Press

And your Rotary Club of Lexington was there.  After ten years of planning, fundraising – to the tune of $45 million – and construction, Gatton Park at THE Town Branch opened to the public this  Saturday, August 23.  Recall that our Club has played an important part in making this generational event happen through A five-year commitment to contribute $100.000 for the landscaping at the Adventure Playground.  In addition to a restored Town Branch Creek, a founding but formerly buried feature of Lexington, the park includes the aforementioned play area, public art, a dog park, and an amphitheater for outdoor concerts.  [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington presented a $25,000 check to Baby Health Services, which was the featured beneficiary of the 2025 Dancing with the Lexington Stars fundraiser. The presentation took place during the Club’s August 8th weekly meeting and recognized the impact of this year’s event, which raised critical funds to support free healthcare for uninsured children across Central Kentucky.   Accepting the check for Baby Health are  Mette Daily and Ann- Phillips Mayfield with Dancing with the Lexington Stars co-chairs Kim Johnson and Bret Anderson.  Photo by Jaron Johns 

RYLA MARKS A DECADE OF INSPIRING FUTURE LEADERS RYLA is one of the most important annual programs that takes place within District 6740.  While it took place in April and is only being reported on now is only a function of available space]. On Saturday, April 26, the District 6740 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) 2025 program took place at the Life Adventure Center in Versailles. This milestone event marked the ninth RYLA program sponsored by District 6740 and orchestrated by the Rotary Club of Lexington since 2015. Rotary Clubs from Morehead, Pikeville, Richmond, and Lexington supported 8th graders in experiencing [...]

June 20 - Rotarians Gather to Learn About Food Insecurity  The issue of food insecurity in Lexington has been on our Club’s radar screen for some time and has been identified as a possible subject of our next transformative mission.  To learn more about the issues, last Thursday, fifty Rotarians and guests heard from God’s Pantry CEO and Rotarian Mike Halligan and his team in a gathering at the God’s Pantry operations center. Also, we had a report from Harry Richart, chair of our Club’s Food Security Committee on our own Food for Families effort.   Rotary’s efforts were acknowledged by God’s [...]

ROTARIANS SHOW UP FOR SCOUTING AMERICA AND CAMP MCKEE! On June 26, 2025, members of The Rotary Club of Lexington Scout Committee attended the Dinner Meeting of the Blue Grass Council-Scouting America Board in Keeneland Hall (old dining hall) at McKee Scout Reservation during summer camp to see the Scouts in action using the camp facilities. Camp McKee is another landmark of which our club can be proud. It has served thousands of youths and changed lives for over sixty-five years. Proceeds from the sale of our Camp Offutt were used to develop Camp McKee, and Rotary President W.T. Bishop led [...]

The men and women of our armed forces have certainly been in the news and on our minds recently.  As we have been doing for some time now, the Rotary of Lexington spent the evening of June 18th helping Military Missions provide aid and comfort to our military folks stationed around the globe. Approximately 20 Rotarians, family, and friends gathered at Military Missions to pack goodie bags for deployed military service members at Military Missions!  MILITARY MISSIONS                                                  [...]

AN ANNUAL TRADITION: THE ROTARY PAST PRESIDENT’S DINNER The club held its annual Past President’s Dinner, Tuesday, June 3, at The Lexington Club. As is customary, the immediate past president “hosts” and all past presidents of the Rotary Club of Lexington, and members who served that role at other Rotary clubs are invited. This year, Kim Johnson presided and engaged all past presidents by asking each what their high, low, and surprise while they were in office. It was wonderful to hear from twenty-one past presidents as they did a quick review of their year. It was remarkable to hear of [...]

Rotarian Scott Neal, Chair, Scholarship Committee, introduced three very deserving students who received the 2025 scholarships.       While all three of this year’s award recipients excelled in multiple ways, the Committee focused heavily on applicants’ essay answers to two questions:  why does the candidate deserve the award and why will this award help them afford their continuing education.  We think you will agree the Committee chose well.  Cerise Archer is a recent graduate of Lafayette High School in the Pre Engineering Program and a SCAPA Theatre Performance major. She was a member of the National Honor Society, Science National Honors [...]

The Rotary Club of Lexington was honored as a 2025 Hometown Host for bringing the Rotary Large Club Conference to Lexington in the fall of 2026."Hometown Hosts helped attract many meetings that otherwise might not have been located in Lexington,"VisitLEX President Mary Quinn Ramer said. "They serve a significant role--not only in tourism and conventions but also in exposing so many visitors to the tremendous attractions that Lexington has to offer."Past President Gerry van der Meer, head of hospitality and hotel logistics for the Rotary Large Club Conference 2026, accepted the award at the Lexington Hospitality Awards event. More about the [...]

Travel the world without leaving Lexington! Join us for Around the World on Wednesday, June 11 from 6:00–8:00 PM at The Signature Club of Lansdowne. Enjoy an evening of international flavors, cultural performances, and community spirit—all to support Rotary’s local and global service work. The Rotary Club of Lexington is part of Rotary International. To highlight our international community connection, we're hosting an event for Lexington to experience food and cultures from around the globe. 🎟️ Get your tickets now: https://atwdinner2025.givesmart.com