Celebrating A Legacy In the Making

During Black History Month, a few employees were featured on WHAS11’s Great Day Live show to highlight Black history and diverse programs at Louisville Water.

Vice President of Human Resources Terrence Spence, Diversity Director Cathy Scrivner, Metering Specialist Nate Frederick, and Digital Media Specialist Lauren Horton talked about Louisville Water’s role in the community and among employees.

The interview was shot inside the WaterWorks Museum at the historic Louisville Water Tower.

Spence emphasized Louisville Water’s commitment to being more than just a water utility.

“We try to be a good corporate citizen. We partner with various organizations including Jefferson County Public Schools, specifically Fairdale High School. They have a very good heavy equipment operator program that our employees participate in,” he said. “One of the things that we’ve recently started to do in the last three or four years is Flash Dads.”

One of those Flash Dads is Nate Frederick. He organized a group of employees to greet JCPS elementary students coming into school and takes great pride in representing Louisville Water in the community.

“This is a way for us to display who we are as a company,” Frederick said.

In addition to Flash Dads, Frederick is also a founding member of Louisville Water’s diversity committee: the C.O.R.E. Council.

“C.O.R.E. stands for Culture, Ownership, Respect, and Engagement. Louisville Water is a great place to work and I want to make sure it is a great place to work for everyone,” Frederick said. “I’ve worked here over 25 years and I want to leave a legacy for those coming after me.”

About 30 employees are on the council and they all come from different backgrounds and departments around the company.

Cathy Scrivner oversees the council and works to make sure employees feel welcomed, heard, supported, and valued.

“One of the things we do is train our leaders as well as employees. We teach them about psychological safety because we want every one of our employees to feel safe. From our employees on up to our CEO, we’re focused on creating a culture that’s positive and respectful,” Scrivner said.

Louisville Water embraced the history of Black employees by naming a scholarship in honor of the Thomas family—the first Black employees on the company’s payroll dating back to 1872.

Lauren Horton is the chair of the Thomas Family Scholarship which is awarded to a local high school senior via the Chestnut Street YMCA Black Achievers Program.

“Louisville Water has a legacy of being a good neighbor in the community and the Thomas Family Scholarship is an extension of that,” Horton said. “We wanted to honor the history and contribution of the Thomases by investing in the future of a promising college student.”

University of Louisville Freshman Anaya Coleman won the $15,000 scholarship in 2025. She’s an aspiring mechanical engineer.

“I plan to graduate from UofL Speed School with either a mechanical engineering degree or bioengineering degree and maybe work for the Louisville Water Company one day,” Coleman said.

Great Day Live airs weekdays at 9 a.m. on WHAS11.