KentuckianaBusinessForum.com - Contributing Columnists

Michael Ashcraft

Michael Ashcraft, Director of Business Services, brings a unique background in business development for small and large for-profit businesses as well as nonprofit organizations. Prior to his current role at TKT, Michael was President and CEO of Career Resources, Inc., a nonprofit organization that performed workforce development and career advisory services in the region.

An entrepreneur who worked most of his career for small businesses and started several of his own, Michael was the Executive Director of the Greater Louisville Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for seven years. He guided the Greater Louisville SBDC through tremendous growth in an entrepreneurial leadership role and was awarded the Sutton Landry State Star Award in 2005 for service and excellence in the Kentucky SBDC network.

Michael was instrumental in helping establish the Entrepreneurial 1-Stop at 123 East Main Street, a collaborative effort between Greater Louisville Inc., Louisville Metro Government and area service providers to offer entrepreneurs a true 1-stop location for business assistance and funding. During his tenure at the Greater Louisville SBDC, Michael and his team guided thousands of entrepreneurs in business plan development and training, resulting in the creation of hundreds of jobs, $30 million in small business loans and over $100 million in new revenue. He also was market manager for a manufacturing company and held various positions in management, marketing, and purchasing for several retail companies.

Michael has a BBA, with a focus in Marketing, from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Bellarmine University. As a native of Louisville, he is committed to the successful growth of small businesses in the region. Michael has been married since 1982 and has two college-age sons.

Robert Brown

I represent emerging companies, which includes newly established companies as well as more mature companies seeking new markets. The issues faced by both groups of companies are strikingly similar - how to identify customers and suppliers, how to put together the management team to reach the new markets, and how to raise money to fund the entry costs.

For newly established companies, I am president of the Venture Club of Louisville, which serves as a gateway for entrepreneurs, investors and team members. I am also chair-elect of the Technology Network, which assists hi-tech companies to develop their products and services.

For more established companies, I serve in several capacities where I help domestic companies reach new customers primarily in foreign markets. I am president and vice chair of the World Trade Center of Kentucky, chair-elect of the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana, secretary of the Japan/America Society of Kentucky, and president of Crane House, a leading Asian cultural and business society.

Gwen Griggs Croucher

Gwen Griggs Croucher, G.A.S. Business Development Solutions, is the Founder & CEO of G.A.S. Business Development Solutions which, was established in 1999. As a Business Consultant specializing in Business Efficiencies, Gwen helps business owners create effective and efficient strategies to reduce and control losses through the improvement of their systems, processes, and procedures. Gwen trains and develops managers and employees in methodologies that increase their effectiveness and bottom line development. Gwen also coaches business owners and their management on creating and maintaining company and individual goals.

G.A.S. Business Development Solutions has serviced clients such as maintenance companies, optometrist, private consulting groups, and mechanical contractors.

Bob Hausladen

Robert Hausladen, President and Owner of Renaissance EXECUTIVE FORUMS - Kentucky.

Over a thirty year corporate career, Bob has held senior management positions in sales, marketing and leadership development, as well as serving as a senior consultant. In addition to his responsibilities as President and Owner of Renaissance EXECUTIVE FORUMS of Kentucky, Bob teaches Professional Relationship Selling and a graduate course in Brand Management at the University of Louisville. He is also the "business coach and mentor" of Big Talk on Small Business, appearing regularly on the show. Bob holds a BS and MBA, as well as numerous post-graduate certifications.

Tiffanye Hawes

Ms. Hawes, Principal/HR Partner - The Human ReSource, graduated from the University of Louisville with a BA in Psychology.

During the past 15 years she has worked with leading manufacturing, marketing, media, and distribution/ fulfillment companies in Kentucky and Michigan. She is a proficient in operational management, efficiencies training, and all facets of human resources management. Currently, she functions as a Mentor for the internationally recognized association, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). In this role, she provides assistance to new HR Managers across the United States.

Tiffanye is the Principal and HR Partner of The Human ReSource, a human resources management company providing businesses, without a HR professional on-site, with solutions for HR challenges. Consultative services for management level HR solutions include policy implementation, safety compliance, benefits and rewards programs, discipline and coaching, talent acquisition and retention, and training. Visit www.humanresource.us for more information or email at info@thehumanresource.us. Tiffanye is a recognized member of GLI, NAWBO, SHRM, and One Southern Indiana. She has also been featured in NAWBO's Newslink, Today's Woman magazine, and is a contributing partner of Big Talk on Small Business WKJK 1080.

John Hughes

John Hughes - President and Managing Partner - Shihan Kyu Training Systems - Permanent Sales Results Through Behavioral Change!

Works with consultative, professional sales representatives as a trainer, coach developer and mentor that have identified issues within their sales processes that are challenges or issues that are affecting their results and incomes.

These issues usually fall into three categories; longer than desired sales cycles, providing of un-paid free consulting and the struggle to address prospect decision making and closing.

He utilizes a training process, based upon behavioral change. Since individual's behaviors are different, he contracts to an actual sales production goal and guarantees to work with the organization or individual until the production agreement has been achieved. He does not coach or train for a period of time but rather to the result. All of which is provided based upon a negotiated fee up-front so there are no surprises.

Experienced in providing Black Belt Training services for the past thirteen years within local and regional markets, his clients include financial services, information technology, marketing, consulting services and capital goods.

Mr. Hughes has BA and Masters degrees in Education - Rowan University of New Jersey.

Professional selling and management experience: 14 years with the New York Life; 4 years as agent, MDRT Qualifier in first year; District agency recruiter for 6 years; Regional manager 4 years; National wholesaler for Capital Holding / National Home Life for 3 years; Responsible for retail distribution of financial product line through banking channels for 3 years; Hardware and software sales for IBM and NCR VAR in regional and national banking institutions for 5 years; Shihan Kyu Training Systems President and Managing Partner, trainer and coach.

Maria Koetter

Ms. Koetter has over seventeen years of leadership experience in the environmental industry working with both government and private sector clients. Ms. Koetter was most recently employed for ten years at the top 10 national consulting firm Tetra Tech, Inc. as a senior project manager. In this capacity, Ms. Koetter led a diverse group of cross-functional employees through all aspects of client services and daily work regimes. She supervised client programs and project teams in the areas of program management, project development, marketing, and training.

Ms. Koetter has managed and supported national and local client contracts for numerous multi-project portfolios. Her experience includes facility compliance audits and permitting; technical reporting; all phases of contaminant assessment and remediation, and continuity of operation planning. Ms. Koetter also has extensive experience interacting with State and Federal regulatory agency personnel.

Ms. Koetter's environmental expertise and leadership successes culminated in the 2007 launch of Bgreen2 LLC. Bgreen2 is a sustainability consulting firm that introduces a fresh approach to natural resource conservation and environmental protection. Bgreen2 emphasizes environmentally conscious decision making and provides clients with an integrated and programmatic approach to reduce their environmental footprint.

Glen Krebs

Glen M. Krebs is a member of Wyatt Firm's Labor & Employment Service Team. He concentrates his practice in international and immigration law.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Krebs was a solo practitioner. He also appeared on behalf of clients at U.S. embassies in Ghana, China, Japan, Russia, Canada and Bulgaria and represented clients from more than 65 different countries. And, he has assisted more than 40 Japanese companies establish their presence in the United States.

Mr. Krebs is a member of the Fayette County, Kentucky and American Bar Associations. He is also Chairman of the Japan/America Society of Kentucky, six years and Treasurer for the National Association of Japan American Societies, three years. Additionally, Mr. Krebs is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, fifteen years and has served on the Board for the Kentucky World Trade Center. Other activities / memberships include the Board for the Lexington Sister Cities Commission, The Asia Center Advisory Board, and Chairman of the Lexington-Fayette Commission on Immigration.

Deniece Loyd

Deniece Loyd is the owner of Inspired To Lead, Inc. and LEAD: Leadership Education And Development Training Institute, Inc., a nonprofit leadership skills development program. After graduating from Bellarmine College with a B.A. in Communications, she took a position with American Express Financial Advisors "until she found her dream job". After more than ten years, she decided to leave the advisor with whom she had so closely worked to pursue her dreams.

During those ten years, she had the amazing opportunity to learn a tremendous amount about not only financial planning, but also extraordinary customer service. In addition, she began to develop her management skills and determined her career passion and gift…developing people. After leaving the financial planning world, Loyd developed her first business, Loyd Consulting, LLC, in which she was able to offer a wide array of consulting services including: event coordinating, presentation development, website design, computer training, practice management, software training, and office organization/efficiency. While she enjoys offering all of these services, her love is still developing people; therefore, she made the decision to focus her time, energy, money, and attention in that area.

Loyd focuses her time in life/leadership coaching through Inspired To Lead where she works with individuals to help them create the life they were born to live. The major project which Loyd focuses is the management of a leadership skills development program launched in fall 2005 called LEAD: Leadership Education And Development Training Institute, Inc. LEAD is meeting a need of focused leadership skills development. Her desire is to provide a resource to grow and develop future leaders in the community and region. The development of leadership skills through this program can be utilized in the participant's professional, community, and public service. Strong leaders create a strong community.

In the past, Loyd was the only one in the area to offer the specialized event planning services of golf tournament management through Kentuckiana Scrambles, LLC. She continues to consult with businesses and nonprofit agencies who desire to use golf tournaments as a form of fund-raising. Working with businesses and nonprofit agencies to help make their golf events fun and successful, she helps them save hundreds of hours of detail work while helping to increase their bottom line and produce a seamless, unique, and enjoyable event. Kentuckiana Scrambles is a full-service golf tournament management firm who is ready and willing to help your company raise awareness, funds, or increase customer retention with a corporate outing.

In her free time, she has assisted the Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce as a committee member with their golf outing, Business Expo, and was co-chair of the 2005 Regional Minority and Women Business Owners Conference. She is also involved with her church, Southeast Christian and enjoys the theater and spending time with family and friends. She loves life and owes her success to God who has given her unimaginable opportunities.

Dennis McClain

Dr. Dennis McClain is the president and medical director of Occupational Medicine Physicians, a full service occupational health service with 3 locations in Southern Indiana. A graduate of the University of Louisville, he is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. He is a member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He is married to Joyce, an occupational nurse practitioner and they have 4 children. Dr. McClain can be reached through their website at www.occmedphysicians.com.

Polly Moter

Polly Moter, president of ProMoter Inc., has been working in marketing communications for more than 35 years. She is a graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in journalism and an emphasis in public relations.

ProMoter Inc. Marketing Communications, which is a certified Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE), was founded in 1979. The company provides the following services: Copy writing; Production of printed pieces; Public relations; Advertising; Branding development; Event promotions; Strategic marketing plans and implementation of marketing plans; Media relations and news releases; Research and surveys; Internet marketing.

Polly has been part of the team that produces and promotes the Green Industry & Equipment Expo since its beginning in 1984. An annual event in Louisville, it is listed as the 16 largest exposition in the U.S. by Tradeshow Week magazine. ProMoter Inc.'s work has been cited by a national trade journal as an example of skillful media relations and promotions.

Polly is a native of Louisville. As a local pioneer in urban home ownership, she is immediate past president of the Louisville Downtown Residents Association and just completed a two-year term as communications co-chair of the Louisville chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She is a member of GLI, One Southern Indiana, the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association and the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Mark Obermeyer

Mark is the President / CEO of Integrity Publisher which is also known as Kentuckiana Business Forum (KBF). KBF positions business owners as experts in their industry in a market that other business owners are in the frame of mind and willing and able to make a decision. KBF is "Inspiring small businesses to explore the possibilities".

Mark has fourteen years experience in banking, having held titles of Branch Manager and Vice President of Operations. His experience includes creating business plans, marketing plans as well as project management. He attended the European Cultural Studies Program through the Education Abroad Program, studying International Management in Madrid, Spain. He has an MBA from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Mark has served the community for many years and has been a board member at various agencies including the YMCA, Hartford County Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity, and One Southern Indiana Marketing Task Force just to name a few organizations.

Kevin Parrett

Kevin A. Parrett has been part of Elizabethtown all his life and is an active member of the community. Kevin was the youngest graduate of Leadership Elizabethtown and has coordinated Youth Leadership Hardin County (Ft. Knox day) since 2001. He earned his Bachelor's in Finance from UofL and graduated with honors in 1993. Later, Kevin earned an MBA in 2003 and an MS-IT in 2005, both from Sullivan University where he maintained a 4.0 GPA in both disciplines. His professional experience includes nearly 20 years in: retail and residential property management, finance, consulting, and education.

Kevin is currently a Director for the Kentucky Community & Technical College System in Elizabethtown and also teaches various IT and business courses for Campbellsville University's campus in Louisville, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, and Ivy Tech. Moreover, in 2008, Kevin began teaching international students at the graduate level in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan through Upper Iowa University.

Amy Romines

Amy Romines - Partner and CEO of Shihan Kyu Systems, Inc. - Louisville, KY. Amy works with consultative, professional sales representatives and business owners as a trainer, coach, developer and mentor that have identified issues within their sales processes that are challenges or issues affecting their results and incomes.

These issues usually fall into four categories; longer than desired sales cycles, providing of unpaid free consulting, the struggle to address prospect decision making and closing, and last but not least the ability to recruit, hire, train, and manage a productive sales force.

She utilizes a training process, based upon behavioral change. Since individual's behaviors are different, Amy contracts to an actual sales production goal and guarantees to work with the organization or individual until the production agreement has been achieved. She does not coach or train for a period of time but rather to the result. All of which is provided based upon a negotiated fee up-front so there are no surprises.

In 1994, Amy founded ACR Computer Resources, Inc., a highly successful database design and software development firm which continues to serve as a vital partner to resolve critical data concerns for many Fortune 500 as well as the everyday issues of small, solely held companies. Amy currently serves on the Board of Directors for BridgePoint Services Goodwill, Vice President of Nu Chapter of TriKappa, and Capital Campaign committee Co-Chair of Project Women.

Bryan Wickens

In September, 2005, Bryan Wickens left his position as partner in one of the largest law firms in the region to assume the position of President of ROCK. Bryan spent 11 years in the private practice of law, primarily in the field of complex commercial litigation. His passion, however, has always been the preservation of our founding principles as a nation and cultural issues impacting families and communities. Becoming President of ROCK has given Bryan the opportunity to use his skills and abilities to serve in a way he never could have imagined. Today, Bryan works to make ROCK a premier organization dedicated to "building strong communities and families".

Bryan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Law at Lincoln. After being named partner, Bryan began to feel that he was supposed to do much more with his abilities. His passion for religious liberty and cultural issues continued to grow. In 2004, Bryan attended training provided by the Alliance Defense Fund ("ADF"), a public interest law firm dedicated to the same ideals. He became an ADF allied attorney and is the first to say that "This was a life changing experience."

In the short time the organization has been under Bryan's leadership, ROCK has become a powerful advocate for families across the region. His fresh approach to confronting the decline of morality in our communities has captured the attention of religious, civic, business and government leaders locally, regionally and across the United States -people who understand what it takes to be successful in making a positive and lasting impact on our culture. Due to Bryan's vision, ROCK has been asked to partner on a number of projects on a national level regarding efforts to raise the level of decency for families and communities everywhere.

Bryan's engaging and personable style has made him a highly sought after event speaker booked months in advance. He is a sought after expert on radio and television for his knowledge of religious liberty issues and the harmful negative effects created by the sex industry and how communities and families can protect themselves from their influence. After attending a ROCK event or hearing Bryan speak, audience members leave expressing sentiments such as, "I have hope now that I know someone is out there taking a stand for my family"; "Until now, I didn't know if anyone cared but me. Bryan has given me the courage to step up and help make a difference"; and "If there were more groups like ROCK, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in today. I thank God for Bryan Wickens."

Bryan considers everyday he serves at ROCK an honor because he knows he is exactly where he is supposed to be, doing exactly what he was created to do. "I know that ROCK will be used to forever change communities and families across our land - one issue and one project at a time."