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November 2018

Maroon SHRM Affiliates with Bluegrass Chapter

Bluegrass SHRM Networking Event and Dinner

The Bluegrass Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is comprised of approximately 300 HR professionals in the Lexington and Central Kentucky area.  College students preparing for human resource management careers participate through Student Chapter affiliation. 

EKU’s Maroon SHRM recently became affiliated with Lexington’s Bluegrass SHRM chapter. Maroon SHRM was invited for a night of networking on Tuesday, November 27 at Columbia Steak House in Lexington. David Baumgartner, President of Bluegrass SHRM, and Amanda Huddleston, Student Relations Director for Bluegrass SHRM, were in attendance. Also in attendance were industry professionals from the Fayette Urban County Government, staffing firms, and Dr. Allen Engle, Maroon SHRM’s faculty advisor. “It was a great evening to network and get to know each other,” said the student group’s Chief Operating Officer, Cari Williams.  Brad Jacques (Chief Learning Officer) and Samson Reed (Chief Information Officer) were also present.   

Global Supply Chain Hosts Collaborative Meeting with APICS

global supply chain students in Vice Atrium

Over 75 students, faculty, and industry leaders gathered in the Rogow Auditorium in the Business & Technology Center (BTC) on November 14th for the 2nd Annual APICS collaborative meeting between EKU’s Global Supply Chain Management program and the APICS Bluegrass Chapter.  APICS is the American Production and Inventory Control Society and is one of the oldest and most prestigious associations for Supply Chain Management professionals.  APICS was founded in 1957 and the organization just recently announced a name change to the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) to highlight that supply chain is comprised of more than production and inventory management and also includes quality, strategic procurement, supply chain network design, information technology, data analytics, etc.

APICS meeting in Rogow AuditoriumEKU faculty member and supply chain management program coordinator, James Kirby Easterling, opened the event with a warm welcome to all visitors and special guests, as well as a brief program update highlighting that EKU’s Global Supply Chain Management program is now one of the fastest growing programs across the entire university.  Eric Stephan-Neill, president of the APICS Bluegrass Chapter, offered a welcome as well and gave an update on how the APICS Bluegrass Chapter is working with students to further elevate EKU’s supply chain program.

The featured speaker at the event was Ed Webb, CEO of World Trade Center-KY, which is the leading provider ofGlobal Supply Chain Professionals tradeeducation, trade advisory, and trade missions across the state. Each year, the WTC-KY responds to trade service requests, on-site trade support, and organizes international trade education programs covering topics ranging from international sales contracts to market entry strategies. In addition, the WTC-KY conducts trade missions and Washington, D.C. trade fly-ins, which allow Kentucky businesses to explore a market through site visits, business matchmaking and introductions to government officials.

panelistsEKU’s Global Supply Chain program is one of the few across the state to have a comprehensive study across all supply chain pillars.  Launched in 2014, the program has graduates now working in leadership roles with companies such as Carhartt, Altria, Northrop Grumman, Hitachi, Uber, and Lockheed Martin, among others.  The program has also had over 75 internships over the past 4.5 years, with more companies seeking EKU’s supply chain students before and after graduation.

Thurman Encourages Students to Reach for Success

Rick Thurman addresses students in Rogow Auditorium

"You'll be fired with enthusiasm, or you'll be fired with enthusiasm." 

Rick Thurman opened his morning lecture - or rather, conversation - with this simple statement, asking the audience what they thought it meant. He explained his statement to the auditorium filled with students, faculty, and staff: you will either be fired up and enthusiastic about what you're doing, or you won't be doing it for very long. 

Thurman, an EKU alumnus ('78, broadcasting), has more than thirty years of experience in sales, sales management, media, and sports marketing, and is the owner of Thurman Media Group in Sarasota, Fl. Addressing an auditorium full of business students, Thurman briefly explained how a broadcasting student such as himself became a successful businessman in the sales industry, then proceeded to take questions and carry a conversation with students regarding their future career goals and life decisions. 

He told the students, "sales is a business of persistency, drive, and enthusiasm," and that while some of them may not graduate with much work experience, their willingness to succeed, grow, and learn will overshadow lack of experience in the eyes of a potential employer. 

Thurman received many questions regarding his experience, as well as his opinion on managing a sales career, starting a company, work-life balance, and staying motivated. He provided students with a perspective built from experience and the drive to succeed. He encouraged students to make decisions about their priorities and to build their actions around those decisions, noting that as life changes those decisions may change, but to always drive toward success in what they decide is important to them. 

Thurman spent the afternoon and the following morning visiting with students and faculty in class and the Center for Professional Sales

Real World Advice from an EKU Alum

Carhartt Supply Chain Operations Center

Special guest speaker William Hardy, a senior vice president at Carhartt, recently visited campus to share his experiences with Global Supply Chain students in James Kirby Easterling’s MKT315/Logistics class. Hardy is an EKU alum from Estill County and enjoys ‘giving back’ to EKU in a variety of ways, and also serves on EKU’s Global Supply Chain Management Advisory Council.

After graduating from EKU with a political science degree, Hardy intended on continuing his education by going to law school. A native of Estill County, Hardy’s summer job before starting law school was washing cars for employees of Carhartt’s Irvine location. Hardy’s hard work, dedication, communication skills, and attention to detail caught the attention of a senior manager at Carhartt who offered him an opportunity to join Carhartt instead.  Hardy has worked in a wide range of leadership roles with Carhartt over 26 years and now serves as Senior VP of Global Supply Chain Operations for all Carhartt locations and reports directly to Carhartt’s CEO.

students in classCarhartt has been a family-owned company since 1889 when it was founded by Hamilton Carhartt in Dearborn Michigan. The current CEO (Mark Valade) is the great-grandson of Hamilton Carhartt.  Carhartt’s Estill county location is a great asset to the company, as many generations of employees have worked at this location since its opening in 1929 in the midst of the Great Depression. 

Hardy’s management philosophy is based on 3 core principles: act like founder Hamilton Carhartt (strive to help hard-working people); respect the past while bravely walking into the future (extend Carhartt’s legacy for future workers and customers); and work with honesty andstudents with William Hardy integrity.  “Willingness to learn” is the main thing Hardy looks for in new employees, as well an ability to engage ‘face-to-face’.  Hardy stressed that effective communication skills are very important and that employees typically achieve greater success when they build face-to-face relationships with co-workers and customers as opposed to using only electronic means (emails, etc.).

Professor Kirby Easterling and William HardyCarhartt has been a great supporter of EKU’s Global Supply Chain Management program by offering internships to multiple SCM students, with several transitioning into fulltimeemployment upon graduation.  The faculty and students of EKU’s Global Supply Chain program are greatly appreciative of Mr. Hardy and Carhartt’s support of what has now become one of the fastest growing degree programs on the EKU campus.

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