You might think it’s a pretty mediocre week when a highlight is attending two business organizations’ annual meeting, but both the Greater Louisville Inc. event at The Palace and the Jeffersontown Annual Meeting at the Community Center were worthy events. Plus, I got a chance to sample a plate from the Seafood Lady, tried a Dirty Bourbon at SET from my pals at Ballotin Whiskey, played rare January golf and got myself back on the racquetball court. And, a new Delbert McClinton recording was released. And it’s called “Prick of the Litter.” How cool.
Plus I met some very interesting individuals for podcast interviews.
RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW:
Sarah Davasher-Wisdom has come a long way from Holland, Ky, and even from WKU, where, like me, she studied public relations and government. Today she’s a VP at GLI, and I talked to her about what’s going on in the legislature prior to the big GLI event. Tendai Charasika is CEO of SuperFanU, which is pretty big on the cool factor scale. The former U of L football star oversees the operation that helps schools and teams track fans from a 7,400 SF office in the Germantown Lofts, one of the coolest spaces I’ve seen. He talks about his business philosophy and offers some valuable leadership advice on the show. Listenn in:
EATDRINKTALK:
It’s inspiring to hear a great entrepreneurial tale, and the one Darryl Goodner told me this week was extraordinary. As a high schooler in Louisville, he used to have ice cream making parties with friends. Eventually his stuff was so popular he was recruited to make some for a wedding, and then he was able to make enough product to get on the shelves at places like Rainbow Blossom. In a few months, you’ll be able to buy it at Louisville Cream’s Scoop Shop in NuLu. The 29-year-old, of course, has had to work a real job while building the business, but now seems ready to go. He’s my guest on the show, and Steve talks with Against the Grain brewer Jerry Gnagy. It’s a good show:
THE MEETINGS:
There were plenty of Rusty Satellite Show guests on hand at the Louisville Palace Wednesday, including Wicked Sheets entrepreneur Alli Truttman, who talked with John Schnatter on stage for the keynote. I also spoke to Theresa Reno-Weber, who is just starting her new job as President and CEO of the Metro United Way. Schnatter shared the commercial that will air in the upcoming Super Bowl (not available online, unfortunately), and lots of new Papa John’s ideas. But the big thing is “Papa”, an autobiography that Schnatter said he had to take to a second publisher after the first wanted to edit the thing. Can you imagine? It comes out Jan. 31. Here’s my story at EatDrinkTalk.
In Jtown, Mayor Bill Dieruf touted an upcoming addition to the parks landscape — a Vietnam Veterans Memorial for Veteran Park. He talked about the amazing fact that there is just a 1.5 percent vacancy rate in the Bluegrass Commerce Park. The keynote speaker was former WHAS-TV anchor Gary Roedemeier, who had some great stories from his nearly 50 years in broadcasting. It’s apparent that Gary really likes covering the Derby, and betting on the Derby. And he likes playing softball in Jtown.
THE MEAL:
If you’ve heard the buzz about the Seafood Lady, then you know the new Oak Street location is open for business in Old Louisville. Luke and I went there Thursday for some great crab legs and shrimp, and the rumors are true. The food is good, relatively cheap, and the line can be long (even on a Thursday at 11:30). It seems to be a little overwhelming for the small staff, which ran out of beverages while we were there. But the food. The food was good.
