The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated 100 companies who were recognized for ranking in the 2020 Best Places to Work in Kentucky. During the 16th Annual Best Places to Work in Kentucky awards ceremony, presented by ClearPath Mutual Insurance Company, nearly 2,000 joined the online celebration of the Kentucky companies to commend their commitment to focus, measure and move their workplace environments toward excellence.

The 100 winning companies participated in a comprehensive survey process and were then ranked according to those results. The list consists of three categories: small companies of 15-149 employees, medium companies of 150-499 employees and large companies consisting of more than 500 employees.

Three of the winning companies celebrated in Owensboro, KY. Congratulations to Independence Bank, Signature Healthcare, and Limestone Bank for ranking in the medium companies category of 150-499 employees.

Independence Bank, ranking at #8, is celebrating its 12th year of making the list. With multiple primary locations in different cities, Independence Bank has 415 employees in the state of Kentucky.

Signature HealthCARE has contributed to the list for 4 years now, with the last win being in 2016 which placed them at #11. For 2020, Signature HealthCARE is ranked #10.

Limestone Bank previously made the list in 2018 and is celebrating its 6th year of ranking at #24 for 2020. Limestone Bank has 235 total employees in the state of Kentucky.

Owensboro is proud to have these strong employers in the community!

Click here to view the list of all winner rankings.

Click here to view the 2020 magazine.

Mizkan, also known as Ragu is celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2020. Mizkan employs 400 people and the plant is currently making white pasta sauce 5-6 days a week. In November, production will go to 7 days, which will create the addition for 30 more full-time jobs. Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Mizkan has found a silver lining. People are staying home and cooking more, rather than eating out as often. Therefore, Mizkan is seeing increased sales, especially of the white pasta sauce.

Available positions will include maintenance and shipping/receiving as well as salary-exempt supervisory positions. Follow the link here to view Mizkan’s employment opportunities and apply.

This week, GOEDC Business Retention and Expansion Manager, Ms. Elizabeth Griffith visited Sun Windows, one of our existing businesses that has been running since 1943. Sun Windows is an industry leader in the development and production of long-lasting, energy efficient window and door products. The company is locally owned and operated and believes in the importance of the local economy, giving back to the community, and in the small-town ethic that built our country. We greatly appreciate the impact Sun Windows has on our local economy as well as their commitment and dedication to Owensboro/Daviess County for over 75 years now!

Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) offices across the state are helping provide free internet access for their communities. All local offices will be offering free WiFi access points from the parking lots between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day.

Kentucky Farm Bureau Agency Manager, Gavin Roberts stated that people do not have to be KFB members to utilize the service. “It’s a small thing we as a company can do for our citizens of Kentucky,” he said. “We are a rural state and there are rural areas in Daviess County that don’t have internet access. We want to give everyone the same opportunities.”

There is a great need for students to have internet service with school recently starting back, but the service is also beneficial for the average working person.The employees of offices that are currently closed but still working from home, as well as students who are learning virtually that don’t have internet access can go to a Farm Bureau office and complete their work.

To help guests recognize that free WiFi is available, KFB offices will have a window decal and temporary signage.

Daviess County KFB offices include:

• 3036 W. Parrish Avenue (Regional Office)
• 2645 Frederica Street
• 3329 Wathens Crossing
• 3230 Kidron Valley Way
• 4600 KY 144

August 21^st is Entrepreneurs’ Day. This is to create awareness for entrepreneurship and celebrate the innovation and leadership in our communities. It takes a dedicated individual and great perseverance to start a business on one’s own. Owensboro is fortunate to have so many great entrepreneurs committed to our community. One we are highlighting today is Chelsea and her small staff at HorseFeathers in downtown Owensboro. Chelsea stared her business 11 years ago because of her passion for making beaded bracelets when she was a young girl. With the rapid growth of her online only business, she decided to expand to a brick-and-mortar. Check out HorseFeathers Gifts here.

We want to encourage those who have innovative ideas to follow their dreams and start a business. Whether it is preparing a plan to begin your business or lining up support through investors or mentoring, there are multiple resources to help you initiate or grow a business. Listed below are a few to get you started.

Preparing a Business Plan

Lining up Support

Kenergy, an electric distribution cooperative serving 14 western Kentucky counties is looking into offering broadband services. “There are several legislative and regulatory hurdles that we would have to clear before that opportunity would be available for us,” Kenergy President and CEO Jeff Hohn said.

Kenergy’s desire to provide broadband access emanates from the same factors that propelled the Rural Electrification Act into existence. For-profit electric utilities had little desire to extend electric service to sparsely populated areas. As a result, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act in 1936 to provide loans so cooperatives could form and distribute electricity to unserved areas. The nation’s broadband providers have followed a similar path. As a result, significant portions of Kenergy’s service territory have been left in the dark as to broadband as they were to electricity 80 years ago.

 “High-speed broadband can provide substantial value for our communities,” said Hohn. “These benefits include greater availability to information, online learning opportunities, economic growth, and increased efficiency for our local businesses.”

The cooperative is evaluating financing options and has filed a waiver with the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Kenergy will release more updates and details as they become available.

This week we salute our Owensboro Regional Farmers Market as Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles proclaims the first week of August to be Kentucky Farmers’ Markets Week. With reported sales of nearly $13 million last year, farmers’ markets are an economic engine that celebrates the state’s agricultural roots. We encourage you to get out and support local farm families who bring fresh products to the public each week! To view more information about the Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market, visit their website here.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report for June 2020, identified Owensboro as the only metropolitan area in the United States with an unemployment rate decline relative to June 2019. Per BLS calculations, the employment rate in the Owensboro metro area was 4.2% in June of 2020, compared to 4.4% in June of 2019. Metropolitan Statistical Areas are designated as having at least one urbanized area with a minimum population of 50,000.

The report states, “Unemployment rates were higher in June than a year earlier in 388 of the 389 metropolitan areas and lower in 1 area”. The full report can be accessed here.

Mayor Watson stated, “While being fiscally conservative and helping those in need, great things are happening in OBKY”. “The Federal BLS identifying Owensboro as the only metropolitan area in the country with a lower unemployment rate in June 2020 than June 2019 is a meaningful acknowledgement and objective confirmation of the progress we continue to make. It is a testament to the wonderful employers and productive workforce in the community and is evidence of the strength and resilience of our diversified local economy,” City Manager Nate Pagan added.

The show Regular Heroes is a weekly docuseries on Amazon Prime that highlights essential workers and is narrated by celebrity guests. Perdue Farms submitted the names of Daniel Hayden and his wife, Danielle to Amazon for what they thought would simply be an interview. Little did they know that they would soon become one of three subjects in the sixth episode of the show. While our country faces the COVID-19 pandemic, food and agriculture continues to be an essential and life-sustaining industry. This episode gives a peek into how hard farmers are working to ensure that Americans are able to find nutritious food on store shelves.

Perdue nominated these Daviess County, Kentucky farmers as their cattle and poultry farm has evolved drastically in the past four decades to include top-tier beef genetics and innovative poultry barns. In 2018 they built four new broiler chicken houses. One of these state-of-the-art barns became the first in the U.S. to include a viewing room. The viewing room is an extension of the control room, which is placed in the middle of the barn. Visitors can enter the large control room and find a seat to experience the ins and outs of a modern poultry house without risking biosecurity of the flock. Four large windows allow visitors to easily see all of the controls as well as the 30,000-chicken facility.

Daniel and Danielle are both in their early 30’s and they are in the process of taking over his parents’ farm. The Amazon filming crew informed the Hayden’s that they wanted to see the farm, the chickens and follow the couple around to see what life was like during the pandemic for essential farmers.

As the crew got to know Daniel and Danielle over the 5-day stretch of filming, they learned a lot about their lives and got to see what genuine, hardworking individuals they are.  

On the final day — “reveal day” — the Hayden’s received a big surprise from the crew. The first gift was a year’s supply of N95 masks. Daniel had informed them that their farm workers have used them inside the poultry houses daily for years, but that the masks have been hard to come by due to the pandemic. The second gift was a pair of family belt buckles to represent the generational aspect of the couple taking over ownership of his parents farm.

The final gift was perhaps the most meaningful. Amazon is providing the financing needed for the first round of fertility treatments for the Hayden couple, who have been trying to work through unexplained infertility for the past three years. With this help, they’ve already been able to meet with a doctor in St. Louis as they search for ways to grow their family.

To learn more about the innovative Hayden Farm or to schedule a farm tour, visit the Hayden Farms website here.

The team at Hollison is extremely innovative and has continuously focused on developing and providing improved food safety sampling solutions since the inception of Hollison in 2005. This video describes the advancements of Hollison over the years, along with how they have adapted their equipment in response to COVID-19.