Student qualifies to compete at world’s largest rodeo

▪ Bodie Taggett a sophomore at Nicholas County High School, has earned a position on the Kentucky National High School Rodeo Team and will travel to Gillette, Wyo., Sunday through July 22 to compete at the 69th annual National High School Finals Rodeo in the Trap and Light Rifle competitions.

Featuring more than 1,750 contestants from 43 states, five Canadian Provinces and Australia, the rodeo is the world’s largest. In addition to competing for $200,000 in prizes, contestants will also vie for $350,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named World Champion. World champions will be determined based on their three-round combined times/scores.

The Saturday championship performance will be televised nationally on RFD-TV. Live broadcasts of each performance will also air online at NHSRATV.com. Performance times are 7 p.m. on Sunday, and 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day thereafter.

Taggett won state champion titles in Trap and Light Rifle at the Kentucky National High School Rodeo Finals. This is his second year competing in Kentucky High School Rodeo and the finals.

▪ Midway University Athletic Director Rusty Kennedy has been named the 2016-17 River States Conference Athletic Director of the Year. The award was voted on by his peers in the conference.

When Kennedy arrived in January 2016, Midway was a women-only institution. A few months later, the Board of Trustees voted to make the transition to a coeducational institution, leading to the debut of men’s sports in 2016-17.

Under Kennedy’s guidance, six new varsity sports teams were added, including the first four men’s teams.

Kennedy also oversaw the addition of 10 new staff positions, which included the coaches of the new sports and the school’s first full-time sports information director.

▪ The nonprofit International Leadership Network has selected Nathan Feese, who recently finished eighth grade at Morton Middle School, as one of its two Young Achievers of the Year.

Three other students from Fayette County Public Schools were among the 15 recognized as 2017 Young Achievers: Jackson Gonzales of Lexington Traditional Magnet School, Peyton Prichard of Tates Creek Elementary, and Alex Stumbur of Ashland Elementary. They completed eighth and fifth grade, respectively, in 2016-17.

These youngsters were among Lexington’s school-level winners in the Young Achievers program, sponsored locally by Holifield Photography. It salutes students who serve as positive role models, demonstrate achievement in a variety of areas, exhibit good citizenship, and are competent scholars with good attendance records.

▪ Fayette County high school junior Savanna Stephens recently spent some time at Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders. Stephens and 43 other high school students from around the state attended the five-day summer leadership conference at the University of Kentucky.

The conference is designed to expose high school students to college life while helping them explore different fields of study for careers in agriculture.

Personnel

▪ Donna Hedgepath has been promoted to Campbellsville University’s first provost and vice president for academic affairs. With this new title, Hedgepath is the “first among equals” of Campbellsville’s vice presidents and can make decisions in the absence of President Michael V. Carter. She became vice president for academic affairs in January 2015.

Miscellaneous

▪ Campbellsville University has received approval for a level change from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Colleges, the university’s accrediting agency, and will begin offering a Ph.D. in management program this fall.

Specializations including leadership/management, human resource management and cyber technology management will be offered. Applications are being accepted for the August cohort and the January 2018 cohort.

For more information, contact Pat Cowherd at phcowherd@campbellsville.edu or 270-789-5281.

▪ The Fayette County school board has approved a waiver allowing Fayette County Public Schools students who qualify for reduced-price meals to receive free breakfast and lunch at school in 2017-18. The change will affect more than 600 children.

“If students are hungry, it’s very difficult for them to achieve. We’re trying to remove barriers,” Child Nutrition Director Michelle Coker said at the June 26 board meeting.

In Fayette County Public Schools, full-price lunches will cost $2.50 for K-5 students and $2.75 for grades 6-12. Regular breakfasts will be $1.35. These prices are unchanged from 2016-17.

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Student qualifies to compete at world’s largest rodeo."