By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine Messenger-Inquirer
As advocates of the future of downtown Owensboro, We Are Downtown is a group of business owners and downtown residents that meets monthly to discuss promoting downtown businesses and events, and to encourage the growth of the area.
Patty Acquisto, chair of We Are Downtown and owner of Patti’s Place, said, “What our organization is trying to do is promote the businesses that are here and encourage other businesses to consider downtown.”
When Acquisto opened Patti’s Place at 105 W. 2nd St., more than two years ago, she spent some time walking around downtown, meeting with other business owners and talking about how to improve business.
“I just started organizing and talking to other people,” she said. “The few of us got together and we grew from there.”
Members of We Are Downtown band together to promote various downtown events, such as the Holiday Stroll during the Christmas holiday season in 2008, which Acquisto said was a huge success.
“You would be amazed at the people who come into my shop here on Saturdays and say, ‘We just drove down from Bardstown, Jasper, E-town, or Henderson,’” she said. “That’s what people do. The first place they go is downtown. We try to have something for them when they get downtown. We make sure that they know about Memories on Main, The Crown, the restaurants and the coffee shop.”
“Downtown is the heart and soul of Owensboro and Daviess Co.,” she said.
Members of We Are Downtown are currently preparing for the eighth-annual Bluegrass Returns to its Roots on April 2, 3 and 4. Musicians will perform at the RiverPark Center, the Bluegrass Museum and other venues, including local retailers.
Some of the performers not scheduled to appear at any of the shows will be performing at different businesses such as the Famous Bistro and The Crème.
Acquisto said they are expecting at least 1,000 people for the weekend of music.
We Are Downtown meets the last Tuesday of every month in the Commerce Center at 5 p.m. Anyone interested in promoting downtown is welcome.
We Are Downtown Active Members:
Chair: Patti Acquisto
Chair-Elect: Charlie Schertzinger
Secretary: Renee Beasley Jones
Treasurer: George Skiadas
David Atkinson
Rodney Berry
Bob Bowers
Martha Clark
Larry Conder
Rosemary Conder
Sy Deane
Sue Fowler
Kim Johnson
Bruce Kunze
Carole Mac Quarrie
Karen Miller
Murry Morris
Ava Morris
Kathy Olson
Joel Osborne
Larry Peech
Fred Reeves
Gavin Roberts
Becky Stone
Russ Wilkey
Jim Zabek
Reprinted with permission from Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Showing posts with label Business Magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Magazine. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Targeted mobile communication is the next big thing
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
An electric guitar sits in the corner of Ankur Gopal’s office beside an amplifier and effects pedals. The video game Rock Band sits idle next to a large plasma screen that Gopal and his employees use for Web cam meetings with clients and colleagues across the globe. The office establishes the tone of Gopal’s two businesses as high-tech, relaxed and creative.
Gopal, CEO of Revasyst and COO of Agent 511, is an Owensboro native seeking to create a number of successful businesses, help further develop Owensboro’s economy and create an innovative business model unique to his hometown.
And he’s able to accomplish these goals with the popularization of immediate, mobile communication.
“The whole key to Agent 511 is instant communication that’s relevant, that people want,” Gopal said. “And Owensboro as a whole has accepted it.”
In only four months, Agent 511 has blossomed with clients jumping on board, including real estate agencies, radio stations, banks, restaurants, schools and many other local businesses.
“We present ourselves as a text messaging solutions company,” Gopal said. “We also build a brand. It’s easy to remember our number 511-511. It’s basically a local Google search; you can find out the weather, coupons and information about political candidates.”
Consumers text a command to 511-511 and receive an instant response from the Agent 511 server.
Text “OWB Dining Deals” and receive a list of sales and specials at local restaurants.
Don Moore now assigns each automobile a four-digit code that consumers can text to Agent 511 and receive the rock bottom price for that vehicle.
Gene’s Health Food sends out a daily health tip to users who opt in to receive the tip.
Though targeted communication and marketing are popular among businesses, consumers have the option choose to receive texts from businesses, which protects the average cell phone-user from text spam.
Gopal and his colleagues attended the 2008 CTIA Wireless conference this spring where Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Mobile, said “mobile technology and text messaging is the next Internet ... the next big thing,” Gopal said.
“We like to think we jumped on it early,” he said, “and not only that; we brought it to a community that is looking for something cool and innovative and something that is a new, innovative business — not your typical factory or your typical service firm. It’s completely new, uncharted territory.”
Gopal and his partner, Jay Malin, launched Agent 511 in Owensboro and Chicago.
“We wanted to see the big city dynamic versus small city,” Gopal said.
So far, Gopal said the biggest difference is the amount of competition in Chicago between other advertising agencies.
“In Owensboro it was mostly about acceptance and adoption,” he said. “Would Owensboro accept this new technology? Would they use this technology for applications more than just texting messages?”
The answer is “yes,” he said. Currently Agent 511 receives more than 10,000 connections a day just from Owensboro.
Technology has become so advanced and cost-effective that both Revasyst and Agent 511 perform large tasks on simple applications, which his clients love, Gopal said.
Consumers simply text a command and receive instant information. Clients instruct Gopal and his crew about the functions they want to perform, and Agent 511 builds a model to suit each customer.
Revasyst is a supplemental service to doctors’ offices and hospitals, helping them collect money more efficiently.
At Revasyst, Gopal uses a combination of purchased software, free software and software that his company built to simplify tasks.
Plus with instant communication through the Internet and mobile technology, Gopal can speak directly with his clients and employees — even the ones located in New Jersey or India — on a daily basis.
“Our office is always looking for the next best application to help make the office more efficient,” Gopal said.
One of the main reasons, both Revasyst and Agent 511 have grown so quickly is because of the simplicity of the technology and the freedom of innovation that new technology allows — and encourages.
Gopal also models his office after Google, which is known for its offices looking more like a playground and arcade than the traditional vanilla labyrinth of cubicles. The idea is to create an atmosphere that encourages creativity.
Employees create their own hours and refer to a board of scheduled tasks and deadlines to stay on target. Gopal believes that allowing that freedom inspires better productivity and innovation among his employees.
With Agent 511 in its infancy as Revasyst carries on at a successfully steady pace, Gopal focuses most of his energies on spreading the word about targeted communication.
“Targeted communication is the key,” he said. “95 percent of all text messages are opened and read regardless of who sends them.”
The market is there and Owensboro has accepted the new use of an existing technology. Now Gopal just has to wait for Agent 511 to grow.
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
An electric guitar sits in the corner of Ankur Gopal’s office beside an amplifier and effects pedals. The video game Rock Band sits idle next to a large plasma screen that Gopal and his employees use for Web cam meetings with clients and colleagues across the globe. The office establishes the tone of Gopal’s two businesses as high-tech, relaxed and creative.
Gopal, CEO of Revasyst and COO of Agent 511, is an Owensboro native seeking to create a number of successful businesses, help further develop Owensboro’s economy and create an innovative business model unique to his hometown.
And he’s able to accomplish these goals with the popularization of immediate, mobile communication.
“The whole key to Agent 511 is instant communication that’s relevant, that people want,” Gopal said. “And Owensboro as a whole has accepted it.”
In only four months, Agent 511 has blossomed with clients jumping on board, including real estate agencies, radio stations, banks, restaurants, schools and many other local businesses.
“We present ourselves as a text messaging solutions company,” Gopal said. “We also build a brand. It’s easy to remember our number 511-511. It’s basically a local Google search; you can find out the weather, coupons and information about political candidates.”
Consumers text a command to 511-511 and receive an instant response from the Agent 511 server.
Text “OWB Dining Deals” and receive a list of sales and specials at local restaurants.
Don Moore now assigns each automobile a four-digit code that consumers can text to Agent 511 and receive the rock bottom price for that vehicle.
Gene’s Health Food sends out a daily health tip to users who opt in to receive the tip.
Though targeted communication and marketing are popular among businesses, consumers have the option choose to receive texts from businesses, which protects the average cell phone-user from text spam.
Gopal and his colleagues attended the 2008 CTIA Wireless conference this spring where Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Mobile, said “mobile technology and text messaging is the next Internet ... the next big thing,” Gopal said.
“We like to think we jumped on it early,” he said, “and not only that; we brought it to a community that is looking for something cool and innovative and something that is a new, innovative business — not your typical factory or your typical service firm. It’s completely new, uncharted territory.”
Gopal and his partner, Jay Malin, launched Agent 511 in Owensboro and Chicago.
“We wanted to see the big city dynamic versus small city,” Gopal said.
So far, Gopal said the biggest difference is the amount of competition in Chicago between other advertising agencies.
“In Owensboro it was mostly about acceptance and adoption,” he said. “Would Owensboro accept this new technology? Would they use this technology for applications more than just texting messages?”
The answer is “yes,” he said. Currently Agent 511 receives more than 10,000 connections a day just from Owensboro.
Technology has become so advanced and cost-effective that both Revasyst and Agent 511 perform large tasks on simple applications, which his clients love, Gopal said.
Consumers simply text a command and receive instant information. Clients instruct Gopal and his crew about the functions they want to perform, and Agent 511 builds a model to suit each customer.
Revasyst is a supplemental service to doctors’ offices and hospitals, helping them collect money more efficiently.
At Revasyst, Gopal uses a combination of purchased software, free software and software that his company built to simplify tasks.
Plus with instant communication through the Internet and mobile technology, Gopal can speak directly with his clients and employees — even the ones located in New Jersey or India — on a daily basis.
“Our office is always looking for the next best application to help make the office more efficient,” Gopal said.
One of the main reasons, both Revasyst and Agent 511 have grown so quickly is because of the simplicity of the technology and the freedom of innovation that new technology allows — and encourages.
Gopal also models his office after Google, which is known for its offices looking more like a playground and arcade than the traditional vanilla labyrinth of cubicles. The idea is to create an atmosphere that encourages creativity.
Employees create their own hours and refer to a board of scheduled tasks and deadlines to stay on target. Gopal believes that allowing that freedom inspires better productivity and innovation among his employees.
With Agent 511 in its infancy as Revasyst carries on at a successfully steady pace, Gopal focuses most of his energies on spreading the word about targeted communication.
“Targeted communication is the key,” he said. “95 percent of all text messages are opened and read regardless of who sends them.”
The market is there and Owensboro has accepted the new use of an existing technology. Now Gopal just has to wait for Agent 511 to grow.
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Bakers Rack named Small Business of the Year with less than 10 employees
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
In October 1974, Mary Dixon Baker opened The Bakers Rack, planning to sell small plants. But one day, a customer asked if she sold containers for plants. Then another customer asked if she had a lamp to accompany the container. Then another asked for candlesticks. Then more customers requested more and more until customer requests finally sculpted The Bakers Rack into the unique gift boutique it is today, 34 years ago.
That dedication to customer service not only helped The Bakers Rack to succeed through three decades and a major fire, it also helped the shop to earn the title of Small Business of the Year with less than 10 employees.
“The Bakers Rack represents some of the best Owensboro offers in long-established, successful, locally-owned companies,” Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce said.
Through the history of The Bakers Rack, the store evolved with customer demand, adding more gifts, crystal, china, décor and collectibles that their customers, friends and family sought.
“Owensboro built us to what we are,” manager Ann Baker said.
After the fire in 2002, The Bakers Rack suffered extensive damage, losing virtually everything in the store.
“We didn’t have to come back, but Owensboro has been too good to us not to,” Baker said. “There were customers here asking ‘What can we do?’ We can’t go out of business. There are too many people asking us to stay in business. It was our friends, our family.”
The support of the town that built The Bakers Rack rebuilt the same store, only better.
“We incorporated everything in the new store that customers said we needed,” Baker said.
That dedication to pleasing their customers rooted The Bakers Rack into the city, not just as a nice boutique to peruse on occasion, but as a regularly tapped resource.
With just a phone call, regular customers can call in orders for bridal showers, birthday parties or random occasions; have the gifts wrapped and then shipped.
Some customers, Baker said, have walked into the store and saw an item, picked it up and then walked out telling an employee to “Put it on my account.”
“If you walked through another store with an item and said ‘Put it on my account,’ it would be shoplifting,” she said.
That level of trust and service exceeds the normal call of duty for retailers. “Owensboro created this,” Baker said. “We’ve done what our customers wanted, the gift wrapping and delivery — even with gas prices rising — because our customers are so good to us.”
The Bakers Rack creates memories with many of its gifts. The famous brown and white polka dot wrapping paper is known well outside the Owensboro area as The Baker’s Rack’s.
During Christmas, the red and white polka dot packages stand out from under the Christmas trees, kindling excitement.
That excitement and pleasure is mutual in The Bakers Rack’s relationship with Owensboro; the employees are happy to offer superb customer service, and customers are thrilled to receive a gift in that unmistakable wrapping.
“When you start a small business you’ve got to love it, love the business not the hobby and treat it as a business and still give customer service.”
The future will be much of the same for The Bakers Rack, though Baker said the store will go online soon. The bridal portion of the store should be online by the end of the year.
“I absolutely love my customers,” Baker said. “I would like to think that every one in here is a friend.”
That attitude is how The Bakers Rack has thrived for the past 34 years and why the store was named Small Business of the Year.
“Customer service is out specialty,” Baker said. “We just happen to sell gifts.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
In October 1974, Mary Dixon Baker opened The Bakers Rack, planning to sell small plants. But one day, a customer asked if she sold containers for plants. Then another customer asked if she had a lamp to accompany the container. Then another asked for candlesticks. Then more customers requested more and more until customer requests finally sculpted The Bakers Rack into the unique gift boutique it is today, 34 years ago.
That dedication to customer service not only helped The Bakers Rack to succeed through three decades and a major fire, it also helped the shop to earn the title of Small Business of the Year with less than 10 employees.
“The Bakers Rack represents some of the best Owensboro offers in long-established, successful, locally-owned companies,” Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce said.
Through the history of The Bakers Rack, the store evolved with customer demand, adding more gifts, crystal, china, décor and collectibles that their customers, friends and family sought.
“Owensboro built us to what we are,” manager Ann Baker said.
After the fire in 2002, The Bakers Rack suffered extensive damage, losing virtually everything in the store.
“We didn’t have to come back, but Owensboro has been too good to us not to,” Baker said. “There were customers here asking ‘What can we do?’ We can’t go out of business. There are too many people asking us to stay in business. It was our friends, our family.”
The support of the town that built The Bakers Rack rebuilt the same store, only better.
“We incorporated everything in the new store that customers said we needed,” Baker said.
That dedication to pleasing their customers rooted The Bakers Rack into the city, not just as a nice boutique to peruse on occasion, but as a regularly tapped resource.
With just a phone call, regular customers can call in orders for bridal showers, birthday parties or random occasions; have the gifts wrapped and then shipped.
Some customers, Baker said, have walked into the store and saw an item, picked it up and then walked out telling an employee to “Put it on my account.”
“If you walked through another store with an item and said ‘Put it on my account,’ it would be shoplifting,” she said.
That level of trust and service exceeds the normal call of duty for retailers. “Owensboro created this,” Baker said. “We’ve done what our customers wanted, the gift wrapping and delivery — even with gas prices rising — because our customers are so good to us.”
The Bakers Rack creates memories with many of its gifts. The famous brown and white polka dot wrapping paper is known well outside the Owensboro area as The Baker’s Rack’s.
During Christmas, the red and white polka dot packages stand out from under the Christmas trees, kindling excitement.
That excitement and pleasure is mutual in The Bakers Rack’s relationship with Owensboro; the employees are happy to offer superb customer service, and customers are thrilled to receive a gift in that unmistakable wrapping.
“When you start a small business you’ve got to love it, love the business not the hobby and treat it as a business and still give customer service.”
The future will be much of the same for The Bakers Rack, though Baker said the store will go online soon. The bridal portion of the store should be online by the end of the year.
“I absolutely love my customers,” Baker said. “I would like to think that every one in here is a friend.”
That attitude is how The Bakers Rack has thrived for the past 34 years and why the store was named Small Business of the Year.
“Customer service is out specialty,” Baker said. “We just happen to sell gifts.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer
Old Hickory BBQ named Small Business of the Year with more than 11 employees
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
Ninety years of success as a restaurant is virtually unheard of. But at Old Hickory Bar-B-Q, the Foreman family has been serving quality food at low prices for nine decades, which is why it was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the year with more than 11 employees.
Owner John Foreman is the great great grandson of Charles “Pappy” Foreman, an Owensboro blacksmith who began barbecuing mutton in 1918.
Nearly a century later, with the same recipe and technique, his family continues serving the food of the local person to local people, anywhere from 400 to 750 of them a day, Foreman said.
“Old Hickory BBQ has prospered through three generations of the Foreman family and that’s a real testament to the business’ success,” Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce said.
With hungry diners flocking to the door for three generations, the Foreman family hasn’t changed much in the restaurant. “Basically it’s the same as it’s always been,” Foreman said. “We try to keep things simple. Our main thing is quality.”
Of those hundreds of diners a day, most of them ate at Old Hickory when they were kids, Foreman said. Now they’re bringing in their kids and grandkids and the food is almost the exact same.
In an industry that turns over restaurants like pancakes, 90 years is evidence of a successful equation. That equation in its plainest form is quality food at cheap prices.
“I hate to raise prices,” Foreman said, which is fresh on his mind given rising gas and food costs, and the fact that many of his colleagues are changing menus to offset or recoup costs.
“My dad always said it’s better to make two nickels than one dime,” he said. “When your average ticket price is low and the food is good, customers come back.” And that’s the goal in the restaurant business, retention.
While other restaurants in town are adding new items and raising prices, customers are sitting at home budgeting checkbooks and trimming costs, too. So a low ticket price to feed a family seems much more appealing, especially if that low price buys them an evening of entertainment in dining and quality, familiar food.
“Everybody is worried about rising costs,” Foreman said, “In times like these, people do without a lot of things, but they keep dining out as entertainment.”
Foreman said his regular customers eat in his dining room five to seven times a week. The most expensive item on the menu is $11.75. “That’s the combo plate,” Foreman said, “and it’s a lot of food.”
But the average ticket price is about $7 or $8 per person.
“I’d rather treat people fair and have them come back,” Foreman said. “I think people in Owensboro appreciate that.”
Foreman said that employees know many of the regulars on a first name basis. When he needs work done at the restaurant, he’ll usually seek out one of his customers.
“We try to do business with people that do business with us,” he said.
And to keep business as local as possible, Foreman also strives to purchase his food supplies from local vendors.
Though Old Hickory Bar-B-Q has been honed to a finely oiled machine that pumps out good food, quickly, Foreman said he doesn’t see many changes for the future. The family has avoided franchising to maintain consistency.
“We may expand one day,” Foreman said, “but I don’t want to get stretched too thin. We don’t try to make the big sale.”
If there’s a secret to Old Hickory’s success aside from quality food at cheap prices, it may be the family’s tenacity and dedication to treat its regular customers, its friends and neighbors fairly, consistently.
“We concentrate on local people,” Foreman said. “We always consider ourselves the local place where all the locals go.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer.
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
Ninety years of success as a restaurant is virtually unheard of. But at Old Hickory Bar-B-Q, the Foreman family has been serving quality food at low prices for nine decades, which is why it was named the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the year with more than 11 employees.
Owner John Foreman is the great great grandson of Charles “Pappy” Foreman, an Owensboro blacksmith who began barbecuing mutton in 1918.
Nearly a century later, with the same recipe and technique, his family continues serving the food of the local person to local people, anywhere from 400 to 750 of them a day, Foreman said.
“Old Hickory BBQ has prospered through three generations of the Foreman family and that’s a real testament to the business’ success,” Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce said.
With hungry diners flocking to the door for three generations, the Foreman family hasn’t changed much in the restaurant. “Basically it’s the same as it’s always been,” Foreman said. “We try to keep things simple. Our main thing is quality.”
Of those hundreds of diners a day, most of them ate at Old Hickory when they were kids, Foreman said. Now they’re bringing in their kids and grandkids and the food is almost the exact same.
In an industry that turns over restaurants like pancakes, 90 years is evidence of a successful equation. That equation in its plainest form is quality food at cheap prices.
“I hate to raise prices,” Foreman said, which is fresh on his mind given rising gas and food costs, and the fact that many of his colleagues are changing menus to offset or recoup costs.
“My dad always said it’s better to make two nickels than one dime,” he said. “When your average ticket price is low and the food is good, customers come back.” And that’s the goal in the restaurant business, retention.
While other restaurants in town are adding new items and raising prices, customers are sitting at home budgeting checkbooks and trimming costs, too. So a low ticket price to feed a family seems much more appealing, especially if that low price buys them an evening of entertainment in dining and quality, familiar food.
“Everybody is worried about rising costs,” Foreman said, “In times like these, people do without a lot of things, but they keep dining out as entertainment.”
Foreman said his regular customers eat in his dining room five to seven times a week. The most expensive item on the menu is $11.75. “That’s the combo plate,” Foreman said, “and it’s a lot of food.”
But the average ticket price is about $7 or $8 per person.
“I’d rather treat people fair and have them come back,” Foreman said. “I think people in Owensboro appreciate that.”
Foreman said that employees know many of the regulars on a first name basis. When he needs work done at the restaurant, he’ll usually seek out one of his customers.
“We try to do business with people that do business with us,” he said.
And to keep business as local as possible, Foreman also strives to purchase his food supplies from local vendors.
Though Old Hickory Bar-B-Q has been honed to a finely oiled machine that pumps out good food, quickly, Foreman said he doesn’t see many changes for the future. The family has avoided franchising to maintain consistency.
“We may expand one day,” Foreman said, “but I don’t want to get stretched too thin. We don’t try to make the big sale.”
If there’s a secret to Old Hickory’s success aside from quality food at cheap prices, it may be the family’s tenacity and dedication to treat its regular customers, its friends and neighbors fairly, consistently.
“We concentrate on local people,” Foreman said. “We always consider ourselves the local place where all the locals go.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer.
Zev Buffman and Kevin Schwartz tie for Entrepreneur of the Year
Buffman transforms RPC into Mecca for performing arts
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
In 1993, Zev Buffman found himself exhausted in Owensboro’s RiverPark Center between flights, about to take a nap during a free symphony by the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. He had driven to Owensboro from Louisville to check out the new performing arts center that was built in a small western Kentucky town.
But as he stretched out in Cannon Hall prepared to catch some shut-eye, the orchestra struck the first note.
“I hear this sound coming off the stage,” Buffman said. “It was a great sound — not what you expect from Owensboro.”
He listened to the entire performance then strolled out to the balcony while the sun began to set. “It was a big ball of a sun in fluffy white clouds,” he said. “I leaned on the concrete and watched the whole thing disappear. And I thought, I would really like to settle down in a place like this.”
That was 15 years ago when Buffman was running 14 performing arts centers, half of which he had built, and was involved in many other projects around the country.
Now, as Buffman has settled comfortably into his new position, and with a fresh contract extending his stay until 2012, he has tied with Kevin Schwartz at Schwartz CPA group as the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
“Zev Buffman has done more with the RiverPark Center than I think anyone ever imagined possible in the past five years,” Jody Wassmer, President of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, said.
Buffman started work as CEO at the RiverPark on October 1, 2003, and has transformed the non-profit performing arts complex into a factory that not only creates its own successes with Broadway shows and festivals but shares that success with the rest of the city as the RiverPark brings in thousands of tourists a year — a western Kentucky Mecca for the performing arts.
“I thought this theatre was a fabulous factory,” Buffman said about his initial reaction when taking his position. “I saw endless opportunity.”
And he has capitalized on many of those opportunities.
Now the RiverPark Center builds more Broadway shows than any other city on the Broadway market, Buffman said. “We’re building Broadway shows at half the price as my colleagues in New York.”
The RiverPark Center has also added Winter Wonderland, the International Mystery Writers’ Festival and increased activity in the Young Adult Theatre Academy.
The success of Winter Wonderland has brought the RiverPark to extend its duration for the 2008 – 2009 season, staying open through the first few weeks of January.
“We’re raising the stock of Owensboro by doing extraordinary projects like Winter Wonderland,” Buffman said.
The International Mystery Writers’ Festival brought in several thousand tourists from all over the country and Canada. Of the Mystery Festival attendants, Buffman said, 50 percent were from cities outside the Kentucky region that never would have come to Owensboro.
The Young Adult Theatre Academy has grown over the past four years and will continue to grow in great strides, including a new four-story classroom/studio complex on the RiverPark’s campus that will offer hands-on experience and college classes to theatre and broadcasting students at local colleges.
For the next four years, and hopefully more, Buffman said, the RiverPark Center will continue to grow, cultivating more festivals and programs, further developing downtown’s attractions and the Owensboro economy.
Buffman said that when word spread in 2003 that he took a position in Owensboro, Ky., many of his colleagues and acquaintances called to ask why he moved to such a small town.
Buffman replied, “Just wait. You’ll hear all about us.”
Kevin Schwartz uses success to serve community and create opportunity
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
As a track star at Apollo High School in the early 90s, Kevin Schwartz learned the importance of endurance. Then after graduation, he saw the importance in supporting one’s community and country as he served in the Air Force.
After moving back to Owensboro, Schwartz applied those values to his new business, Schwartz CPA Group, which led him to a tie with Zev Buffman, CEO of the RiverPark Center, for the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
“Kevin Schwartz took a chance by leaving a nice position with a large company to start his own firm because of his entrepreneurial spirit,” Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce said. “He should be an inspiration to others who dream to grow their own business.”
Schwartz left Pricewater House Coopers in St. Louis, Miss., and returned to Owensboro with no clients; a small office; a computer loaded with software; and a fear that despite his newspaper ad, his phone would never ring.
“Fear is a great motivator,” he said. “It really gave me a feel for what it means to be a small business.”
For the next six months, Schwartz devoted his time to learn software and meet people, developing a client base and deepening his knowledge about small businesses, both through experience and education.
“I understand where (small business owners) are coming from because I’ve been there,” he said.
Establishing that foundation required the tenacity and endurance he trained for with his track team at Apollo.
“As a long distance runner that consistency becomes a part of your being,” he said.
With a cot in his office in the Midtown building, Schwartz worked for days as his only employee. But slowly his client base grew as did his personnel.
Now Schwartz has moved his office to a larger complex with rooms for his many employees to 1735 Frederica St.
“We are probably one of the faster growing firms in Kentucky,” Schwartz said. Clients span as far north as Indianapolis and Detroit and as far south as Texas and Florida, he said, representing more than 500 corporate and independent clients.
In just a few years, Schwartz grew his infant practice into a successful firm with a knack for giving back to the community.
At Schwartz CPA Group, Schwartz requires every employee to donate 20 hours of work back to the community a year. Schwartz pays his employees for that time, too.
Some employees join organizations or work on boards or with CASA. “I do not tell them what to do as long as the put in 20 hours,” he said.
Schwartz takes part in the community service as well, serving on many boards in the community, donating time when possible. He also oversees that the office recycles.
“I’ll take the cans and soda bottles to the recycling center,” he said. “In leadership, it’s important to serve. Small businesses really do put a lot back into the community.”
Though success seems to be sitting at Schwartz’s door step, he is still moving forward to create opportunity, give back to the community and further his role as a leader in his field.
“I’m by no means where I want to be,” Schwartz said. “I’m not resting on my laurels yet. I want to build an organization that provides opportunity.”
Schwartz said he prefers to hire graduates out of school and train them, mentor them to function on a team.
“It’s not about financial rewards as it is to provide opportunity to help people improve on themselves. Then I feel like I’m being successful. To me that’s more than a big paycheck.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
In 1993, Zev Buffman found himself exhausted in Owensboro’s RiverPark Center between flights, about to take a nap during a free symphony by the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. He had driven to Owensboro from Louisville to check out the new performing arts center that was built in a small western Kentucky town.
But as he stretched out in Cannon Hall prepared to catch some shut-eye, the orchestra struck the first note.
“I hear this sound coming off the stage,” Buffman said. “It was a great sound — not what you expect from Owensboro.”
He listened to the entire performance then strolled out to the balcony while the sun began to set. “It was a big ball of a sun in fluffy white clouds,” he said. “I leaned on the concrete and watched the whole thing disappear. And I thought, I would really like to settle down in a place like this.”
That was 15 years ago when Buffman was running 14 performing arts centers, half of which he had built, and was involved in many other projects around the country.
Now, as Buffman has settled comfortably into his new position, and with a fresh contract extending his stay until 2012, he has tied with Kevin Schwartz at Schwartz CPA group as the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
“Zev Buffman has done more with the RiverPark Center than I think anyone ever imagined possible in the past five years,” Jody Wassmer, President of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, said.
Buffman started work as CEO at the RiverPark on October 1, 2003, and has transformed the non-profit performing arts complex into a factory that not only creates its own successes with Broadway shows and festivals but shares that success with the rest of the city as the RiverPark brings in thousands of tourists a year — a western Kentucky Mecca for the performing arts.
“I thought this theatre was a fabulous factory,” Buffman said about his initial reaction when taking his position. “I saw endless opportunity.”
And he has capitalized on many of those opportunities.
Now the RiverPark Center builds more Broadway shows than any other city on the Broadway market, Buffman said. “We’re building Broadway shows at half the price as my colleagues in New York.”
The RiverPark Center has also added Winter Wonderland, the International Mystery Writers’ Festival and increased activity in the Young Adult Theatre Academy.
The success of Winter Wonderland has brought the RiverPark to extend its duration for the 2008 – 2009 season, staying open through the first few weeks of January.
“We’re raising the stock of Owensboro by doing extraordinary projects like Winter Wonderland,” Buffman said.
The International Mystery Writers’ Festival brought in several thousand tourists from all over the country and Canada. Of the Mystery Festival attendants, Buffman said, 50 percent were from cities outside the Kentucky region that never would have come to Owensboro.
The Young Adult Theatre Academy has grown over the past four years and will continue to grow in great strides, including a new four-story classroom/studio complex on the RiverPark’s campus that will offer hands-on experience and college classes to theatre and broadcasting students at local colleges.
For the next four years, and hopefully more, Buffman said, the RiverPark Center will continue to grow, cultivating more festivals and programs, further developing downtown’s attractions and the Owensboro economy.
Buffman said that when word spread in 2003 that he took a position in Owensboro, Ky., many of his colleagues and acquaintances called to ask why he moved to such a small town.
Buffman replied, “Just wait. You’ll hear all about us.”
Kevin Schwartz uses success to serve community and create opportunity
By Matt Weafer
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
As a track star at Apollo High School in the early 90s, Kevin Schwartz learned the importance of endurance. Then after graduation, he saw the importance in supporting one’s community and country as he served in the Air Force.
After moving back to Owensboro, Schwartz applied those values to his new business, Schwartz CPA Group, which led him to a tie with Zev Buffman, CEO of the RiverPark Center, for the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
“Kevin Schwartz took a chance by leaving a nice position with a large company to start his own firm because of his entrepreneurial spirit,” Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce said. “He should be an inspiration to others who dream to grow their own business.”
Schwartz left Pricewater House Coopers in St. Louis, Miss., and returned to Owensboro with no clients; a small office; a computer loaded with software; and a fear that despite his newspaper ad, his phone would never ring.
“Fear is a great motivator,” he said. “It really gave me a feel for what it means to be a small business.”
For the next six months, Schwartz devoted his time to learn software and meet people, developing a client base and deepening his knowledge about small businesses, both through experience and education.
“I understand where (small business owners) are coming from because I’ve been there,” he said.
Establishing that foundation required the tenacity and endurance he trained for with his track team at Apollo.
“As a long distance runner that consistency becomes a part of your being,” he said.
With a cot in his office in the Midtown building, Schwartz worked for days as his only employee. But slowly his client base grew as did his personnel.
Now Schwartz has moved his office to a larger complex with rooms for his many employees to 1735 Frederica St.
“We are probably one of the faster growing firms in Kentucky,” Schwartz said. Clients span as far north as Indianapolis and Detroit and as far south as Texas and Florida, he said, representing more than 500 corporate and independent clients.
In just a few years, Schwartz grew his infant practice into a successful firm with a knack for giving back to the community.
At Schwartz CPA Group, Schwartz requires every employee to donate 20 hours of work back to the community a year. Schwartz pays his employees for that time, too.
Some employees join organizations or work on boards or with CASA. “I do not tell them what to do as long as the put in 20 hours,” he said.
Schwartz takes part in the community service as well, serving on many boards in the community, donating time when possible. He also oversees that the office recycles.
“I’ll take the cans and soda bottles to the recycling center,” he said. “In leadership, it’s important to serve. Small businesses really do put a lot back into the community.”
Though success seems to be sitting at Schwartz’s door step, he is still moving forward to create opportunity, give back to the community and further his role as a leader in his field.
“I’m by no means where I want to be,” Schwartz said. “I’m not resting on my laurels yet. I want to build an organization that provides opportunity.”
Schwartz said he prefers to hire graduates out of school and train them, mentor them to function on a team.
“It’s not about financial rewards as it is to provide opportunity to help people improve on themselves. Then I feel like I’m being successful. To me that’s more than a big paycheck.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Airline Departing, flights expected to continue
By Lee Denney and Matt Weafer
Messenger-Inquirer Special Publications
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
With little fanfare, a 19-seat Beechcraft turboprop airplane touched down on the east-west runway at Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. It was around 8:30 on a mostly cloudy Sunday in mid-November. There were only three passengers on board when the plane landed, but it marked the return of regularly scheduled commercial air service to OWB for the first time since early March.
Its arrival couldn’t have come too soon for a number of local business leaders, but their excitement was short-lived. Just one day after Big Sky Airlines announced it would expand from one daily Owensboro flight to two beginning Dec. 20, the company abruptly announced it would fly its last flight out of Owensboro on Jan. 7. The move is part of a plan to cease all flights east of Montana, according to a Big Sky press release.
Big Sky’s departure will again leave the Owensboro airport without commercial air service. But service is hopefully only months away. Tim Bradshaw, Owensboro airport manager, said the U. S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency request for proposals to find another airline to serve Owensboro. It will most likely be one of three, Bradshaw said: Colgan Air of Pinnacle Airlines, Air Midwest or Great Lakes Airlines.
Great Lakes Airlines was the community’s second choice during the first bidding that took place when the airport’s service came up for renewal, Bradshaw said.
In an e-mail to the Messenger-Inquirer on Dec. 20, Bill Adams, spokesman for the federal Department of Transportation, said the agency will "use our statutory authority" to require Big Sky to continue service until a replacement service begins.
If Big Sky is unable to continue service because of planes being repossessed or pilots leaving the company, Adams wrote, "the department will do everything in our power to speed up the process of getting replacement service."
Bradshaw also confirmed that the airport board was talking with a Las Vegas-based airline about launching Owensboro service in the spring. If the discussions result in an agreement, Allegiant Air would create twice weekly non-stop flights to Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla. He said one-way tickets on 130 seat jets would cost $89 each.
"I had rather spend the time I would use driving to and from other airports at home with my family," said Joe Lowe, part of the ten-member airport board and a frequent flier. In addition to his daily morning radio show on WOMI-AM, Lowe is a live events announcer for monster truck shows and freestyle motorcycle races around the United States, Canada and Europe.
Lowe’s concern goes to the employees recently hired at the airport. "(Big Sky) sort of pulled the rug out from under us," he said. "My immediate concern is for those people. I really feel for them."
For Tony Gholson, factory manager for Swedish Match North America, flying out of the local airport benefits the local economy. "In 2006, we had 268 flights in and out of Evansville. That was probably about $150,000 worth of airline tickets that, if the connections were right, should come to Owensboro."
Swedish Match owns a quarter share of a "net jet," a kind of time share plan for corporate jets. Gholson said commercial versus charter is a lower cost alternative.
RegionsAir had served the local airport since 2001, flying between Owensboro and the American Airlines hub in St. Louis. But after repeated flight delays and cancellations the marriage turned sour. The FAA grounded the Smyrna, Tenn., airline on March 8 because of pilot training issues. That’s when the Airport’s board decided it was time for a business divorce.
Ankur Gopal is the CEO of Revasyst, a small but rapidly growing Owensboro-based medical billing agency that has business clients in the U.S. and abroad. Gopal who spends 30 to 35 percent of his time traveling was excited about the return of daily flights into Owensboro.
"When reliable service comes (to Owensboro) with more options," Gopal said, "we’re going to see more of an impact. Business people here are pretty well resigned to just know when they need a flight, they have to go to Louisville, Evansville or Nashville. Until something dramatic happens in the Owensboro airport, people are going to stay resigned with the status quo." When Owensboro offers flights to Chicago, Memphis, Nashville or some other city with more options, "I will be there with bells on," he said.
Reprinted with permission, Messenger-Inquirer
Messenger-Inquirer Special Publications
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
With little fanfare, a 19-seat Beechcraft turboprop airplane touched down on the east-west runway at Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. It was around 8:30 on a mostly cloudy Sunday in mid-November. There were only three passengers on board when the plane landed, but it marked the return of regularly scheduled commercial air service to OWB for the first time since early March.
Its arrival couldn’t have come too soon for a number of local business leaders, but their excitement was short-lived. Just one day after Big Sky Airlines announced it would expand from one daily Owensboro flight to two beginning Dec. 20, the company abruptly announced it would fly its last flight out of Owensboro on Jan. 7. The move is part of a plan to cease all flights east of Montana, according to a Big Sky press release.
Big Sky’s departure will again leave the Owensboro airport without commercial air service. But service is hopefully only months away. Tim Bradshaw, Owensboro airport manager, said the U. S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency request for proposals to find another airline to serve Owensboro. It will most likely be one of three, Bradshaw said: Colgan Air of Pinnacle Airlines, Air Midwest or Great Lakes Airlines.
Great Lakes Airlines was the community’s second choice during the first bidding that took place when the airport’s service came up for renewal, Bradshaw said.
In an e-mail to the Messenger-Inquirer on Dec. 20, Bill Adams, spokesman for the federal Department of Transportation, said the agency will "use our statutory authority" to require Big Sky to continue service until a replacement service begins.
If Big Sky is unable to continue service because of planes being repossessed or pilots leaving the company, Adams wrote, "the department will do everything in our power to speed up the process of getting replacement service."
Bradshaw also confirmed that the airport board was talking with a Las Vegas-based airline about launching Owensboro service in the spring. If the discussions result in an agreement, Allegiant Air would create twice weekly non-stop flights to Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla. He said one-way tickets on 130 seat jets would cost $89 each.
"I had rather spend the time I would use driving to and from other airports at home with my family," said Joe Lowe, part of the ten-member airport board and a frequent flier. In addition to his daily morning radio show on WOMI-AM, Lowe is a live events announcer for monster truck shows and freestyle motorcycle races around the United States, Canada and Europe.
Lowe’s concern goes to the employees recently hired at the airport. "(Big Sky) sort of pulled the rug out from under us," he said. "My immediate concern is for those people. I really feel for them."
For Tony Gholson, factory manager for Swedish Match North America, flying out of the local airport benefits the local economy. "In 2006, we had 268 flights in and out of Evansville. That was probably about $150,000 worth of airline tickets that, if the connections were right, should come to Owensboro."
Swedish Match owns a quarter share of a "net jet," a kind of time share plan for corporate jets. Gholson said commercial versus charter is a lower cost alternative.
RegionsAir had served the local airport since 2001, flying between Owensboro and the American Airlines hub in St. Louis. But after repeated flight delays and cancellations the marriage turned sour. The FAA grounded the Smyrna, Tenn., airline on March 8 because of pilot training issues. That’s when the Airport’s board decided it was time for a business divorce.
Ankur Gopal is the CEO of Revasyst, a small but rapidly growing Owensboro-based medical billing agency that has business clients in the U.S. and abroad. Gopal who spends 30 to 35 percent of his time traveling was excited about the return of daily flights into Owensboro.
"When reliable service comes (to Owensboro) with more options," Gopal said, "we’re going to see more of an impact. Business people here are pretty well resigned to just know when they need a flight, they have to go to Louisville, Evansville or Nashville. Until something dramatic happens in the Owensboro airport, people are going to stay resigned with the status quo." When Owensboro offers flights to Chicago, Memphis, Nashville or some other city with more options, "I will be there with bells on," he said.
Reprinted with permission, Messenger-Inquirer
Evolving transportation reflects community changes
By Matt Weafer
Messenger-Inquirer Special Publications
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
The Owensboro Transit System is a service to the public and an amenity for the city. Public transportation is a keystone for developed societies. And OTS offers the service that many citizens depend on as their sole source of transportation.
Receiving 50 percent of its funding from federal taxes and the other 50 percent from the Federal Transit Association, OTS offers inexpensive transportation throughout the city. For only $1 individuals can ride the bus. People more than 60 years old, students or people with disabilities ride for only 50 cents.
Owensboro’s economy has changed rapidly over the past several years, expanding into a commercial metropolis. With those changes, OTS has increased its service area and intends to increase its number of buses and further develop routes to accommodate major changes in the city’s infrastructure — primarily the relocation of many businesses and organizations from the center of town to the outskirts, such as the new hospital off Pleasant Valley Rd.
When the Social Security office moved to Lucky Strike Loop near J.R. Miller Boulevard and Salem Dr., the transit system readjusted its routes to accommodate the change. In 2007, OTS redesigned routes to better serve students traveling to Owensboro Community and Technical College. To further ease student passage, OTS will be installing a shelter to protect them from the elements outside OCTC’s Frederica St. campus, along with other new shelters to be installed outside the Health Department and the Daniel Pitino Shelter.
Recently OTS added a route to travel to the detention center on Kentucky 60.
"Everything is moving out," Louis Lindsay, OTS manager, said.
Soon Lindsay expects to change more routes to better serve individuals located and traveling to the south side of Carter Rd., including the MidAmerica Airpark, Daymar College and Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club, Lindsay said.
A major change Lindsay is keeping in the back of his mind is the new hospital scheduled to open in November 2011. Currently slated for construction on Daniels Lane off of Pleasant Valley Road, OTS would have to expand its coverage much further than before. And Lindsay expects that expansion to include more buses and at least two additional routes within the next four or five years.
By 2009, OTS will receive new vehicles to replace its aging fleet. The oldest bus in operation was built in 1999. The heavy duty buses OTS uses are designed to last up to 10 years. For the new buses, 80 percent of the funds come from the federal government and the remainder from FTA.
The new buses will not only be more fuel-efficient with lower emissions but will be larger, seating at least four more people. Currently, OTS uses 26-foot buses with a 24-person capacity. The new 30-foot buses will be wheelchair accessible and ride on an adjustable chassis that can be lowered to level with the sidewalk for easier entrances and exits.
Expanding coverage area and adding more shelters at bus stops, OTS hopes to not only increase its service for riders that depend on public transportation but to also increase the number of choice riders — riders that have other transportation options. Almost all of the 1,000 passengers OTS conveys daily are commuters that have no other transit options.
"We really don’t have a large percentage of choice riders," Lindsay said. "We’re definitely interested in increasing choice riders, but our first focus is to take care of people that need transportation."
Reprinted with permission, Messenger-Inquirer
Messenger-Inquirer Special Publications
Greater Owensboro Business Magazine
The Owensboro Transit System is a service to the public and an amenity for the city. Public transportation is a keystone for developed societies. And OTS offers the service that many citizens depend on as their sole source of transportation.
Receiving 50 percent of its funding from federal taxes and the other 50 percent from the Federal Transit Association, OTS offers inexpensive transportation throughout the city. For only $1 individuals can ride the bus. People more than 60 years old, students or people with disabilities ride for only 50 cents.
Owensboro’s economy has changed rapidly over the past several years, expanding into a commercial metropolis. With those changes, OTS has increased its service area and intends to increase its number of buses and further develop routes to accommodate major changes in the city’s infrastructure — primarily the relocation of many businesses and organizations from the center of town to the outskirts, such as the new hospital off Pleasant Valley Rd.
When the Social Security office moved to Lucky Strike Loop near J.R. Miller Boulevard and Salem Dr., the transit system readjusted its routes to accommodate the change. In 2007, OTS redesigned routes to better serve students traveling to Owensboro Community and Technical College. To further ease student passage, OTS will be installing a shelter to protect them from the elements outside OCTC’s Frederica St. campus, along with other new shelters to be installed outside the Health Department and the Daniel Pitino Shelter.
Recently OTS added a route to travel to the detention center on Kentucky 60.
"Everything is moving out," Louis Lindsay, OTS manager, said.
Soon Lindsay expects to change more routes to better serve individuals located and traveling to the south side of Carter Rd., including the MidAmerica Airpark, Daymar College and Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club, Lindsay said.
A major change Lindsay is keeping in the back of his mind is the new hospital scheduled to open in November 2011. Currently slated for construction on Daniels Lane off of Pleasant Valley Road, OTS would have to expand its coverage much further than before. And Lindsay expects that expansion to include more buses and at least two additional routes within the next four or five years.
By 2009, OTS will receive new vehicles to replace its aging fleet. The oldest bus in operation was built in 1999. The heavy duty buses OTS uses are designed to last up to 10 years. For the new buses, 80 percent of the funds come from the federal government and the remainder from FTA.
The new buses will not only be more fuel-efficient with lower emissions but will be larger, seating at least four more people. Currently, OTS uses 26-foot buses with a 24-person capacity. The new 30-foot buses will be wheelchair accessible and ride on an adjustable chassis that can be lowered to level with the sidewalk for easier entrances and exits.
Expanding coverage area and adding more shelters at bus stops, OTS hopes to not only increase its service for riders that depend on public transportation but to also increase the number of choice riders — riders that have other transportation options. Almost all of the 1,000 passengers OTS conveys daily are commuters that have no other transit options.
"We really don’t have a large percentage of choice riders," Lindsay said. "We’re definitely interested in increasing choice riders, but our first focus is to take care of people that need transportation."
Reprinted with permission, Messenger-Inquirer
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