Jim King believes that success breeds success and that as he achieves more, he is able to do more things for more people.

King has been successful in both the public and the private sector. In 1981 he formed King & Company, PSC. a CPA firm, and serves as president and CEO. In 1987, King acquired People’s State Bank, in Nelson County, KY with assets of $6 million and only one location. After expanding to the Louisville area People’s State Bank became King Southern Bank and has continued to grow. Today, King Southern Bank has over $160 million in assets and seven locations.

In November 2004, King won election to serve as councilman for District 10 to Louisville’s Metro Council. In January 2006, he became majority leader of the Metro Council and in January 2008, King was elected as the president of the Louisville Metro Council.

King is a member of the University of Louisville Board of Overseers, the Board of the Louisville Orchestra, and the Simmons College Board of Trustees. He is a past-chairman of the Kentucky Bankers Association.

In memoriam: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?n=james-o-king-jim&pid=173865683&fhid=29361

Dean Corbett is passionate about seeing people enjoy themselves.

Corbett is the owner and chef of three acclaimed restaurants, Equus, Jack’s Lounge, and Corbett’s. Corbett’s mother Nancy is responsible for his cooking career. Upon returning home from college to help care for his mother as she battled lung cancer he noticed that she wasn’t eating. Corbett began cooking to nourish her back to health and has been cooking ever since. He has never taken a culinary course and remains self-taught.

Corbett began his career in Dallas, Texas at the renowned Chandler’s Landing Yacht Club and later at the Ram’s Head Restaurant.

Arriving in Louisville in 1982, Corbett grew through the ranks of the four-star restaurant, Casa Grisanti, a Northern Italian gem. It was with Grisanti that Corbett was able to take part in the Taste of America: a celebration of the top 50 restaurants for President Reagan’s inauguration in 1984.

Giving back to the community is a priority for Corbett. He helped start several dinner fundraisers throughout the city including Kosair Charities Bourbon & Bowties. He is active in countless other benefits including Juvenile Diabetes, Juvenile Autism, March of Dimes, Multiple Sclerosis, and the American Heart Association.

Georgia Davis Powers learned early life that to make changes you must be empowered.

Powers served for 21 years as a member of the state Senate in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. When elected in 1967, she became the first person of color and the first woman elected to the Kentucky State Senate.

During her time in the Senate, Powers sponsored bills prohibiting employment discrimination, sex and age discrimination, in addition to introducing statewide fair housing legislation. Even as an elected official, she was not able to get a room in a hotel in segregated Frankfort. She also supported legislation to improve education for the physically and mentally disabled. Powers served as secretary of the Democratic caucus from 1968 to 1988. She chaired two legislative committees: Health and Welfare (1970–76) and Labor and Industry (1978–88).

After she retired from her seat in the Kentucky Senate in 1988, she remained committed to the continuing fight for equal rights and human dignity. In 1990, Powers created the Friends of Nursing Home Residents (FONHRI) to organize faith-based volunteerism in the Louisville area to serve as visitors to the local nursing homes. She also incorporated in 1994 an organization called QUEST (Quality Education for All Students) to monitor the work of the Jefferson County school board to halt the return to segregated schools.

In memoriam: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?n=georgia-montgomery-davis-powers&pid=177568559&fhid=4757

PJ Cooksey believes you should find what you are passionate about in life and go and do it.

Cooksey is a legendary horse racing jockey. She won her first race with Turf Advisor at Waterford Park (now Mountaineer Park) in 1979. A four-time Turfway Park leading rider, Cooksey has won 2,137 races since beginning her career in 1979, and she is second all-time in total victories by a female jockey. Cooksey’s career purse winnings total over $19 million.

Cooksey also worked as a thoroughbred racing commentator for WAVE-TV in Louisville and ESPN for racing’s most important events including the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, and the Breeders’ Cup.
Cooksey is also a breast cancer survivor. She received the 2002 Lombardi Symbol of Courage which is awarded to a significant sports figure battling cancer.

Ed Hamilton has always been driven by a need to create and discover something new.

Hamilton is an internationally renowned monument sculptor. His most famous work is The Spirit of Freedom, a memorial to black Civil War veterans, that stands in Washington, DC, in the Shaw neighborhood near Howard University.

Hamilton has also created monuments dedicated to Booker T. Washington, Joe Louis, York (William Clark’s manservant on the Lewis and Clark Expedition), and the slaves who revolted on La Amistad. In June 2009, Hamilton completed work on the memorial statue of Abraham Lincoln at Waterfront Park in Louisville, Ky.

Hamilton has received many awards for his work. In 2004 Hamilton received a doctor of arts honorary degree from the both the University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University was the commencement speaker for graduations at both schools.

Hamilton is a graduate of the Louisville School of Art.

Michael Dalby is passionate about business and believes a strong and growing economy lead to a strong community.

Dalby is the president of the recently formed One Southern Indiana, the local chamber of commerce just north of Louisville. He has over 15 years of experience in economic development. From 1998 – 2006 Dalby was president of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce in Texas where was responsible for a $1.2 million budget and direction of 13-person staff. During that time, he grew the business membership from 960 to 1,300 members, a 35% increase.

Dalby is a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force where he served as an intelligence analyst and a professor of English and communications.

Dalby received his bachelor’s in international affairs and humanities from the U.S. Air Force Academy and his MA in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

John Yarmuth has dedicated his life to public service so that he can make a difference for others.

Since 2007, Yarmuth, a Democrat, has been a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives serving Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district. Yarmuth was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to young people to get involved in public service. After college, he worked on Capitol Hill on the staff Republican U.S. Senator Marlow Cook from 1971 to 1975.

Yarmuth spent time in the publishing industry before life as a congressman. After working for Senator Cook, Yarmuth returned to Louisville and launched his publishing career by founding the Louisville Today magazine, which operated from 1976 to 1982. In 1990, Yarmuth founded the Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), a weekly newspaper for which he wrote a generally progressive political column. In 2003, Yarmuth sold LEO but remained as a columnist and consultant until January 2006, when he put his column on hiatus to run for Congress.

Yarmuth graduated from Yale University, majoring in American studies.

Ed Glasscock is motivated by three main priorities, love of family, dedication to clients, and commitment to the community.

Glasscock is Chairman Emeritus & Attorney, Frost Brown Todd LLC and is one of the most decorated and respected attorneys in Kentucky. He has a long and distinguished legal career. Elected at the age of 33 in 1977, Glasscock served for 23 years as managing member of the former Brown, Todd & Heyburn PLLC.

Glasscock is also a dynamic and energetic leader in civic and charitable causes. He has served on the board with over 20 non-profit institutions including Leadership Louisville Foundation, Kentucky Center for the Arts, Funds for the Arts, Greater Louisville, Inc., and Bellarmine University Board of Trustees.

Glasscock earned his undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Kentucky.

Jack Conway rejects complacency and is driven to move forward and accomplish his next goal in life.

Conway is Attorney General of Kentucky. Before his election as attorney general, he was the nominee for Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district in the 2002 elections, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Anne Northup.

Before serving in elected office, Conway spent several years on the administrative side of state government. Governor Paul Patton employed Conway as legal counsel to his executive cabinet and his chief energy advisor. Conway was the primary architect of the Kentucky Higher Education Reform Act of 1997, one of Patton’s signature legislative accomplishments.

On August 3, 1999, Patton appointed Conway deputy secretary of his executive cabinet, serving under Secretary Crit Luallen. Conway was responsible for drafting Patton’s 2000 legislative package to the General Assembly.

Conway earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy studies from Duke University in 1991. He graduated with a Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School in 1995.

Dr. Kevin Cosby is driven to see people grow and see their mind, life, and relationships transformed.

Cosby is the senior pastor of St. Stephen Church in Louisville which has grown from 500 to approximately 10,000 members. Outreach magazine named St. Stephen as one of the 100 largest churches in America. Cosby is also president of Simmons College of Kentucky, the oldest black-owned and operated education institution in Kentucky.

Cosby has held administrative and teaching assignments at Kentucky State University, the University of Louisville, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and United Theological Seminary. His exceptional oratory skills have produced lecture engagements at universities and institutions around the world, including Harvard University.

Cosby received a bachelor of science from Eastern Kentucky University, a master of divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctor of ministry from United Theological Seminary.

Chris Thieneman is a competitor who loves to dream up new scenarios and strategies for success.

Thieneman is president of Thieneman Real Estate, a commercial and residential development company in Louisville, Ky. Before his career in real estate, Thieneman played professional football as a defensive lineman in the World League of American Football (WLAF) and the Canadian Football League (CFL) during the early 1990s. He played collegiately at the University of Louisville, where he was an honorable mention All-American.

Thieneman translated his football experience into a business opportunity as the co-owner of the Louisville Fire arena football team. Thieneman is one of the original founders of the Mint Jubilee Gala, a Kentucky Derby-themed charity event that raises money for The James Brown Cancer Center in Louisville.

Thieneman graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

Denise Vasquez Troutman is passionate about her work and believes there is still so much to do.

Troutman is president and CEO of The Center for Women & Families which provides trauma-informed advocacy and support for individuals, families, and communities affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. Previously, she was vice president of human resources for The YMCA of Greater Louisville handling full management and budget responsibility for payroll, benefits, and administration along with bringing new insight and procedures to the hiring, training, and development policies.

Troutman also has extensive experience in the private sector. She was the southeast regional manager for Starbuck’s where she oversaw the US retail field operation covering seven states and 146 stores. Troutman also spent 10 years with the Oracle Corporation in various leadership positions.

She is a graduate of the University of Windsor.

Terry Blackwell has devoted her life to helping people realize their potential and inner abilities.

Blackwell is a past CEO of Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana where she was responsible for 28,000 members in 57 counties in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee. Blackwell beat out over 140 candidates from a national search to win the Kentuckiana position.

Blackwell has over 20 years of leadership experience and is a life-long Girl Scout beginning as a Brownie as a little girl in New York City. Before joining the Kentuckiana council, Blackwell held two leadership positions in Girl Scouts. She worked at the Cumberland Valley Girl Scout Council in central Tennessee and most recently as CEO at the Connecticut Valley Girl Scout Council.
Blackwell received her bachelor’s in mass communications from the University of Old Westbury and her master’s in divinity from Vanderbilt University.

Jennifer Bielstein loves the art form and experience of live theatre and believes that it can change people’s lives.

Bielstein is managing director of Actors Theatre of Louisville where she oversees finance, marketing, fundraising and general operations for one of America’s most innovative theatre companies. Every year Bielstein manages one of the nation’s most prestigious new-play events, the Humana Festival while also managing regular season programming.

Bielstein moved to Louisville from Chicago, Ill., where she was most recently the executive director of Writer’s Theatre. She also worked for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, and Lincoln Park Zoo and served on the board of the League of Chicago Theatres.

Bielstein is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in business administration and theatre.

Brian Quail is passionate about the work and mission of the American Red Cross.

Quail is the CEO of the American Red Cross Louisville Area Chapter which covers 31 counties in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The American Red Cross provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

As CEO of the Louisville chapter, Quail helped implement a national emergency services call center that assists 165 chapters in 35 states.

Before his time at American Red Cross, Quail served as president and CEO of the Heart of Florida United Way in Orlando where he helped raise over $143 million.

Quail has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s degree in management for public and non-profits from the University of Chicago.

Steve Trager gets to make a positive impact every day in the lives of his associates and customers.

Trager is CEO of Republic Bank and Trust where he oversees 800 employees in three states with total assets of over $4 billion under management. Trager began his career with Republic in 1987 and held various leadership positions on his way to becoming president.

Before joining Republic, Trager spent two years as an associate with the law firm Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP.

Trager is active in several community institutions including serving as a director of Louisville Regional Airport Authority and as a trustee of Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare, Inc.

Trager holds an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

Glenn Hogan believes fear is a great motivator that will either paralyze you or drive you to success.

Hogan is the president, CEO, and founder of Hogan Real Estate, a full-service commercial real estate development company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Hogan has more than twenty years of real estate development experience and has developed over five million square feet of retail space in the Midwest and Southeast. He has worked with national tenants including Walgreens, Walmart, Winn-Dixie, Kroger, Starbucks, and McDonalds.

He is a Certified Commercial Investment Member and a past president of the Kentucky State CCIM Chapter.

Hogan is a director of Porter BanCorp. Inc. and previously served as a director of a community bank in Jefferson County for more than 10 years. He also served as a director of US Wireless Online, Inc. from August 2005 until May 2006.

Hogan graduated from Bellarmine University with a degree in business administration, concentrating in marketing and finance.

Dr. James Ramsey has a passion for public service and a vision for education and economic growth in Kentucky.

Ramsey is president of the University of Louisville. Under his leadership since 2002, the University of Louisville has enjoyed substantial growth system-wide. Notable accomplishments include an increase of over $200 million in endowments, doubling of research funding, a two-point increase in the school’s ACT scores, improvement in student retention, and rapidly increasing enrollment from students outside the Louisville area.

Ramsey served twice as Kentucky’s budget director and worked as the state’s chief economist. He was director of Kentucky’s Office of Financial Management, and interim commissioner of Kentucky’s Office of the New Economy.

Ramsey is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and has additionally earned a Masters and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Kentucky. Ramsey is also a professor of Economics and has served at five universities: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Loyola University, the University of Kentucky, Western Kentucky University, and Middle Tennessee State University.

Diane McGraw loves to create a plan, gather the necessary resources, and watch it all come together.

McGraw is the executive director of the Louisville Sports Commission which recruits major sporting events, meetings, and conventions to stimulate the local economy and provide outstanding entertainment options for local citizens.

McGraw is a 30-year veteran of the sports and entertainment industry. She worked as founding president of the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, president and CEO of the Orlando Area Sports Commission, and executive director of the Philadelphia Sports Congress.

During her career, McGraw planned some of the nation’s most well-known events including the 1992 HHL All-star game, 1995 PGA Championship, 1996 Grammy Awards, and 1998 U.S. Senior Golf Open.

John Harralson loves to document how people interact at community events.

Harralson is the publisher and editor of The Voice-Tribune newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky with a weekly readership of 70,000. Harralson has a diverse background working in both the private and public sector. Before his work with The Voice-Tribune, Harralson served three terms as mayor of Brownsboro Village and was also president of the Jefferson County League of Cities. He spent 30 years with Bellsouth where he was head of public relations.

Harralson is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Japan at the end of World War II.

He has a degree in business administration from the University of Kentucky.

Teddy Gordon loves a good fight, especially where the underdog is denied fair access and equal opportunity.

Gordon is an attorney in a small private practice but has argued some of the most important legal cases in the country. On December 4, 2006, Gordon argued the case Meredith vs. Jefferson County Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court. Gordon argued that race cannot be a determining factor for the admittance of children in the public school system. In June 2007, the court sided with Gordon’s plaintiff in a landmark 5-4 decision.

Gordon received his bachelor’s in Russian studies from the University of Kentucky and his J.D. from the University of Louisville.

Owsley Brown Frazier has dedicated his life and fortune to improve his hometown for future generations.

Frazier is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and former business executive. He is the founder of the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

Frazier, a fourth generation descendant of Brown-Forman Corporation founder George Garvin Brown, was vice-chairman and the public face of Brown-Forman from 1983 until his retirement in 2000. He first worked for the company as a trainee in 1955. After graduating from the University of Louisville he became the company’s lawyer in 1960, then joined the board of directors and became director of personnel in 1964.

Frazier is also the owner and chairman of the interior and commercial design firm Bittners, LLC.

In addition to his responsibilities as vice chairman of Brown-Forman, Bittners owner, and history museum founder, Frazier has amassed an impressive public service record. He raised more than $500 million over a 40-year period for the community and educational institutions in Kentucky.

In memoriam: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?pid=159242265

John Asher loves the sport of horse racing and is driven to make everything about Churchill Downs the best in the world.

Asher has worked in the thoroughbred racing industry as a journalist and a publicist for more than 20 years. He joined Churchill Downs in January 1997 and has served in his current position since March 1999. Asher oversees all communications and public relations efforts at Churchill Downs, home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby.

As a radio journalist at WHAS-AM and WAVE-AM in Louisville, Asher earned five Eclipse Awards for Outstanding National Radio Coverage of Thoroughbred Racing. Other awards include a National Headliner Award, a Scripps-Howard Award, and honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio and Television News Directors Association, and the Kentucky Broadcasters Association. The Associated Press honored Asher as the Best Reporter in Kentucky Large-Market Radio seven times.

Asher is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Christine Johnson likes to make things happen and connect people who see opportunities to move things forward.

Johnson is president of the Leadership Louisville Center, a nonprofit organization that provides programs, workshops, and events designed to inspire, challenge and connect people at all levels of leadership development. She has received numerous national awards for her work in community leadership development.

Before serving with the Leadership Louisville Center, Johnson was vice president at the public relations agency Wenz-Neely. She began her career as the first ever woman sports reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Johnson received her Bachelor of Science in history and journalism from Murray State University.

Ben Richmond fills a responsibility to steward his parent’s work in the civil rights movement and to further the principles and values taught by Dr. Martin Luther King.

Richmond is the president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League which serves as an active partner, leader, and catalyst to assist African Americans, other minority groups and the disadvantaged attain social and economic equality and stability. Richmond began his career with the Urban League in Madison, Wisconsin in 1979 and from 1982-1987 he was president and CEO of the Battle Creek, Michigan chapter.

Before his career with the Urban League, Richmond spent seven years traveling Europe as part of the Northeast German Music Academy. He received his bachelor’s degree from Tougaloo College and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.