Press Release

Contact:
The Honorable Harry L. Berry
Hardin County Judge/Executive
270.765.2350

Luke B. Schmidt, President
L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC
502.292.2898

Hardin County United Posts Educational Roadmap to Web Site

Document Provides Unique, Detailed Overview of Educational Opportunities in Hardin County from Birth through Adult Education

Elizabethtown, Kentucky (February 3, 2011) – Hardin County United (HCU) today announced that it has posted the Hardin County Educational Roadmap on its new Web site (www.hcu.lbschmidt.com).  The Roadmap provides a detailed summary of virtually every educational opportunity available in Hardin County today.

The Roadmap is the first project to be completed by HCU and was developed and managed by the organization’s Education Subcommittee, chaired by Al Rider, President/CEO of the North Central Education Foundation.  The Roadmap is designed to serve as a resource for all citizens of Hardin County as well as employers and businesses and industries which might be contemplating a move to the community.

“Education has always been an important driver in this community,” said Al Rider.  “The Education Subcommittee wants to build upon the educational strategic goals adopted in the Hardin County Vision Project.  In order to do this, we agreed that we first needed to fully understand what educational opportunities currently exist in the community.  In doing this, we established a life continuum starting at birth and concluding with adult education.  Every opportunity is listed in this document.”

The Roadmap will significantly assist ongoing economic development efforts in the community.  Local economic development officials will now be able to provide detailed information on educational opportunities to companies that are considering expansion into Hardin County.

The benefits to existing citizens of Hardin County will be enormous.  For the first time in the County’s history, citizens will be able to go online and see a listing of all educational opportunities.  From birth through three years, the opportunities include such programs as Books for Babies, HeadStart, First Steps, etc.  Various public and private elementary and private school programs, such as gifted and talented, and special education are listed, along with adult education for later in life.

For those citizens who may be wishing to add to their current educational credentials, either through obtaining an associate or technical degree, a bachelor’s degree or even a master’s degree, they will quickly be able to see what is possible without leaving the community.  Degree opportunities range from an Associate Degree in Applied Science for such things as Business Administration, Accounting, Real Estate Management, etc., to Bachelor’s Degrees in Child Studies, Human Services and Counseling, Public Safety Administration, etc., to Master’s Degrees in Criminal Justice, Mathematics Education to Theology.

“In compiling the Roadmap, we learned that Hardin County has the largest number of institutions on a per-capita basis that offer post-secondary degrees in Kentucky,” said HCU Chairperson Harry L. Berry.  “This clearly becomes a selling point for our economic development officials.  There are nearly 340 post secondary credentials which can be earned right here at home,” said Berry.

“The development of the Roadmap fits right in with HCU’s mission,” said Luke B. Schmidt, President of L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC and consultant to HCU.  “One of the Vision Project goals is to develop a “leading edge” education platform in the community, beginning at Kindergarten and extending through post-secondary offerings.  The Roadmap clearly indicates that Hardin County has a lot going for it in terms of education, and it will help the community to identify gaps which might exist so that the platform can ultimately be strengthened.”

The Roadmap can now be downloaded by visiting HCU’s Web site.

Hardin County United (HCU) was established for the purpose of examining the various strategic goals which were established by the Hardin County Vision Project in 2010.  The intent of HCU is to prioritize the goals and to develop implementation strategies.  HCU’s leadership team includes Hardin County Judge/Executive Harry Berry who chairs the Steering Committee; One Knox Executive Director Brad Richardson, who chairs the Community Development Subcommittee; North Central Education Foundation President/CEO Al Rider, who chairs the Education Subcommittee; and Hardin Circuit Court Judge Ken Howard who chairs the Governance Subcommittee.  Luke Schmidt, President of L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC, provides management and consulting services to HCU.

Press Release

Contact:
The Honorable Harry L. Berry
Hardin County Judge/Executive
270.765.2350

Luke B. Schmidt, President
L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC
502.292.2898

Hardin County United Launches New Logo and Web Site

Web Site Will Provide Platform for Community to Follow Progress

Elizabethtown, Kentucky (January 28, 2011) – Hardin County United (HCU) today unveiled its new logo and Web site.

The logo, designed by Heartland Communications Consultants of Elizabethtown, features a stylized map of Hardin County, surrounded by an arrow, indicating a county and its citizens which are working together to address new opportunities.  The subtle green color is also intended to convey the strong partnership that the county enjoys with Fort Knox.

The Web site (www.hcu.lbschmidt.com), also designed by Heartland, is designed to serve as a platform for the Greater Hardin County community to follow the progress of various projects undertaken by HCU.  As projects proceed, postings to the Web site will be made from time to time which will allow those who are interested to stay up to date on issues related to the projects.  Interested parties will also be able to sign up for electronic updates and submit comments and questions to HCU via the Web site portal and also through linked HCU Facebook and Twitter sites.

“HCU is delighted to provide the community with this opportunity to follow our progress,” said Hardin County Judge/Executive Harry L. Berry, Chairperson of HCU’s Steering Committee.  “Each of our three subcommittees are actively engaged in projects related to the strategic goals which were established by the Hardin County Vision Project last year.  Our three subcommittee chairpersons will periodically provide updates and/or solicit feedback from the general public regarding these projects through this Web site.”

The Web site features the usual “About” page which provides a brief overview of HCU and also the recently concluded Hardin County Vision Project.  Each HCU committee and subcommittee also has a page, making it easy for visitors to find information that they are most interested in.  HCU will also post information through its “News” and “Blog” pages. The News page will feature news articles and press releases related to HCU projects and issues.  The “Blog” page will feature news as well as columns and comments written by HCU personnel.  The “Blog” page may feature guest postings from time to time.

Finally, the site also features a “Community Profile” page as well as links to virtually every key organization in Greater Hardin County.

“Even though HCU is a young organization, the site already contains a robust amount of content,” said Luke Schmidt, President of L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC and consultant to HCU.  “The site is intended to be a work in progress and it will be updated periodically.  In fact, we will be posting a major report from the Education Subcommittee within the next week and we encourage visitors to come back and check this out.”

“Not to be overlooked is the link between the HCU Web site and HCU’s Facebook and Twitter sites.  There are an estimated 60,000 Facebook users in the Greater Hardin County area and we want to reach as many people as we can,” stated Schmidt.

The Web site is now live.

(Note: members of the media that would like a JPEG file of the new HCU logo may request a copy by contacting Luke Schmidt: 502.292.2898; lbschmidt@lbschmidt.com)

Hardin County United (www.hcu.lbschmidt.com) was established for the purpose of examining the various strategic goals which were established by the Hardin County Vision Project in 2010.  The intent of Hardin County United (HCU) is to prioritize the goals and to develop implementation strategies.  HCU’s leadership team includes Hardin County Judge/Executive Harry L. Berry who chairs the Steering Committee; One Knox Executive Director Brad Richardson, who chairs the Community Development Subcommittee; North Central Education Foundation President/CEO Al Rider, who chairs the Education Subcommittee; and Hardin Circuit Court Judge Ken Howard who chairs the Governance Subcommittee.  Luke Schmidt, President of L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC, provides management and consulting services to HCU.

Hardin County United unveils logo, website

Site will serve as web portal, directly link users through social networks

Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 10:00 pm (Updated: January 31, 4:32 pm)

The organization formed out of the Hardin County Vision Project announced its expansion into the online world Friday with the launch of its official Web site, which will directly link users to the latest news and happening surrounding the groups aimed at fleshing out the 24 strategic goals identified through the visioning process.

The site, located at www.hcu.lbschmidt.com, provides a modern look with subtle color flourishes and an easily accessible format. It was designed by Heartland Communications Consultants of Elizabethtown, which also created the One Knox website.

A number of dropdown boxes gives users the option of learning about Hardin County United and the Hardin County Vision project in detail, while another area provides more in-depth information on the subcommittees — community development, education and governance — and the primary steering committee chaired by Hardin County Judge-Executive Harry Berry.

“HCU is delighted to provide the community with this opportunity to follow our progress,” Berry said in a news release. “Each of our three subcommittees (is) actively engaged in projects related to the strategic goals which were established by the Hardin County Vision Project last year. Our three subcommittee chairpersons will periodically provide updates and/or solicit feedback from the general public regarding these projects through this website.”

Luke B. Schmidt, a consultant for HCU, said the site will be an interactive portal for residents of Hardin County to use to follow projects as they proceed, with a blog and news function built into the site to provide those updates.

Schmidt in an interview also said HCU will use the site to publish reports from the committees and attempt to capitalize on the successes of Twitter and Facebook by linking the website with those social networking functions. On Facebook alone, it is projected there are around 60,000 users in Hardin County, Schmidt said.

To stay informed, website users also can sign up for electronic updates.

The site, too, provides a touchstone to the county through a community profile option, giving visitors a synopsis of the Hardin County area.

And a links function has been designed to bring other local agencies and organizations together through the site.

“Even though HCU is a young organization, the site already contains a robust amount of content,” Schmidt said in the news release. “The site is intended to be a work in progress.”

A major report from the education subcommittee is expected to be released this week and will be published on the site shortly thereafter, Schmidt added.

HCU on Friday also unveiled its new logo, designed by Heartland Communications Consultants. It includes the organization’s name and a “stylized map” of the county surrounded by a circular arrow.

Berry said the arrow represents the unity the county is working toward with the project and the uniform-sized dots on the map further that notion.

Also, the touches of green within the logo, Berry added, are a nod to the county’s link with the military and Fort Knox.

Marty Finley can be reached at (270) 505-1762              (270) 505-1762      or mfinley@thenewsenterprise.com.