Rotary Program: Nov. 19, 2003

Program Chairperson: Jerry Kanney

Speakers: New Rotarians - Laura Charles, Eddie Coleman and Charlene Kinder

Laura Charles is a 1997 graduate of Pikeville High School and the University of Kentucky in 2001 with a B.S. Degree in Business Administration / Marketing. She is currently employed at Pikeville Methodist Hospital as the Director and Editor of the Medical Leader, a weekly newsletter that has won numerous excellence awards in the past two years. She started at the hospital as a public relations specialist and staff writer for the newsletter and assumed her role as director when the former director Jeanne Clark went back to teaching. She says she is grateful to be a part of our Rotary Club and can think of no better way to contribute to her community than by working on the many projects sponsored by Rotary.

Eddie Coleman currently serves as our Circuit Judge in Pike County, managing a large docket of cases that comes before him from the Grand Jury and the office of Commonwealth Attorney. He says he grew up in the Fishtrap area, the son of a service station owner who believed his children ought to go to school instead of working in the mining industry. Consequently, he attended Pikeville College and then on to law school to become a personal injury and criminal defense attorney. He became Circuit Judge when Bayard Collier resigned and was appointed to the post by then governor Brereton Jones. Judge Coleman praises the jury system of arriving at verdicts and says that he wants to promote that as the best way for justice to be served in all cases that are tried in his court . He is married to the former Frances Smith and they have one daughter, Tabitha who is 22 years old. They also have two white dogs that are their constant companions. As far as being a member of Rotary is concerned, he only regrets that he did not join much younger in life so that he could have been able to contribute more of his life to serving the community through its many projects.

Charlene Kinder is a single mother of three daughters, Tessa, Kenya, and Tasha. She has her own business as a medical claims processor and is very active as a member of the Mountain View Church of Christ. She graduated as valedictorian of her class at Fedscreek High School in 1977 and went on to Pikeville College that fall but due to travel and having a family did not finish her degree until 1990. She has worked in several capacities in Nursing Homes from financial director to Administrator and feels that it gave her the ability to make a difference with so many who needed a tremendous amount of help at the twilight years of their lives. She called it a win-win-win situation by helping the patient, the nursing home and the personal satisfaction she received. Charlene thinks Rotary provides a great support group for its members and also a way for her to help others in service projects that are sponsored by the club. Submitted by J. Morgan Chapman