The Western Kentucky State Fair Board and Drew Exposition — the Georgia-based company that runs the carnival rides every summer at the local fair — have each given $5,000 for tornado relief efforts in Western Kentucky.
The combined donation provides $2,000 each in Christian, Caldwell, Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Todd counties, fair board president Kent Boyd told Hoptown Chronicle.
“After a successful 2021 State Fair, we felt it was important for us to give back to the community that has been so good to us,” said Boyd.
At a meeting a few days after the Dec. 10-11 tornadoes, the fair board decided to make a donation and then asked Drew Exposition to join the effort.
“I thought that was really fantastic on their part to partner with us,” said Boyd.
He said the fair board wanted to distribute assistance to people directly affected by the tornadoes.
In Christian and Todd counties, the donation will be distributed through country musician Brice Long’s Back to Back Foundation, which will use the money to buy gift cards for people affected by the tornadoes.
The donation to Hopkins County will help cover the cost of a cattlemen’s association meal for nearly 1,000 people at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park. Hundreds of tornado victims have been staying in state park lodges and cabins, and using the grounds to access relief efforts.
In Caldwell County, the donation will go to HR Ministries for its programs helping families affected by the storms.
The donation to Muhlenberg County goes to a disaster recovery organization that is helping the hardest hit areas, including the Bremen community.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
