Jr. Achievement honors three business leaders

Three local business people are being inducted into the Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass Business Hall of Fame for 2016.

The inductees are: William S. Farish III; DeWitt T. Hisle and Holly B. Wiedemann.

The 2016 class will be inducted during a banquet and ceremony on May 26 at Keeneland.

According to a news release from Junior Achievement, “These business leaders are being honored for achievement in their careers, service to the community and for serving as role models for our youth.”

Since 1989, Junior Achievement’s Bluegrass Business Hall of Fame has annually recognized esteemed leaders of the Central Kentucky business community. To be considered as a Hall of Fame member, an individual's record of business achievement must demonstrate: 1) courageous thinking and actions, 2) vision and innovation, 3) business excellence, 4) inspiring leadership, and 5) community mindedness, the release states.

▪ William Stamps Farish III is the owner of Lane’s End Farm, a 3,000-acre Thoroughbred breeding facility in Versailles. He served for a decade as Chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs Incorporated before being appointed as Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. As Ambassador, Farish was very involved with the British-American Business Council, fostering commerce, friendship and economic growth by assisting American companies doing business in Great Britain.

Farish served as founding director and chairman of the executive committee of the Breeders’ Club, and served as director and vice chairman of the Jockey Club. He is a member of the board of directors of the Keeneland Association and in 2006 was appointed as a Trustee. He is also on the Board of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and served as chairman of the American Horse Council, the horse industry’s political arm in Washington, D.C. He was honored in 1992 and in 1999 with an Eclipse Award as the year’s leading breeder and in 2009 he received the Eclipse Award of Merit for outstanding achievement.

In 2002 he was a recipient of the Henry Clay Medallion for Distinguished Service and in 2008 he was elected to the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was named honor guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America’s 75th annual Testimonial Dinner. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Kentucky.

▪ DeWitt T. Hisle is a native Lexingtonian. He’s a graduate of Henry Clay and University of Kentucky. After a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he returned to Lexington and has been a practicing CPA for more than 50 years and currently serves as senior partner of Hisle & Company.

He has served on the boards of many public and private corporations and has long been sought after by businesses large and small, not only for his accounting knowledge but his street smart “common sense” in dealing with all matters affecting finances and personnel. He has worked with many local companies that have achieved national prominence including Jerrico, Host Communications and Galls Incorporated. He was honored as Associate of the Year by the Lexington Home Builders Association and received the Public Safety Award for Kentucky from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Hisle has been active in the community receiving the Distinguished Service Award for the Lexington Jaycees and awards for distinguished service from the Lexington Chamber of Commerce and the Lexington Rotary Club. He has served as director and treasurer of the Blue Grass Community Foundation and the Commercial Property Association of Lexington. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Internal Audit Board of the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government. Hisle was an original appointee to the LCC Board of Directors and he served as its first treasurer and for many years thereafter on the board.

▪ Holly B. Wiedemann is the founder, owner and president of AU Associates, Inc. AU was founded in 1990 on the principles of adaptive use and focuses on opportunities for urban infill as well as the revitalization of existing structures. In June of 2010, she founded AU Construction, in order to vertically integrate her company and build all of the projects she develops. AU Management, LLC joined AU’s portfolio of companies in January 2013, fully integrating development construction and property management.

Each of AU’s 25 developments, now spanning three decades, has received numerous local, state and national awards.

She was named the 2011 NAWBO Business Owner of the Year. She was also the recipient of the John Russell Groves, Jr. Citizen Laureate Award, presented by the Kentucky Society of Architects. AU has won an unprecedented four Timmie Awards, for national excellence in historic preservation and adaptive re-use. She and her company have won more than 35 state, local and national awards. Wiedemann’s projects have created more than 6,420 jobs throughout Kentucky and West Virginia in addition to providing exceptional places to live, work and play.

She serves as a trustee on numerous boards including BB&T, Gaines Center for the Humanities, Triangle Foundation, Fayette Alliance and the Lexington Civic Center. She was appointed by the Governor as a Regent for Eastern Kentucky University and is also a member of the Cleveland Federal Reserve’s Business Advisory Board.

Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass was incorporated in 1963 with the purpose of inspiring and preparing students to succeed in a global economy. During 2015-2016, JA’s community volunteers will serve over 20,000 students. Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. For more information, visit Jalexington.org.

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Jr. Achievement honors three business leaders."