Latest news with #GreaterOwensboroChamberofCommerce
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor Beshear's 'Pre-K for All' Initiative comes to Owensboro
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Governor Andy Beshear traveled to the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce where he joined Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, local officials, educators, business leaders and parents to rally support for the 'Pre-K for All' initiative, which aims to advance the commonwealth's public education system and job growth. 'Access to quality child care and preschool opportunities are critical for Kentucky to ultimately advance educational attainment levels in all grades and to allow more parents to participate in the workforce,' said Scott Davis, chair of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. 'We know that children in early-learning environments frequently have better academic achievement and better language development skills. Also, a higher percentage of them are more likely to graduate high school and attend college. Furthermore, ensuring that more Kentucky children have access to early-learning opportunities can play a significant role in closing the socio-economic gap between those who have financial means and those who do not.' Beshear helps break ground on $20M facility in Muhlenberg County During his remarks, Governor Beshear mentioned key points that support how children, families and businesses will benefit from the initiative. This is what is in his intiative: Increases Kindergarten readiness for all Kentucky 4-year-olds. According to KY Stats, more than half of Kentucky's children – 53.8% – are unprepared when they show up for their first day of kindergarten. Eliminates child-care deserts. According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, 79 of Kentucky's 120 counties – nearly two-thirds – don't have access to enough child care to serve every family who needs it, with the majority of those located in Eastern Kentucky. Boosts parents take-home pay. A long-term study from Yale found that providing pre-K increased the earnings of parents and caregivers by nearly $9,000 annually, a trend that held for at least six years. This amounts to $54,000 for Kentucky families as their kids grow. Saves Kentucky families out-of-pocket child-care costs. By reducing child-care costs, Pre-K for All will ease financial strain for hard-working families and strengthen the foundation of Kentucky's economy. Grows Kentucky's labor force by 40,000 to 70,000 Kentuckians. According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, over time, Pre-K for All is projected to grow Kentucky's workforce by up to 70,000 people. Grows Kentucky's economy. In addition, a study from Yale shows that every dollar invested in pre-K generates $10 that cycles through the state economy. Gov. Beshear stressed that Pre-K for All is a nonpartisan issue, noting that 18 states – including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and West Virginia – offer pre-K access for all 4-year-olds. 'They have gotten it done, and so can we,' the Governor said in outlining his plans. As part of the initiative, Gov. Beshear issued an executive order creating the Team Kentucky Pre-K for All Advisory Committee, comprising 28 leaders from across the commonwealth. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Moneta Sleet Jr. Park gets six new art panels
OWENSBORO, Ky (WEHT) – Six new art panels were unveiled at the Moneta Sleet, Jr. Park in Owensboro, showcasing the different eras of the Pulitzer Prize winning photographer. Sleet, Jr. was an Owensboro native who won the prize for a photo he took of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King, during his funeral. Owensboro city officials and dozens of residents gathered for the unveiling. The panels touched on career, education, family and even his time serving in the army. 'Their reaction was at first surprise but also thrilled that we would reach out to them and to want to get more information about Moneta Sleet, Jr, and they were willing to play any part,' said Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee Michael Johnson. 'This is very inspirational to me. I get emotional because it was a long time coming.' Sleet's Pulitzer Prize win made him the first African American to win the award in the journalism category. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rooster Booster celebrates 65 years
The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce celebrated 65 years of the Rooster Booster breakfast Thursday morning in one of the third-floor ballrooms at the Owensboro Convention Center. The morning's program, which was sponsored by Oddball Creative, a video production and digital marketing agency, allowed former and present Chamber members, along with the Owensboro community, to reminisce about the history of the Rooster Booster breakfast via a speaker panel that included former Owensboro Mayor Dave Adkisson, former Rooster Booster emcee Kirk Kirkpatrick and Candance Castlen Brake, president and CEO. Keith Lawrence, longtime journalist from the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, acted as the panel's moderator. 'Keith has been covering the Rooster Booster breakfast for 50 years, so it makes sense for him to be our moderator,' Castlen Brake said. Lawrence said that he was asked to cover his first Rooster Booster breakfast in January of 1972. 'It was at the old Ponderosa Steakhouse where the Windy Hollow Biscuit House is now,' Lawrence said. 'I think we got some sort of pastry and a carton of chocolate milk. And I've probably covered 400 or 500 Rooster Booster breakfasts since.' Castlen Brake said that the Rooster Booster breakfast was always fun for her because it gave her a chance to meet more people in the community. 'When I was first starting out with the Chamber, because I lived in Ohio County, I didn't know as many people, so the Rooster Booster breakfast was a chance for me to meet everyone and introduce myself and make connections,' she said. Kirkpatrick explained how he was selected to act as the emcee at many of the Rooster Booster breakfasts when he was around 26 or 27, recalling that area businesswoman Jane Noble, and former Owensboro Mayor Waitman Taylor were constant fixtures at those early meetings. 'My favorite Rooster Booster speaker was from a breakfast in 1996 that was hosted at the Executive Inn's Showroom Lounge,' Kirkpatrick said. 'We had Rick Pitino speak and the cheerleaders and mascot came along. And Pitino confessed that UK would win the National Championship that year.' The group remembered that the breakfast had been hosted at a variety of locations throughout the years including the Owensboro Sportscenter, the Owensboro Country Club and the basement at Gabe's restaurant. 'I have been privileged to sit up here for 37 years next to different speakers and I'm not sure that any of them knew exactly what they were signing up for,' Kirkpatrick said. 'I think they were all pretty amazing to be speaking to a crowd of 400 at 7:30 in the morning.' Kirkpatrick shared how he had speaker Jim Lovell, an Apollo 13 astronaut, autograph a VHS tape that Lovell signed to 'Captain Kirk.' 'I always laugh about that,' he said. Adkisson recalled when the breakfast's speaker was Bill Koch of the Koch family who founded Holiday World. 'Mr. Koch talked about having a four-lane highway running from Kentucky into Indiana and that was the beginning talks of what would become the Natcher Bridge and the Highway 231 expansion project into Southern Indiana,' he said. And that wasn't the only idea that came from a Rooster Booster breakfast — the Adkisson Green Belt and the RiverPark Center humbly began as visions during Rooster Booster. Castlen Brake discussed the impact of the global pandemic five year ago on the Rooster Booster breakfast. 'It was a hard time for us. We took a couple of months off, but we knew that we had to get back into hosting the Rooster Booster because people needed those 'good' feelings and something to look forward to,' she said. 'Around 30,000 viewers turned into that coming back live-stream and at that point, we knew that we could do whatever we had to do to persevere and carry on.' The panel also discussed the very beginning days of the beloved community event, the International Bar-B-Q Festival, which has transitioned to the Bourbon and Barrels in recent years. 'We didn't know if we were going to have 250 people or 20,000 people that first year,' Adkisson said. 'I think it was closer to 20,000. Moonlight sold out super quickly. We just never anticipated the tradition that we would start with theBar-B-Q Festival.' The 'good news phone' was also part of the panel discussion. Kirkpatrick explained that the 'good news phone' originated as a way to share good news with those in attendance without the Chamber coming off as 'boasting' or 'bragging' about the good deeds it had accomplished. 'I think it came about during a 1979 Chamber dinner,' he said. 'And it's continued as a way to share good news.' This morning's good news update included word that the $17.7 family entertainment project at the former Towne Square Mall has been approved. In addition to celebrating 65 years of Rooster Booster, the Men's Mass Community Choir provided performances to honor their 20th anniversary.
