In July, the Bill Gatton Foundation donated $16 million to the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky. This significant contribution, made in honor of Barbara Barnstable Edelman, continues the late Bill Gatton’s legacy of support for the university. The donation will create an endowed faculty fund in her name and bolster research efforts focused on diabetes treatment and cures while also advancing clinical care and education for the many Kentuckians affected by the disease. According to the center’s website, more than 440,000 adults in Kentucky have been diagnosed with diabetes, with an additional 280,000 diagnosed with prediabetes.
The Barnstable family founded the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center in 2008 with funds raised through the family’s annual Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Eve Gala in Louisville. Edelman’s twin sisters, Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable, along with their late mother, Wilma, created the annual party with the purpose of raising funds for the diabetes cause. They dedicated the center to the memory of Patricia’s late husband, David Brown, who passed away in 2003 from complications of diabetes.
Since its founding 35 years ago, the tradition has raised more than $20 million to advance diabetes research and care at UK Healthcare. Edelman’s connection to Bill Gatton began through her legal career. Shortly after she and her husband, Ray Edelman, married, they both entered law school at UK. Edelman began her career in state government, working in the Special Prosecution Division before moving to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She later transitioned into private practice and, in 1997, joined seven colleagues in founding the Lexington office of Dinsmore & Shohl.
Edelman began representing Bill Gatton in his business interests. They quickly bonded over their shared love for the University of Kentucky and Wildcat basketball, developing a close friendship. Before his passing in 2022, Gatton expressed his desire to show his gratitude to Edelman for her efforts on his behalf.
“That this would be a gift from Mr. Gatton, who meant the world to me, and that it was something so important to my family — all the work that my sisters, my mother, and my family have done to do something to better the lives of people in Kentucky — it was pretty amazing,” Edelman said.
Business Lexington spoke with Edelman about Bill Gatton, their shared enthusiasm for the University of Kentucky and basketball, her family’s Derby party, and her advice for young people becoming lawyers.
What were Bill Gatton’s strengths as a businessman?
The thing that stands out the most about Mr. Gatton is how smart he was. He had a great memory and a steel-trap mind. He had the ability to retain information, process it, and think progressively. He was impressive, even in his latter years when his health was failing. For all the years that he had been in business, which were many years, he was regarded as being extremely ethical, doing the right thing, and treating people right in his business dealings.
He had a strong work ethic. He grew up on a farm. When he was a young child, he set up a watermelon stand. He said he bought his first piece of property when he was 12 years old. He was an entrepreneurial spirit and had a knack for business, spotting a good deal, and taking some risk. I can’t be completely accurate about how he built his wealth. He got his start with a car dealership and expanded to other things. He was in real estate, banking, and a number of other businesses.
Then he shifted a lot of his attention to philanthropy.
This has been his legacy, and his No. 1 priority was education. He told me it’s the most important thing. It’s a way out for people. If you’re disadvantaged and you want to better your circumstances, you have to have an education and you have to be able to afford it. He felt it was his obligation to support the university in ways that would help students and help provide a better education for the people in the state of Kentucky.
For at least the past two decades, he has made substantial, critical contributions to the University of Kentucky. He made substantial contributions to the Business School, which was renamed for him. He made a substantial donation to the rebuilding of the University Student Center. I think it was a $5 million donation he made to the university for scholarships for first-generation students. The most recent and the most astounding — a $100 million gift to the agriculture college at the University of Kentucky, made through his foundation.
And how about your connections to the university?
My parents were both graduates of the University of Kentucky. My sisters were cheerleaders at UK and graduates. My brother graduated from the university, and he was a walk-on for the basketball team. My husband played basketball as a scholarship player for [Adolph] Rupp and Joe B. Hall. I had a sister-in-law who was one of the original scholarship players for the Lady Cats. I have three children, two of whom have degrees from the University of Kentucky. So, we are a very strong University of Kentucky family!
Mr. Gatton and I really clicked. In one of our early meetings, we figured out that my father, who played for Adolph Rupp back in the ’40s, had appeared in a barnstorming tour — something the players would do off-season, traveling around the state. Mr. Gatton was about 12 years old when he went to an exhibition game in Owensboro and saw my dad play. That was a big deal for a young kid in Western Kentucky, to get to see the UK champions play. That was something we bonded over, and we always enjoyed talking about the upcoming games.
What can you tell us about the Derby party?
The gala is very exciting. There’s nothing else like it. It is held at my sister’s home, which is in Cherokee Park in Louisville. There are over 1,200 guests. It is set up inside her house, as well as in massive tents on the grounds and includes an atrium with a swimming pool. There’s a band we call the House Band. There’s a stage and a dance floor. Every year, my sister brings in well-known celebrities, and it has become a tradition that these celebrities, without rehearsing, will just get in the mood and take to the stage — there’s impromptu entertainment that will blow your mind. Some will sing duets, and maybe they’ve never even met before. You never know who’s going to get up there. One minute it’s DMC. The next minute, it’s Salt-N-Pepa. The next minute, it’s Smokey Robinson, then Travis Tritt takes the stage. Boyz II Men come every year. Miranda Lambert has performed. George Strait has performed. Usher. Janet Jackson. Josh Groban sang at the last one.
They’re not paid. They’re interested in going to the Derby. But they also — so many of them — have a connection to diabetes. It started out small. My sisters, who had been the Double Mint Twins, did acting and modeling in New York and L.A. They had Hollywood contacts and were able to attract some celebrities in the early days. It grew, and over the years became bigger and better, continuing to be very successful as a fundraiser.
What advice do you have for young people entering the legal profession?
When first out of law school, you don’t know how to be a good lawyer yet. All you’ve been taught in law school are the basics that come out of books. It’s going to take five, ten years or maybe longer to become a well-seasoned lawyer. Ask the advice of older, more experienced lawyers. Ask judges what they think of your performance. Take feedback from your clients. Sign up for courses from experts who know how to present cases in court or go observe other trials.
It’s a hard job. You can’t make the job easy. You must work at it. If you don’t love it, and if you’re not interested in doing all of that, if you just phone it in, chances are pretty good you’re not going to excel.