Community Members Kickoff Champ
“For us, being able to support this is not just about sports/activities, it’s about helping kids build skills on their way to a successful life.” - Denise Martin
Brian & Denise Martin view their role as community members as one focused on investing in children by the very nature of being a citizen of LaRue County. As CHAMP (Community-Hawks Athletic Modernization Partnership) has opened up, beginning to receive donations, the Martins wanted to put their resources where their heart is - supporting the future of students.
“We got involved in what has now become CHAMP because of our neighbor Molli Jo Wooldridge. While sharing with us about her track season, she mentioned not being able to compete on the track because of the condition it’s in and we began to think, ‘Let’s do something about that.’ The student-athletes are not able to host meets where they would typically generate funds that could be used to help perform upkeep on the facilities.”
While the Martins are not originally from LaRue County, they have been here since the early 90s and have been involved with 4H. As they worked with young people in the program they had two observations: students in LaRue County were graduating and going on to be successful in various careers and those who were involved in an activity/sport were involved in far less trouble than those who were not involved.
When the opportunity to improve the experience of those students who were involved in high school sports/activities presented itself, they were immediately on board.
To the Martins, this is not just about the clear and present need. Brian explains how this is a long-term investment for the good of the county, “This county is growing and we have wonderful teachers here. People are going to want to send their kids to LaRue County Schools. We want to get the rest of the public involved, to join us and help the kids, which in turn helps the rest of the community.”
A common term used in LaRue County is the community being a “Hawk Family” in reference to the LCHS Hawk mascot. What makes that phrase meaningful is the realization that everyone has a role to play in helping one another far into the future as Denise explains, “When we as a community invest in the students of LaRue County Schools we are investing in the person who will save our lives as a doctor, who will be doing our taxes, who will be taking care of our aging parents, who will grow up to be the politicians who are voting for the things we care about — and they are going to get their start here. We want to give them the best chance to succeed and this is one area we can begin to help.”
