Business of the Quarter
Bob’s Septic Cleaning Services was selected as the summer Business of the Quarter. Pictured are Bobby and Karen Vibbert with their plaque and sign from the chamber. Photo | PJ Martin
By PJ Martin
Editor | The Herald-News
Last Tuesday morning, the chamber held its summer breakfast at the old school gym with around 100 community members attending.
Chamber President Gina Gibson thanked breakfast sponsor McMurtrey Chiropractic. This was followed by the Invocation by Josh Hurt.
Dr. Kelly McMurtrey Thompson sponsored the breakfast and talked about the various treatments that were offered at her office. Photo | PJ Martin
Gibson introduced Kelly McMurtrey (Thompson), who owns McMurtrey Chiropractic, which sponsored the breakfast. “For those of you that have not been to McMurtrey Chiropractic or have not been in a while, obviously we offer chiropractic care. We have dry needling, we have digital x-rays, we have massage therapy. Our latest modality that we’ve added, that we’re super excited about, is the medical-grade red light therapy. We just added that this summer and we’re seeing some amazing results with that… So, I’m trying to add as many modalities to our practice as possible to help everyone, because some patients might need it.”
“We really appreciate you all supporting us over the years… because without you guys, we wouldn’t make it. So again, I want to thank you. I hope you all have a wonderful day.”
The next item Gibson announced was the business of the quarter. “There are things that we don’t think about every day that somebody has to do. And our business of the quarter, that’s what they do, and Bob’s Septic Tank Cleaning has been here since 1974. Started by Bobby Vibbert, Sr., and now it’s Junior.”
They held a celebration of 50 years in 2024, and Gibson announced, “It was wonderful, and you’re a big part of the community. We’re very happy to give this to you today.”
Bobby Vibbert, Jr. took the podium to speak. “First of all, I’d have to give thanks and praise to God. And without Him, I wouldn’t have the basis for my life and a direction to follow. As far as my business, my dad started it in ’74. I grew up with some early 80s hard work. And I had a vision to finally grow into something. And it’s been a long road to even sustain, try to stay where I’m at now with any other business. Failures, tragedies happen, but you have to get up one more time than you fall down. That would be what I would say.”
“But just get up one more time than you fall down. Thank you for the chamber and the ones that took care of it. That’s the leadership of the community, but it’s the rest of us that have to step up and follow along. So, thank you all very much. Thank you.”
“To start off with our guest speakers, first we have Kentucky State University, and speaking will be Tyler London and Jacob Hall,” introduced Gibson.
From the University of Kentucky were Tyler London and Jacob Hall, who spoke about the hay testing program. Photo | PJ Martin
Hall began, “So I understand that y’all had several people to come; they weren’t able to make it, so that’s why you’ve got us. So, we’re going to keep it short… We both work out of Glasgow with the office there and cover this region. Tyler’s going to go over some of the programs we do, and then I’ll fill in at the end.”
London began, “Kentucky State University they have an extension program very similar to the University of Kentucky’s. They got their funding through some other grants, and they use that to kind of fill in the gaps that UK doesn’t provide.”
“KDA has tested hay for the entire state for the last 40-50 years. But their equipment was getting outdated. They lost the funding for that. So, we, Jacob, wrote a grant, and we started the Hay Lab for Kentucky State University… We’ve been able to test hay for the entire state for free for the last year and a half. And we hope to continue to do that while funding is available. It’s just a good service for the farmers… so far, we’ve served about 200-225 farmers…”
They explained that although that doesn’t sound like a lot of farmers, it is feeding a large number of dairy and beef cattle. Hill stated, “But really, we’re just here to try to serve and fill in wherever we can and try to support the farmers and support these surrounding counties. Thank you.”
Aleasha Martin from BRASS explained the types of services that are available to domestic violence survivors. Photo | PJ Martin
The next speaker was Aleasha Martin of BRASS, Inc. “I know that domestic violence isn’t the funniest subject to speak about, but it happens, and that’s why we’re here. So, we recently, through a grant, through the Women’s Fund, we were able to buy a camper van. And that camper van will bring us closer to bringing the services we have for clients closer to Metcalfe County, where we don’t have a working building,” said Martin.
She explained that BRASS, Inc. had four main departments, one keeps the day-to-day things running, and two is the shelter, the residential services, or emergency shelter. The third is the 24/7 crisis line that answers calls even on holidays. “We also have our housing department that assists people who are in the shelter in getting into safe, stable housing for themselves.”
The fourth department is Martin’s, “We do a lot of community education, but we’re court advocates. We are sitting in court with them. We’re helping with victim impact statements. We’re helping them navigate all of the barriers…
“We’re working with some organizations, some businesses to see if we can set up in their parking lots, very common areas for people to be at. So, I really thank you all for your time, and I hope you join us out there and take a look at the Mobile Advocacy Unit. Thank you.”
Someone who has been a crucial part of the Farmers Market is Ken Childers, and he spoke about the school voucher program. Photo | PJ Martin
Gibson announced, “Ken Childers is going to talk about the farmers market for us and update us on what’s going on there.”
Childers said, “You all have heard about some of our programs before. I want to highlight the newest homegrown program. This program, we’re very proud of. This is our second full year for our kids’ nutrition and education program. Every school-aged child that comes to the market gets the token for $5 to spend on any food item that they wish. The purpose of this program is to help these kids learn to purchase and deal with vendors.”
“So, they’re learning, learning about nutrition. Our vendors put together special packages for these kids in $5 increments, where they can purchase a packet of tomatoes that would normally cost $6.50, but they’ll get it for $5. And these kids absolutely love the program. We’re averaging about 80 kids every Friday morning. It’s blowing us away — the interest in this program.”
“Miss Vicki (Harris) runs special programs for the kids. We are averaging right at 20 vendors every Friday. We’ve got some craft vendors and fruits and vegetables, and just about anything you can imagine.”
Edmonton-Metcalfe Chamber of Commerce President Gina Gibson. Photo | PJ Martin
“So, you all come out and join us and see what it’s all about. Go ahead. Thank you.”
Gibson ended the morning. “We appreciate everyone. Diane’s Cakes and Catering. Kelly, we’re happy to have you here with your business. Bob, big part of the community. Farmer’s Market, I love going there, and I don’t get to go often. But thank you all for being here today.”
“Join us for the ribbon cutting.”
