Guest Speakers

Each year, our Club sets aside a lunch meeting to honor the legacy of one of our own, TommyBell, and to present the Tommy Bell Award. More on Mr. Bell below. Assisting with today’s program is featured speaker Gordon Walls. Born in Campbellsville, Kentucky, Mr.Walls has been a resident of Lexington from an early age. He graduated from Tates Creek High School, where he met his future wife, Karen Rogers. Gordon attended UK and was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He has two children, Nathaniel Walls and Megan Walls Heidemann, and six grandchildren. In 1985, he became the [...]

Last year at this time we noted that the week between the close of Keeneland’s spring meet and the rapidly approaching first Saturday in May is magical in Kentucky as thoughts turn to the Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest horse race, run continuously since 1875. This year might require a new adjective, given that when the horses break from the starting gate on that first Saturday in May, it will be the 150th iteration of the Run for the Roses. That, my friends, is staying power! This week, the Rotary Club of Lexington continues its own long-standing Derby tradition by welcoming to [...]

If Kip Cornett is at the Rotary podium, you can be certain that something big is going on in Lexington. When last we saw him, it was to learn about the week-long events surrounding the 2022 Breeders' Cup held at Keeneland. That was then; this is now. In 2025, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Lexington’s founding. In September 2023, Mayor Linda Gorton announced the members of the Mayor’s 250 Lex Commission. The commission is planning an entire year’s worth of events honoring the cultural and historical significance of Lexington’s past, present, and future. Lexington was founded in 1775, one [...]

Today we welcome to the Rotary podium DeVone Holt, a multi-talented executive who combines nearly thirty years of experience as an institutional brand manager, culture creator, strategic communicator, and people convener. In 2024, Holt was named president and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center(MAC)in Louisville, Kentucky. The MAC is a 96,000-square-foot cultural center that showcases the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali, and carries forward his legacy of service to others and fighting for justice for all. Prior to joining the Muhammad Ali Center, Holt served as the Chief External Affairs Officer at Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. During his five years [...]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “public relations” as “the professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization . . ..”In this day of 24-hour news cycles and the prevalence of social media, the importance of public relations to us as Rotarians and to our Club has never been greater. Presenting to us today on “PR Lessons Learned Along the Way is Marc C. Whitt. Marc brings nearly four decades of public relations experience, having served in senior leadership and teaching roles at public and private colleges and universities across Kentucky. He currently serves as the director [...]

Last year, Gallop reported “that Americans continue to register record-low trust in the mass media, with 31% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” similar to last year’s 32%. Americans’ trust in the media--such as newspapers, television, and radio--first fell to 32% in 2016 and did so again last year. For the third consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount. Another 33% of Americans express“not very much” confidence. Today’s speaker, Rufus Friday, [...]

It is likely that every person in today’s Rotary Club meeting has been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease in one way or another. The disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and ultimately the ability to carry out the simplest of tasks, is estimated to affect more than six million Americans, most of them age 65 or older. According to the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and the most common cause of dementia among the elderly. Given this sobering reality, we are fortunate to have in our community [...]

In designating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene as one of its seven areas of focus, Rotary International was operating on a fundamental belief that “clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life.” Today’s speaker, Laura Gregory, along with the organization she represents, Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA), is clearly in line with the Rotary playbook in this regard. Gregory is the Watershed Program Director for KWA, a statewide nonprofit organization. She works with watershed stewards of all kinds across Kentucky - community volunteers, watershed/"friends of"groups, and professionals in the field - in various capacities, [...]

There is much talk these days about the “urban-rural” divide in America. The term generally refers to the social, economic, and political disparities between urban and rural areas. Joining us today is Dr. Amon Crouch who, in a presentation entitled“ThePower of Place: Partner forRural Impact’s Mission of Improving Outcomes for Rural Students”, will discuss the efforts of his organization, Partners for Rural Impact, to address some of these disparities. Dr. Couch is a first-generation college graduate and a lifelong resident of eastern Kentucky. He spent nearly three decades in public education as a teacher and administrator, most recently as principal and [...]

Today’s speaker, Demetrus Liggins, joined Fayette County Public Schools as superintendent in July of 2021. A recent contract extension ensures he will remain in that role until June 30, 2029. He began his career as a high school English and English as a Second Language teacher in Fresno, California, before moving back to Texas to serve as a dual language teacher and later an assistant principal in the Nacogdoches Independent School District. He also served as an elementary school principal in Corsicana Independent School District, a middle school principal in Lancaster Independent School District and in Mansfield Independent School District, and [...]