Written by Renee Fister, Associate Provost, Murray State University

From the first charter bus trip on Wednesday afternoon to the class discussion on Friday, this Leadership Kentucky trip to Bowling Green and Hopkinsville gave us lots of fun twists and turns.  We started at the IMPACT Center for Leadership and Innovation, a school that intertwines leadership through Franklin Covey guidance and project-based learning. The school, scheduled to be completed in August 2026, will focus on seventh through twelfth grades with the initial grades focused on career exploration and the latter years coupled to apprenticeship/internship opportunities with corporations. The role of revenue generation and entrepreneurship rang true through the visit. They may even build a plane and sell it!  Dr. Cody Rich, IMPACT Center Principal, and Meredith Rozanski, Executive Vice President for Leadership and Education for Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, led the way with a well-organized visit. The significant growth and needs that Bowling Green has informed and impacted the design of and programs housed in the Center. The final product required leaders from all areas of business, government, and education to come together and dream big. 

Our classmate, and mayor of Bowling Green, Todd Alcott, helped organize Wednesday and Friday with a special surprise from Johnny Webb, a previous mayor, and other local officials who had an incredible vision to develop beautification corridors throughout Bowling Green.  The governmental paperwork and recurring funding needs required dedication that was exemplified through Mr. Webb’s execution and Mayor Alcott’s enthusiasm. 

Following the trend of dreaming big, we were astounded at the generosity and passion of Ms. Betty Turner Campbell who donated her father’s land and seed monies to start the Camp for Courageous Kids in 2004. Ms. Betty was inspired to create a fully accessible camp for children with a wide range of medical conditions and their families to laugh, play, and find respite—free of charge. The facilities are amazing, the horses are endearing, the staff is incredibly kind, and the clips of the children made each of us realize that gratitude comes in all sizes.  CCK, led by our classmate, Darren Dannelly, is 100% donor funded. The need that this camp fulfills is exemplary.

Since the IMPACT Center and CCK touched our hearts, and generated many questions for us, we chose to have the government class panel while hopping along on the bus! The LKY 2025 government folks (Todd Alcott, Tatum Dale, Jennie Haymond, Lauren Holder, Peggy Meriedeth and Tami Wilson) gave us ideas for action as well as the realization that their work significantly touches lives locally.  Through the discussion, we learned that we have advocates for us in all areas of government, and a significant difference can be made through their work and ours.

The next stop was at the White Squirrel Brewery with a visit from Leadership Kentucky alumni and friends. Then, a walk to dinner at Hickory & Oak with owner and chef Josh Poling.  He graciously took time from his night to let us know that we have gifts from Broadbent’s – generosity in gifts of bacon, sausage and more!  Josh, with support from investors, had the opportunity to buy this Kuttawa-based business that has a long history of having Kentucky award-winning hams. 

For Thursday, our fearless leaders – Janice, Helen and Carrie – worked their magic as a little government shutdown was not going to damper our spirits.  Although Fort Campbell was out of reach, we spent an incredible day in Hopkinsville and Christian County.  Jason Jenkins, Planters Bank and a Leadership Kentucky alum, made use of his time, talent, and treasure to organize a day that opened our eyes to one of Kentucky’s top counties in crop revenues. Commonwealth Agri Energy, Agri-Chem Commercial Fertilizer, Dixon Farms (burley and dark-fired tobacco operation) and Zimmerman Dairy and Beef Farms gave us personalized tours. Commonwealth Agri Energy highlighted the production of ethanol from corn while using side products to produce oil and feed for other animals with careful attention to reduction of contaminants into the atmosphere.  Agri-Chem explained how soil samples across a plot of land in a grid-like fashion provide the recipes needed for different parts of a farmer’s land for the representative fertilizers.  Dixon Farms gave us insight into the difficulties of planning for particular workers and working with different companies in selling tobacco. Zimmerman farms, an Amish farm operation, granted the class an up close and personal guide with feeding a three-day old calf and understanding the life flow of beef cattle as they “moved up” from different stalls to their final destination.  Planters Bank supplied us with lunch at The Crusty Pig and some of us walked to see our classmate, Gwenda Motley sister’s mural, named road and memorabilia.  Who you might ask – the world-renowned bell hooks who taught at Berea College!

After visits to these farms, Casey Jones Distillery with their lovely pond and patio allowed the class a chance to relax and further enjoy each other’s company. Casey Jones’ legacy comes from his ingenuity of creating stills that were easily transported to other locations – especially during prohibition.  Since we had such a great time hopping along on the bus with the first class panel, we voted to do it again.  The Utilities/Communications panel (Caroline Clark, Wes Needham, Hank Mangeot, Dusty Roll and Jamie Thacker) with Hank as emcee gave us some exciting and sometimes explicit information about the effects that utilities and communications have on us and the changes that have occurred.  We have much to expect in the future with AI and data infrastructure with being able to explain those needs to the community and legislators.

When Friday sprung into action, we were led by Mayor Alcott in the newly (and still to be finished) Public Safety Training Center with personalized tours based on – yes, you got it – yellow, red, blue and green groups.  We had the good fortune to experience childhood dreams of being in a firetruck with all the bells and whistles. Some of us took more advantage of than others! In the Getting to Know Bowling Green session, we heard from Leyda Becker, Taz Zukic, Daniel Tarnagda and Dr. Trung Trinh.  They each explained the impact of the joint work of different international groups within the Bowling Green community, as well as their own personal journeys. Local government, non-profit and community connections to assist each other were highlighted.  Each of us needs to help another. Mayor Alcott closed this session with dreams that Bowling Green is fulfilling and the next ones they are working on – together.  If two on one side of the table have different views than two on the other side of the table, the ask is for those four to come together, talk and find a solution – a lesson for us all.