Vol 19/Issue 9
greater owensboro chamber of commerce
CHAMBER MATTERS 2021
SEPT.
Rooster Booster to be held on Kentucky Legend Pier CLASS OF
2022
The Leadership Owensboro Class of 2022 will be announced at our September Rooster Booster. Join us to congratulate these individuals!
The Chamber will host its Rooster Booster breakfast in-person this Thursday, September 2 at 7:30 a.m. on the Kentucky Legend Pier behind the Owensboro Convention Center (501 West Second Street). The program is sponsored by Brescia University and will feature Sister Larraine Lauter, OSU, Executive Director at Water with Blessings and leader of Hispanic Ministry at Church of The Epiphany in Louisville, KY. Reserve your spot now at www.chamber.owensboro.com or by
calling the Chamber office at (270) 9261860. COST IN ADVANCE: $12 for Chamber Members and $20 for non-members. COST AT THE DOOR: $15 for Chamber Members and $20 for non-members. Following Rooster Booster, the Chamber will host a drive-thru COVID19 vaccination clinic with Green River District Health Department at First Christian Church (700 J R Miller Blvd) from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. For more information, see page 3.
Sister Larraine Lauter to address September Rooster Booster crowd
Sister Larraine Lauter’s lifelong would soon be immersed in the cause theme is the role of sister: “big sister” to of God’s children who thirst for clean her siblings LaVay and Ron, then “Siswater. Together with friends Arnold ter” to her community of Mount Saint LeMay and Jim Burris, she began to Joseph Ursulines, “Sister” to God’s peocomprehend the immeasurable impact ple and all creation. In over forty years of clean water for the health of chilof ministry, whether as art and music dren and their communities. Their teacher, pastoral ministry in service to first Water Woman 2008 project to equip Catholic communities, choir director, Honduran mothers with water filters ministry with immigrants, or nonprofit to share with the community yielded leadership, Larraine has always sought unanticipated outcomes and insight, to be Sister more in spirit than by title. eventually incorporated as Water With Sister Larraine Lauter Sister Larraine’s first ten years of Blessings (2011). As Executive Direcministry were focused on education, teaching art tor, Sister Larraine simply holds on for the ride as and music at the Cathedral School in Owensboro God grows a global movement that at present counts KY, then art and theology at Trinity High School in around 115,000+ Water Women in 48 countries, supWhitesville, KY. From there, she followed a call to ported by a great host of collaborators and supportpastoral ministry in the Diocese of Owensboro, serv- ers. ing as pastoral associate, music director and liturgist Along the way, Sister Larraine has been immersed for the Catholic communities of St. Columba (Lewis- in matters of justice, environmental protection, art, port KY) and Precious Blood (Owensboro KY). and the contemplative life. She credits her parents For many years, Sister Larraine produced custom for her passion for justice, and her extended family liturgical arts from her Singing Moon Studio. Her and childhood churches for her “Batholic” upbringinstallations include fabric hangings, altars, taberna- ing, an exposure which has marked her with an cles and other liturgical furnishings, as well as cast interfaith spirit of openness for all people of good glass windows and baptismal bowls in churches and will. Cooking, pets, gardening and all things outchapels. doors are her favorite therapies. She is blessed and In 2002, Sister Larraine started Migrant Immi- supported by her loving family, community life with grant Shelter and Support, offering housing and her Ursuline Sisters, her intentional community of support to migrant farm workers in Owensboro. Namaste House and friends who have all, in one way After moving to Louisville in 2007, she led Hispanic or another, been recruited into the cause of water for ministry at St. Bartholomew’s and the Church of God’s thirsty children. the Epiphany, where she also served as Minister Growing up in Florida and Kentucky, Larraine for Social Responsibility until leaving in 2011 to lead has always loved clean water. She learned to swim Water With Blessings. before she could walk, and has a great affinity for In 2008, Sister Larraine had no warning that she otters.
2021
Chamber Golf Classic The 2021 Chamber Golf Classic was held last Friday, August 27 at the Owensboro Country Club. We were grateful for the opportunity to responsibly network in a socially distant setting and with the utmost care for the health and wellness of our participants, sponsors and community. A special thanks to all the sponsors and players who spent the day on the course with us!
Check out the photos on page 4!
As the longest-standing provider of higher education in Daviess County, Brescia University is firmly rooted in its student-centered mission to provide transformational education that meets the individual needs of each student in pursuit of higher education. Since 1925, when it first formed as the Mount Saint Joseph College for Women, to 1948 when it moved to the heart of downtown Owensboro in order to be most accessible needs of Veterans returning from WWII, to present day where it serves as the “Gateway to Downtown,” Brescia University has been a cornerstone in the foundation of the Greater Owensboro Community as well as the global population it serves. As we near the completion of Brescia University’s first century, Brescia’s spiritual founder, St. Angela Merici’s instruction to “read the signs of the times and adapt” is as critical today as it was when St. Angela first spoke these words to her community of Ursuline sisters in 1535. In the most recent strategic plan, centered around CARITAS, Brescia’s faculty, staff and students are guided by the words of Jesus that we must love one another as we have been loved by God. Brescia University will strive to embody the call to Love, consistent with our Ursuline legacy, by creating a culture of diversity and inclusion that promotes Authentic Communities and that seeks to find and remove unjust barriers that hinder learning and human flourishing with the intentional use of Universal Design. Brescia is focused on producing servant leaders whose lives exemplify leadership capabilities balanced with the responsibility of service. It is what we call the Brescia Difference: Respect for the Sacred; Devotion to Learning; Commitment to Growth in Virtue; and Promotion of Servant Leadership.