October in Review
Friday, November 2, 2018
By Eddie Grant
BBQ on The River a Sweet Success for our Club

A big thank you goes out to everyone who worked hard, (but had fun doing it,) frying up Twinkies and Oreo's to support our booth at this year's Barbecue on the River.  Our club partnered with the UK College of Engineering with an eye toward combining the proceeds with a Rotary International Grant for a project the college is working.  By the time the fryer was turned off and all of the proceeds were counted your generosity helped raise $14,377.90!   Way to go Rotarians!






Club Funds Commitment to CSP

At the October 10th Meeting WKCTC President Dr. Anton Reese along with members of the Community Scholarship Program staff, accepted a check for $20,000, fulfilling the Club's commitment to the program that ensures two free years of Community College education for qualifying students in Paducah and McCracken County.  The funds are raised from the proceeds of the Annual Rotary Antique Quilt Show that is held in conjunction with the American Quilter's Society Spring QuiltWeek.  A big thank you to all our members who work the Quilt Show!


New Rotary Playground Course no Challenge for Club Members

     On a brisk October 24th morning, about a dozen dedicated Rotarians spent their morning assembling numerous apparatus along with a team from the Paducah Parks Department, for the next phase of the Brockenborough Rotary Health Park.  The Adult Challenge Course, as it's called, features a half a dozen or so different elements designed to give older children and adults the opportunity to test their strength in different ways with these "American Ninja Warrior" style challenges.

    While assembly of this new space took considerably less time and manpower than our first playground phase, the assembly with its many ropes, hinges, springs and platforms provided its own sets of challenges.  There are a couple more features that weren't yet able to be assembled due to being on back order, but will be added soon.  Thanks again to our club members who gave not only their time and energy, along with some serious balance and elbow grease, to get this project completed.   Now you can come to the park and begin your quest to become Paducah's first Rotary Ninja Warrior!



Hurricane Michael Relief

All Club members should also be commended for their generosity in passing the buckets at two October meetings to help raise money for relief efforts in response to Hurricane Michael.  We were able to donate $1000 from our club in support of recovery efforts in Florida.  Thank you again for your service above self!



October Speakers

Daniel Jones, Owner and Pharmacist at Strawberry Hills Pharmacy, and In-Coming Chamber of Commerce President, told the Club of his path to success and his philosophy when it comes to business and life, thanks in part to a memorable assist from a clip (or 2) from the film Ocean's Eleven.

Dr. Tony Brannon, Dean of Hutson Agriculture, Murray State University helped us realize the importance of agricutlrure in our daily lives, and how Murray State University is at the forefront of many of these crops and trends including hemp production, processing, and usage.

Katie Axt, the new Executive Director at Paducah Main Street, gave the club some background on her work with riverfront development and other projects from her previous job in New York City, as well as an update on the programs and projects she is already working on here in Paducah.

Corey Hicks and Jeff Bradford with Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, gave the club an update on activities as the decommission and demolish the facilities at the former USEC plant site, as well as a briefing on the overall progress of cleanup efforts.

And there were no tricks just treats at the Oct. 31 meeting which featured our annual 4H Awards Program, complete with displays from some of the participants who told members about the projects they have been working on.












On the Rotary Horizon