Business: Bill Stambaugh

By TIM PRESTON / The Independent

ASHLAND April 24, 2008 07:04 pm

— It is nearly impossible to put a label on 33-year-old Ashland Water Plant Lab Supervisor Bill Stambaugh.
You can call him a gifted musician, an enthusiastic student of comparative religion, a loving father and a loyal Republican without quite painting a complete picture of his personality.
“I guess I might be a little bit confusing for some people to figure out,” he said while discussing politics, explaining his devotion to the Republican party, and his practice of voting for whoever he feels is the best candidate regardless of conservative or liberal tags.
Stambaugh was born in Lexington and grew up in Ashland, graduating from Paul G. Blazer High School in 1992. He grins when asked about secondary education and says, “I’ve been through every college around,” as an education, religion and music major who “eventually got a degree in environmental science.”
He was working for an explosives company and doing research for a book he is still writing about comparative religion when he began working as an apprentice at the water plant.
“At that point I had some minor plumbing experience,” he said, laughing and recalling his early duties included washing filters, filling chemical containers, monitoring computer readings, “and all the cleaning.”
He learned more about the water business and took the required tests to move up the ladder when a position opened up in the plant’s lab and his supervisor asked him to give it a try. Not long after, state officials named him to serve as lab supervisor.
Outside of the lab, music is Stambaugh’s passion. His band, VelvetSpasm, which he shares with guitarist Jon Rickman and percussionist Ben Slutz, has recorded three CDs of original material in the last year. The band will release each of the recordings, “Prairie Witch,” “Porcelain Cloud” and “Work in Progress,” during an upcoming show at Marley’s in Huntington.
As a music student, Stambaugh said he had to become familiar with every instrument, although he focused his early efforts on saxophone and piano. That all changed when he heard a performance by bass guitar virtuoso Victor Wooten one evening at the Paramount Arts Center.
“I picked up a bass and just fell in love with it,” he said, noting his previous musical training certainly gave him an edge as he practiced with the new instrument.
Stambaugh and his wife Lavenna share the responsibilities of raising their five children, Thaddeus, Autumn, Abbey, Xavier and Elisabeth. He is quick to say family members in the area have played a crucial role in allowing him to juggle the duties of a dad who is also a working musician.
One of the things he most appreciates about life in the Ashland area, Stambaugh said, is the “hub” location allowing relatively easy access to other metropolitan areas.
“It is centralized. Playing music, Ashland allows for easy travel and I have family around. Naturally, family helping out was a big factor for living here,” Stambaugh said. “With music, living in Ashland puts me within a day of most east coast gigs.”
“And, the low crime rate is also why I wanted to raise my kids here,” he added.
Stambaugh says his work for the city of Ashland is also a rewarding environment.
“It is very family oriented at the water plant. I know it is not like that in all city departments. But, where I’m at we do anything we can for each other. For example, if someone has a sick child or something, we will cover each other’s jobs and make sure everything gets done.”
To improve local life, Stambaugh said he would like to see an increased focus on the creative talent abundant in the region.
“We’ve got a great arts scene. I know there is a huge scene underground and I would like to see some of that eccentricity float to the surface. I would like to see and hear some of the more unusual things in music and art showcased along with traditional country and Appalachian arts,” he said. “We have some brilliant minds in this area and I would like to see something happen to bring out the possibilities and potential of that.”
Pondering the economic side of the region, Stambaugh said he believes the area could benefit from local government working toward sustainable industry which could draw upon the wealth of available workers in the surrounding area. A large recycling plant, for example, could be “an industry that’s going to be for the future if we could be forward thinking and bring that in now.”
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.

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