Business Category: Manufacturing & Distributing

Goose Creek, a family-owned company, was founded by Chuck Meece in the small Kentucky town of Liberty in 1998.

He began a vending business right after graduating high school and spent years looking for a niche to further develop it. Chuck tested his hand at working for himself early in life. He found it during the late ‘90’s, as the “candle craze” was kicking off. In an effort to add to the vending business, Chuck began producing candles from his home.

But he didn’t do it alone. Chuck met his wife Tamara, in high school. Tamara knew Chuck’s desire to work for himself, so she supported his dreams of being a small business owner. While they worked side by side to pursue their hopes and dreams-a home of their own and children, Tamara dreamed of a career in teaching and went to college to earn a degree in elementary education. But as Chuck’s desire increased, Tamara realized this was a thirst that couldn’t be quenched, and the two set out together to make Chuck’s dream a reality.

The next generation of Meece entrepreneurs, siblings Micah, Jordan, and Madison are making successful strides in the industry. Goose Creek has grown into mass production facilities across the US and relies heavily on many hard-working Americans to meet the demand in more than 75 countries worldwide. At Goose Creek, quality still comes first, as each candle is made to surpass the highest industry standards.Available at thousands of independent retailers, national chain stores, and online, Goose Creek is proud to be America’s Best Candle.

Tarter Gate, founded in 1945, is still managed and owned by the Tarter family. C.V. Tarter founded the Tarter Gate Company, located in Dunnville, Kentucky in 1945. He made wooden farm gates by hand and sold them throughout the local area. He sold the business to his son and daughter-in-law, Roger and Vivian Tarter. They, along with their sons, Donald and David Tarter, expanded the business to include tubular and galvanized-steel gates along with other livestock-related products.  In 2008, the company changed its name from Tarter Gate Company to Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment.  Currently, the 4th generation of the Tarter family oversees what has become the largest manufacturer of farm gates and animal management equipment in North America.  Today Tarter has almost 1,000,000 square feet of production facilities in two Kentucky communities and a full manufacturing and distribution center in Corinne, Utah.