NEW HIRES & PROMOTIONS
Wendy Blair Harrod, DNP, has joined SUN Behavioral Health’s intensive outpatient center in Lexington as a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner.
The University of Kentucky Office of the Provost has appointed Steven Price as chair of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Republic Bank has promoted Brad Comer to chief investment officer, and Kenya Lacy to associate vice president, inclusion and diversity manager.
Saint Joseph Health recently welcomed: Melissa “Missy” Stipp, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FNP-BC, to Saint Joseph Medical Group – Gastroenterology; Cameron Scheitzach, PA-C, to Saint Joseph Medical Group – Maternal-Fetal Medicine; Deana Underwood, APRN, to Saint Joseph Medical Group – Neurology; and Kacie Heichelbech, PA, to Saint Joseph Medical Group – Primary Care in Lexington.
Financial advisors Grant Truax and Jim Reitenbach have joined the Lexington office of Keystone Financial Group.
WesBanco has named John Gohmann Lexington market president and senior commercial banker.
Attorney David L. Kinsella has joined Stites & Harbison, PLLC’s Lexington office.
Ron McMahan has joined Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives’ economic development team as associate economic development manager.
Paula Elder, current Bluegrass Realtors president-elect, has joined Christie’s International Real Estate Bluegrass.
Asbury University has named Stephen Sizemore as vice president for strategic finance and chief financial officer.
KUDOS
Jonathan Feddock, MD, a radiation oncologist at Baptist Health Lexington, has been honored with the Jack Trevey Award for Community Service, the highest distinction presented by the Lexington Medical Society.
Coldwell Banker McMahan Realtor Mike Inman has been installed as the 2026 president of Bluegrass Realtors.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board has welcomed Tony Bonner as a new board member.
The Junior League of Lexington recently named the following as its 2026 board of directors: President: Opa Owiye Johnson, Margins Studio; President-elect: Michelle Oberto DePaolo, State Farm Agent; Secretary: Katherine Jackson, RO&CO Real Estate, Bluegrass Rental Management; Vice president of finance: Claire Honican, Valvoline Global Operations; Vice president of fund development: Laura Combs, Deloitte; Vice president of marketing and communication: Tamara Davis, PriceWeber Marketing; Vice president of membership: Tressa Neal, University of Kentucky; Vice president of community: Ayanna Parker, University of Kentucky athletics; operations director; Tanzi Merritt, freelance writer; Nominating director: Melissa Hammer, Kappa Delta Foundation; and Sustainer representative: Kimberly Baird, Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
The American College of Construction Lawyers has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Cassidy R. Rosenthal to its board of governors. Lawdragon has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Chrisandrea L. Turner to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers. Turner has been recognized six times by Lawdragon and is this year’s only Kentuckian honored.
Austin Simms has retired after more than 50 years of service to the Lexington Housing Authority.
Dark Arts Whiskey House in Lexington was recently added as a destination to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
The Board of Trustees for Georgetown College has elected five alumni members to begin their terms in 2026. New members include Dave Adkisson, Dave Baker, Christin Wood Calaway, Harold Dean Jessie, and Robert L. Mills.
The Kentucky chapter of the National Society of Professional Engineers recently named Jordan Haney, P.E., president of Thoroughbred Architects and Engineers, as its 2026 New Professional Engineer of the Year.
The American Bar Association Health Law Section has ranked Stites & Harbison, PLLC in its 13th annual Regional Top 10 Law Firm Recognition List. The firm ranked fifth on the South Top 10 list for 2025. Stites & Harbison has been honored 12 consecutive times on the South list.
Frontier Nursing University President Brooke A. Flinders, DNP, RN, APRN-CNM, FACNM, was recently named a recipient of Insight Into Academia magazine’s 2026 Trailblazer in Higher Education Award.
Republic Bank recently earned a spot on Forbes’ 2026 America’s Best Banks list for the third straight year. The bank was also recognized as one of Kentucky’s Best Places to Work by the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. This is the bank’s 10th consecutive year receiving this honor, and its 11th overall.
Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East, and Continuing Care Hospital awarded $307,000 in grant funding to eight local nonprofit organizations to improve the well-being and health equity of the Lexington area. The grant recipients are Catholic Action Center, Catholic Charities, Community Inspired Lexington, Lexington Rescue Mission, Mission Health Lexington, Northside Common Market, Refuge for Women, and YMCA of Central Kentucky.
Saint Joseph Jessamine in Nicholasville has been recognized on the “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” list for the second consecutive year and the fourth time since the list’s inception.
Lexington Clinic and Licking Valley Internal Medicine & Pediatrics announced a new strategic partnership aimed at enhancing patient access to care across Central Kentucky.
Bluegrass Realtors recently presented its Realtor of the Year award to Randy Newsome, the Good Neighbor Award to Rachel Underwood, and the President’s Award to Rusty Underwood.