February 2, 2023 11:28am
Greater Louisville Inc. paints Louisville blue for 2023 Annual Meeting presented by Baird
Louisville, Ky. (February 2, 2023) –Greater Louisville Inc.’s Annual Meeting presented by Baird brought together over 1,100 business leaders to the Kentucky International Convention Center last night and painted the city blue to bring to life the theme, “Together for a Greater Louisville”. The sold out event featured remarks from GLI leadership, Louisville Mayor Greenberg, keynote speaker, executive vice president and president U.S. of UPS, Nando Cesarone, as well as the presentation of five esteemed awards.
The theme of the evening brought together top leaders in business and government to discuss building a stronger public private partnership to help Louisville reach its full potential. Attendees dressed in various shades of blue, the color of unity, and local landmarks, including the Churchill Downs Twin Spires and Downtown bridges, also lit up in blue.
Sarah Davasher-Wisdom welcomes 1,100 attendees to GLI’s Annual Meeting presented by Baird
“Working together towards a shared vision and goal is the way we will create the best version of our city,” said Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc. “Annual Meeting brings together the top leaders and changemakers in our region to discuss our shared priorities and how we can achieve them in the year ahead. It was an honor to share the stage and ballroom with so many thought leaders and I am looking forward to continued collaboration in the year ahead.”
Each year at Annual Meeting, GLI presents awards to local leaders and community groups in several different categories. This year, GLI’s highest honor, the Gold Cup Award sponsored by Brown-Forman Corp., was awarded to businesswoman and philanthropist Sandra Frazier in recognition of her lifetime of service and contributions to the region. Among many titles and accolades, Frazier is the founder of Tandem Public Relations. She has over 25 years of public, community, and investor relations experience at both the corporate, not-for-profit and agency levels. The Gold Cup has only been awarded 24 times since it was created 50 years ago. Previous winners of the award, Bill Samuels Jr. (2018) and Ed Glasscock (2003) presented this year’s award to Frazier.
During the event, GLI surprised attendees with a special presentation of its Thomas A. Edison award, sponsored by locally headquartered KFC U.S., to Grammy-nominated singer and Louisville native, Jack Harlow.
Jack Harlow accepts GLI’s Thomas A. Edison Award from Emma Horn, Managing Director of the KFC Foundation
The Edison Award is given periodically to recognize a Louisvillian who positively represents the region on the national stage. Harlow has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local organizations and consistently shares positive messaging about his hometown.
In addition, GLI presented five organizations with three Silver Fleur-de-Lis awards, which are given each year in recognition of outstanding contributions over the past year to make Louisville a better place to live and work. This year’s recipients were:
- Kentucky Derby Festival for successfully retaining staff, maintaining financial security, and brining the festival back bigger than ever in 2022, all while navigating an unprecedented public health crisis. The award was presented by Judy Hess, coordinator for community relations of Caesars Indiana.
- Louisville Urban League for the construction and full funding of the transformational Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in the West End. The award was presented by Russ Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare and sponsored by Norton Healthcare.
- Three organizations were recognized for their collective work to provide critical aid in both Eastern and Western Kentucky following devastating natural disasters: Salvation Army, SOS International, and WaterStep. The award was presented by Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation.
The evening concluded with a keynote fireside chat sponsored by Luckett & Farley between Nando Cesarone, executive vice president and president U.S, UPS, and Rolf Provan, president and CEO, Luckett & Farley.
UPS is the region’s largest employer and a key driver of economic growth. Cesarone discussed UPS’ continued investment in the region and the important role Louisville plays in its growing international operation.
Rolf Provan (left) moderates a discussion with Nando Cesarone (right).
“UPS’s partnership with Louisville dates back to the 1980’s. Our very first flight as an airline departed from Louisville 35 years ago this week,” Cesarone said. “The win-win relationship has made it easy for us to grow and deliver what matters for our customers around the world. As our operations continue to expand in the city with a new aircraft hangar and two planned UPS Healthcare facilities, we look forward to a prosperous future together.”
The event also included special performances from River City Drum Corp and Xalt Talent, and top-tier networking with local leaders. GLI also unveiled its Annual Report, showcasing its biggest successes of the past year, which is available here.
Additional photos of all speakers and award honorees are available upon request.