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Hickman County leadership students "awesome"

back row: Treylan Gray, Ty Ellegood, Alison Burpo, Caity Kyle, Nicole Lynch, Cody Whitlock, front row: Alex Richards, Kelsey Gargus, Emily Mulcahy, Shelby Stewart, Mackenzie Ward, Kelsey Grubbs

Twelve Hickman County High School juniors shared their research and conclusions with almost one hundred adults at the second annual Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program graduation last Sunday.  Those in attendance were impressed by their ideas and their poise.

Lisa and Henry Brazzell attended the program for the first time to show support for students and volunteers who had spent the school year working in the program.  Lisa said she was “blown away” by the presentations.   “The kids were awesome.” 

Beverly Hopkins explains program at fall orientationThe Hickman County leadership program is unique in its demands on participants. Students are told up front that they will have to work in a team to write a research paper and do a presentation with recommendations before an audience.  Choosing from a menu of local issues, students are expected to ask questions that relate to their project and do research throughout the school year.

The themes chosen this year were Creative Culture, Community Sustainability and Retirement. The presentations were judged by a panel of three judges at the graduation ceremony. Each member of the winning team received a cash prize. Copies of the research papers were available to the public.

Caity Kyle, Ty Ellegood, Shelby Stewart, Treylan Gray and Allison Burpo chose Community Sustainablilty as their topic. They told the audience that the community must work together to reach three goals: conserve energy, become more independent of resources, and reduce, reuse, and recycle.  They recommended that a committee of local leaders and business people should come together and “appoint a leader” to help establish a plan for where the community would like to be in five, ten or twenty years.

The group cited a program set up by the Education Cabinet and Western Kentucky University Research FoundationSustainablity group Caity Kyle, Treylan Gray, Alison Burpo, Ty Ellegood and Shelby Stewart that implements an Earth Force Model to teach citizens alternatives for healthier living.  The students urged community leaders to “create a way for the city to own all utilities.” By doing so, they reasoned, the city would make money.

Emily Mulcahy, Alex Richards, Mackenzie Ward and Cody Whitlock decided to tackle ways to attract retirees to live in Hickman County. They began their presentation with a reminder that the population of Clinton was 3,500 one hundred years ago and the county population was 11,000. “Flash forward one hundred years and the situation has changed dramatically. The population of Clinton and Hickman County is 4,902. The students wanted to find ways to reduce the declining population by attracting retirees to the county.

Hickman County’s taxes are consistently lower than Memphis Tennessee’s. Kentucky’s homestead exemption is a draw for senior citizens. The state exempts the first $34,000 of value on senior homes from taxation.

The community is safer than big cities. The students showed a chart comparing crime in Paducah and Memphis to Clinton. The difference is “staggering.” The small town had far fewer crimes per capita. The safety of the community should be advertised, they said.

The students recommended revitalization. The sidewalks, they said, are awful and need to be repaired. Run down buildings can be rehabbed for hobby shops and recreational facilities. Move the Farmers’ Market to the downtown area.

All this, according to the team, will attract new residents with new dollars that will attract new business and generate income for the county. The key is marketing. The group has a goal of attracting 50-100 families from surrounding urban areas. If nothing is done, the area will continue to decline in population.

Kcreative culture elsey Gargus, Nicole Lynch and Kelsey Grubbs made up the smallest team in the competition. Their topic of Creative Culture proved to be a winning choice. The judges chose their program to receive first place.

The students recommended sprucing up and revitalizing Clinton with building rehabs and participation in the Main Street program which helps communities refresh tired downtowns. They recommended that run down buildings be sold cheaply to artists.

Not all of their recommendations cost money. The team said that a “splash of paint and trash pick up would turn eye sores to eye catchers.”

The team demonstrated their computer skills by creating a virtual mural on the side of a local building. Competition Judge Tom Pyron said at first glance it looked like the three panel mural really had been painted on the side of a local drug store. The students chose a religious theme for one panel, agriculture for the next panel and their high school logo for third, joking that “we are all Falcons here.”

Senator Ken Winters attending the program urged students to keep working for their community. He wants next year’s class to concentrate on the benefits of getting Interstate 66 to run through the River Counties. Some want the pSenator Ken Winters and Nicole Lynchroposed route to go to the north, avoiding Kentucky.

 "Can you imagine the economic benefit of an interstate?" he asked the crowd.

The Chamber program is presented with no charge to student participants. This year's financial support comes from the City of Clinton, Hickman County Economic Development Authority, Clinton Bank, First Community Bank, Hutson Ag, Jackson Purchase ACA, Hickman County School District and the Chamber of Commerce.

During their theme days, students studied small business, factory work, banking, local government and the legal community. On a field trip to Frankfort, they watched a debate in the Kentucky State Senate and met with Senator Winters.

The Chamber committee that worked with the program were Ivan Potter, Beverly Hopkins, Christy Kimbell, Marla Kelsey, Melissa GoPotter chairs leadership and bakes for programodman and Paula Clark.


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