Podcast appearances and mentions of kelley dearing smith

After becoming burned out working TV news, Kelley Dearing Smith took on a new challenge with Louisville Water. Now, the VP of Communications and Marketing helps Louisville Water tell stories -- and it all starts with listening. 

March 10, 2022 Kelley Dearing Smith is Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Louisville Water. In this episode Kelley … More

https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/water-in-real-life-louisville-water.png.jpg () https://youtu.be/F_MTW3EuH80 (Watch the episode.) Kelley and her team at Louisville Water Company are a dynamite case study in branding, public engagement, research for the sector. Get your pen/paper/note-taking app of your choice and get ready to take some notes. As fans of design thinking, Kelley's team also demonstrates what design thinking practices look like in real life. If we want to build public trust, we have to follow her lead, get up, and get out in the community. This Queen of Water Branding has an awesome mural on her office wall that we reference during our chat and we wanted to share with y'all. https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_1110-scaled.jpg () https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_1113-scaled.jpg () https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_1114-scaled.jpg () https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_1111-scaled.jpg () Kelley Dearing Smith's career revolves around out-of-the-box thinking and telling a story. Kelley is Louisville Water Company's Vice President of Communications and Marketing. In her 20+ year career at Louisville Water, Kelley has developed strategic partnerships and communication efforts that build Louisville Water's brand and highlight the value of something most people take for granted, high-quality and reliable drinking water. Kelley is a member of the company's Executive Leadership Team and directs internal and external communications and content marketing, brand development, education and outreach, public affairs and economic development. Kelley has authored a book highlighting Louisville Water's history and oversaw the development of the “WaterWorks Museum” at the company's 1860 original pumping station. Prior to Louisville Water, Kelley worked in television news. Kelley is Chair of the American Water Works Association's Public Affairs Council and frequently speaks to utilities and businesses on best-practices for branding and communication. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Eastern Kentucky University. Kelley lives in Louisville with her husband Doug and daughters Katie and Kortney. Support this podcast

Get Back To The Tap with us on this week's Truth to Power Happy Hour! Forward Radio volunteers, Ruth Newman and Justin Mog (host of Sustainability Now!) are joined by Kelley Dearing Smith, VP of Communications & Marketing for the Louisville Water Company. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about the history and current status of water treatment from our very own publicly-owned utility which has been keeping Louisvillians safe and hydrated since 1860! We address public concern about potential contaminants in our drinking water such as lead, mercury, radon, nitrates, microbes, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and PFAS/PFOA “forever chemicals.” We also touch on the impacts of climate change, the federal infrastructure bill, and we offer tips on how you can help protect water quality at the source – i.e. how to keep pollution out of the Ohio River. Learn more at http://louisvillewater.com On Truth to Power each week, we gather Forward Radio programmers and friends to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation like you won't hear anywhere else! Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at http://forwardradio.org

Councilman Coan and Kelley Dearing-Smith of the Louisville Water Company discuss the best investment the city ever made!

In a park off of River Road, nearly hidden by scrubby grass is a mystery: an about 50-foot wide stone circle marking long-ago infrastructure. This ring intrigued Curious Louisville listener Jim Turner, and he asked about it. “I heard [the circle] was a wading pool administered by the Louisville Water Company in the late 1800's. Is that true?” he wrote. Turner grew up in Louisville, not far from the stone circle. He remembers riding his bike from Field Elementary to the waterworks on Zorn Avenue. “The waterworks was my playground because I grew up very close to it. I rode along and through the waterworks property going places I probably shouldn't sometimes. But when you're a kid, an indestructible kid, adventurous, that's what you do.” So when one day Turner saw an old picture, taken from the distance that appeared to show a body of water — he thought maybe a pool — at the site of the stone circle, it made him curious. Turns out, this stone ring in that's now in a fairly inauspicious place — the Champions Park dog run — was actually part of a lofty nineteenth century vision of a genteel Louisville lifestyle, made possible by pumped household water: “The grounds will furnish our citizens with a delightful place of public resort where the man of business can find recreation from toil and oblivion of care, women and children obtain unrestricted exercise and amusement in the open air and the infirm consult heaven’s pure atmosphere and the genial sunlight as their medical advisors.” That’s from around 1860, when the Louisville Water Company began pumping water. And it’s a description of the park around the stone circle. Louisville Water spokeswoman Kelley Dearing Smith said she believes it was written by Charles Hermony, the company’s chief engineer and superintendent. In 1860, the water company’s major infrastructure was all located near the intersection of Zorn Avenue and River Road. There was the water tower and pump station; those are still standing. There was the city’s original reservoir, which was on a bluff where the Veterans’ Hospital is located today. And across the street, at the current site of the Champions Park dog run, was Water Works Park. A central attraction of the park was this fountain. And in 1860, it was an engineering marvel. “So what they did is, they took the pressure that was coming off of the water in the reservoir — because it's on a bluff right behind us,” Dearing Smith said. “And that pressure helped the water to shoot up into the air from the fountain.” Unfortunately, Hermony’s vision was never really fully realized. Dearing Smith said the park was damaged shortly after it was built, by soldiers walking through on their way to fight in the Civil War. There were also possibly some other problems with upkeep, and with the park not being the attraction it was expected to be. By 1879, Louisville Water had built its current Crescent Hill reservoir, and the original reservoir wasn’t needed. That stone circle is what’s still visible of the fountain. If you go into the dog park today, it’s hard to miss: it’s the site where all the little plastic wading pools are gathered, to help small dogs cool off in the summer. And Jim Turner wasn’t the only person to wonder about it. We’ve gotten a few questions at Curious Louisville, and Dearing Smith has fielded some at Louisville Water, too. Sometime this spring, Louisville Water and Metro Parks plan to put a sign at the site, so everyone who comes to the Champions Park dog run will know the history of Water Works Park. Have a question of your own? Ask it at CuriousLouisville.org.

In a park off of River Road, nearly hidden by scrubby grass is a mystery: an about 50-foot wide stone circle marking long-ago infrastructure. This ring intrigued Curious Louisville listener Jim Turner, and he asked about it. “I heard [the circle] was a wading pool administered by the Louisville Water Company in the late 1800's. Is that true?” he wrote. Turner grew up in Louisville, not far from the stone circle. He remembers riding his bike from Field Elementary to the waterworks on Zorn Avenue. “The waterworks was my playground because I grew up very close to it. I rode along and through the waterworks property going places I probably shouldn't sometimes. But when you're a kid, an indestructible kid, adventurous, that's what you do.” So when one day Turner saw an old picture, taken from the distance that appeared to show a body of water — he thought maybe a pool — at the site of the stone circle, it made him curious. Turns out, this stone ring in that's now in a fairly inauspicious place — the Champions Park dog run — was actually part of a lofty nineteenth century vision of a genteel Louisville lifestyle, made possible by pumped household water: “The grounds will furnish our citizens with a delightful place of public resort where the man of business can find recreation from toil and oblivion of care, women and children obtain unrestricted exercise and amusement in the open air and the infirm consult heaven’s pure atmosphere and the genial sunlight as their medical advisors.” That’s from around 1860, when the Louisville Water Company began pumping water. And it’s a description of the park around the stone circle. Louisville Water spokeswoman Kelley Dearing Smith said she believes it was written by Charles Hermony, the company’s chief engineer and superintendent. In 1860, the water company’s major infrastructure was all located near the intersection of Zorn Avenue and River Road. There was the water tower and pump station; those are still standing. There was the city’s original reservoir, which was on a bluff where the Veterans’ Hospital is located today. And across the street, at the current site of the Champions Park dog run, was Water Works Park. A central attraction of the park was this fountain. And in 1860, it was an engineering marvel. “So what they did is, they took the pressure that was coming off of the water in the reservoir — because it's on a bluff right behind us,” Dearing Smith said. “And that pressure helped the water to shoot up into the air from the fountain.” Unfortunately, Hermony’s vision was never really fully realized. Dearing Smith said the park was damaged shortly after it was built, by soldiers walking through on their way to fight in the Civil War. There were also possibly some other problems with upkeep, and with the park not being the attraction it was expected to be. By 1879, Louisville Water had built its current Crescent Hill reservoir, and the original reservoir wasn’t needed. That stone circle is what’s still visible of the fountain. If you go into the dog park today, it’s hard to miss: it’s the site where all the little plastic wading pools are gathered, to help small dogs cool off in the summer. And Jim Turner wasn’t the only person to wonder about it. We’ve gotten a few questions at Curious Louisville, and Dearing Smith has fielded some at Louisville Water, too. Sometime this spring, Louisville Water and Metro Parks plan to put a sign at the site, so everyone who comes to the Champions Park dog run will know the history of Water Works Park. Have a question of your own? Ask it at CuriousLouisville.org.

Welcome to the podcast of AJPH. In this issue of AJPH I have three guests (Carolyn Brooks, Anisha Patel, and Kelley Dearing-Smith) to discuss a massive public health problem which is rarely mentioned and probably underestimated: unequal access to water in the United States.

Led by historian Rick Bell, author of "The Great Flood of 1937," this panel discussion also features Keith Runyon, Courier-Journal editor, discussing the role of the local media; Kelley Dearing-Smith of Louisville Water and Jay Ferguson, historian, sharing the story of how a group of men fired up the old steam engines to provide the city with drinking water; and LFPL's Kentucky History Librarian Joe Hardesty, talking about how to research information on the Great Flood at the Louisville Free Public Library.

Led by historian Rick Bell, author of "The Great Flood of 1937," this panel discussion also features Keith Runyon, Courier-Journal editor, discussing the role of the local media; Kelley Dearing-Smith of Louisville Water and Jay Ferguson, historian, sharing the story of how a group of men fired up the old steam engines to provide the city with drinking water; and LFPL's Kentucky History Librarian Joe Hardesty, talking about how to research information on the Great Flood at the Louisville Free Public Library.