Speaker's Bureau

Gale Reece Gale Reece
 Laura Dake Laura Dake
 Community Outreach Coordinator Holly-Wethall Evelyn Kramer
 ITNBluegrass welcomes any opportunity to share information about our alternative transportation service for seniors and adults with visual impairments. All presentations are tailored to the special interests or needs of the audience. Presentations are offered free and can be prepared for a general audience, or for health care or social service professionals.


We are available to give presentations on the ITNBluegrass program, including the following subjects:


Sample audiences



Testimonials

"Laura, all the P.E.O. girls are abuzz with talk about you and ITN, and you surely got new customers that day!" - Susan Gilliam, P.E.O. Chapter President (PEO stands for Philanthropic Educational Organization)

"The Lioness Club was appreciative of the good information Laura Dake brought to us. We were equally as appreciative of her charm and smile! We learned a great deal that can serve our older members and much for the younger members to take to their parents. Thanks to Laura and her organization for serving our community." - Jessie Baugh, Lexington Lioness Club

"I want to thank you for speaking to the Lexington Lions Club about ITN. The program and presentation were great considering the limited time we have for programs. I thought you covered the advantages and needs of the program real well. Thanks again." - Jim Tincher, Immediate Past President

"I want to thank Holly and Donna for speaking to our seniors group about ITN. ITN provides a much needed service in our area for older and visually impaired persons. Having an affordable door-through-door transportation service that is reliable and trustworthy helps keep people independent and prevents isolation. I was very impressed with how caring the volunteers are and how dedicated everyone involved is in making the rider's day work out well. There are so many people who will benefit from ITN: those who no longer drive, those who don't drive at night or during rush hour, or those who for a short period of time can't drive. It's great to have a reliable backup plan! ITN makes a big difference! Glad you are here! Thanks!" - Paula Clancy, MSW, CSW, Director, Jewish Family Services

Gale,
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak to my class. The students really enjoyed hearing your story. All of them had comments (all positive!!) after you left. They found your persistence to be admirable and applauded your initiative to solve a social issue. I think you also helped reinforce the idea that a non-profit is a business. So, many, many thanks to you!! If I teach this course again next semester, I'd love to invite you back.
Lisa Williams, UK College of Social Work

 

 

To invite Gale Reece, Laura Dake or Holly Wethall to speak at your next conference, workshop or seminar, send an email to info@itnbluegrass.org or call 859-252-8665.

For more information, contact us.

Gale Reece
Executive Director

Gale Reece

Gale Reece has a proven track record of business success having started Kentucky Underground Storage, Inc. over 20 years ago in the same facility that houses Highbridge Spring Water (her family's company). Located in a cave in Jessamine County, KUSI is a commercial records center offering storage for all types of information – hard copy, microforms, computer media, etc. During her tenure as president and chief operating officer, the company grew from one employee to more than 20 and the storage to over half a million cartons of documents and pieces of computer media.

After Gale retired from KUSI in 2005, she knew she wanted to work on aging issues and was thinking about housing until a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government employee convinced her that transportation was the pressing issue, and elders couldn't stay in their homes anyway without it! This fact, combined with her drive and can-do attitude led Gale to ITNAmerica, and ultimately, to the process of establishing a local affiliate.

Working in a non-profit environment is new to Gale, but her past experience with forming companies, negotiating and revising contracts, making decisions, giving presentations and maintaining high levels of customer service has been critical in the startup of ITNBluegrass.

Though a Kentucky native, Gale graduated from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and for about ten years after that lived in Raleigh, N.C., and Atlanta.



Laura Dake
Deputy Director

Laura Dake

Laura Dake has been working with Executive Director Gale Reece since November 2006, first as a grant writer and fundraiser, then – since July 2007 – as deputy director of ITNBluegrass. She particularly enjoys writing, planning events and speaking to groups about the possibilities for improving quality of life for older adults in Central Kentucky.

In addition to her work with ITNBluegrass, Laura is a contract trainer with Bluegrass Community and Technical College's Corporate and Community Development office, where she has developed and taught courses for Toyota, Sekisui, Neogen Corporation and Kentucky Utilities, among many others. She has more than a decade of training facilitation and course development experience in both corporate and educational settings and specializes in courses on leadership development, verbal and written communication and customer service. She loves helping individuals improve their abilities to work effectively within their organizations.

Laura is both AchieveGlobal and DDI-certified and holds advanced degrees from the University of Michigan and George Mason University.



Evelyn Kramer
Community Outreach Coordinator

Community Outreach Coordinator Evelyn Kramer

Community Outreach Coordinator Evelyn Kramer has a long history of involvement with non-profit agencies and boards in Lexington and the central Kentucky area. Although her background included studying elementary and special education at the University of Kentucky, she chose to be a stay-at-home mother until her two children graduated from high school. While academics and athletics were important, Evelyn and her husband Stan made sure that community involvement and philanthropic activities were intertwined in their children’s daily schedules.

Evelyn currently serves as the Clerk of Session for Second Presbyterian Church, the Ombudsman for Meals on Wheels, the chair of the Lexington Christian Service Ministry Committee, and the Local Scholarship Chair for Chapter S, P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization). She also serves on the boards of Canaan House, Second Presbyterian’s Mission Committee and the Presbyterian Housing Corporation. She sees her work at ITNBluegrass as a perfect fit with her interest in independent living, allowing individuals the opportunity to stay in their own homes while being able to safely pursue their outside interests and activities.

 

To invite Gale Reece, Laura Dake or Evelyn Kramer to speak at your next conference, workshop or seminar, send an email to info@itnbluegrass.org or call 859-252-8665.

For more information, contact us.