Business
business briefs TESLA SUPERCHARGER STATION OPENS AT SULLIVAN
Louisville's Tesla Supercharger station is now up and running — located in the parking lot of the Sullivan University School of Pharmacy. The Supercharger is a direct current (DC) fast-charging station that is for use with the Tesla Model S sedan, Model X SUV and eventually the Tesla Model 3 (Tesla's lower cost model), which will be unveiled to the public in March of 2016. The Louisville location has the capacity to charge eight vehicles at a time. Worldwide, there are 576 Supercharger stations with 3,321 Superchargers able to provide "fuel" for these EVs. In addition to the new Tesla chargers, Sullivan University is exploring adding a Level 2 charger that will charge other makes and models of electric cars there as well. PORTLAND INVESTMENT INITIATIVE UPDATE During the first meeting of 2016, on Wednesday, January 6, Venture Connectors hosted developer Gill Holland, who gave an update on the progress of Louisville’s Portland Investment Initiative. He will discuss what is working and what isn’t, as well as what the community can expect in the coming years from Portland, a low-income neighborhood in Louisville’s West End. Holland also will share insights into opportunities for the entrepreneurial community to get involved in revitalization efforts. Holland began to implement his vision for Portland in 2013, which includes restoring homes, converting empty warehouses into mixed-use developments and reviving the area’s business district. WATERSTEP RECEIVES $18,750 GRANT FROM DELTA DENTAL TO FUND EDUCATION PROGRAM WaterStep is pleased to announce a $18,750 gift from Delta Dental of Kentucky’s Making Smiles Happen® program to support its Water Education Department. Delta Dental of Kentucky’s charitable initiative, Making Smiles Happen, provides funding to organizations that improve oral health and education in the local community. WaterStep’s mission is to provide communities around the world with access to safe water and health education. The organization also develops and implements a local Water Education Program that teaches students about the world’s water crisis and solutions. The curriculum targets students in grades 1-12 and can be delivered in a classroom or other school setting, at educational conferences/events, or on-site at WaterStep’s headquarters. Participants learn about the social, economic and environmental effects of poor health that are caused by unsafe drinking water, as well as the proper health and hygiene techniques used to prevent the spreading of germs and bacteria. Participants also learn about the real water solutions WaterStep uses in the field to provide safe drinking water and how the history of water technology in Louisville relates to present day water issues. The program includes hands on exercises and experiments, and depending upon the format, can last 30 minutes to 2 hours. LOUISVILLE METRO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & WELLNESS NAMES DR. BRANDY KELLY PRYOR AS DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR HEALTH EQUITY Dr. Brandy N. Kelly Pryor has been named the new director of the Center for Health Equity at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. She will also serve as an assistant professor at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences. Dr. Sarah Moyer, interim director of Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, said Dr. Kelly Pryor was selected from among many strong applicants in a nationwide search. Dr. Kelly Pryor comes to Louisville from Texas A&M University, where she was an assistant professor. She also served as an AmeriCorps member in Washington, D.C.; studied global health and determinants on health abroad in Kenya, Tanzania, Haiti, Trinidad and Barbados; and worked as a Ph.D. student in
to submit your business brief email circ@voice-tribune.com the Center for Community Health Development at Texas A&M’s School of Rural Public Health. Her depth of experience in research, evaluation and program management in the field of equity in health extends beyond just local health departments to include the university, state systems, faith-based and community-based organizations. She has managed local and federally funded projects and grant dollars and evaluated projects in major urban centers, as well as health partnerships in rural areas. KENTUCKY SHAKESPEARE SELECTED AS PART OF KENTUCKY ARTS COUNCIL’S 50 DAYS OF ART Kentucky Shakespeare has been selected as one of the Kentucky Arts Council’s 50 Days of Art. The arts council’s 50 Days of Art series celebrates the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Kentucky Arts Council by the Kentucky General Assembly in March 1966. Kentucky Shakespeare is one of several Kentucky Arts Partnership organizations across the state that are hosting events included in this celebration. For more information Kentucky Shakespeare call 502.574.9900 x11, email rob@kyshakespeare.com or visit our web page, kyshakespeare.com. To learn more about other events in the Kentucky Arts Council’s 50 Days of Art series, visit the arts council’s web page artscouncil.ky.gov. PIVOT TO PEACE COLLABORATIVE TO HELP DECREASE VIOLENCE IN WEST LOUISVILLE KentuckyOne Health, Peace Education Program (Peace Ed), the Louisville Metro Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, and the Commonwealth Institute at the University of Louisville announced the launch of an innovative evidence-informed collaboration to address and prevent violent crime in West Louisville. Pivot to Peace is designed to build stronger and safer neighborhoods by linking adult survivors of violent gun and knife injuries to community resources. The program will promote healthy choices and avoid further injury or involvement with law enforcement. Ultimately, the goal is to help participants to “pivot,” linking them to resources that promote a healthy nonviolent life. Pivot to Peace adapts best practices from hospitals around the country, using guidelines from the National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (NNHVIP.org) that sees trauma centers as an environment to teach and engage injured patients, family and friends. Participants are paired with a Case Worker from Peace Ed who will support them in coping with their injury and assisting with follow-up care. Key outcomes for Pivot to Peace participants include reduced violent interactions and improved educational attainment, employment status and physical/mental health. Through Pivot to Peace, University Hospital Emergency Department and Trauma Team staff will identify potential participants: patients aged 18-34 with gunshot/knife injuries from violence living in one of the nine West Louisville neighborhoods. A specially trained hospital Community Health Worker will conduct an initial interview with participants and/or family. With permission, a Case Worker from Peace Ed will then be called to meet with and enroll the individual in the free grant-funded program. The initial focus is to build a trusting relationship with participants to prevent
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retaliation, promote strategies to defuse conflict, identify shortterm needs and develop a stay-safe plan. Long-term, the Case Workers will follow participants after they are discharged from University Hospital for up to one year, easing the transition into the community and connecting participants to services like education, employment opportunities and housing. Peace Ed will also provide a continuous series of conflict resolution classes for participants in alternating locations in the community. Pivot to Peace is made possible by grants from the Gheens Foundation, Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence and the United States Office of Juvenile Justice/Department of Justice. Two years of funding have been secured to hire program management and staff – including seven Peace Ed Case Workers – the Community Health Worker and a mental health counselor from Our Lady of Peace who will be part of the case management team. An emergency assistance fund was established to provide for immediate needs of participants such as clothing and transportation. Those who wish to contribute to Pivot to Peace may do so through tax-deductible contributions to the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation. The Pivot to Peace coalition anticipates enrolling its first participants by March 1, 2016. GEORGETOWN NATIVE RYAN QUARLES SWORN IN AS KENTUCKY’S COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles pledged to run an efficient, transparent Kentucky Department of Agriculture that advocates for Kentucky’s agriculture industry as he and other state constitutional officers were sworn into office in the Capitol Rotunda. Quarles was elected agriculture commissioner in November. Prior to assuming the agriculture commissioner post, he served three terms as a state representative from his hometown of Georgetown. At 32, Quarles is the youngest statewide elected official in the nation. Quarles succeeds James Comer of Tompkinsville, who served from January 2012 to December 2015. Quarles, the son of Roger and Bonnie Quarles, grew up farming in Scott County and comes from a family that has farmed in central Kentucky for more than 200 years. He was an active member of 4-H and FFA youth programs and won the state tractor driving contest while in high school. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2006 with undergraduate degrees in political science, agricultural economics and public service, and two master’s degrees in diplomacy and international commerce. He earned a master’s degree in higher education from Harvard University in 2009 while also attending Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government. He completed work toward his law degree at UK. As Kentucky agriculture commissioner, Quarles serves as chairman of the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation and vice chairman of the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board. He serves on the Kentucky State Fair Board and numerous other boards and commissions.
Robert English, CIC, AFSB
Van Zandt, Emrich & Cary Insurance Business • Home • Auto • Employee Benefits
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