Susan Ybarzabal, Senior Vice President and Director of Wealth Services at Paducah Bank, has been elected to serve as the 2025 Chair of the Board for the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce. Katie Englert, who was Chair in 2024, and owner of Compass Counseling and Chicken Salad Chick, will serve as Immediate Past Chair. Kenny Boyd, President of Baptist Health Paducah, has been elected as Chair-elect.       

 A Paducah native, Ybarzabal has been a committed member of the Paducah community and has played an influential role in local business and civic organizations for 25 years. She has been active with the Paducah Chamber for many years, having served as Vice Chair of Membership and Marketing, participated in Leadership Paducah Class #14, and volunteered for the Chamber’s membership campaign. She is also the Treasurer of the Paducah Junior College Foundation and an associate advisor for The Charity League of Paducah. Ybarzabal is an alumna of Louisiana State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree.

In addition to Ybarzabal, Englert, and Boyd, other members of the Chamber’s 2025 Executive Committee

include: Todd Buchanan, GEO Consultants, Vice Chair; Whitney Denson, McMurry & Livingston, Vice Chair of Business Advocacy; Jessica Newman, Advantage Insurance Services, Vice Chair of Membership and Marketing; Dr. Donald Shively, Vice Chair of Education and Workforce; Ines Rivas-Hutchins, INTEC Group, Vice Chair of Small Business; Mike Karnes, Williams, Williams & Lentz, Treasurer; and Sandra Wilson, President/CEO, Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce. 

New Board members joining in 2025 are: Johnny Blazina, West Kentucky Media Group; Rick Goins, Mercy Health – Lourdes; John Hodges, Joint Sewer Agency; Lisa Lauck, Lauck Marketing; Chris Miller, CSI; Jason Nyberg, Marquette Transportation; and Kevin Peck, PFGW.   

Continuing Board members are: Tammy Courtney, Swift & Staley; Lonnie Crowdus, Crowdus Maintenance & Cleaning; Greg Grissom, representing Paducah Economic Development; Kevin Kauffeld, Independence Bank; Kevin McEwan, P&L Railway; Jeff Pierce, Atomic City Family Fun Center; Rachel Rayburn, Ingram Barge; Myrna Redfield, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership; Dennis Rouleau, Barkley Regional Airport; Jody Stivers, Risk Strategies/HollandStivers; and Mark Workman, BFW Engineering.

Ex-officio Board members are: Paducah Mayor George Bray; McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Clymer; Bruce Wilcox, Greater Paducah Economic Development; Dr. Donald Shively, Paducah Independent Schools; Josh Hunt, McCracken County Schools; Dr. Anton Reece, West Kentucky Community and Technical College; Karami Underwood, Murray State University – Paducah campus; Steve Christmas, Leadership Paducah Alumni Association; Ellie Short, Paducah Young Professionals; Cory Hicks, Paducah Chamber Leadership Center; J.W. Cleary, Paducah-McCracken County NAACP; Alyssa Phares, Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau; Betsy Burkeen, United Way of Western Kentucky; and Dr. Charles Lu, UK College of Engineering – Paducah campus.