I picked her up and put her in my coat and put her little hat on and took her outside. She was just talking about the lights and the decorations and we have been locked into each other ever since.” Their blended family life is harmonious and there’s a close bond between Simon, Max, Aiden and Grace. “We’re not all together often, but my older boys consider Aiden and Grace their brother and sister,” says Meiners. “They will take them to play laser tag or they’ll come by to visit and do puzzles with Grace.” Or perhaps to play with new “fancy-pants designer dog,” Johnny Fever, three-year-old Golden Doodle. “They all begged me for a dog and, well, we bought this Park Avenue creation that costs as much as a house payment,” he says. It’s important to note that walks with Johnny are a daily ritual for Meiners: “Every day, I come home and walk Johnny Fever and pick up his poop and just laugh at myself.” But when he really needs to unwind, Meiners either heads to the Parklands or he hits the golf course. “I took up golf twenty years ago,” he says. “That’s where I spend time with my friends.” His friends are a rotating group of twelve that meet at different local courses. “It’s a good four hours of walk and talk,” says Meiners. “You get to talk to your friends about the important things in life. It’s not all just flipping nonsense. If our kids are having issues, we bounce things off each other. A buddy’s wife died recently and we were able to talk him through it,” he says. “It’s a support group, but you’re swinging sticks and hitting a ball so it’s okay. It’s group therapy; you can share your whole life and cheer for each other and pull each other out of the challenge. Then you line up some shots. That’s what golf does.” While Meiners is obviously grateful for every day spent in a career that has spanned four decades and allowed him to become deeply immersed in the civic life of his hometown, he is quick to come up with an answer when asked for his most memorable moment on the job: “It happens every year. It’s the Crusade for Children,” he says. “I come home and tell Mary that it restores my faith in humanity. Twelve years of soaring highs and some painful challenges in life and once a year everybody meets at the community dinner
table and says, ‘Let’s take care of our special needs children,’” he says. “It moves me so much when I hear the firetrucks blaring through the streets and each person donating from different walks of life. Each person setting aside their own struggles and thinking about these kids. Every year, after the Crusade, my batteries are completely recharged and I’m left feeling great about human beings.” The Crusade isn’t the only charitable endeavor Meiners supports. The man who was raised by parents who emphasized service is involved in The Lawrence Foundation, The Pitrino Foundation, Rick Pitino’s Angel Foundation to name just a few. “When I first started out, I was hosting every charitable event in Louisville,” he says. “I’ve come to learn I can’t do everything and there are other talented people who can take care of moving a message. So, now, I tend to get involved with foundations run by people and families I know because it makes sense. I’ve walked into places with a check for $10,000 dollars
from Rick Pitino from his Angel Fund. There have been times when I have heard about a family being burned out of their house and I can pick up the phone and call Rick…. And I’ve walked up to people without them having any idea where it’s come from and said, ‘Here you go.’” This ability to do good, to have an impact, to make the city where he grew up a better place, is clearly part of what motivates the man with the microphone whom we all know as Terry and why he belongs in an issue that celebrates what makes this city great. “These are the parts of my life that are incredible,” he says. “Having been fortunate enough to know these people who can raise money and to be able to help disperse it and make a difference. It’s humbling. And it’s about living a life properly. We’re all flawed human beings. But the one thing we can do is be of service. If you are of service at least then when you leave this earth, you’ve contributed some kind of gift that uplifts others.”
TERRY’S
TOP SIX FAVORITE MOMENT OF EACH DAY: The first time someone makes me laugh HOW MANY WHITE CASTLES CAN I EAT: “I will tell you two but it’s really four.” BEST PLACE TO TURN OFF MY BRAIN: Hiking at The Parklands. MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW IN LOUISVILLE: Looking at #12 on Valhalla from the edge of the upper fairway. BEST DISCOVERY IN LOUISVILLE: biking across the Big Four Bridge into a friendly, clean, wide open Indiana. GUARANTEED SERENITY MOMENT: Working at a busy event and seeing my gorgeous wife walk in and light up the room. TOPS LOUISVILLE | August 2017 61