Her goals became pursuing a career in teaching, working with young children, and following a lifelong passion for children’s literature in hopes of some day becoming a published author.

Nearly 10 years after graduating from Rogers Scholars, Hibbs—now a first-grade teacher and author—is returning to The Center, where she said she received the self-confidence to ultimately achieve her life and career goals.

Hibbs will read from her first published book, “Allie Doogledorf and the Mighty Mess,” at a free children’s book reading at 5:30 p.m. on March 5 in The Center’s front lobby. Hibbs’ event will take place prior to the Children’s Prime Time Theatre performance of “The Velveteen Rabbit” that evening.

Hibbs fondly recalls her days as a high school student and Rogers Scholar, and said her desire to become a published author was present even then. That desire guided her when she became the lead writer for a short film produced by her Rogers Scholars video production team.

“Rogers Scholars is all about gaining leadership skills,” she said, “and learning that if you set a goal, there is a way to achieve that goal.”

Hibbs is a first-grade teacher at Campbellsburg Elementary School in Henry County. As an educator, she said writing a children’s book is a natural extension of her work.

“Allie Doogledorf and the Mighty Mess” features the tale of a young girl who ignores her mother’s constant warnings to keep their house neat and clean. Allie continues to make a mess until one day she challenges her mother to an all-out battle. Allie’s mission is to make the biggest mess ever. Her mother, however, has a plan of her own to change Allie’s bad habits once and for all.

“The book teaches there are benefits to being neat and clean, and although it might be fun to be messy, being clean also has its rewards,” Hibbs said.

“Allie Doogledorf and the Mighty Mess,” published by Xlibris, is available for purchase online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Hibbs, daughter of Richard and Patty Hibbs of Somerset, will bring copies of her book to the March 5 event and will stay after the book reading to talk to attendees and sign autographs.

The pre-show event is sponsored by Sonny’s Bar-B-Q and Lake Cumberland Clear Channel.

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: Nearly 10 years after graduating from Rogers Scholars, The Center for Rural Development’s flagship youth program, Lisa Hibbs is returning to The Center on March 5 for a book reading of her first published children’s book, “Allie Doogledorf and the Mighty Mess.” Hibbs, a first-grade teacher at Campbellsburg Elementary School in Henry County, will be reading to children and their parents at a free pre-show event, beginning at 5:30 p.m., in The Center’s front lobby prior to the Children’s Prime Time Theatre performance of “The Velveteen Rabbit.”

As part of their annual community service project, members of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholar Ambassadors purchased Christmas gifts for Pulaski County children in need through the Angel Tree project sponsored by the Somerset Walmart and The Center. Helping get the gifts ready for distribution at the official Angel Tree drop-off site in the front lobby of The Center in Somerset are, front row from left, Stacie and Stephanie Lawless of Whitley County; and Madison Wesley, Pulaski County; back row from left, Amy Puerto, also from Pulaski; Nicolette Coontz of Lincoln County; and Jon Preneta of Jessamine County. The Angel Tree project provided Christmas gifts for 150 local children in need.

2009 Rogers Scholars graduate Luke King of Cumberland County has been named a state winner in the Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Outstanding Farm Bureau Youth contest.

King will receive a $2,000 college scholarship and will be attending the 2010 Kentucky Farm Bureau Congressional Tour to Washington, D.C., in February.

He was selected from 21 district finalists out of more than 175 young people to compete in county and district contests held over several months. Finalists were judged in personal interviews, and points awarded based on contestants’ leadership record, conversational ability, and scholastic achievement.

As a graduate of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program, King said the skills and training he received during the intensive one-week summer session helped him to prepare for the competition.

“The communications skills I developed through the Rogers Scholars program proved to be very beneficial,” he said. “I was able to clearly communicate with the judges, audience, and my fellow contestants, and I was able to deliver my speech in such a way that it proved to be effective.”

During the backstage interview portion of the contest, he said, the etiquette training he received at a formal dinner attended by Rogers Scholars came in handy in knowing “how to properly introduce myself and present myself throughout the interview.”

“I am extremely grateful to the Rogers Scholars program for the many skills that I developed through the program,” King said.

King, son of David and Kathy King of Burkesville, is a junior at Cumberland County High School.

Rogers Scholars program—The Center’s flagship youth program—emphasizes the development of technological skills and builds in participants a sense of leadership, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to rural Kentucky.

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: 2009 Rogers Scholars graduate Luke King has been named one of two state winners in the Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Outstanding Farm Bureau Youth contest. He said the training he received as a Rogers Scholar helped him to prepare for the competition. King, a senior at Cumberland County High School, will receive a $2,000 college scholarship and trip to Washington, D.C., attending the 2010 Kentucky Farm Bureau Congressional Tour in February.

Due to the large number of weather-related school closings throughout Southern and Eastern Kentucky, The Center for Rural Development is extending the deadline for students to apply for Rogers Scholars and the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (ELI).

Jessica Melton, associate director of education and training, said the application deadline for both youth leadership programs has been extended until Friday, Feb. 5, to give students five additional days to complete the paperwork to apply for the 2010 summer sessions.

Applications for both programs have been posted online and may be downloaded and printed from the Rogers Scholars Web site at www.rogersscholars.com or The Center for Rural Development’s Web site at www.centertech.com, where visitors can find the application form for ELI.

All applications must be printed on paper, completed, and mailed to The Center for Rural Development at 2292 South Highway 27, Suite 300, Somerset, Ky. 42501. Applications must be postmarked by the Feb. 5 extended deadline to be considered by the selection committee.

Rogers Scholars—The Center’s flagship youth program—is an intensive one-week summer session for rising high school juniors. ELI is open to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in becoming the region’s next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Both programs focus on developing business and entrepreneurial skills, and encourage participants to ultimately use those skills in positions of leadership in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

Applications for both programs have been posted online and may be downloaded and printed from the Rogers Scholars Web site at www.rogersscholars.com or The Center for Rural Development’s Web site, www.centertech.com, where visitors can find the application form for ELI.

All applications must be printed on paper, completed, and mailed to The Center for Rural Development at 2292 South Highway 27, Suite 300, Somerset, Ky. 42501. Applications for both programs must be postmarked by Jan. 31, 2010.

Rogers Scholars and ELI focus on developing business and entrepreneurial skills, and encourage participants to ultimately use those skills in positions of leadership in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

Rogers Scholars is an intensive one-week summer session for rising high school juniors in The Center’s primary 42-county service area. The program emphasizes the development of technology skills and builds in participants a sense of leadership, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to rural Kentucky.

Graduates of Rogers Scholars are eligible to apply for college scholarships from 13 participating Kentucky colleges and universities.

High school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors with a specific interest in business and entrepreneurship can apply for a one-week summer session of ELI. The program promotes creativity and teamwork, and building business and leadership skills.

Members of ELI’s first-place business concept team are eligible to receive a Presidential Scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky. The winning team also will be recognized at the 2010 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards (EIEA) program scheduled for next fall at The Center in Somerset.

Lodging, meals, and program expenses (excluding transportation costs to and from host site) for both programs are provided free of charge to participating students.

The dates for 2010 Rogers Scholars sessions are June 27-July 2 and July 11-16. ELI will be held during the week of June 13-18. Both programs are held on the grounds of The Center.

For more information or to schedule a school visit to discuss either Rogers Scholars or ELI, please contact Jessica Melton, associate director of education and training, at 606-677-6000 or via e-mail at jmelton@centertech.com.

The final 30 of the 60 rising high school juniors to attend The Center’s flagship youth program—Rogers Scholars—received certificates of completion on July 17 after completing the one-week program.

Scholars were challenged by keynote speaker Hilda Legg at the graduation program to follow their passions in life and strive to make the world a better place.

Legg, a motivational speaker and private business consultant, encouraged Scholars to look deep within their hearts to discover who they truly are, what they are passionate about in life, and finally to accept the choices they will make in the future along life’s journey.

She shared some of the life lessons she has learned in a professional career that has taken her from rural Appalachia to the streets of Washington, D.C. In 2001, Legg was appointed by former President George Bush to administer a $6 billion loan and grant program for the infrastructure needs of rural America as top official of the Rural Utilities Service.

She also served for seven years as the first executive director and CEO of The Center, where she was responsible for the overall management of the state-of-the-art facility as well as program development and outreach before accepting her position in Washington.

Regardless of all of her accomplishments, Legg told the Scholars it is important to be true to themselves, select careers that they love, and “try to do something that makes the world a better place.”

She closed with a famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”

Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, also provided some words of encouragement to the final graduating class of Rogers Scholars. He challenged them to set goals and strive to reach those goals even if it means the possibility of failure.

“Creativity is all about taking risks, taking chances, and being willing to fail,” Lawson told graduates. “Learn from your failures.”

Sky Jewell of Green County has been recognized for having the highest-scoring application among students who participated in this summer’s second session of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program.

Jewell, 16, a junior at Green County High School, was presented the Doug Reece Memorial Award at the Rogers Scholars graduation ceremony, held July 17 at The Center in Somerset at the conclusion of the one-week program.

The award is presented in memory of the late Doug Reece, a prominent attorney in Southern and Eastern Kentucky and former chairman of the executive committee of The Center’s board of directors.

Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, and Jessica Melton, associate director of education and training, presented Jewell with a handcrafted Appalachian dulcimer donated by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. She also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in-state college or university as part of the award.

“Rogers Scholars has taught me so much and I will take these lessons back to my community, in an effort to make it a better place,” Jewell said.

“Being chosen as a Rogers Scholars is an honor for the students, their schools, and their communities, as it is a highly competitive, blinded selection process,” Melton added. “These students truly represent the best and brightest minds in our region.”

Jewell was selected by The Center—which hosts and sponsors Rogers Scholars—to join 30 rising high school juniors from across Southern and Eastern Kentucky for the second summer session of Rogers Scholars. The second—and final—week of the program was held July 12-17, culminating with an awards program and recognition of graduates on the final day of the session.

The Center’s board of directors created the Doug Reece Memorial Award and scholarship in his name to recognize one Rogers Scholar from each of the summer’s two graduating classes. Reece served on the board of directors from 1995 through 2005 and was board chairman at the time of his death in 2006.

Jewell is the daughter of Tony and Robbyn Jewell of Greensburg.

Photo Caption: Lonnie Lawson, left, president and CEO of The Center for Rural Development, and Jessica Melton, right, associate director of education and training, present Rogers Scholar Sky Jewell—recipient of the Doug Reece Memorial Award—with a handcrafted Appalachian dulcimer donated by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. Jewell, 16, a junior at Green County High School, also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in state college or university through her receipt of the Doug Reece Memorial Award.

The videoconference—presented by NASA’s Digital Learning Network and brought to Scholars by The Center for Rural Development’s CenterNET2 videoconferencing network—gave them a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to prepare a spacecraft for liftoff.

Earlier in the day, guest speaker J.P. Blevins, a former University of Kentucky men’s basketball player, challenged Scholars to follow their dreams, set goals, and work on reaching those goals every day.

At the age of 8, Blevins had a dream that he would someday play basketball on the court of historic Rupp Arena as a University of Kentucky Wildcat.

Blevins accomplished that dream, playing four years of basketball there. In an inspirational speech, he told Scholars that they can do anything they set their minds to if they set goals and strive to achieve them.

“Have a dream,” Blevins encouraged Scholars, “and be willing to go after it with every bit of your heart and soul.”

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Davis, a Wayne County native and All-American basketball from Georgetown College, shared his recollections of being a part of perhaps the most controversial game in basketball history–and witnessing events surrounding one of the worst atrocities in Olympic history–with a group of Rogers Scholars on Wednesday at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset.

Davis was among 12 athletes from across the nation selected to play on the USA basketball team at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.

Davis, now a motivational speaker living in the Paint Lick community of Garrard County, told Scholars how due to a controversial decision, the Team USA won–then lost–the championship game and the gold medal to the Soviets.

Although 50-49 winners, Team USA was forced to replay the final three seconds of the game after an international basketball official–although he had no authority to do so–demanded time be placed back on the game clock. The Soviets scored after a cross-court lob, giving them the 51-50 victory.

Team USA filed a protest with the Olympic committee, claiming three seconds were added to the score clock in violation of the rules after the game had officially came to an end. The committee ruled the final results of the game were official, declaring the Russian team the gold-medal winners.

In a show of solidarity, Davis, the leader of Team USA, and other basketball players refused to accept the silver medals.

“The reason we did not accept the silver medal was, we didn’t earn the silver medal,” Davis said. “We earned the gold. Personally, we felt if we took it, we would be taking something that didn’t belong to us.

“Hopefully, we made the right decision,” he said.

The silver medals remain unclaimed today by any member on the USA basketball team, Davis said.

The controversial loss was particularly hard on the team because it was first-ever loss for Team USA since the sport began Olympic play in 1936.

Davis’ story, however, does not end on the basketball court.

On Sept. 5, with six days left in the Games, eight Arab terrorists slipped into Olympic Village, killed two Israeli team members and seized nine other hostages. Early the next morning, all nine Israeli athletes were killed following a shootout between the terrorists and West Germany police at a military airport.

After hearing the news about the terrorist attack, Davis said, “I was in total disbelief.”

With his lifetime to reflect on the turmoil and tragedy of the 1972 games, Davis told the Rogers Scholars the events have helped him keep his life in the proper perspective. He recommended that they, too, fight to remain focused on family and helping others despite the distractions of on-the-job pressures and stress.

And always be proud to be an American, Davis said.

“We should all be proud to live in the best country on this planet,” Davis said.

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