Commerce Lexington Inc. celebrated local businesses and entrepreneurs Thursday night during its annual awards gathering.
The awards, presented during a dinner gala at Lexington Center sponsored Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance, highlighted excellence in business during 2016 across several categories.
Among the winners was Todd Sallee of KEMI, who was awarded the Ambassador of the Year Award. The award honors work to connect Commerce Lexington staffers and member business. Billy Lanter, of Unified Trust Co., was given the Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with the Leadership Lexington Youth Steering Committee. This year’s Public Policy Advocate of the Year Award went to backers of the Lexington Convention Center project. Specifically, board members with the Lexington Center Corp. and VisitLEX were honored along with Mayor Jim Gray for pushing the high-profile renovation and working with government entities. Brent Rice, Craig Turner and Bill Owen represented the Lexington Center board while Mary Quinn Ramer represented VisitLEX.
Melissa Moore Murphy, of Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s Law Department, was awarded the Leadership Lexington Distinguished Leader Award. Among other work, she help spearhead a project for the Leadership Lexington program that advocated for improvements at Douglas Park. And Lafayette High School senior Josephine Wendroth was given the Leadership Lexington Youth Program Distinguished Leader Award. Wendroth was praised for her academics and community involvement.
“We know that the possibilities for our future lie with our children in our schools,” Carla Blanton, Commerce Lexington’s 2017 board chair, said in a statement. “The strength of our community, our workforce and our economy has always been driven by how well we educate our youth.