MONTICELLO, Ky. — Barbourville resident J.M. Hall was the lucky winner of a houseboat holiday on Lake Cumberland that was the grand prize in a regional fundraising campaign benefiting The Center for Rural Development’s three summer youth programs.

Hall’s winning ticket was drawn at random in a dockside ceremony held Monday, June 1, at Conley Bottom Resort and Marina in Monticello. Hall will receive a houseboat vacation valued at nearly $3,500—including a $200 fuel allowance—courtesy of The Center and Conley Bottom.

Hall, who is also Knox County judge-executive, said he plans to take his family on a well-deserved vacation thanks to the win.

“I couldn’t believe I had won,” Hall said shortly after receiving word of the win from Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center.

The drawing ended a two-month fundraising campaign led by The Center to raise funds for its summer youth programs—Rogers Scholars, Rogers Explorers, and the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (ELI).

Pulaski County student Amy Puerto, a 2005 Rogers Scholar graduate and junior at Bellarmine College, drew Hall’s name while standing beside a 21.5-by-74-foot houseboat—one of the largest in Conley Bottom’s fleet—that will be made available to Hall and his family.

“We are very excited with the success of this fundraising event in partnership with the great folks at Conley Bottom,” Jessica Melton, associate director of education and training for The Center, said Monday. “We look forward to additional partnerships like this in the future.”
Melton said graduates of The Center’s youth programs sold tickets in their home communities for the last month as part of the effort.

“They wanted to give back to the programs that have benefited them,” Melton said.

In one Kentucky community, she said, parents of a program participant helped sell tickets as a way to show their appreciation for the work by The Center.

“I think that shows the value of the program when parents are willing to offer their support,” Melton said.

Charley Denney, one of the owners of Conley Bottom Resort and Marina, said he attended Wayne County High School in the late 1950s with U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, KY-05. He was eager to be a part of The Center’s fundraising event because it would help projects supported by Rogers, Denney added.

“We are honored to be a part of this,” Denney said.

Fred Piercy, manager of Conley Bottom Resort and Marina, agreed.

“We are very excited to be able to partner with The Center,” Piercy said. “The youth are the ones who, when they get a little older, are going to start coming to Lake Cumberland and bringing their own families.”
Rogers Scholars—The Center’s flagship youth program—is named after Congressman Rogers. All three programs provide leadership and college scholarship opportunities for future leaders within The Center’s 42-county primary service area.

The programs also work to instill in the participants a deep commitment to return to Southern and Eastern Kentucky as professionals.

Puerto, who graduated from Rogers Scholars four years ago, said the program provides a foundation for her to pursue a career in political science and communications.

“After seeing Congressman Rogers’ work with the Rogers Scholars program, I knew that was something I wanted to do as well, and that I wanted to find a way to give back to my community,” Puerto said.

For more information on The Center’s youth programs, visit www.centertech.com.

The Center for Rural Development—the Center of Excellence for rural Kentucky and the nation—provides economic and community development programs to residents in a 42-county primary service area of Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and is home to several statewide and national technology-based programs. For more information on programs available through The Center, visit www.centertech.com.

Photo Caption 1: 2005 Rogers Scholar graduate Amy Puerto, front row, second from left, draws the winning ticket for the Lake Cumberland houseboat holiday vacation in a fundraising event sponsored by The Center for Rural Development in partnership with Conley Bottom Resort and Marina. Barbourville resident J.M. Hall was the lucky winner of the grand prize, valued at nearly $3,500 plus a $200 fuel allowance. The drawing was held Monday, June 1, at the Conley Bottom dock alongside a houseboat that will be available for use by the Hall family. Surrounding Puerto are, from left, Donavon McClure, a 2009 Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (ELI) participant; Fred Piercy, manager of Conley Bottom Resort and Marina; Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center; Jessica Melton, associate director of education and training with The Center; Kayla Stotts, 2006 Rogers Scholars graduate; Charley Denney, one of the owners of Conley Bottom Resort and Marina; and Derek Puerto, a 2008 Rogers Explorer.

Photo Caption 2: Charley Denney, one of the owners of Conley Bottom Resort and Marina, right, is interviewed by Michael Cornett, director of marketing and public relations with The Center for Rural Development, as part of a ticket-drawing event held Monday at Conley Bottom. The interview was held shortly before the winning ticket was drawn in the houseboat holiday fundraiser sponsored by The Center in partnership with Conley Bottom. J.M. Hall of Barbourville, judge-executive of Knox County, won the grand prize.

Photo Caption 3: Brian Abner, in foreground at right, sales manager for radio station WYKY 106.1 FM, interviews Lonnie Lawson, in foreground at left, president and CEO of The Center, as part of a live radio remote broadcast on the dock of Conley Bottom Resort and Marina following the drawing for the houseboat holiday vacation fundraising event sponsored by The Center for Rural Development in partnership with Conley Bottom. J.M. Hall of Barbourville, judge-executive of Knox County, won the effort’s grand prize of a houseboat vacation on Lake Cumberland.