Limos, Lobbyists, and Liquor Barn: Inside VisitLex’s $814,000 Credit Card Binge

LEXINGTON, Ky. — VisitLex, Lexington’s publicly funded convention and visitors bureau, ran up roughly $25,000 in limousine charges over six months. It routed $40,000 in lobbying fees through an employee credit card. It dropped $2,466 at Liquor Barn in a single visit and hired an out-of-state wardrobe stylist for nearly $2,000 — all with money derived from hotel tax revenues.

Credit card records obtained by the Lexington Times through an open records request show that VisitLex charged more than $814,000 to employee credit cards over just six months — from May through October 2024. The 26 weekly Emburse card statements represent only a partial release; the bureau has requested an additional 30 business days — roughly six weeks — to produce the remainder of the responsive records. What has already been turned over paints a picture of an organization spending public money with a freedom that few government entities would tolerate.

$25,000 in Limo Service

Deputy Director Marci Krueger’s credit card tells a striking story. Gold Shield Transportation, a luxury car service operating in Lexington, billed her card an estimated $25,000 over the six months. A recurring fare of $73.92 appears dozens of times, interspersed with larger amounts exceeding $1,000 some weeks. The charges spiked during the Keeneland fall meet and the bureau’s October “Fall FAM” event, suggesting Krueger’s card served as the house account for chauffeuring visiting industry contacts as well as staff. In a single week in October, more than 20 Gold Shield charges appeared on her card alone.

Gold Shield is also listed on VisitLex’s own website as a recommended transportation provider — meaning the bureau is simultaneously promoting the company to tourists and paying it tens of thousands in taxpayer-derived funds for car service.

Steaks, Spirits, and a Personal Stylist

In October, VisitLex hosted what it called the “2024 Fall FAM” — a familiarization trip for travel industry contacts. The event generated two separate $5,000 charges at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse: one on Krueger’s card, another on employee Jenna Erickson’s. Eleven VisitLex staff members attended. VisitLex redacted the names of every guest at the dinner. One of the $5,000 charges was later refunded.

In August, Patricia J. Knight, VisitLex’s chief operating officer, charged $2,466 at the Liquor Barn on Chevy Chase Road, with another $379 at the same store in October. The statements provide no explanation for the purchases.

Perhaps more curious: a $1,910 charge on Knight’s card to “Kathy Friend — WAR.” A web search reveals Kathy Friend is a professional wardrobe stylist and image consultant based in Indianapolis who serves clients across the Midwest, offering executive styling, personal shopping, and “image readiness” workshops. VisitLex, it appears, used public funds to pay for a personal image consultation.

Lobbying by Credit Card

Knight’s card was also the sole vehicle for payments to McBrayer McGinnis Leslie — the Frankfort lobbying firm that represents VisitLex before the Kentucky General Assembly. Those charges totaled approximately $40,000 over the six months, appearing as recurring “Monthly Payments.” The lobbying arrangement, which the Times has previously reported involves a $60,000 annual retainer and at least seven registered lobbyists through the firm’s affiliate MML&K, raises the question of why public lobbying expenditures are being routed through an employee credit card rather than standard invoicing.

Vegas, London, and the Travel Circuit

Employee Lara Justice’s card showed charges at the Paris Las Vegas Casino hotel for two consecutive weeks in May, along with dining at Tao Asian Bistro and Water Grill on the Las Vegas Strip. In October, employees John Pohl and Stephen Barnett charged hotel rooms and dining in Las Vegas, including the House of Blues and multiple restaurants. Martina Barksdale’s card carried a $2,023 stay at the Omni Los Angeles, with dining at Palihouse West Hollywood. In late October, CEO Mary Quinn Ramer was in London, where her card recorded taxi fares and a fish-and-chips restaurant expense.

The statements document a steady cadence of multi-employee travel throughout the period. In May, five VisitLex employees checked into the Marriott Louisville Downtown for a single night, running up $4,310 in hotel charges, followed by a $693 dinner at Sarino, an upscale Italian restaurant, on Krueger’s card. In July, four or more employees traveled to Tampa ($5,484 in hotel bills). A Columbus trip in August put four-plus employees in the Hyatt Regency ($3,821), with a $1,667 dinner at Luca Italian Cuisine. Other documented trips include Milwaukee, Nashville, Cleveland, San Antonio, New York, and Monterey Bay, California.

One Card, Half a Million Dollars

The vast majority of spending — an estimated $500,000 or more of the $814,000 total — flowed through a single card belonging to Knight, the COO. Her card carried nearly all of the bureau’s largest vendor payments, the lobbying charges, and recurring payments to parking companies, data subscriptions, and printing vendors.

The largest vendor payments on Knight’s card went to companies in the meetings and trade-show industry. Connect Meetings, a conference and events company, received three payments of $40,000 each — totaling $120,000 over three consecutive weeks in May and June. Nimlok Kentucky, a trade show display builder that features VisitLex as a case study on its own website, received more than $114,000, including a single charge of $49,434 in October. According to Nimlok’s website, the company built VisitLex multiple custom exhibit booths, including a 20×20 display with bourbon barrel tabletops and a southern-style picture frame. Bandwango, a Utah-based mobile pass platform used by tourism bureaus nationwide, received approximately $33,500. LamontCo, a Texas-based event management company, was paid $2,950.

These vendors are standard players in the tourism promotion industry. But the concentration of more than half a million dollars on a single employee’s card, without apparent oversight structures visible in the statements, is itself a governance question.

$150,000 in Merchandise and Swag

A significant portion of the spending went to promotional merchandise and printing. SixHorse Creative, a six-employee Lexington promotional products shop, received an estimated $50,000 in weekly recurring charges. Chicago Embroiderer collected roughly $17,000. KY For KY, a Kentucky-themed retail brand owned by 3rd District Council Candidate Griffin Van Meter, received about $15,000. Lynn Imaging, a Lexington printing company, billed Knight’s card an estimated $35,000 across dozens of charges.

More unusual: Old Kentucky Candy received approximately $20,000 in two charges of roughly $9,975 each. Rayann’s Popcorn received $1,196. Dahlhus Fudge collected $675. Crown Trophy was paid $4,350. Combined with printing, embroidery, and other vendors, total merchandise and promotional spending exceeded an estimated $150,000.

Keeneland, Parking, and Subscriptions

The Keeneland Association billed VisitLex cards an estimated $10,000 or more during the September-October fall meet, with “Keeneland Hospitality” charges appearing on cards belonging to at least seven different employees — including charges tied to the Fall FAM event.

Knight’s card also carried recurring parking charges totaling an estimated $15,000 between SP Plus Corp and Metropolis Parking, including a single week in September with $4,478 in parking fees. Monthly subscriptions included $9,000 to AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics platform; roughly $10,000 to CoStar and Apartments.com; $7,500 to Cherry Bekaert, an accounting firm; and $7,000 or more to EarthLink for internet services.

Context: Salaries, Bonuses, and a New Tax

The credit card spending comes atop what the Times has previously reported about VisitLex’s compensation practices. Records show the bureau paid $155,817 in bonuses to eight employees in fiscal year 2025, with CEO Ramer earning total compensation of $340,536 — including a $58,000 bonus — and four employees earning more than the Lexington mayor’s $132,000 salary. Total payroll exceeded $2.4 million.

VisitLex is funded primarily through Lexington’s 9.5% transient room tax and operates as a component unit of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. It is currently seeking approval for a Tourism Improvement District that would impose an additional 2% assessment on hotel rooms, projected to generate $2.1 million annually. The bureau’s stated reason for the 60-day delay in producing these credit card records was the volume of documents involved.

VisitLex Credit Card Transactions