CAMPBELLSVILLE
University Honored for Job Training Efforts

The Kentucky Cabinet for Workforce Development has awarded Campbellsville University the "Outstanding Vendor/Training Facility Award" for its efforts in helping dislocated workers in the Campbellsville area.

The Campbellsville area has been hard hit in recent years by factory lay-offs. Most recently, Fruit of the Loom announced that it would be releasing 220 employees at its Campbellsville plant. While the state's job training partnership act (JPTA) helps prepare people for new jobs by providing financial assistance for retraining, in many cases it does not cover the entire cost of tuition. As a result, some individuals find it difficult to take advantage of the classes.

Campbellsville University announced that it would allow employees affected by layoffs to attend two-year programs for the amount that JPTA would pay. There are now 97 students enrolled at the Campbellsville program. Statewide, more than 18,800 Kentuckians participated in JPTA programs last year.

Campbellsville University has seen tremendous growth within the last decade, making it one of the fastest-growing institutions in Southeast. U.S. News & World Report included the Baptist-affiliated university as one of the top Southern liberal arts colleges in its most recent listing of "America's Best Colleges."

LOUISVILLE
Technology Company Relocates to Northeast

For several years now, local economists have been sending out warnings about Kentucky's "brain drain" – losing highly skilled, educated employees to other companies in other states. The decision of VideoLan Technologies Inc. to relocate its company headquarters to New England may be an all-too-real reminder of the validity of those warnings.

The company, which is a developer of visual communications and information distribution solutions based on its Metallic Fiber™ transmission and broadband switching technology, announced the relocation as part of a corporate restructuring plan to attract technical staff and further financing. Under the plan, VideoLan is also closing its Pittsburgh office.

"The move will enable VideoLan to consolidate its operations and provide the financial flexibility needed for corporate growth," said Jack Shirman, chief executive officer. "It will also help position us as a serious player in the videoconferencing arena and give us access to the hi-tech expertise found in the New England states."

ELIZABETHTOWN
Coca-Cola Museum Receives $25K Donation

The Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia, one of the largest private collections of such memorabilia in the world, has received a $25,000 donation from The Dunagan Foundation, a Texas organization dedicated to furthering education and preserving and documenting history.

The Schmidt Museum is currently housed in the Elizabethtown Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, but is in the midst of raising funds to erect a new museum. A 20-acre site located along Interstate 65 north of U.S. 62 has already been donated. The Dunagan gift brings the museum's fundraising efforts to $2.9 million, including the value of the donated land.

The new museum is expected to draw nearly 400,000 visitors per year by its third year of operation – more than 10 times the current number of visitors. The project also promises to bring $19 million in new spending to Hardin County, along with 547 new jobs.

MT. STERLING
Chef America Opens Expanded Plant

Chef America, which produces food items such as Hot PocketsŪ and Croissant PocketsŪ sandwiches, recently completed a 150,000-square-foot addition to its Mt. Sterling plant. The expansion doubled the size of the original building and has already meant 100 new jobs for the Montgomery County area. Since selecting Mt. Sterling for its eastern division operation five years ago, the company has hired 630 employees there and anticipates hiring another 150-200 this year.

"We are very proud of this facility, our associates and the overwhelming support we receive from state and local government," said David Merage, chief operating officer for Chef America. "That's why we committed an investment in excess of $20 million in this plant."

RICHMOND
EKU Offering Human Resources Certification

Eastern Kentucky University has launched a Human Resources Professional Certification Program specifically tailored to meet the needs of Central and Southeastern Kentucky industries.

The program was developed at the request of and with input from industry officials throughout the region. The curriculum, which will take approximately seven to eight months to complete, features 15 separate courses, including hiring and staffing; developing an employee handbook; employee relations; compensation and benefit packages; workplace violence and employee torts; safety and health; personnel administration; ADA, FMLA and workers' compensation; labor relations and professional development.

Trainers are a combination of EKU faculty and outside professionals.

LOUISVILLE
Coffee Company Goes National

john conti Coffee Company is Currently negotiating with 10 coffee companies in major markets throughout the U.S. to combine operations. The new entity will be known as United Coffee Companies of America (UCCA), but will remain as john conti Coffee Company on a local basis and will retain its existing management.

john conti officials say the goal of the company is to acquire coffee companies in the top 50 cities in the continental U.S. to operate on the "hub and spoke" theory. According to a company press release, "once a major company is acquired in a market, aggressive efforts will be made to acquire other companies in that market to achieve operating efficiencies."

UCCA will be based in Louisville, with John Conti heading the company as president and CEO. Sales from the combined companies are expected to be in excess of $50 million. The john conti Coffee Service alone has more than 5,200 office, restaurant and institutional customers through its branches in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, plus national chain operations in 15 states. The wholesale division distributes gourmet coffee to more than 300 specialty stores and supermarkets.

Bluegrass Briefs

DANVILLE

• Centre College has appointed James P. Leahey as director of gift planning and associate college counsel. Prior to his appointment, Leahey practiced law with the Owensboro firm of Sullivan, Mountjoy, Stainback and Miller.

FRANKFORT

• Christopher Tobe has been appointed to the new position of investment specialist in the Office of State Auditor Ed Hatchett, where he will evaluate risks involved in public investments and ensure the proper management of tax dollars. In addition to his experience as a portfolio manager for a bank trust department, Tobe has also taught classes in investments and accounting at the University of Louisville, Bellarmine College and Webster University and serves as president for the Louisville Society of Financial Analysts.

GEORGETOWN

• Columbia Hospital Georgetown has announced the addition of Lyen C. Crews III as chief financial officer and Rhonda Stapleton as director of human resources and marketing.

LOUISVILLE

• Robert R. Hill, MBA, CPA, who is affiliated with the Louisville office of Eskew & Gresham, PSC, has been appointed chair of the Tax, Managerial and Governmental Accounting and Reporting Subcommittee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In this position, Hill will be one of eight persons responsible for writing the accounting and reporting examination section of the national standardized CPA examination, a test that all aspiring CPAs must pass to earn certification.

• The law firm of Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald has announced plans to open a fifth office in Nashville, Tennessee. The Louisville-based firm also has offices in Lexington, Covington and Cincinnati.

• Vencor, Inc., a long-term healthcare company, has approved the repurchase of up to 3 million shares of the company's common stock, including both open market purchases as well as private transactions. Vencor currently has approximately 70 million shares of common stock outstanding.

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