EVENT RE-VUE PADUCAH ROTARY PLAYGROUND The photos included in this spread speak for themselves. In them, you can see volunteers working side by side, smiling together as they construct Paducah’s newest gem—a 4,000 sq. ft. community playground. But, they do not tell the whole story. Perhaps to do that, you have to throw in some numbers, too--and, man, are they impressive. Numbers such as: $200,000… the amount of money raised to construct the Paducah Rotary Playground 8,748 … the number of volunteer man hours that the project took, from start to finish 1,708 … how many four-hour shifts that volunteers worked during the 6-day construction 100…the anniversary of Paducah’s Rotary Club, which sparked the project 93…the average temperature, in degrees, during the 6-day build Feats of volunteerism such as the one that it took to construct the Rotary Club Playground are rare, but it was just what Club officials hoped for when they first conceived of the project. “As opposed to something where we raised the money and wrote a check, we wanted something that engaged everybody,” said John Williams, Jr., the man who served as Rotary President during the project and headed up the efforts. “I know that the further we get away from what has just happened, what we are going to see in front of us is the kids playing on the playground. But, as of this moment, it’s as much about what happened there that week, with over 1,700 shifts of people from all over the community doing something like this together,” he continued. Volunteers traveled from throughout McCracken County and the region, with Rotarians coming from other chapters in Calloway, Graves and Marshall Counties to lend their time and talents to the project. John credits four individuals with being true “heroes” of the project, saying that they deserve special recognition for being on site literally every hour to ensure that the project was a success. Jason McHaney and Robert Canter served as construction managers for the project while Brad Arterburn and Oscar Gamble managed logistics for making sure that all volunteers had the tools they needed during construction. While kids play away what remains of summer on the new Rotary Playground, work continues. Donated and engraved pickets are still being produced and installed, a mural on the rock wall is planned and personalized pavers are still being laid—finishing touches on a masterpiece of volunteerism and fun for Paducah. 36 AUGUST 2016 PROMOTING EVENTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE INTHEVUE.COM
