Joe Davis Named 2009 Small Business Person of the Year 

BOWLING GREEN, KY-The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce announced today that Joe Davis, president and owner of Gerald Printing, is the 2009 Small Business Person of the Year.

"Joe is extremely active in our community, from his involvement with the Chamber to his support of the Commonwealth Health Foundation," said Chamber Chairman Todd Davis. "We're very proud to announce that Joe is the 2009 recipient of this honor because of his community involvement and the strength of his business. He sets an example of what a small business leader should be."

The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce has awarded a member of the community with the "Small Business Person of the Year" honor since 1985. This award recognizes a community member who owns and operates a for-profit company that employs 100 or fewer full-time employees, who has invested his or her own money in that small business, who has experienced recent business growth, and who is involved in the development and growth of the Bowling Green community.

Originally from Princeton, Ind., Davis completed his bachelor degree in accounting and mathematics at the University of Evansville. He began his professional career at the Indianapolis office of Arthur Andersen & Co., before enlisting in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era.  After returning from military service, Davis obtained his Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Indiana University along with his certified public accountant credentials when he rejoined Arthur Andersen & Co.

In 1976, Davis began working for Best Lock, a commercial lock manufacturer. While with Best Lock, he became corporate controller, then president of the Los Angeles subsidiary during which he spent four years in southern California, and later the vice president of marketing in Indianapolis. 

Davis purchased Gerald Printing in 1996 when he and his family moved to the Bowling Green area. Since joining the community, he has participated in and chaired several committees for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a 2005 Leadership Bowling Green graduate and an Ambassador. He was president of the Ambassadors Club in 2005 and was named Ambassador of the Year that same year. Through his leadership, Gerald Printing holds a business-education partnership with Drakes Creek Middle School, and the company received the Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and the Spirit Award in 2006 for this partnership.

"Joe is always willing to support Chamber programs and offer their assistance," said Program Director Beth Oliphant. "We're fortunate to have such an outstanding business leader in our midst."

Among Davis' other community activities, he is involved with the Noon Rotary Club, the Professional Marketing Association, the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation, the Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital Board, the Salvation Army Advisory Board and the Breakfast Club of the Commonwealth Health Foundation. Davis has served on the Business Relations Committee for the Commonwealth Health Foundation and as chair of the local Salvation Army Advisory Board. 

Under Davis' leadership, Gerald Printing is a great contributor to the community. The company is involved with the Scottsville-Allen County Chamber of Commerce and has been named Member of the Year for that organization in the past. Gerald Printing sponsors two annual scholarships for Western Kentucky University students-one for a junior or senior WKU student majoring in graphic arts and one for a high school student who intends on enrolling in the business school at WKU. Gerald Printing supports a variety of other charities through sponsorships, including The Medical Center 10K Classic, the United Way Festival of Trees, Potter Children's Home, the YMCA "We Build People" Campaign, the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation Corvette Raffle, and a treatment room at the Clinical Education Complex.

Gerald Printing has received numerous awards from the printing industry, including a Premier Print Award, Quick Printing Magazine's Annual Top 100, the Professional Marketing Association's Markie Awards, Certified Printers International Awards, Carlson Craft Distinguished Dealer Award, and the Simpson Paper Company Award of Excellence for developing sheets of Gerald Repro Bristol to make limited edition art print reproductions. Gerald Repro Bristol is recognized in the printing industry as an exceptional type of uncoated, embossed paper.

Davis and wife Sharon have been married for more than 40 years. They have two children, Jason and Joy, and one granddaughter, Kelsey Noelle. Jason lives in Bowling Green, and Joy is married, lives in Denver, and is busy parenting Kelsey Noelle. Davis and Sharon enjoy singing in their church choir, reading and travelling to Denver.

Past recipients of the Small Business Person of the Year Award are:

• Bud Agnew, director of S&R Tire, Inc., and Wes McAdams, president of S&R Tire, Inc. (joint nomination)
• Thad Connally, III, president and owner of First Choice Home Medical
• Dr. Oles Drobocky, owner of Drobocky Orthodontics
• John Drott, owner of Allstate Insurance - Family Protection Group
• Jack Sheidler, owner of Greenwood Properties, LLC
• Steve Sheldon, owner of Sheldon's Express Pharmacy

Davis will be formally honored at the Small Business Luncheon on Tuesday, May 5, at 11 a.m. at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center. This event is the highlight of Small Business Appreciation Week, which is organized by the Chamber's Small Business Appreciation Committee. Tickets are $25 per person or $200 for a corporate table of eight. President's Club partners at the Gold, Platinum and Diamond Levels may purchase tables for eight at $180. To register, visit the Events page on bgchamber.com. For more information, contact Beth Oliphant at 270-781-3200 or beth@bgchamber.com.

Incorporated in 1935, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce is the driving force for economic development in South Central Kentucky. As one of only 336 chambers nationwide to be accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the fourth largest chamber in Kentucky, the Chamber serves as a premier business advocate for its more than 1,300 partners. Its primary goals are to promote growth and success in the business community, reaching its small business partners and those in large industries alike. With leadership programs, governmental relations projects, educational initiatives and involvement opportunities, the Chamber aims to support the community and its neighbors in order to enhance the business climate and continue to grow the region.