"
Lexington-Louisville combo wins FEI Games contract
A pair of Kentucky-based public relations and advertising firms has been jointly selected as the marketing communications partners for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010. Lexington's Preston-Osborne and Red7e of Louisville were selected after an extensive review of agency partners. The games will be held September 25 through October 10 in Lexington in 2010 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Rolf Linder, the FEI Game's new Chief Marketing Officer said, "we anticipate significant early public relations and interactive marketing activities for the next two years and then our more focused advertising will begin as the Games approach. Over the past many weeks, I have been working with our marketing committee to find a partner with large event experience, who'll bring energy to the Games, and who understands our need to manage costs -and we found it."
Restaurants warned: recent mailing was phony
The Kentucky Department for Public Health and the Kentucky Restaurant Association are warning Kentucky restaurant owners that a recent mass mailing included phony information about laws related to handwashing signs.
Kentucky restaurants received a mailing from a company with a Frankfort address called "Kentucky Food Service Compliance Center" offering to sell handwashing informational posters. The mailing warns of a new federal law that requires handwashing posters be posted, including fines up to $2,500 and possible license revocation if handwashing posters are not posted in restaurants. No such law exists.
Government agencies are investigating the mailing of this information nationwide.
Survey: KY blue-collar pay can top that of white collars
If you think Kentucky office workers always make more money than their blue-collar counterparts on the factory floor, think again. According to a newly released statewide wage and benefits survey, many factory workers are coming out on top.
That's one of the findings of the 2006 statewide industrial wage and benefits survey covering 202 firms and 72,678 employees in 163 jobs in 13 different job groupings. The annual survey is conducted exclusively by Associated Industries of Kentucky (AIK).
According to the survey, tool-and-die makers are earning $44,699 a year; maintenance mechanics - $42,099; truck drivers - $34,174 and machine operators - $36,628. In the front office, general clerks are making $25,334; secretaries - $33,425; and receptionists - $26,520.
In management and salaried positions, a similar salary gap exists between many on the factory floor compared to some sitting behind a desk in the office. Plant managers are earning $119,704; manufacturing managers - $84,988; and general forepersons - $58,240. In the front office, controllers are earning $97,656; human resources managers - $82,992; and buyers - $51,646.
When compared to 2005 results, the 2006 survey shows the median salary for plant managers has increased by about 9 percent while the median salary increase for controllers was smaller.
Visit www.aik.org and look under the Publications heading for information on how to obtain the survey.
KEEP helps UK document horse industry
The University of Kentucky Libraries' Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, in cooperation with the Kentucky Historical Society, is initiating a project to document the history of the Kentucky horse industry. With start-up funds provided by the Kentucky Equine Education Project and UK, the Nunn Center has begun collecting the first-hand experiences and stories of people who work with horses in Kentucky.
The KEEP board has formed an advisory committee for the project comprised of Dan Kenny, chair, John Long, Misdee Wrigley, and Gene Clabes. The committee will offer suggestions regarding prospective interviewees and will also help UK seek additional financial support for the multi-year project.
For more information on the project contact Jeffrey Suchanek, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, at (859) 257-8634 or by e-mail at jsuch1@uky.edu.
State Parks to operate Benham-Lynch attractions
The Kentucky Department of Parks has taken over operations of the Benham-Lynch attractions in Eastern Kentucky, including The Benham School House Inn, the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum, and the Train Depot in Lynch.
The Kentucky Department of Parks plans to invest about $1 million in capital improvements, primarily in infrastructure at the School House Inn, which has 30 guestrooms and a banquet hall that can seat up to 350 guests.
The Harlan County attractions will promote Kentucky's coal mining and heritage experiences. Guests will soon be able to book their overnight accommodations at the School House Inn or the Depot Building campsite on the parks' Web site.
The renovations and upgrades are expected to be completed later this year.
Drink for stiff joints test marketed in Central Kentucky
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kentucky ranks second in the nation for doctor-diagnosed arthritis, affecting more than 35 percent of the state's adults. It explains why Proctor & Gamble settled on Central Kentucky as a test market for a line of fruit juices containing compounds found to relieve suffering from stiff joints.
Elations™, a fruit juice-based dietary supplement drink developed by Procter & Gamble and subsequently sold to The Elations Company, began test marketing in July in Kroger stores throughout Central Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Meijer stores in Kentucky, Indiana, and elsewhere will begin stocking the product in late August, and other leading grocery chains are expected to start selling Elations by October.
According to a press release from P&G, "Elations' effectiveness comes from a unique 4-in-1 formula featuring: glucosamine and chondroitin at the same levels as triple-strength joint supplements; a patented, more absorbable form of calcium; and 100 percent of daily Vitamin C, which is an essential nutrient in the formation of collagen, the glue that holds joint cartilage together."
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health, released last November, concluded that a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin is effective in treating moderate to severe knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February.
P&G receives a royalty on Elations product sales.
Area companies make Inc. 500
Precision Staffing of Lexington and Contours Express of Nicholasville rank 407th and 430th, respectively on Inc. magazine's annual top 500 list of companies cited for high growth.
Founded in 1981, Precision Staffing employs 40 and reports a 3-year growth rate of 355.2 percent. Returning to the list for a third consecutive year, Contours Express was founded in 1998 and employs 42. The company has enjoyed a 3-year growth rate of 341 percent. A profile of Contours Express appeared in the August 25 edition of Business Lexington.
Lexington firm named "Giant"
The Lexington engineering, architecture and planning firm GRW was recently included in Building Design and Construction's (BD+C) Giant 300 List of U.S. firms that designed or constructed the largest volume of commercial, institutional, industrial, and multifamily residential buildings during 2005. Each spring, the BD+C editors survey the country's largest firms, ranking the top 300 across six categories. Ranked 31st in the Engineer/Architect category, GRW climbed ten spots from last year's spot on the industry list, and is the only Kentucky-based firm among the companies. Founded in 1964, GRW has more than 230 employees located at offices in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas.
Rupp Web site gets extreme makeover
www.rupparena.com has a whole new look. The renovated Web site features a complete roster of information about upcoming events and guest services. Visitors will also find photographs, seating diagrams and sign up link for FIRST IN LINE, Lexington Center's e-mail club, which provides announcements, presale offers and discount opportunities for events happening at Lexington Center venues including Rupp Arena, The Lexington Opera House and The Lexington Convention Center.
Popular business blog features local talent
SmallBusinessBranding.com has selected Nick Rice, a design manager at the Wilmore-based marketing and communications firm CreativeGroup, to share his business insights on the popular blog space. Technorati, the leading blog search engine tracking more than 50 million blogs worldwide, ranks SmallBusinessBranding.com in the 99.97th percentile for readership.
Rice was one of six authors invited by SmallBusinessBranding's blog owner Australian, Yaro Starak, to represent all sides of small business marketing and branding.