Rotary Program: 5/10/06

Program Chairperson: John Blackburn

Speaker: New Rotarians

Due to a conflict in the schedule of the speaker that was originally scheduled today, it was decided to use this time to introduce three new Rotarians and let them tell a little about themselves and what joining Rotary means to them.

The first new Rotarian is Julie Clark, who was proposed for membership by Jim Brown. Julie is a Compliance Officer with Community Trust Bank. She is a native Floyd Countian, the youngest of the family who lived at Betsy Layne. After graduating from Mayo Technical College with a degree in Business, Julie started working in the Banking industry and four years ago moved here and started to work at Community Trust Bank. She has two children, Steven, 11 and Rebecca, 7. Julie is also a very active member of the Pikeville United Methodist Church. She says that Rotary is just another means by which she can serve her community and meet new people to share what she sees as the many blessings of life she has received. One of the greatest things she has done, Julie says, is to work with the Women Build Project of Habitat For Humanity, a building project that is building a home for a single parent. Welcome to Rotary, Julie, and we hope you find the avenue of service that you are looking for.

The next new Rotarian to speak is Angela Kanney, who was proposed by her Dad, Jerry Kanney. Angela works for Intersate Natural Gas, where she works to make sure all the legal documents, permits, and records are in order for all aspects of the natural gas drilling business. She is the eldest of four daughters and a graduate of Pikeville High School. She attended Louisiana State University, where she studied Sociology and Criminology and worked extensively with the Air Force ROTC program. She also attended Florida International University in Miami and worked with the Spanish International Studies for Minors which is a outreach of her degree in Latin American / Caribbean Studies. Now, Angela is back home, working with her Dad’s business, and looking forward to the opportunity of networking with the many people she meets in Rotary. She too, hopes to give back to the community by serving in Rotary and using her experiences and travel to extend that service to the international level. Our club can certainly look for great things from this energetic young lady. Welcome, Angela.

The last new Rotarian to speak today is Josh Owen, an attorney with the Pam May Law Firm of Pikeville. Josh is 28 years old who was born in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago. He came back to Kentucky to live and graduated from South Hopkins High School. After graduating from Kentucky Wesleyan with a degree in Political Science, Josh attended law school at the University of Kentucky and graduated in 2003. He then moved to Pikeville to work with Pam May as a general defense lawyer and with medical malpractice suits. Josh has a brother in Los Angeles, a sister in Philadelphia, and his parents live in Florida. He says he belongs to the Bar Association in both Kentucky and Florida, so he could practice in either state. His hobbies include golf, tennis, and working out at the YMCA. He says that he wanted to join the Rotary Club to meet new people, to serve his community, and do what he could to make the lives of other people a little better. We’re glad to have you as a part of the Pikeville Rotary Club, Josh, and we hope you are with us for a long, long time.

At this point, the floor was opened for questions from the audience. All three handled the questions with ease and shared their feelings about Rotary in general and being a part of the Pikeville club. Let’s get to know these new Rotarians and make them feel welcome. - JMC