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I'm writing this week's ⚡️ newsletter from Milwaukee where I’m attending GLI's annual GLIDE trip alongside 130 other Louisville business leaders. We're exploring what other cities are doing right so we can bring winning strategies back home. Haven't been on a GLIDE trip but want to make a real impact in Louisville? Consider joining next year. I'll share more about our Milwaukee lessons next week.

👀 In today's edition:

Thank you for those of you who have shared this ⚡️ newsletter with friend. I keep seeing more people sign up. 🙏

Hot job 💼: Executive Director at Cedarhurst Senior Living ($100K+). Lead operations, staff, and resident experience at a top senior living community. Ideal for seasoned leaders in healthcare or hospitality.

📈 Number: 15 is the number of years Hammerheads is celebrating as one of Germantown’s gem of a restaurant. Try the elk 🍔 or roasted 🦆 (Read more here).

Birthday Cheers 🎉: Cheers to Christina Shadle, a sharp and creative leader who helps drive impact as Chief of Staff at AMPED and Partner at Mayan Café. A former colleague and friend who continues to make Louisville better for all of us.

-Todd

The headlines might worry you. The data should reassure you.

When most family businesses hit a leadership transition, things unravel. TagSwag turned theirs into a masterclass in reinvention. I heard this amazing background story privately and then invited their President, David Horne to share it at our monthly ACG luncheon (which you should join!). The audience response was great, so I wanted to share it with you.

🚀 The Challenge: When David Horne took over as President of Stitch Designers in February 2020, he stepped into both a family legacy and an industry under pressure. His father, John Horne, had built the company from a one-machine embroidery shop in 1985 into a national leader in logo merchandise. But contract manufacturing was becoming a race to the bottom with tighter margins and less differentiation. Just weeks later, COVID hit, threatening the traditional sales channels that had sustained the business for nearly four decades.

🗺️ The Path They Took

The Turning Point: David realized the future wasn’t in bulk production alone but in technology and direct relationships. He saw an opportunity to build online webstores that could bring the same quality and creativity directly to customers’ fingertips.

The Fix: Stitch Designers rebranded as TagSwag and invested in e-commerce infrastructure, built branded webstores for clients, and shifted from project-based work to an ongoing subscription-style model. The team could now produce swag kits, custom uniforms, and branded merchandise on demand, shipped straight to employees and fans anywhere in the country.

The Balance: While evolving, they held tight to the values that made the company strong... family leadership, craftsmanship, and reliability. David implemented EOS to bring structure and vision to the growing operation and brought his sister, Anna Horne, into the COO role to ensure those values stayed intact.

The Outcome: The model flipped. Today, 70 percent of TagSwag’s business comes from direct-to-consumer channels, while 30 percent remains in high-volume manufacturing that has grown stronger thanks to new capacity and automation. The company now partners with LouCity FC, Racing Louisville, and the University of Louisville, proving that hometown roots and national reach can thrive together.

⚡ Spark Take: Most family businesses struggle to survive a leadership handoff. TagSwag mastered it. David Horne kept his father’s vision alive while modernizing how the company delivers it, turning a 40-year-old manufacturer into a tech-enabled powerhouse that still feels unmistakably Louisville.

👉 Your Turn: Ways to Support TagSwag

🎁 Build your company’s custom webstore for employee or client gifts
👕 Order branded apparel and swag kits from a local team that ships nationwide
🏟️ Support the businesses that partner with LouCity, Racing Louisville, and UofL
💻 Learn more or start a conversation at tagswag.com

It's end-of-year planning season, and this week The Royal Room hosted three company off-site planning sessions with another one tomorrow. If you're booking your leadership retreat, board meeting, or team strategy day, The Royal Room is built for you.

As Louisville's only event venue designed specifically for business, The Royal Room was purpose-built for meetings, offsites, trainings, and company gatherings with all the tools you need already in place.

From two 85" TVs for seamless screen sharing (no projectors needed) to high-speed Wi-Fi and whiteboards, The Royal Room is fully equipped for productivity. They provide all the tables, chairs, setup, and cleanup so you can focus on the agenda, not the logistics.

Whether you're planning a leadership retreat or a year-end strategy session, The Royal Room offers a polished, professional atmosphere that makes your event feel intentional and effortless.

👉️ Ready to plan your next offsite? See photos and learn more here.

Real Opinions. No Filters. No Names. [Submit yours here]

Sales Director at Insight Global ($120K–$150K). Lead regional sales strategy, pipeline growth, and team performance for a high-velocity sales organization.

Vice President for Development – West End School at H2R Consulting ($100K–$115K). Build and execute fundraising strategy, steward major donors, and expand partnerships for West End School.

Project Manager at Belcan ($80K–$150K). Drive scope, schedule, and budget across engineering projects while coordinating cross-functional teams and vendors.

Director of Operations – Business Services at BAE Systems ($135K–$230K). Oversee enterprise operations, process improvement, and service delivery across a complex defense services portfolio.

Chief Executive Officer at Parks Alliance of Louisville ($140K–$160K). Set vision and strategy, lead fundraising and advocacy, and manage citywide partnerships for Louisville’s parks nonprofit.

Louisville Hot Brown Week invites you to spend seven days celebrating one of the city's most iconic dishes, and it wraps up this weekend. This isn't just about eating a sandwich. It's about experiencing 13 different chef interpretations of the Kentucky Hot Brown, each putting their own creative spin on the classic while keeping it accessible at $10-$12.

From signature takes to secret menu specialties, you can explore new restaurants or revisit your favorites while paying homage to a Louisville culinary legend. It's a full week of embracing local food culture and hometown pride, one hot brown at a time.

⚡️ Spark Take: For the price of lunch, you get to eat your way through Louisville's most legendary comfort food without picking a favorite.

We found the fun, so you don’t have to.

🛍️ Southern Indiana Fall Craft Show
10:00 AM–3:00 PM · Speed Fellowship Hall, Sellersburg, IN
Shop 50+ handmade vendors at this free, indoor market—perfect for early holiday finds and local gifts.

🎃 Ultimate Halloween Fest: Hallouween Parade & Street Fest
11:00 AM–late (Parade 5:00–6:00 PM) · NuLu, East Market St.
A huge, free, family-friendly day in NuLu with live music, pumpkin derby, kid + pet costume contests, a twilight parade, and nighttime after-parties.

🐾 Genevieve Strut
1:00 PM–4:00 PM · Hotel Genevieve, Nulu East Market St.
A festive, pet-friendly runway stroll at Hotel Genevieve—four-legged fashions, tunes, and good vibes for a cause. Tickets required.

🎃 Boo Dell at Yew Dell Botanical Gardens
12:00 PM–4:00 PM · Yew Dell Botanical Gardens, Crestwood
Trick-or-treat stations, hayrides, crafts, and critter encounters make this beloved garden fest a can’t-miss for families.

🩰 Costumes & Cobwebs (Louisville Ballet)
Fall Festival 1:00 PM; Show 2:00 PM · Louisville Ballet Studios, 315 E. Main St.
Kick off Halloween week with games, a costume parade, and a kid-friendly “Charlotte’s Web” performance by the Louisville Ballet Studio Company.

🪄 Ben Young: Magic & Mayhem
3:00 PM–4:30 PM · The Nevermore, 1234 S. 3rd St.
Illusionist Ben Young blends jaw-dropping tricks and comedy in an energetic, all-ages show—audience participation encouraged.