Attention Investors:
Steve Trager to be honored with Greater Louisville Inc.’s Gold Cup Award
Louisville, Ky. (February 19, 2026) – Greater Louisville Inc. will present its most prestigious award, the Gold Cup, to local leader, Steve Trager. The Gold Cup is awarded periodically to recognize extraordinary individuals who represent lifetime leadership in making the Louisville area a better place to live and work.
Among his many leadership roles and recognitions, Trager serves as Executive Chair of Republic Bank and Republic Bancorp. With a career spanning more than three decades in financial services, he has been critical in guiding the bank’s regional growth. Trager remains deeply involved in the successful operation and management of Republic’s forty-seven banking centers across Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. 
“The Gold Cup celebrates leaders whose vision and dedication strengthen our community and elevate those around them,” said Lance Mann, GLI’s interim president and CEO. “Steve embodies what this award stands for. He is constantly working behind the scenes to help Greater Louisville and the organizations that make our region thrive, and it is a privilege to recognize him with this honor.”
Trager is a former chairman of the Kentucky Bankers Association, the University of Louisville Board of Overseers, Leadership Kentucky, and the 2016 Fund for the Arts Campaign. He also served on the boards of Bellarmine University, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Louisville Branch, and the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. He currently serves on the University of Louisville President’s Council and Board of Advisors, as well as the Board of Directors for the Louisville Economic Development Alliance.
“Steve Trager’s thoughtful and direct commitment to the community touches every part of Louisville. Through his many years of leading Republic Bank, as well as with his transformative philanthropy with the Trager Family Foundation, Steve exemplifies the core pillars of community service, philanthropy, and servant leadership that the Gold Cup Award recognizes. It’s been an honor to work with Steve on countless community initiatives, and his many contributions to build a better Louisville serves as an ongoing inspiration to us all,” said Sandra Frazier, founding and managing member of Tandem Public Relations and 2023 recipient of the Gold Cup Award.
Created in 1969, GLI’s Gold Cup is the organization’s most prestigious award and has only been bestowed 26 times. The Gold Cup is not automatically presented each year but is awarded periodically in recognition of truly extraordinary contributions. Previous Gold Cup recipients provide guidance throughout the selection process and must unanimously confirm a nomination. The most recent winners of the Gold Cup include Michael Mountjoy, Frazier, Alice and Wade Houston, Bill Samuels, and Junior Bridgeman.
“Recognition as a Gold Cup recipient is an honor given those who have come before me and a reflection of the incredible support system I have both professionally through my colleagues at Republic Bank that have created much success and my family with a legacy of caring for each other and the community,” said Trager.
This year’s Gold Cup will be formally presented to Trager at GLI’s Annual Meeting presented by Baird on March 18. This event is one of the region’s largest annual gatherings of businesses. In addition to the Gold Cup Award, three organizations will be presented with GLI’s Silver Fleur-De-Lis award, and the event will be keynoted by Chris Ratterman, Founder and CEO of Shady Rays, Dan Ratterman, COO of Shady Rays, and Russell F. Cox, President and CEO of Norton Healthcare.
More information about the event and a link to purchase tickets is available here.