NEW HIRES & PROMOTIONS
SITEK Inc. has welcomed Jennifer Erena as custom software sales & marketing manager.
Phillip Morgan, president of Always Best Care of Greater Lexington, has been elected president of the Navy League of the United States, Central Kentucky Council.
The University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment has named Gary Munkvold as the new chair of the Department of Plant Pathology.
Colby Blair has joined McBrayer PLLC as director of operations.
Brandee R. Johnson has been named vice president, manager of training and development at Community Trust Bank Inc.
Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Bailey Browning has been selected to participate in the ELEVATE Kentucky Class of 2026.
Keeneland has welcomed Reed Ringler to its sales team. Ignacio Correas IV and Ezequiel Valle were also welcomed as South American sales representatives.
Paige Harrod has earned her insurance license from The Professional Insurance Agents of Kentucky.
The Nest – Center for Women, Children & Families has named Kristen Martin, LMFT, as its next executive director.
Frontier Nursing University announced the appointment of Anne Z. Cockerham, PhD, CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE, FACNM, as the inaugural associate dean for Teaching Excellence and Innovation.
KUDOS
More than five dozen Kentucky high school seniors were just awarded a collective $173,026 in scholarships from Independence Bank — bringing the institution's 25-year cumulative total to more than $2 million spanning the program’s history.
Republic Bank & Trust Company has been named to the Forbes list of the World’s Best Banks, the only Kentucky-based bank to receive this recognition in 2026.
Kimberly Tackett, secretary at Highland Elementary School in Johnson County, was named the 2026 recipient of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators Wanda Luttrell Office Professional Award.
Richard W. Newsom, executive vice president of Community Trust Bancorp Inc., announced his planned retirement effective Feb. 5, 2027.
Centerpoint Health – Georgetown has expanded its advanced spinal surgery capabilities with the acquisition of ExcelsiusGPS robotic navigation spine and interbody solutions. The hospital also successfully performed its first procedures using the MaxMoreSpine endoscopic system, becoming the first in Kentucky to use the proprietary technology platform for minimally invasive spine procedures.
Stites & Harbison PLLC has been named to The Patent Lawyer Magazine’s 2026 Top 10 Patent Firms and IP Practices in North America – South list. This is the firm’s fifth year being honored.
Saint Joseph Health announced that its hospitals, clinics and care sites throughout Kentucky will begin using the CommonSpirit Health name in July 2026.
GALLS has been honored with three Best Dressed Public Safety Department Awards at the annual Network Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors conference for its outfitting of the Atlanta Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department and the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office.