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The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, September 1, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program featured Michael G. Adams, Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Kentucky. If you would like the Zoom link contact the Rotary office, trafton@rotarylexky.org. A June story from NBC News reported that a voting rights group planned to launch an “eight-figure” media campaign in support of a particular political party’s candidates for the Office of Secretary of State in five states (Kentucky is not one of them).  Regardless of party affiliation, one might wonder why this historically important but innocuous elected position [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, August 25, at The Carrick House, 312 N. Limestone, and on Zoom. The program featured Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Dean, College of Education, University of Kentucky. To join by zoom please requst link from the Rotary office, jenny@rotarylexky.org. Dean Julian Vasquez Heilig leads nearly 3,000 students, staff and faculty as the Dean of the University of Kentucky College of Education. While at UK, the College of Education achieved its highest ever U.S. News national rankings, implemented successful enrollment and diversity initiatives and co-created strategic planning for COVID-19. His research and practice [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington will hold its weekly meeting Thursday, August 18, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program will  feature  Tina Bryson, Assistant Communications Director, Christian Appalachian Project. To join by zoom please requst link from the Rotary office, trafton@rotarylexky.org. Tina Bryson is the assistant communications director for Christian Appalachian Project, the largest human services organization exclusively serving Appalachia. In this role, she also serves as editor-in-chief of CAP’s magazine, The Mountain Spirit. Tina is native of North Carolina and moved with her family to Kentucky when her husband accepted a position with the University of [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, August 11, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program  featured Melisse Brunet, Music Director, Lexington Philharmonic. If you would like the Zoom link contact the Rotary office, trafton@rotarylexky.org. In July of this year, Mélisse Brunet was named as the Music Director of the Lexington Philharmonic (LexPhil), becoming the first woman to hold the position.  Her selection was the culmination of a national three-year search that was interrupted by the pandemic.  She officially assumes the role of Music Director during the 2022-23 season, with an initial term of five [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, August 4, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program  featured  Susan Douglas, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Kentucky's Wilderness Road. With more than twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership and development, Susan Douglas is a lifelong advocate for vital nonprofit causes. As Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road, Susan leads the premier leadership opportunity for female ambition in Kentucky, serving over 8,000 girl members across 67 counties. She is responsible for ensuring membership growth and sustainability and creating experiential leadership opportunities for [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, July 28, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program featured Dan Patrick, environmental/biology teacher, Ret. To attend via Zoom  please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org.      Last Thursday, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added the migrating monarch butterfly to its endangered species list.  Why that matters and what you can do about it are questions to which our speaker this week, Dan Patrick, will provide some answers. Dan grew up on farms in Fayette and Bourbon County, where his fascination with insects and other wild creatures started [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, July 21, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program featured Melissa Coulston, co-sponsor developer, Refugee Ministries. To attend via Zoom  please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org. Melissa Coulston joined Kentucky Refugee Ministries as Co-sponsor Developer in February 2022, where she works to engage groups and organizations to support KRM's clients and mission. Prior to joining KRM, Melissa worked with Episcopal Migration Ministries in event planning and program development and worked as a librarian at the Kentucky State Archives and the Jessamine County Public Library. A graduate of the University of Kentucky [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington will hold its weekly meeting Thursday, July 14, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program will  feature the installation of officers, directors and Presdient Winn Stephens' vision for 2022-2023 for  Rotary Club of Lexington. To attend via Zoom  please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org. Winn is originally from Princeton, Kentucky. His parents were both teachers. His father was a middle and high school band director and his mother was the guidance counselor and taught home economics. Growing up he played trumpet in the band, was captain of the golf team (although he notes his skills have [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington  held its weekly meeting Thursday, June 30, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program  featured  Bill Wilson, President, Rotary Club of Lexington. To attend via Zoom  please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org.   President’s Day was an opportunity for outgoing Club President Bill Wilson to reflect on his tenure and for him to recognize Rotarians deserving of accolades.  Bill reminded everyone that his theme for the year was “Let’s Stay Connected,” with One Another, Our Communities, and the Global Community. Accomplishments under One Another included three social events—Keeneland outing, Equus Run concert, and a new member [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington  will hold its weekly meeting Thursday, June 23, at The Mane on Main and on Zoom. The program will feature Jerry Tipton, sportswriter, Lexington Herald Leader. To attend via Zoom  please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org. In Sunday’s Lexington Herald-Leader, sportswriter John Clay voiced the unthinkable:  the Big Blue Nation might be showing more interest in the upcoming UK football season than in UK’s basketball season.  Can that possibly be true? Who better to address that question and reflect on his forty-plus years covering UK sports than this week’s speaker and Clay’s colleague at the Herald-Leader, sportswriter Jerry Tipton? [...]