Congrats to Member Selina Pyle

Our very own Selina Pyle was recognized at the 35th Annual Pennyroyal Hospice Dinner as the Employee of the year. She joined Kiwanis in 2011 and since then has been a quite force behind the scene.  It's the same perspective she takes on at her job.  Selina currently services as our Sponsored Youth Committee Co-Chair and has previously served as the Public Relations Committee Chair and on the Board of Directors. We appreciate everything Selina does for the club and our community and know that Pennyroyal Hospice does as well, especially since they chose to honor her this year.

BIG News This Week!!

The Kiwanis Club of Hopkinsville was honored this month as Blue members of the Today Club.

There is no other way to give to so many areas—to touch the lives of so many children and communities—and in so many different ways than by giving a Gift of Today. Gifts of Today come to the Kiwanis Children's Fund from individuals, clubs and other entities. 

Along with all the dollars kept locally, the Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club donated $10 per member to the Today Club to help with international efforts.

 

National Day of Prayer

This week we celebrated the 66th Annual National Day of Prayer with Oak Grove Pastor Kyle Shearin.  He shared the parable of the Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well encouraging us to continue our selfless service to the children of our community.  Shearin is the head pastor at Faith Family Church, which is growing and has a need for additional services to be added later this year.  He and his wife, along with their two sons, joined us for lunch.

April: Wow it's over already

We spent the month of April at the First Presbyterian Church on East 9th Street and we want to offer a huge thank you to them for opening their doors to us. It's been a crazy busy month as the 12th Annual Soapbox Derby preparations got into full swing, but we also took time to hear from several community groups, so here's a recap...

On April 6, we learned about all that goes into making moonshine and all the added taxes paid into our community because of the businesses (two schools and two fire departments see additional monies). Peg Hays extended an invitation to the club to visit Casey Jones Distillery anytime!

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On April 13, the Club honored Willie Renshaw with the Bill Schmidt Spirit of Kiwanis Award. He is one of only a handful to be given the honor.

We also heard from Alpha Alternative Pregnancy Care Center Executive Director Amanda Westerfield. The organization recently launched its mobile ultrasound unit and hosted its annual dinner May 1, raising $111,729.

And we presented the Hopkinsville High School Key Club with two checks for their help at the pancake breakfast and to help with the recharter of the club.

On April 20, Sanctuary Inc Executive Director Marion Brown spoke with us about the services they provide on a daily basis and encouraged our members to participate in the Annual International Denim Day April 26. Sanctuary is one of the non-profit organizations the Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club supports.

On April 27, we heard about the good work going on at the Aaron McNeil House.  Tamara Watts-Standard and Makayla Houchens said 27 tons of food were handed out last year to people in the community through one of their programs. 

 

That's not to mention the Soapbox Derby training that took place April 8, Car Assignment day April 15 and the first Build Clinic April 22.

STEM is important

Patriot Chevrolet Buick GMC presented the Hopkinsville Soapbox Derby with a check today for their Derby Sponsorship! We greatly appreciate the Renshaw Automotive Group and all they continue to do to grow our derby.

Also, Stuart Zieman joined us from Hopkinsville Community College Workforce Solutions to talked about the KY FAME Program. It is good to know there are programs out there encouraging college and providing jobs at the same time!

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math -- or STEM -- tie the Soapbox Derby and the KY FAME program together. Maybe some of our racers will one day participate in FAME.

Supporting Kids

March 23, we donated funding to the Trilogy Center for Women.  Executive Director, Holly Perez-Knight was our guest speaker and shared about the services being offered in our community to women who suffer from addiction, homelessness, and chronic incarceration due to substance abuse.  Their goal is to help these women back onto their feet and when possible reunite them with their children.

 

We also presented a check to the Hopkinsville Community College Build Smart Project.  Kiwanian and HCC Foundation Board Member, Eston Glover accepted the $1,000 check on behalf of the project.  The College is working to construct an Emerging Technologies Building, where new programs will be offered.  This is a great opportunity to help children become great citizens by providing them a space to receive an education.

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Youth Art Month Sponsorship

For many years, the Kiwanis Club has been sponsoring the Youth Art Month exhibit at the Hopkinsville Community College Auditorium Hall.  Each year the art gets better and better.  Click through the gallery to see pictures from the reception held Thursday, March 9, 2017.  Also check out the art for yourself.  It is up through the end of March.

2016: A Busy Year

2016 was full of ups and downs in the local area.  Here's a look at the good and the bad our community went through