William T. Turner is the longest serving member of the Hopkinsville Rotary Club — and as the popular County Christian historian, he’s also the best known Rotarian in town. Some people call him the Goat Man, and there’s a history lesson behind that.
On Thursday, the club took a few minutes during its live broadcast of the 72nd annual Rotary Auction to recognize Turner’s service to the club and the community. Turner joined the club in 1971, and he’s long chaired the auction’s Goat Club, a tradition that dates to 1951 when legend holds that a live goat was sold numerous times in a single night to raise money that helped send local students to college.
It was Hopkinsville businessman Jeff Hammond who had the task of trying to sell the goat, Turner said. When a woman finally bought the animal, she immediately gave it back to Hammond and said, “I don’t need a stinking old goat. I want to donate it back to the club and you sell it again.”
The goat sold about 30 times that night, said Turner.
The Goat Club became a way for Rotary Auction supporters to make small cash donations to the effort. Along the way, Turner embraced the playful title of Goat Man.
A live goat hasn’t been sold for many years, but Turner recalled a time when a goat-milking contest took place on the Memorial Building stage. Thankfully, Turner said he was spared a spot on the stage that night.
Turner’s friend and fellow Rotarian Chris Gilkey presented the club’s award to Turner.
“He has truly had an exemplary 50 years of service above self,” said Gilkey, who presented a small trophy to Turner.
An inscription on the trophy reads, “GOAT Award Celebrating 50 Years of Service Above Self.”
Gilkey said GOAT stands for “greatest of all time.”
Thursday, the fourth night of the auction, generated $43,051 and pushed the tally so far to $316,948. With two nights remaining, the auction appears to be in a position to meet or surpass the record of $397,832 set in 2021.
Auction Info
- Where: Memorial Building, 1202 S. Virginia St.
- When: 6-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6-10 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. until the last item is sold Saturday.
- Watch and Listen: On Hopkinsville Rotary’s website, on WHOP Radio 98.7 FM, or on Spectrum channel 376
- Bid: Call 270-885-7500
- Donate: On the club’s Hour and Goat Club site.
- Eat at the Diner: Lunch hours are 11 a.m.-1 p.m. through Friday; dinner is 5 to 8 p.m. through Saturday
- Special meals: Fish fry on Friday and ribeye sandwiches on Saturday.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
