2025 Annual Dinner Meeting

Follow the Emerald Glow: You’re Invited to the PADD 56th Annual Dinner Meeting

There’s no place like home—and for over half a century, the Pennyrile Area Development District (PeADD) has proudly called western Kentucky home. In celebration of 56 years of regional progress, collaboration, and community impact, PeADD invites you to a magical evening filled with purpose, recognition, and vision for the future.  Service awards as well as the John C. Mahre Regionalism Award, which honors individuals, groups of individuals, or entities who have shown a passion for regionalism and cooperation in the Pennyrile, will be presented throughout the evening.

Join us as we journey down a path paved with partnership and progress at the 56th Annual Dinner Meeting, sponsored by Planters Bank of Hopkinsville, where local leaders, public officials, partners, and community members will come together to honor our shared achievements and look ahead to the opportunities on the horizon. Just like the beloved tale of The Wizard of Oz, this event promises heart, courage, and the wisdom that only comes from working together.

Guest speaker, Melody Warnick, is the author of two books about thriving where you live: This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are, an exploration of the ground-breaking concept of place attachment, and If You Could Live Anywhere: The Surprising Power of Place in a Work-from-Anywhere World, a guide to how location-independent people choose where to live and how communities can attract and retain them.

Melody has written for the Washington Post, New York Times, Slate, Reader’s Digest, The Guardian, and many others, while her books have been featured in the likes of the New York Times, Time magazine, Fast Company, and Psychology Today. She’s also been a guest on many radio shows and podcasts, including NPR’s Life Kit and ABC Radio Australia.

A regular speaker about how residents can find and create happier communities, Melody lives with her family in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she works as a writer and communications specialist for Virginia Tech.

Date: Monday, June 9, 2025
Location: The Bruce Convention Center
Time: Registration at 5:30 PM and Dinner at 6 PM

This year’s theme draws inspiration from the timeless story of discovery, resilience, and returning stronger than ever. Whether you’ve worked behind the curtain or on the front lines of community development, we want to celebrate you—our friends, our collaborators, and our fellow travelers on this journey.

So put on your ruby slippers (or just your best evening shoes) and join us as we celebrate the past, embrace the present, and dream boldly of what’s next. After all, in the Pennyrile, the magic isn’t in emerald cities—it’s in the people who make our region shine.

RSVP by Friday, May 23, 2025
For more information or to reserve your seat, please contact Melissa Thompson at [email protected].