Find words he or she will un-derstand when talking about your service. The goal is to communicate. Listen carefully to the person and take notes. If they say they “think” the product or service is defective, refl ect back to them that you “understand their thinking”. However, if a person says “they don’t feel good about the service”, this person is emotive so use “feeling” language when responding to them.

Seventh, whatever you say, say it with respect.

Courtesy, respect and consideration are all shown by using a friendly tone of voice and a set of behaviors which

show the person that you consider him or her a person worthy of respect. A controlled volume to your voice and a choice of words that will be mean-ingful to your listener can make all the difference. See above.

Finally, diligently work to make the person “feel” important.

You may hear the same complaint or problem frequently. Just imagine how many times counter agents at air-ports must hear the same compliant over and over. However, this person may have only told it once. So we must listen patiently. Learning the person’s name and using it in the conversation is helpful also.

We are often reminded as children of the “Golden Rule.” It certainly ap-plies in business, yet perhaps more in the sense that author and longshore-man Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) was quoted as saying:

“The remarkable thing is that we

really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifi ce others when we are ready to sacrifi ce ourselves.”

Keep in mind that how we react to what is happening can defi ne whether the outcome is positive or negative. What you have learned about han-dling anger can infl uence your success in business and your safety in the world. When our behaviors demon-strate these interpersonal skills, we will succeed.

Dr. L. Darryl Armstrong, Armstrong and Associates, is a consultant and counselor. He can be reached at [email protected] or 1-888-340-2006 or www.armstrongassociates.org.


YOUR BUSINESS

CONTINUED FROM 6

business is a large employer.For example, assume that Company

has 40 full-time employees (30+ hours per week) and 15 part-time em-ployees who work 20 hours per week (or 80 hours per month). The conver-sion to full-time equivalents would be calculated as follows:

■ 15 part-time employees x 80 hours = 1200 total part-time hours during the month

■ 1200 hours / 120 (full-time equiv-alent factor) = 16 full-time equivalents

Company would be subject to the Act since it has 40 full-time em-ployees and 10 full-time equivalent employees.

Seasonal employees are not in-cluded in determining whether a busi-ness is a large employer, if employed for less than 120 days. The defi nition of seasonal employees is the same as that found in the U.S. Department of Labor regulations. If the business is a large employer, it is subject to penal-ties for seasonal employees for the months in which they are employed

full time.Even if a business is a large em-

ployer and fails to provide health care coverage, it will not have to pay a pen-alty unless at least one of its full-time employees obtains health care cover-age through an exchange and receives a premium credit. Premium credits will be available in 2014 for individu-als who are not offered employer-sponsored health coverage and who are not eligible for Medicaid or other health programs. These individuals will generally have an income be-tween 138 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Employers should keep in mind the individual mandate when determining whether it is likely that one employee will obtain such a credit.

The monthly “penalty” or tax for failure to provide full-time employees with health care coverage is calculated by multiplying the total number of full-time employees without coverage, minus 30, by one-twelfth of $2,000. In layman’s terms, the “penalty” or tax will be $166.34 per month per em-ployee in excess of 30.

If a large employer offers health care coverage, it will still be subject to a penalty if the health coverage does not meet certain minimum require-ments. Furthermore, if the employee’s required contribution toward the plan premium for self-only coverage exceeds 9.5 percent of the employee’s household income, or the plan pays for less than 60 percent of the em-ployee’s average covered health care expenses the employer will still be subject to a “penalty” or tax.

The individual mandate applies to individuals, not their employers. The individual mandate does not apply to prisoners and undocumented aliens. Those who receive the required coverage from their employer or an assistance program such as Medicaid as also exempt from the individual mandate.

Unless exempt, individuals must provide minimum health coverage for themselves and their dependents beginning January 1, 2014. If an indi-vidual fails to acquire such minimum coverage, the individual must pay a “penalty” or tax equal to 2.5 percent

of the individual’s household income, subject to a minimum of $695 and a maximum of the average yearly premium for an insurance policy that covers 60 percent of the cost of 10 specifi ed services, including prescrip-tion and hospitalization.

Under the Medicaid expansion provisions of the Act, adults without dependents with household income below 133 percent of the federal pov-erty standard are eligible for Medicaid coverage. Prior to the expansion, adults without disabilities were gener-ally not eligible for Medicaid. The current Medicaid program offers as-sistance to pregnant women, children, needy families, the blind, the elderly and the disabled.

Robert Goff is an associate with Paducah’s Denton & Keuler law firm. His areas of practice include estate planning wills, trusts, estates and probate, contracts, business corpo-rations and partnerships, and elder law. He is admitted to practice in Ken-tucky, Tennessee and Illinois. He can be contacted at 270-443-8253.

LAW

CONTINUED FROM 11


necessary to staff existing jobs and to master the innovative technologies new jobs will require.

The board will certify counties as Work Ready or Work Ready in Progress based on the quality of their labor force and the community com-mitment to continuous improvement of the workforce.

Kentucky is the third state to begin certifying counties as Work Ready Communities based on the quality of their labor force. Daviess, Warren and Woodford counties were the fi rst be certifi ed.

To become certifi ed, communi-ties must gather local support and commitment and apply for the Work Ready Community designation. Counties have to meet criteria in six areas including high school gradua-tion rate, National Career Readiness Certifi cate holders, demonstrated community commitment, educational attainment, soft-skills development and digital literacy.

Work Ready Communities can:■ Attract new businesses and in-

vestment.■ Gain a competitive advantage

over other communities.■ Help existing companies grow

and add new jobs.■ Recruit creative, talented and in-

novative people.■ Revitalize their economies and

keep them growing.As part of Kentucky’s overall

strategic plan to transform the workforce development system, the Business Education Partnership of the Paducah Area Chamber of Com-merce is partnering with different agencies and businesses in Paducah and McCracken County in pursuit of becoming a certifi ed Kentucky Work Ready Community. Local offi cials are working to gather data to submit the community’s application by late September.

Dr. Bill Murphy, chairman of one of the local committees working on the community’s application, said having the Work Ready Community certi-fi cation will provide companies that may be considering the Paducah/Mc-Cracken County area for a new plant or facility to quickly know what type of workforce that they can expect to be available in our county.

“The number one issue that compa-nies look for when establishing a new offi ce or plant is having a deep pool of skilled workers to draw from. Of course, every community will tell them that they have all the skilled

workers that they could possibly need, and may point to a variety of things that might support that claim,” Murphy said.

“The Work Ready Community certifi cation is intended to be an undisputable credential that quanti-fi es the quality of the local workforce by benchmarking key components of workforce skills.”

National Career Readiness

Communities close to meeting the criteria are awarded the distinguished designation of Work Ready Com-munity in Progress. To achieve this status, a county must present a viable plan to meet all of the criteria within three years. This designation demon-strates that a community is making strides and working with its business community to improve.

“We generally easily exceed the initial targets in most categories, with the exception of the National Career Readiness Certifi cate (NCRC) hold-ers. The NCRC credential has been used by few employers in McCracken County in the past, so there has been no demand for employees to take it. It is a very useful screening tool, both for new employee screening as well as for promotions from within,”

Murphy said. “Currently we have only about 3 percent of our workforce with this credential, with a goal of reaching 15 percent within three years.”

Georgann Lookofsky, public affairs manager at USEC’s Paducah Plant, said the NCRC can be helpful to local human resource offi cials. The NCRC is an ACT-certifi ed examination that measures cognitive skills and work-related behaviors and helps predict an individual’s future success at work or in training.

“We are encouraging local busi-nesses to adopt the NCRC as a requirement for potential employees and to also consider testing existing employees to establish a valuable benchmark for their future training and resource investments,” Lookof-sky said.

More information about the Ken-tucky Work Ready Communities can be found at: www.kwib.ky.gov. For information about taking the Na-tional Career Readiness Certifi cate, contact the Paducah Career Center at 575-7000.

Janett M. Blythe, a former reporter for The Paducah Sun, has been direc-tor of public relations at West Ken-tucky Community & Technical College for 19 years.

EDUCATION

CONTINUED FROM 7

Business Planner and is a resource for answers and assistance. EntrePa-ducah is also a resource for guidance and assistance. Many resources at the state level can be found at the Ken-tucky Cabinet for Economic Develop-ments’ Kentucky Export Initiative (kyexport.com). Additional support services can be found through the Kentucky World Trade Center and the Small Business Administration.

3. Create an Export Business Plan: As with any business plan, devel-opment of an international trade business plan is the test drive of the proposed venture with some key fac-

tors. Such a plan includes conducting business and product assessment, readiness review and researching potential markets.

4. Conduct Market Research, Locate Clients and Create a Mar-keting Plan: Learning the market in which the business will operate from geographic, demographic and psychographic perspectives is very important. The business owner needs to consider many areas including how to choose a market, identifying customers, preparing the product for exporting and determining a method for exporting.

5. Identify Financing: Financing can be a challenge for those seeking

funding for export operations. Most small businesses began operation by obtaining fi nancing from their bank. Not all banks are experienced in fi nancing export operations. The good news is there is assistance avail-able. The United States Small Busi-ness Administration can help locate experienced lenders. In addition the SBA offers many programs to assist export fi nancing needs such as the SBA Export Express, Export Working Capital Program and the Internation-al Trade Loan Program. SBA works with participating lenders to provide the assistance. Other possible fi nanc-ing opportunities could be generated through the Export- Import Bank of

the United States.Please consider the above points

as a road map to your approach in tackling the export business planning process. Careful planning coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit is a good recipe for success!

Chris Wooldridge is district director of the Murray State University Small Business Development Center, a member of the Kentucky SBDC net-work. The center provides high qual-ity, in depth and hands on planning, consulting and training. Call 270-809-2856 for more information or to schedule an appointment. On the Web: ksbdc.org.

TRAINING

CONTINUED FROM 9

establish a relationship and develop a level of trust for you and your com-pany. Other gatherings may actually offer the opportunity to have direct access to buyers. Either way, know your crowd.

■ Be prepared. If you are network-ing with buyers, brush up on the specifi cs of your pricing, distribution, major clients, etc. You may not need specifi cs, but you’ll certainly look lost without them.

■ When it comes to conversation starters, “when in doubt, leave it out.” So, you’re face to face with an elusive CEO or corporate buyer. You thought you overhead in your last conversa-tion that the person had experienced a personal life-changer (family death, divorce, new job offer, etc.). Stick to the obvious. Compliment their cloth-ing, say something nice about the refreshments, or mention a mutual acquaintance. Above all, remain posi-tive, even if it’s tempting to criticize the food or the surroundings. Be posi-tive, and positive will follow.

■ Don’t wear out your welcome. The goal of a networking event is to meet as many people as you care to meet, and remember that others have that same goal. If you monopolize someone’s time, or allow yours to be, you’re not networking successfully. The goal of networking is usually to make a fi rst impression which makes it easier to schedule an actual busi-ness meeting. And don’t forget your business cards!

These are just a few tips for net-working events. They apply to less formal settings as well. For many people, the anxiety of networking can be a major challenge. Preparing is key to overcoming those challenges.

Communities throughout the area offer a large number of networking opportunities for entrepreneurs. Civic clubs make it convenient to not only network with others, but to be en-gaged in public service opportunities. The structure of those public service projects makes it convenient for entrepreneurs with busy schedules to participate.

Local Chambers of Commerce offer numerous opportunities for the business community to network. Breakfast meetings, mix and mingles at local businesses, trade shows and committee involvement are just a few examples.

There are even organizations devot-ed just to networking. These organi-zations can be either very structured

in their approach, or more casual.Each quarter, EntrePaducah offers

Speed Networking. Usually held be-fore the work day starts, participants are seated across from each other at tables. They chat for fi ve minutes then shift to someone else until every-one has had a chance to meet. Entre-Paducah also offers various business education seminars that are open to

all businesses owners. Networking at these events is always encouraged.

For more information or additional tips on business networking, please call or stop by to network with us anytime!

Terry Reeves is the concierge for En-trePaducah, a joint effort by Paducah and McCracken County governments, the Paducah Area Chamber of Com-merce and Paducah Economic De-velopment to foster small-business growth. Contact him at 270-443-1746 or [email protected].


ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CONTINUED FROM 6 Local Chambers of Commerce offer numerous opportunities for the business

community to network.

Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Power in Partnership Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. Aug. 2, Pa-ducah-McCracken County Conven-tion Center. Cost: $14 members, $25 non-members. RSVP by call-ing 443-1746 or [email protected].

■ ■ ■

Rotary Club of Paducah for service-oriented business/pro-fessional leaders, noon each Wednesday, Carson Four Rivers Center. For more information call 270-442-3418.

■ ■ ■

Paducah Toastmasters Sam Sloan Chapter, noon each Thurs-day, The Pasta House. Develop better speaking and presentation skills. Information: Clay Campbell, 554-0093; Ricky Greenwell, 442-7179.

■ ■ ■

Rotaract Club for service-driven professionals 18-30, 6 p.m. first Monday of each month, Yeiser Art Center. Information: email [email protected].

■ ■ ■

Paducah/River City Business and Professional Women, noon second Tuesday of each month, Country Club of Paducah. For more information, email [email protected] or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/PaducahRiverCityBPW.

■ ■ ■

Paducah Business and Profes-sional Women dinner meeting, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of each month, Grace Episcopal Church, 820 Broadway. For more informa-tion call 270-442-7636.

■ ■ ■

Zonta Club of Paducah, 6 p.m. second Tuesday, Whaler’s Catch, 123 N. Second St. Information: President Linda Carroll, [email protected].

■ ■ ■

Paducah-Kentucky Lake Chap-ter of the International Associa-tion of Administrative Profession-als, 5:30 p.m. third Tuesday of each month. Information: Milinda Harnice, 575-8614.

■ ■ ■

Murray State University Innova-tion and Small Business Develop-ment Center, Commerce Center, 401 Kentucky Ave. 443-2783.

■ ■ ■

Regional Center for Emerging Technology, 926 N. 16th St., Mur-ray, 270-809-6073.

■ ■ ■

Regional Business and Innova-tion Center, 2800 Fort Campbell Blvd., Hopkinsville, 270-886-8666.

■ ■ ■

Business & Industry Training Center on the Shawnee Com-munity College campus, 8364 Shawnee College Road in Ullin, Ill. 618-634-3254.

Business Calendar

BentonMayfieldMurrayPaducah

Apr. ’12

17

745

322

77

May ’12

21

123

714

81

June ’12

15

66

142

N/A

Business Licenses

June Building PermitsPaducah

Helen Morris, 229 Wedgewood Place, ac-cessory building.

Broadway Church of Christ, 2820 Jefferson St., sign.

Joseph Viterisi Jr., 950 Park Ave., electric.

Dorothy Truitt, 764 N. 36th St., addition.

Bruce and Doreen Hahn, 6424 Gardenview Drive, repair/remodel.

Agrium U.S. Inc., 110 Locust Drive, storage structure.

S&R Development Inc., 130 County Park Road, repair/remodel.

Anjali and Neena Ma-lik, 3500 James Sanders Blvd., repair/remodel.

KSI Real Estate Hold-ings LLC, 165 S. 13th St., electric.

Paducah School Fi-nancial Corp., 342 Lone Oak Road, electric.

South Central Bell Telephone Co., 810 Ken-tucky Ave., electric.

Newcomb Realty LLC, 4709 Alben Barkley Drive, sign.

Ina Gregory, 3737 Ra-mona Drive, electric.

Commercial Property, 3906-3908-3910 Hin-

kleville Road, repair/re-model.

Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1800 Clark St., repair/remodel.

Scott J. and Angela Sanders, 6625 Tuscan Road, fence.

Pizza Hut of America, 5005 Hinkleville Road, portable/temporary structure.

Barry Fletcher, 135 Valley Road, addition.

Autopar Remainder II, LLC, 5124 Hinkleville Road, portable/tempo-rary structure.

Eddie L. and Rozela Teague, 2901 Georgia St., electric.

Debra Engel, 419 Elizabeth St., repair/re-model.

Eric Small, 4030 Min-nich Ave., electric.

Smith Brothers Devel-opment, 1568 Jefferson St., repair/remodel.

J&C Rentals LLC, 318 N. 12th St., carport.

Richard E. Nanney Jr., 1101 Markham Ave., re-pair/remodel.

Adio Properties LLC, 415 Broadway, repair/remodel.

Harley and Dianne Garland, 1120 N. 13th

St., raze.Mai Yan Lai, 3340 Ir-

vin Cobb Drive, electric.Community Financial

Services, 2907 Fairmont St., repair/remodel.

Robert and Patricia Story, 336 Mimosa Lane, electric.

McCracken County, 301 Joe Clifton Drive, electric.

Ardrene Carruthers, 428 Harahan Blvd., re-pair/remodel.

Lavonda Cantrell Huf-ford, 2509 Tennessee St., electric.

Bertin and Virginia Manilla, 6015 Guyline Drive, pool.

DWS Inns, 3995 Hin-kleville Road, repair/re-model.

Linda K. Varney Living Trust, 428-430 Broad-way, repair/remodel.

Jeff Curd, 2732 Good-man St., electric.

White, Reach, Dawa-hare, Paducah, 3275 Ir-vin Cobb Drive, electric.

James Riechert, 822-858 Joe Clifton Drive, commercial.

Terry Pagel, 2417 Park Ave., fence.

Scott and Brenda Jen-kins, 3940 Pecan Drive,


Business IssuesBarkley Regional Airport statistics

Thru June ’12 Thru June ’11 Change

Outbound passengers 9,502 8,349 13.8%Average dailyoutbound passengers 52.2 45.9 13.8%

Departing flights 363 345 5.2%Average percentof seats occupied 52.4% 48.4% 8.2%

Best month for scheduled airline passengers since June 2007.

electric.Juan Montoya, 325

Ashcraft Ave., garage.E.F. Leasing, 136 Stu-

art Nelson Park Road, repair/remodel.

Paducah Parcel w/De-velopment, 3220 Irvin Cobb Drive, electric.

Urban Renewal & Community Develop-ment, 1225 Salem Ave., single family/detached.

McCracken County, 301 Joe Clifton Drive, mechanical.

Eric Small, 710 Fried-man Lane, electric.

Walmart Properties Inc., 5130 Hinkleville Road, portable/tempo-rary structure.

The Salvation Army, 3100 Irvin Cobb Drive, portable/temporary structure.

Pizza Hut of America, 5005 Hinkleville Road, electric.

Michelle Dowling, 271 Sycamore Drive, pool.

Alice Crider, 203 For-est Circle, addition.

Ducmall, LLC, 2929 James-Sanders Blvd., electric.

Falconite-Hipp LLC, 3200 Mallard Circle, electric.

Zinn Paducah LLC, 1927 Irvin Cobb Drive, portable/temporary structure.

M.H. Conrad Proper-ties, 3790 Hinkleville Road, portable/tempo-rary structure.

Bobby and Janie Wil-liams, 705 Main St., re-pair/remodel.

Ronnie Jones, 719 Os-car Cross Ave., electric.

The Salvation Army, 3100 Irvin Cobb Drive, electric.

Michelle Dowling, 271 Sycamore Drive, fence.

Delores White, 806 N. 10th St., repair/remodel.

Charlotte Jean Dick, 117 N. 14th St., repair/remodel.

Evelyn Morris, 1416 Walter Jetton Blvd., re-pair/remodel.

JND Investment LLC, 229 Madison St., me-chanical.

Falconite-Hipp LLC, 3220 Sandpiper Circle, single family/detached.

John J. and Frances Hartman, 167 Iroquois Drive, repair/remodel.

Keith Walters, 806 McGuire Ave., repair/remodel.

Paducah Federal Credit Union, 333 Tully St., repair/remodel.

Rhonda Trump, 1005 Markham Ave., repair/remodel.

Michael and Amy Bakehouse, 220 S. 19th St., fence.

Henderson and Mar-tha Hawkins, 1314 At-kins Ave., repair/remod-el.

Rita Beasley, 926 N. 21st St., repair/remodel.

Debra Jones, 1160 N. 12th St., repair/remodel.

Michelle Young, 1218 Oscar Cross Ave., repair/remodel.

Clyde Wood, 631 N. 9th St., repair/remodel.

Kentucky Oaks Mall, 5101 Hinkleville Road, electric.

Daniel Davie, 333 S. 17th St., electric.

Valley Road Proper-ties LLC, 817-19-21-23 Broadway, signs.

Patrick and Carol Per-ry, 221 Kentucky Ave., repair/remodel.

Herbert and Cathy Beane, 612 Whitney Drive, electric.

Autopar Remainder

II, LLC, 5124 Hinkleville Road, electric.

Roof & Kolb Liquors, 3145 Park Ave., electric.

Sharee Roberts, 1408-1410 Broadway, sign.

James Curtis, 628 Broadway, electric.

Carpenter & Associ-ates LLC, 2035 Irvin Cobb Drive, sign.

Paducah Transit Au-thority, 850 Harrison St., repair/remodel.

Paducah-McCracken County, 700 Northview St., storage structure.

William and Jana Medlin, 2627-2629-2631 H.C. Mathis Drive, signs.

Kentucky Oaks Mall, 5101 Hinkleville Road, kiosk.

Mai Yan Lai, 3340 Ir-vin Cobb Drive, repair/remodel.

Brian M. and Nancy L. Talcott, 633 N. Sixth St., repair/remodel.

Carpenter & Associ-ates LLC, 2035 Irvin Cobb Drive, electric.

E.P. Leasing Inc., 3551 Park Ave., electric.

McCracken CountyLarry Jett, 320 Massac

Church Road, addition/single family dwelling.

D&D Construction, 280 Meadow Ridge Court, single family dwelling.

Traders Mall, 2901 Lone Oak Road, com-mercial building/fi re-works.

Traders Mall, 6900 Benton Road, commer-cial building/fi reworks.

Joseph Burton, 858 South Friendship Road, accessory building.

C.H. Taleban, 6535 St. Andrews, single family dwelling.

Stanley Beauchamp,

1655 N. Champ, addi-tion/single family dwell-ing.

Wayne Waggoner, 254 Lovelaceville-Florence Station Road, addition/single family dwelling.

Pure Country Fire-works, 3005 Old Hus-band Road, commercial building/fi reworks.

Doug Town, 8265 Danube, single family dwelling.

Michael Ross Con-struction, 185 Aberdeen, townhouse.

M&L Riley Construc-tion, 500 Cimarron Way, single family dwelling.

Pure Country Fire-works, 4101 Clarks River Road, commercial build-ing/fi reworks.


Michael Ross Con-struction, 182 Abereen, townhouse.


Robert and Cathy McAlister, 635 Lebanon Church Road, single family dwelling.

Calvary Apostolic, 4035 Clark’s River Road, commercial building/fi reworks.

Calvary Apostolic, 3401 Lone Oak Road, commercial building/fi reworks.

Bluegrass Fireworks, 115 Lebanon Church Road, commercial build-ing/fi reworks.

Desperado Fireworks Tent, 7725 Old U.S. 45,

commercial building/fi reworks.

BentonCVS Pharmacy, 405

Main St., commercial building.

MurrayKenneth Grogan, 2258

Hal Drive, single fam-ily dwelling/accessory structure; contractor, Crowell.

Lambda Chi, 1505 Main, multi-family dwelling/new; contrac-tor, Teresa Garland.

Chad Canerdy, 1304H Chesnut, single family dwelling/new.

Eric Pologruto, 100 Jameswood, single fam-ily dwelling/addition; contractor, Teresa Gar-land.

Strawberry Yogurt, 602A N. 12th St., com-mercial/alteration.

Russell Lencki, 1302 Farris Ave., single family dwelling/addition.

Russell Duncan, 2243 Mitchell Drive, single family dwelling/new; contractor, Trent Gar-land.

Billy Siress, 1107 Fair-lane, single family dwell-ing/addition.

Thomas Warren, 814 Coldwater Road, com-mercial/alteration; con-tractor, Ibrahe.

Johnny McDougal, 903 Meadow Lane, sin-gle family dwelling/ad-dition; contractor, Sam Lehman.

Penn Station East Coast, 110 S. 12th St.,

Suite C, commercial/new; contractor, Johnny Adams.

Rodney Henderson, 2004 Melrose, single family dwelling/acces-sory structure.

Joe Rowland, 2210 Glenwood, single family dwelling/addition; con-tractor, Don Roberson.

Hal Kemp, 1303 Main, commercial/accessory structure.

Thai and Sushi Jas-mine, 506 N. 12th St., commercial/addition; contractor, J.W. Build-ers.

Metropolis, Ill.Donna Burkhead, 906

Sixth St., garage.Edward Musselman,

608 Fifth St., residential demolition.

Edward Musselman, 604 Fifth St., residential demolition.

Linda Cremeens, 1600 Filmore St., trailer.

Ronald Konemann, 2008 Greenview, resi-dential addition/remod-el.

Gordon McIntosh, 1529 Fifth St., residential demolition.

KCI, Inc., 618 Ferry St., sign.

Mary Lee Stacey, 912 Third St., residential storage/outbuilding.

Massac County, Ill.Connie Pickering,

2772 North Ave., mobile home.

Edward Keipp, 5642 Old Marion Road, mo-bile home.

June Building Permits cont.


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