TL;DR Come at 11:30 am for lunch on Thursdays, and learn about: Grants (April 24) and Rotary Youth Exchange (May 15)

You may recognize our new District 6710 Assistant Governor for Area 9: Rick Harned

Rick was planning to begin his term in July, but has agreed to step in a little early to allow the current AG to focus on his health. Assistant Governors serve as a liaison to the District for the clubs in their area and as an additional resource and connector for those clubs. 

One of the topics that Rick and I discussed on our shared ride back from the President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) in Chattanooga last month was the wealth of knowledge and perspective that some of our longer-term members have. We tossed around some ideas about how to make that information available to members who might have an interest in a specific area, but aren't sure who or even what to ask. We decided to try something new and see how it works.

Rick will host a table at some of our upcoming regular meetings for members who want to learn about that week's topic. Just show up around 11:30 when the buffet opens, grab your meal, and go sit with Rick. You'll get a better parking space, less of a line, and some useful knowledge!

The first opportunity will be Thursday, April 24th, and the topic will be focused on Grants. This won't be a training session, but just a casual conversation while you eat about how grants work in our local club, our district and globally; who can apply; what types of grants are likely to be approved, how they are funded, etc. It will last about 15-20 minutes, until our meeting begins. 

We'll do it again on Thursday, May 15th, discussing the Rotary Youth Exchange program: short-term and long-term exchanges, inbound and outbound programs, who is eligible, host family responsibilities, etc.

No need to RSVP or sign up...just set an alarm on your phone to leave a little early for Rotary. If you are interested in a topic but can't make the meeting that day, just let us know.

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We began our annual Middle School Literacy Service Project at the West End School last Tuesday, reading Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary (books are provided) with a class of 8th grade boys. Thanks to Rick & Mary Ellen Harned, Jean West, Bob Nesmith, Rensha Allen, Mike Brumleve, and Delene Taylor for joining us.

Our scholars kicked off our time by saying their creed. Delene said it gave her chills! You can see students reciting the creed and hear from one of the 8th graders that read with us - Noah Hunter - in this WLKY story. Included in the story is an interview with Head of School and Rotary Club member Dr. Greg Ross. Click Read More below to see the names of the students and where they plan to attend high school.

Did you know that the WES Library was named after Mike's dad, Ben Brumleve, who served on the Board of the school and was a member of our Rotary Club for many years?

I am very proud to serve on the board and encourage more folks to get involved. In addition to volunteer hours, we support the school with a grant, which our District 6710 matches!

We will meet the next few Tuesdays from 9:50-10:35 am; email me at [email protected] or call 502-262-2792 to sign up.

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Our next meal service will be this Wednesday, April 23rd at 5:30 p.m. at 757 S Brook St. We need a couple more volunteers, so please let Larry Sloan ([email protected] or 502-552-3990) know if you can help.



Thanks to our volunteers who came out to serve and fellowship with the men in the addiction recovery program at Re:Center Ministries in February and March!
 

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Please join us Tuesday, May 20th, from 5:30-7:30 pm at Independence Bank for our 3rd Annual Rotary Business Synergy networking event in collaboration with Canopy and the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL). Thank you to Louis Straub and his team for hosting us again!

You can RSVP HERE.

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We don't yet know the address, but our project is usually a yard clean-up and/or painting for a senior homeowner, or maybe a wheelchair ramp that needs sealing or staining. Please plan to dress for this type of work. NDHC/Repair Affair will provide all needed equipment, work gloves, water and a box lunch. We will meet at the site at 8:00 a.m., work until noon, have lunch and then clean up the site with the intent of being finished around 1:00 or 1:30. Each volunteer will receive a Repair Affair t-shirt.

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Craig Scherman will host his annual party for members and their guests at his beautiful home in Anchorage (1208 Evergreen Rd) on Sunday, June 8th, from 4:00-7:30pm. Come enjoy dinner, an open bar, live music, beautiful views, great conversation and a whole lotta fun! Watch for the RSVP link soon.


 

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It is that time again when Honor Flight Bluegrass needs your help. There will be 84 veterans flying to DC on May 13th. Just like back in the day when they were serving, "mail call" is one of their absolute favorite parts of the day...and your words of gratitude are everlasting for them!

Cards/letters must be received by Tuesday, April 29:
Honored Veteran
c/o Greg Dillon
806 Cannons Ln
Louisville KY 40207

You are welcome to take to a meeting and give them to Delene or Tracy if you prefer.

We will need volunteers for the ground crew as well as people to cheer for our veterans at the airport as they return home from their day in Washington DC. Click Read More below for more info.

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During Mayor Greenberg’s State of the City address to Rotary on January 30th, he mentioned the new partnership between Rotary and Brightside to help make Louisville cleaner and safer. The goal of the partnership is to have at least 25 Rotarians serve as a Team Lead to create a cleanup event around their business or in an area with a litter problem. 

Brightside will provide trash bags and gloves for your cleanup event and coordinate pickup of the filled bags after your event with the Clean Collaborative. While Brightside’s Community Wide Cleanup day is scheduled on Saturday, April 19th, you are welcome to hold your cleanup event any time during the month of April.

How do you get involved?

1. Register at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/brightside/brightside-wm-community-wide-cleanup
2. Determine your cleanup area or ask Brightside to help you find an area of need
3. Recruit your coworkers, friends, and/or family members to help volunteer
4. On the day of your cleanup, remember to take a group photo so we can share and celebrate on social media

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Our next new member service project at SOS, 1500 Arlington Avenue will be Tuesday, July 22nd from 5:30-7:30pm. For those of you that have attended, feel free to come back. For those of you that have not made it, I hope you are able to, as this is a fantastic opportunity to give back and meet some of your fellow Rotarians. Come ready to have some fun, pack medical supplies, and you might even shed a tear when you learn about how this fantastic organization is changing people's lives. Learn more HERE.

Register HERE.



 

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We will be celebrating the Magic of Rotary at the Bruce Convention Center in Hopkinsville on May 16-17 for District Conference 2025! Be prepared to be inspired, entertained and motivated; click HERE for the schedule.

• Keynote Speakers: Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey's and Past Rotary International President Mark Maloney
• Entertainment: Professional magicians, live music, and basket auction Hoptown-style to raise funds for The Rotary Foundation
• Special Event: Friday evening, we will be hosted by DG Dale Leatherman's home club, the Rotary Club of Hopkinsville, at Casey Jones Distillery. The event features an outdoor barbeque, special cocktails, distillery tours, live music, and more
• Service Project: Love the Hungry - Saturday morning
• Favorites: Speech Contest and 10 dynamic breakout sessions

This one's a little different! Cheryl Kersey will be teaching workshops on Fiber Grading (May 17) and Gardening with Wool (May 18) at the Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival in Lexington!

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Congrats to Kristy Flippins Bartlett on being selected as a finalist for the Today's Woman 2025 Most Admired Woman Award in the Non-Profit Leadership category.

You can see all the finalists and vote HERE or you can go directly to her page HERE (one vote per hour per email address through noon on May 2nd). Let's show her some Rotary love!

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What: Spectacle of Excess: Wrestling As American Performance Art
Organization: Kentucky To The World
Date/Time: June 11, 5:30 pm
Location: Speed Art Museum Grant Hall, 2035 S 3rd St
Description: Step into the world of suplexes, over-the-top personas, and body-slamming storytelling at this one-of-a-kind live experience inside an actual ring, featuring WWE legend and OVW operator Al Snow in conversation with Sam Ford, board chair of Kentucky to the World and the only person to have taught a course on U.S. professional wrestling at MIT.



More information: Click HERE
Member to contact: Ken Grossman, [email protected]

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What: NEW Showcase of Entrepreneurial Women
Organization: Network of Entrepreneurial Women
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 11, 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Location: The Olmsted
Description: Join NEW as we showcase the amazing entrepreneurial women of our community with an evening of fabulous networking, entertainment, food, drinks, door prizes and presentation of the 2025 Cliff Elgin Award. We will spotlight some young entrepreneurs as well. See photos from last year's event HERE.



More information: Click HERE
Member to contact: Cliff Elgin or Marisa Neal

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