Nine Western Kentuckians Join the Ranks of Community Scholars

FRANKFORT, KY — The Kentucky Folklife Program is proud to announce the graduation of nine individuals who have successfully completed the training for the Community Scholars certification program.

Community Scholars collect and preserve local history, identify and document local traditions and present these traditions to the public. The training provided by the Kentucky Folklife Program, in six full-day intensive workshops, teaches the basic skills of conducting folklife fieldwork and helps communities explore and showcase local talents, folk traditions and history.

The new Community Scholars are Tom Bennett, Madisonville; Janet Bravard, Hopkinsville; Sarah Brown, Madisonville; Richard Cunningham, Madisonville; Cindy Earls, Cadiz; Lori Harrison, Nortonville; Carole Menser, Dawson Springs; Jean Merrell, Madisonville and Gladys Tice, Madisonville. Their individual projects explored topics as varied as stockcar racing, western Kentucky coalmining, Land between the Lake nature artists and the Munn's School.

These scholars now join the ranks of over 100 Kentucky Community Scholars that have successfully completed the training program conducted in Madisonville, Paducah, Bowling Green, Frankfort, Covington, Hodgenville, Catlettsburg, Cynthiana or Paintsville.