New Hires & Board Selections
New Vista recently appointed Dana Royse as its next president and chief executive officer.
Amanda Turcotte has joined Commerce Lexington as director of executive administrative services.
Central Bank announced the promotions of Jon Reifsnyder to digital banking operations officer, and Donna Turner to senior vice president, loan processing manager.
Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell has appointed Linda Rumpke, Frank Penn, and Steve Olt to the board of the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation.
Heather Graham and Fritz Giesecke were appointed to the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board.
Sherry Holley and Megan Holley-Slaughter have been appointed the new co-chairs for Go Red for Women.
Saint Joseph Medical Group has welcomed Shengnan Zheng, MD, as the newest addition to its cardiology team.
Saint Joseph Health Medical Group – Surgery also welcomed Rebecca Douglass, DO, and Jorge Lodeiro, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, to its Lexington team.
The Saint Joseph Health – Cancer Care Center announced the addition of Deanna Wigginton, APRN, as a lung cancer navigator.
Shannon “A.J.” Singleton, member and general counsel, Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC, has been appointed to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
Commerce Lexington announced that Betsy Dexter, senior vice president, talent and education strategy, has been selected to participate in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Leads Fellowship Program.
Fifth Third announced that Mary-Alicha Weldon has been promoted to lead commercial banking in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, while continuing her role as city president for greater Lexington.
Fayette County Public Schools has named Jacqueline Gordon Duvall as its director of athletics.
Republic Bank & Trust Company introduced two new members to its corporate leadership team. Promoted from within, Christy Ames now serves as executive vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel, and Scott Nardi takes on the role of senior vice president, chief risk and compliance officer.
Kentucky American Water has named John Magner as its new director of engineering.
Shield Environmental Associates Inc. has welcomed Emma Vick to its Lexington office.
Lexington Clinic announced that urologist Andrew Todd will join its team of board-certified physicians at Commonwealth Urology/Urologic Associates.
Lauren Cargill, DO, has joined the Baptist Health Medical Group Behavioral Health team in Richmond.
FOX 56 News has named Colby Wilson as its new sports director.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has appointed Matthew Grimshaw, MBA, president of Saint Joseph Health, to the Kentucky State University Board of Regents.
LexArts has welcomed the following new members to its board of directors: Rania Belmadani, Global Lex; Demetria Blair, CHI Saint Joseph Health; Elizabeth A. Combs, Whitaker Bank Corporation; Chester Grundy, UK College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky; Paul D. Johnston, Blue & Co.; and MacKenzie Mayes Walter, CNA Financial Corporation.
Sgt. Bige Towery has joined the Lexington Police Department's Public Information Office.
R. J. Corman Railroad Group announced the permanent appointment of Justin Broyles as president and CEO.
Kudos
U.S. News & World Report has named Saint Joseph Hospital among the best regional hospitals in the report's 2025-26 Best Hospitals edition. Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph London were also named high-performing hospitals.
The Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, on behalf of the Women’s Hospital at Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph Jessamine, has received a $70,000 grant from WHAS Crusade for Children to enhance pediatric care at two of its local facilities.
The Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation has announced a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation in support of its new Preservation Center at Hopemont, the largest operational donation in the organization’s seventy-year history.
DV8 Kitchen & Bakery was named Commerce Lexington’s 2025 Small Business of the Year at the Salute to Small Business Awards.
Steve Lin, MD, FACC, RPVI, FASE, an interventional cardiologist and heart failure specialist with Saint Joseph Medical Group – Cardiology, has been honored with an Innovation Award as part of the CommonSpirit Health Physician Enterprise Vision Awards.
Central Bank Center, managed by Oak View Group, has been awarded the 2025 Prime Site Facilities and Destination Award by Northstar Meetings Group, publisher of Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings.
Republic Bancorp, Inc. has been named a winner of the 2024 Raymond James Community Bankers Cup, an annual award honoring the top 10 percent of community banks nationwide.
Frontier Nursing University has received the 2025 Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being Award from Insight Into Academia magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.
The Leadership Central Kentucky program has named its newest class of regional leaders for the 2025-26 program: Anthony Allen, Commerce Lexington; Devin Belleville, Stock Yards Bank & Trust; (Kenneth) Bryan Berry, Hunt Advantage Group LLC; Brett Bibb, Commerce Lexington; Dani Bradley, Rising Sun Developing Construction Management; Brian Chellgren, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP; Stephen Craycraft, Spectrum Photography; Eric Del Valle, Advanced Business Solutions; Melody Flowers, University of Kentucky; Susan Foster LaCoe, Fostering Leaders LLC; Samantha Gonda, NiSource Inc. (Columbia Gas of Kentucky); Brandon Grant, Eastside Community Church; Jeanette Hart, Lexington-Fayette County Health Department; Kara Heissenbuttel, Keeneland Association; Morgan Humphries, Valvoline; Christie Jackson, Hanna Resource Group; Mel Kimmel, Writing.io; Jackson Kirn, R.J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC; Katherine Leigh, Georgetown Community Hospital; Megan Martin, VisitLEX; Lori Matthews, Baptist Health Foundation Lexington; Amanda Ping, Commonwealth Credit Union; Jyre Richardson, From Here to There; Shauna Smith, Frankfort Area Chamber of Commerce; Elizabeth Soto, City Wide; Jarvis Terrell, Kentucky Department of Education; Austin Thore, Kentucky American Water; Dawn Walker, Kentucky Horse Park; and Heidi Wilcox, Bluegrass Care Navigators.
Business Ventures Corporation announced the 2025 Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame inductees: Larry Benz, Founder, Confluent Health; William P. Butler, Chairman of the Board, Corporex; Alice K. Houston, Founder, HJI Supply Chain Solutions; and Rick Kueber, Founder and CEO, Glow Brands.
Randall Stevens, CEO, AVAIL, was named Mentor of the Year.
Brook T. Smith, President, RSLP Ventures, was named Investor of the Year.
David Haskins, President and CEO, Davis H. Elliot Company, was named Executive of the Year.
Julia Regan, Founder and CEO, RxLightning, and Jake Rouse, Co-Founder and CEO, Braxton Brewing Company, were honored as Emerging Entrepreneurs.
Klausing Group, a leading provider of sustainable landscape management services, announced its certification as a Certified B Corporation.
The Trademark Lawyer Magazine has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC to the 2025 Top 10 Trademark Firms and IP Practices in North America – South list, the firm’s third year being honored.