Patton Leadership learns about making maple syrup in Kentucky, visits Kentucky Power’s Louisa plant

Pikeville, KY (June 11, 2019) – During its June session Thursday, June 6, the Patton Leadership Institute spent the day learning about Kentucky Power and the innerworkings that make its Louisa plant operational before heading to Savage Farms to learn about the process of making maple syrup in the mountains.

To kick off its Lawrence County session, the group met at Kentucky Power’s plant in Louisa. While there, the group heard from Allison Barker, Kentucky Power’s corporate communications manager, before embarking on a tour of the facility.

Thursday’s leadership discussion at the powerplant was led by Kevin Davis, president and COO of Fast Change Lube & Oil, who told the group that one of the biggest problems facing the world was zombies.

“When we think about a zombie, we think of someone who is just going through the motions, someone who shows up right on time, or maybe a minute late for work, someone who is just disengaged. It’s like they are on the job, but they just don’t care,” said Davis.

He went on to say that some people become zombies because they don’t have a dream and are just going through the motions. However, Davis said, there is a cure for zombies in the workplace.

“Engagement is the zombie cure,” he said. “The lack of engagement is hurting our economy. It’s costing us trillions and trillions of dollars.”

Davis said that, according to studies, nearly 30 percent of the workforce is engaged.

Following the discussion, the class toured the plant before heading to Savage Farms near Fallsburg. Savage Farms is a small, family-owned operation that produces and sells maple syrup.

Keith Moore, owner of Savage Farms, explained the process of making maple syrup to the leadership class Thursday, showing the class where the syrup was made, and the tools used to make it. He also discussed the difficulty of collecting sap from trees in the mountains which, he said, led him to install tubing that connects the trees.

“It’s nothing for me to bring in 1,200 gallons of sap in a day,” said Moore.

Moore said one of his most popular items is his bourbon-barrel aged maple syrup, which he said ages for nearly five months in the barrel.

“It infuses the flavor of the bourbon, but more importantly, and this is what I had to teach these guys up North about three weeks ago, it infuses the caramel from the barrel,” he said.

Other popular items produced on the farm include: Maple butter, maple coffee candy, maple nuts, and more.

Savage Farms is located at 10251 North Hwy 3 in Louisa. For more information, find them on Facebook, or call 606.922.0762.

During the session, Catrina Vargo, director of Sullivan University’s Learning Center in Louisa, updated the group on new programs being offered at the University’s satellite campus as well as on new projects happening in Louisa, and Laura Maggard, Lawrence County extension agent, informed the class about the extension office and some of its programs, grants opportunities and upcoming events.

For more information about the Patton Leadership Institute or the Chamber, visit them online at, www.sekchamber.com, or by phone at, 606.432.5504.

The Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is located at 178 College Street, Pikeville, and serves more than 500 businesses in eight Eastern Kentucky Counties: Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, and Pike. The Chamber’s mission is to be a resource for businesses in Southeast Kentucky that is committed to improving the regional economy.