Rotary Program: 10/22/03

Program Chairperson: Jerry Kanney

Speaker: Charlie Owen, Candidate for Lt. Governor.

Charlie Owen was born in Louisville and was reared in Lexington, the son of Dr. James F. Owen, who practiced dentistry for 34 years. It was his father, Charlie says, that instilled in him the desire to give back to the community in public service and to be thankful for those who had helped him in life. For many years in the 1950's and 60's, his dad would sponsor dentists in trailers coming to many parts of the state to practice dentistry for indigent children. He, himself, gave two days of every week treating patients for free. Charlie obtained a scholarship to attend Princeton University from which he received his Bachelors Degree in 1960 and went on to get his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1963. He was a law clerk in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia from 1964 - 67, where he tried hundreds of criminal cases. He made his first foray into public life in Kentucky when he was appointed Executive Director of the Kentucky Crime Commission, a position he would hold during the administration of Governors Breathitt, Nunn, and Ford from 1967 until 1974. During this time, Charlie also served two terms as chair of the National Conference of State Crime Commission Directors. From 1974 until the present, he has been a successful businessman and attorney, who has tried hundreds of civil and criminal cases. He has also represented many Fortune 500 companies as a corporate attorney and served as managing partner or president of several corporations developing and operating cable television systems, employing thousands of people. Charlie now lives in Louisville with his wife Joanne and his step-daughter, Clay McClure. He serves as a member of the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education and the Strategic Council on Post-Secondary Education (SCOPE). He is a Board Member of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars and Board Member and President of the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association. He considers himself, he says, as a fiscally conservative and wants an opportunity to bring jobs and a better business climate to Kentucky. To do this, he says, he would like to see legislation passed that would keep our state’s cheap electricity rates out of deregulation so that we can continue to attract industry and business ventures which will provide hundreds or thousands of new jobs for the people of Kentucky. Secondly, he would like to get a bill passed that would allow Kentuckians to enjoy lower costs for medicinal drugs imported from Canada at a fraction of what they are presently paying. Finally, Charlie said he would try to see that monies allocated for public schools in Kentucky would not be taken away to support a voucher system for children to attend private or parochial schools. These and other issues are important in the upcoming election and Charlie says that he and Ben Chandler are the candidates that will keep Kentucky strong financially and politically into the next four years. After fielding questions for a few minutes on subjects like health care and malpractice insurance, Charlie bid the club a fond farewell and vowed that when elected, he and Governor Chandler would not forget Pikeville and Pike County. Submitted by J. Morgan Chapman.