The new Christian County High School’s gymnasium has been named Hopkinsville Rotary Arena in recognition of the club’s support of students with scholarship programs and other financial support for more than seven decades.
Superintendent Chris Bentzel announced the naming during a Tuesday lunch meeting of Hopkinsville Rotary at the school, which will open to students in five weeks.
“We are here today to recognize and honor the legacy, the history, the commitment and all the things that this club has done …,” he said. “We are very appreciative.”
With new signage on the wall behind them, Rotarians posed for photographs in gym’s bleacher seating under the basketball goal at the north end of the gym.
The 3,100-seat capacity gym is as large as facilities at many small colleges. The gym floor, seating, walls and scoreboard are accented with the Tiger mascot and the new school colors — orange and blue for the two schools that are closing with the consolidation into one school.
“Today is a special day to talk about the new high school and the opportunities for all of our students and for this community — and to honor a club that has done so many great things over the last 76 years,” said Bentzel.
The superintendent said the school building is in the final stage of completion. However, visitors and passerby can see that the campus grounds, including athletic fields and landscaping, will need much more work, likely lasting for months after the new school year begins.
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“This is kinda of still a construction site. We are putting furniture together. We are spot painting. You’ll see boxes,” Bentzel told Rotarians as they prepared to walk to the gym.
“But we are getting closer. We appreciate your grace and support,” he said. “[We] just wanted to make you aware that by Aug. 6 we will be ready for the ribbon cutting, and by Aug. 19 we’ll be ready for the first day of school.”
The gym name for Hopkinsville Rotary recognizes the club’s fundraising efforts through its annual Rotary Auction. The club completed its 76th auction in April with $618,428 in money and pledges raised.
The auction pays for the Rotary Scholars program, which guarantees a two-year, full-tuition scholarship at Hopkinsville Community College to every graduate of a high school in Christian County who has a minimum 2.5 grade point average. It was launched in 2012.
The relatively new Rotary Impact program provides college scholarships for students in various career pathways. The initial pathway for education majors supported a select group of students willing to commit to teaching in Christian County Public Schools for four years after graduation.
Hopkinsville Rotary also provides grants for various school and youth efforts. Many of these are announced during the auction each year.
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.
