April 2022 PADD Board of Directors Meeting

The PeADD Board of Directors held their monthly meeting on Monday, April 11, 2022 virtually and in-person in Hopkinsville, KY.  Federal reports were provided by Ms. Morgan Alvey with Sen. McConnell’s office, Mr. Jason Hassert with Sen. Paul’s office, and Corey Elder with Congressman Comer’s office.  Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty and Rep. Walker Thomas provided state reports.  Mr. Alex Caudill and Ms. Martha Jane King, Field Representatives from Department for Local Government gave updates from the Governor’s office.  Mr. Charles Turner, Director of Pennyrile RC&D promoted Water Week, a regional event planned for May 9-14.

Jill Collins, Pennyrile AAAIL Director, provided an update on the US Aging Policy Priorities for 2022 as they pertain to the Older Americans Act.  Amy Frogue, Community and Economic Development Associate Director, provided information on upcoming grant opportunities including Delta Regional Authority Federal Grant Programs and Community Development Block Grant Programs.  She also provided a Loan Summary for Central Screen Printing in Central City for approval.  Sheila Clark, West Kentucky Workforce Board Director, took a moment in remembrance of staff member, Juliet Allen who passed March 19, 2022.  She also discussed the return of Derek Poor as the Veterans Transition Liaison who will be working with transitioning service members in Ft. Campbell.  Ms. Clark went on to discuss upcoming workforce events happening in the region.  Molly Deahl, Business Liaison located at JobNet Career Center in Madisonville, gave an update on Business Services activities and their benefits to the community.

Guest speakers Mr. Freddie Mays of Muhlenberg County and Mr. Mike Duncan of Hopkins County provided updates from the Long Term Recovery Committees in their respective counties.  Mr. Mays stated that his committee had met with roughly 95 families that suffered from tornado damage.  He stated that their role is to assist with unmet needs.  Mr. Mays stated that a problem that arose immediately after the tornado was an insufficient amount of storage or warehousing for donated items.  He concluded by stating that this is not a short-term recovery and there is a lot of work to be done.  Mr. Duncan stated that his committee has secured an office space in Dawson Springs.  He went on to say the Hopkins County list of affected individuals consisted of 1400 cases.  They are working diligently with many organizations to meet the many needs of the parties involved.  Mr. Duncan reiterated that the recovery process would not take just weeks, but months and even years.

Jason Vincent, PeADD Director, echoed Ms. Clark’s condolences regarding Julie’s passing.  He then gave an update on the recent NADO conference and asked Mayor Jan Yonts to provide comments.  Mayor Yonts discussed how nice it was to meet with the congressional delegation in person.  Mr. Vincent went on to discuss a few budget amendments which were passed by the board.  Lastly, he introduced Melissa Thompson as the new Communications Director for PeADD and welcomed her to this new position.
 
In closing, Mr. David Williams thanked staff member, Kyle Cunningham for his assistance in providing maps that helped with cleanup and reconstruction after the flooding in Caldwell and Lyon counties that destroyed livestock fencing.