Home » GLI paints Louisville blue for 2023 annual meeting

GLI paints Louisville blue for 2023 annual meeting

Sarah Davasher-Wisdom

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 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, and 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.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 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. 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 messages about his hometown.

In addition, GLI presented five organizations with three Silver Fleur-de-Lis awards 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 bringing 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 constructing and funding 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 Eastern and Western Kentucky following devastating natural disasters: Salvation Army, SOS International, and WaterStep. Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation, presented the award.

The evening concluded with a keynote fireside chat sponsored by Luckett & Farley between Nando Cesarone, executive vice president and president of U.S, UPS, and Rolf Provan, president and CEO of 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.Click here for more Kentucky business news.