Congratulations to our new neighbors at the Pendleton Art Center. More than 500 people attended the Pendleton’s grand opening last Friday. On behalf of our Board Members, Associate Members, and staff, I welcome the Pendleton Art Center to Ashland’s Cultural Corridor, which also includes the Paramount Arts Center, the Ashland Area Art Gallery, the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center, and the Jesse Stuart Foundation. No town in Kentucky is better equipped for cultural tourism than Ashland.

Educational experts say that summer reading is a vital part of any child’s intellectual growth. A number of local schools, school libraries, and public libraries are sponsoring summer reading programs, but these programs cannot fully succeed without public support. Encourage your children and grandchildren to read this summer. Take them to the library. Remember to pack books, as well as toys, when you take your children on vacation. A child who can read can succeed.

In June, as part of First Friday activities, we sponsored art demonstrations by Caroline Wilson and Bill Kersey, woodcarving demonstrations by Guy Purcell and Ed Brown of the Ashland Area Woodcarvers, and a used furniture sale. Several of the furniture items did not sell. We still have some large filing cabinets, a few smaller cabinets, and many other items for office and home, including a nice cedar chest and an antique piano. We’re anxious to sell these items and make room for books which will be arriving soon, so stop by and look at our remaining used furniture during regular office hours, M-F, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

In addition to housing two bookstores, a Jesse Stuart Room, a large mail order business, a huge inventory of books, two conference rooms, and offices for our staff, the JSF provides office space for several groups that are central to the development of downtown Ashland, including Ashland Main Street and Morehead State University’s Small Business Development Center. Our building is also home to the Ashland Area Woodcarvers.

I am pleased to report that we are adding a new tenant. Sentinel Investment Advisory Services, Inc., with Leif Clarke as President and CEO, will occupy a suite of offices on the second floor. With the addition of Sentinel, our building now enjoys 100% occupancy. Leif has served as the Jesse Stuart Foundation’s Investment Counselor for many years, and I encourage our friends to visit Leif’s new offices. His telephone number remains the same (606) 325-0055.

The Jesse Stuart Foundation, located at 1645 Winchester Avenue, is an historic 30,000 square foot building in the heart of downtown Ashland. For more information, call (606)326-1667 or visit our website: JSFBOOKS.COM.