Rotary Program: 10/7/03

Program Chairperson: Jerry Kanney

Speaker: Kitty White, Executive Director, Pike County Chamber of Commerce

Kitty White has been the Executive Director of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce since March of 1991. She is a graduate of Pikeville High School, University of Kentucky, and the Institute of Chamber Management. She has two children, Bill, who is an attorney and Cody, a pharmaseutical representative. She also serves as President of the Pike County Domestic Violence Shelter Board, a member of the Methodist Church of Pikeville and loves to garden in her spare time.

Kitty says she wants us to know what the Chamber is and what it does, but she also wants us to know what it is not. It is not supported by government funds or taxes, but by dues from the membership and from the fund raising efforts of the Chamber. She also stressed that it was not formed to support Hillbilly Days as some believe. It has been around for a long time, but was revived after the 1957 flood as a means to secure flood control funds from Washington and Frankfort. The Chamber is now a strong organization with many members and serves all of Pike County, not just the city of Pikeville. It is a voluntary group of businesses dedicated to making Pike County a better place to live and work. Its Board oversees the policies, activities and committees of the Chamber and directs all the fund raising efforts on behalf of its membership. Standing committees include Small Business Support, Education, Legislative, Transportation, Marketing and Tourism. Some activities include Career Day, in which over 450 5th and 6th Graders from all the schools in Pike County come together to learn about different career choices that are available to them. Another function of the Education Committee is to determine the winners of the Work Ethic Award to graduating seniors of the area High Schools. This award is funded by an ARC grant and was given to 37 students last year. Criteria such as attendance, scholastic achievement, citizenship, community service, and many other ideals that would make the student a good employee, are employed to determine which students receive the award. Kitty says that the Chamber is in the process of forming a SCORE chapter this year. A Partnership with the city of London, Kentucky will help us get this new organization started to help businesses grow and improve their ability to succeed. A printed guide for new businesses should also be available this year to hand out to new entrepreneurs who would like to relocate to the Pike County Area. Another new venture is the Business Retention and Enhancement program that is designed to help businesses determine what is working and what areas of their business need attention. The recent Legislative Breakfasts were successful, as Senator Jones was in attendance to help explain certain pieces of legislation and the impact they would have on the business community. There will be a brunch on October 25th at the Wilkinson Center at Jenny Wiley State Park, in which legislators representing Pike, Floyd, and Johnson Counties will be in attendance. Kitty encourages us to make plans to be there and become aware of pending legislation and give input to those in attendance. The Marketing Committee is responsible for producing and distributing a membership directory and profile book to hand out to prospective business people around the area. This book gives a beautiful overview of what Pike County and Pikeville have to offer. Another item of interest, said Kitty, is a Pikevilleopoly Game that will be available by Hillbilly Days. Based on the Monopoly board game, it will profile area businesses and hopefully be a tool to get their message out to the public. Thanks, Kitty for the valuable information. Submitted by J. Morgan Chapman.