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Sarah Warner
As executive director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass in Lexington, Sarah Warner is in charge of the employees, the programs and the activities of the nonprofit organization. The house was opened in 1984, and serves as a "home away from home" for families who have children recieving pediatric care in local hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House gives these families a safe, affordable and caring place to stay.
In addition to her work at the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass, she is involved as a member of the Rotary Club, a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and a member of the neighborhood association at McConnell's Trace.
Warner's most significant business accomplishment in her career in the non profit/charitable field has been to successfully identify and recruit great teams, especially true of the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass. "I've been fortunate to assemble exceptional teams that are empowered and run efficiently. I try to offer challenges and opportunities to learn and grow — and that includes everyone on the team. I'm very proud of the internship program we've developed at the Ronald McDonald House as we're able to give these young people great business experience, while at the same time we're motivated by their enthusiasm," she said.
"Being selected as a Rising Star speaks to the effectiveness of the entire Ronald McDonald House team. We had an exceptional year in 2006 thanks to our generous donors, volunteers, staff and board of directors. And finally, the families of the House and the miracles that happen each day there make it a joy to come to work," Warner said.
Kristen Goble
Kristen Goble serves as marketing director for Frost Brown Todd. She works on various projects, ranging from individual attorney development plans to firm-wide marketing initiatives. She is responsible for both the Lexington and Nashville offices, while also serving as the firm's media liaison, writing and distributing releases locally, regionally and nationally.
Goble serves on the board of the Manchester Center, where she extends the opportunities given to her to those within the Center's service communities. Giving her time, talents and resources to the Center is high on her priority list. Goble finds one of her greatest contributions to the professional community is her ability to connect people.
"I often serve as a referral source for business and personal contacts, topical speakers, vendors, etc. For example, a friend was putting on a two-day seminar, and they had a speaker cancel right before they were taking promotional materials to print. In a panic, they called me, and I was able to not only fill the slot with one call, but the person was able to cover the same topic, eliminating the need to reformat materials," she said.
"I have built this strong network through participation in professional and charitable organizations, as well as maintaining business and personal relationships forged many years ago. My 'proudest business accomplishment' would be embodied by the several connections that I have made over the years, as it is gratifying to be able to assist a colleague in filling a certain need. It is through continued involvement in the Lexington community that I plan to further grow my network, increasing the ability to unite others," Goble said.
Lee Greer
Lee Greer is the president and co-founder of the Greer Companies, a commercial real estate development company, and an owner and operator of casual dining and hotel franchises, including Cheddar's Casual Cafè, and Marriott, Hilton & Intercontinental hotels. Greer Companies employs nearly 2,000 people in seven states.
Greer is also committed to making Lexington one of the best places to live and raise a family. As the co-founder and president of the Lexington Charity Club, Greer works to provide a better life for disadvantaged children, reduce the local "brain drain" loss of talented young professionals, and to unite Kentucky's next generation of leaders.
"For years I told people my proudest business accomplishment was closing landmark billion-dollar deals as a corporate finance investment banker with Merrill Lynch in Manhattan," Greer said. "Perspective taught me it is something quite different. Pride comes from creating value rather than pointing it out, or redistributing it."
"My proudest business accomplishment is giving our Cheddar's customers and employees something special — specifically, value and entertainment people cannot get anywhere else. If we do our job, there is no place better. Partnering with my father and Steve Pottinger to give the country more of Cheddar's has been the greatest decision I ever made. We're making a differenceone guest at a time."
Andy Barr
Garland "Andy" Barr was recently appointed to serve as deputy general counsel to Governor Ernie Fletcher. Previously, he served as special assistant to the governor and general counsel to the Governor's Office for Local Development, providing legal services in connection with the financial oversight and regulation of local governments and the administration and monitoring of multiple federal and state grant and loan programs.
Prior to serving the Fletcher administration, Barr was an associate in the Lexington office of Stites & Harbison, PLLC, where he represented businesses, organizations and individuals in personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability litigation.
From 1996 to 1998, he worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant to United States Congressman Jim Talent, where he staffed the congressman's service on Speaker Newt Gingrich's Managed Care Reform Task Force. He also currently teaches as a part-time instructor of constitutional law in the department of political science at the University of Kentucky.
As co-founder of the Lexington Charity Club, Barr is proud to have launched an organization that not only raises funds for benevolent causes, but also fosters fraternity among local young professionals, cultivates future leadership and promotes Lexington as an attractive place for young professionals to live and work. He also serves on the boards of directors of Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky and Bluegrass Youth for Christ.
Heather Taylor
Heather Taylor conducts sales and client relations for APS Communications, focusing on integrated marketing communicatons strategy, primarily through promotional product and corporate apparel sales. She is committed to providing a high level of customer service and satisfaction while constantly developing new business relationships.
Taylor considers her active participation in community service to be an important part of her life. She finds herself very fortunate both professionally and personally, and she wants to use this to the best of her ability to provide a positive impact on others.
Taylor's proudest business accomplishment has been finding that she has the independence, iniative, and endurance necessary to become a successful sales woman.
"When I began my current job at APS Communications three years ago, I had very little sales experience. The first year consisted of basically learning the functions of the job and the industry. The next year, the training wheels came off. Commission, sales reports and cold calling were all words I dreaded to hear. Even though I had the constant positive reinforcement of Dave Sweetall and an excellent support staff, I was still leery. I decided to proceed full steam ahead," she said.
"This past year has been my most successful year yet. Along with my dedicated co-workers, I hope to continue to grow our business and maintain and cultivate lasting work relationships. Overcoming the fear of the unknown and accomplishing success in sales, has been my proudest business accomplishment thus far," Taylor said.
David Boggs
As the executive assistant to the chief of police, David Boggs' responsibilities include daily operational decisions in the Chief's office, preparation and management oversight of the division's $53 million budget and grants office.
Boggs finds his greatest volunteer work is spent at his children's elementary school. It is the most valuable and precious time he can give, and he likes to watch the eyes of children light up at new discoveries.
In his career, his proudest business accomplishment is his current assignment as a teaching fellow with the FBI.
"After my completion of a 10-week management-training course in Quantico, Va., I was encouraged to apply for a teaching fellowship with the Bureau. Senior management from local law enforcement agencies are chosen through a competitive application process to return to the training academy at the FBI as adjunct faculty," Boggs said.
"With the support of my boss and our city leadership, I am only the 22nd fellow chosen from a pool of international applicants, and I am the first representing Kentucky. While participating as a visiting fellow, my primary duties are to teach leadership and organizational change on behalf of the FBI around the world. I instruct primarily to law enforcement executives in the United States, but have been chosen to teach in Europe to senior law enforcement officers from the former Soviet Union," he said.
"The learning opportunity for me was far greater than those I was allowed to instruct, but it has undoubtedly been one of the greatest accomplishments of my career," he said.
Sarah Hawkins
Sarah Hawkins is a researcher on state and federally-funded research projects. As such, she assists in identifying, training and collecting reliability data on all measures for statewide evaluations. In addition, Hawkins supervises UK practicum students in the fields of early childhood, special education and moderate to severe disabilities across the Commonwealth.
As a volunteer with the Special Olympics, Hawkins finds her service rewarding because it gives individuals with disabilities the opportunity to experience the same quality of life as individuals without disabilities.
"As a Disability Program Associate at the University of Kentucky, I have gained a vast amount of knowledge that has enabled me to work with university students in the field of special education. I encounter accomplishments in my career across each academic semester," Hawkins said.
"Across each semester, I observe how encouragement and positive feedback has helped University of Kentucky students improve their teaching skills when teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities. I observe and evaluate university students numerous times across each academic semester, and it is rewarding to see the progress they make on educational objectives placed in front of them," she said.
"It also is rewarding to hear from professionals in the field that these students have made excellent special education teachers. I feel as though I have made positive impacts on my university students, and in turn, I know they will impact the lives of their students. Any leader of tomorrow is touched by a teacher of today," Hawkins said.
Chad Crouch
Chad Crouch is president and owner of Cre8tive Group, which specializes in strategic, persuasive storytelling for socially aware, ethically responsible businesses and organizations to build strong connections with their audiences. Cre8tive Group limits itself to eight partnerships at any given time so as to effectively communicate its clients' messages.
Crouch annually donates 10 percent of Cre8tive Group's profits to various community efforts and charities. The total amount is divided among his employees, and each donates the money in his or her own name to a personally selected cause.
As for his most significant business accomplishment so far, he is most fulfilled when offering strategic direction and inspiration.
"I am at my best when I am called on to devise, deploy and direct organizational and leadership development initiatives to increase productivity, improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase revenue while building high-performance teams to drive the achievement of organizational goals," Crouch said.
"A regular challenge of this position involves maintaining a balance between fostering an office culture of creativity and maintaining operational efficiencies. In order to achieve such a precarious balance, I have focused on setting our organizational vision and strategy while 'getting out of the way' and empowering the team to successfully execute on our goals," he said. "I am proud of the vision we have set for our future at Cre8tive Group. Our vision has become vivid over the past year and our next steps are clearly defined. This level of focus enables us to deliver the 'double bottom line' of financial success and improving the human condition," Crouch said. "