Vol 24/Issue 5
greater owensboro chamber of commerce
MAY
CHAMBER MATTERS 2026
Rooster Booster, Sponsored by New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Services Featuring Rich Harwood The Chamber will host Rooster Booster breakfast on Thursday, May 7, at 7:30 a.m. at the Owensboro Convention Center (501 West Second Street). The program is sponsored by New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Services, and the featured speaker will be Rich Harwood, President & Founder of The Harwood Institute. The program will also highlight the graduates of this year's Chamber Young Professionals' Guys & Ties program. Additionally, the 2025-26 Educators in the Workplace cohort will be recognized. Coffee With a Candidate will be following the Rooster Booster program after a short intermission.
This month’s program will also feature cookies from The Bees Knees Bakery + Goods as our Member Spotlight! Reserve your spot now at www.chamber.owensboro.com or by calling the Chamber office at (270) 926-1860 by 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. COST IN ADVANCE: $16 for Chamber Members and $26 for Future Members. COST AT THE DOOR: $21 for Chamber Members and $26 for Future Members.
New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Services is proud to serve our community by providing support, advocacy, and healing to survivors of sexual violence across the region. For more than 45 years, our organization has worked to ensure that individuals and families impacted by sexual harm have access to compassionate, trauma-informed care. Through a comprehensive range of services—including a 24/7 crisis hotline, medical and legal advocacy, prevention education, and professional counseling—New Beginnings meets survivors where they are and supports them on their path to healing. Our licensed therapists provide evidencebased counseling to individuals of all ages, helping clients regain stability, build resilience, and move forward with confidence.
In addition to direct services, New Beginnings partners with local schools, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and businesses to promote awareness and prevention. These collaborations strengthen our community’s response and ensure survivors are not navigating their journey alone. We are especially proud to work alongside Owensboro Health to support a community where a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) is available 24 hours a day— an important step in ensuring survivors receive timely, compassionate care when they need it most. As a local nonprofit, we recognize that this work also impacts the business community. When individuals have access to trauma-informed support, they are better able to maintain employment, improve productivity, and contribute to a healthier workplace culture. We welcome opportunities to partner with local businesses through training, sponsorships, and community engagement efforts that support both employee well-being and a stronger workforce.
Richard C. Harwood Richard C. Harwood, President and Founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, is an innovator, author, and speaker. For nearly 40 years, he has devoted his career to revitalizing the nation’s hardest-hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations, and reconnecting institutions to society. He has been recruited to solve some of the most difficult problems of our time, including being called into Newtown, CT, after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He has appeared in numerous national media outlets and has written scores of articles, groundbreaking reports, and nine books. In 2026, Rich and the Institute are running the Campaign for the New Civic Path, anchored by his bestselling manifesto, The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation.