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A Louisville Leader

John-Robert (JR) Curtin moved to Louisville in 1983 to serve as president and CEO at WKPC-TV Louisville’s Public Broadcasting station for what he thought would be a three-year position. He says he always found one reason or another to stay on in Louisville and now, 37 years later, remains an active part of the community.

Although he claims to be semi-retired, JR is author of On Civility: Restorative Reflections, a book of poetry which came out in August, and The Rocks of Connemara, another book of poetry slated to publish next year. He also teaches undergraduate and graduate students in civility and mediation at Indiana University Southeast, the University of Louisville, and Spalding University, and is CEO of Connected Learning Network and director and senior fellow at 4Civility Institute.

Despite these commitments, JR also finds time to volunteer with multiple organizations including Leadership Louisville.

How did you become involved with Leadership Louisville?

I was a charter member of Leadership Louisville’s Encore Louisville program started in 2014. We’re a group of experienced seniors from various

organizations and disciplines available to help nonprofits with strategic planning and advice. We offer highlevel consulting free of charge to nonprofits who may not be able to afford it otherwise. I looked at the other folks interested in participating in Encore and saw there were a whole lot of people I really liked and wanted to hang out with. I thought it was a great idea and that we could really help. For our volunteers these are short-term engagements, which gives us flexibility in our schedules.

How has Encore been able to assist non-profits during the pandemic?

In response to the pandemic, Encore created a spin-off group, the Middleton Response Team, to help nonprofits who are struggling to cope with issues related to COVID-19. We went to groups like Metro United Way, Gheens Foundation, Kosair Charities, and others to help us identify organizations that might need our expertise. These organizations can reach out to us, and we will pull a team together to help evaluate what their needs are and how we can help them move forward.

What has been your approach to retirement?

I don’t think of myself as retired in the traditional way. I’m transitioning from things I’ve done before to things I want to do. I was told early on that you need to retire to something, not from something. I always thought about that and wanted to move toward something new — new challenges and opportunities. It’s important to at least be satisfied with what you’re doing. It’s what we really need to give us peace.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie in Louisville

Acouple of weeks ago, I wanted to find some amazing Louisville treats to keep my sweet tooth happy and buy local during these trying times. I ended up thinking it would be fun to select the business that bakes the best chocolate chip cookie in the whole city. After many, many samplings, I have my answer: Butchertown Grocery Bakery! While this is quite subjective, I did seek out objective qualifications to make my decision, so it was not a random or careless selection:

Size: Gigantic Crisp, golden exterior: Yes Chewy, fully-baked interior: Yes

High quality chocolate and butter:

OH, YEAH Amount of chocolate: Generous Flavor: 10/10 Perfect amount of salt: Yep! Freshness: 10/10 (Still a little warm!) Appearance: WOW.

You may have your own opinion of the best chocolate chip cookie in Louisville, but this is surely mine. I’ll be visiting Butchertown Grocery Bakery regularly for curbside pick-up of the perfect treat. Check out their full menu online, which includes items like coffee, handmade chocolate, cupcakes, bagels, breads, wine, bourbon, and warm meals. You can place orders in two easy ways: call 502.742.8315 and press 2 or visit ToastTab.com/butchertown. Now, ogle this sultry cookie photo shoot. When you’re done drooling, place an online order, safely pick it up, and enjoy! You deserve it.

Madeleine Dee declares that Butchertown Grocery Bakery is home to the best chocolate chip cookie in town.

Madeleine Dee (AKA The Seasoned Cynic) is a chef, writer, world traveler, and filmmaker who lives in Louisville. Watch her cooking show, Easy Elegance, on YouTube. Instagram: @TheSeasonedCynic. Website: TheSeasonedCynic.com

Betty Winston Baye is well-known in our community for her extensive work at The Courier-Journal, and she has found national acclaim as a published author, motivational speaker, and college lecturer. Her broad base of work covers critical topics such as race and social justice. This year, Betty joined WLKY to work as a columnist and special contributor for Project CommUNITY, which takes a look at these critical issues and their impact in our community, particularly as it connects with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Given the passion Betty has for her work, one might expect her to choose a book or special piece of art as her mostloved item. “There are books everywhere in my house. I have old magazines, stuff I really value from the 60s, an extensive collection of African art, but when you ask what I value the most, it is my pictures,” she says. “I look at my photographs and remember...my mom, my dad, my husbands, my sweetheart... all of them have passed away now. They represent different phases of my life. If I had to leave and take one thing, it would have to be my photographs.”

There are special photos from the Black Journalists Conventions she has attended and other pictures that reflect her work and travels. Very special to her is the collection of pictures from her 50th birthday party, nearly 25 years ago. Betty was worried about having a birthday celebration that year because her mother was in New York and was very ill. Her mother convinced her to have it, reminding Betty that not having the party wouldn’t make her well. In addition to taking a lot of photos that day, they made a videotape for her mother and sent it to New York. “All the cousins and everyone at the party said ‘hi’ to mom on that tape. She watched it over and over again in the months before she died and told me it made her smile every time,” Betty recalls.

Betty feels much the same way about those photos from her 50th, thinking fondly of her mom, her family, and her friends and about how quickly time passes. “I didn’t appreciate these things when I was young, but this is my life. I can’t replace 74 years of memories. This is the fruit of the Brown family tree.”

“I love my... photographs.”

—Betty Winston Baye

“ I f you’d asked me this question some years ago, my answer would have been different. When I was younger, I would wonder why people have photographs all over their houses. They’re on the walls, on the tables, on the piano. I couldn’t understand it, and now I am one of those people.”

Betty’s new book The Book of David is available on Amazon or on her website, www.bettybaye.com.