Hazard Perry County Chamber of Commerce hosts 68th Civic Night

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - After the historic July 2022 flood, Eastern Kentuckians sprung into action to help get the community back on its feet.

On Thursday, many of the Hazard Perry County Chamber of Commerce member organizations were recognized for their efforts following the flood.

“We are excited to just have all these organizations here,” said Hazard Perry Chamber of Commerce President Janet Smith. “There’s so many organizations that just have given everything they’ve got to the people of Perry County and to try and to try to bring our county back.”

The event was hosted at Hazard Community and Technical College’s First Federal Center.

A total of 29 organizations were recognized during Civic Night, with each of them being awarded a plaque for their hard work in and around the county.

Senior Advisor to Governor Andy Beshear and Eastern Kentucky native Rocky Adkins was the guest speaker. He spoke before the awards ceremony.

“So it’s good to be here to recognize and show our appreciation for that effort and really for the leadership of individuals, and the leadership of different organizations, that have helped make that happen,” said Adkins. “So, I’m honored to be here tonight.”

Adkins said he is proud to be from Eastern Kentucky and that the resilience of the Eastern Kentucky community helped to move the difficult rebuilding process along quickly.

City and county leaders also received awards they said belong to their staff because of the hard work and long nights they put in to get the city and county into recovery mode.

“Now my award, and Scott’s award both, wouldn’t have happened without our crews, city employees, and the county employees because they worked around the clock,” said Happy Mobelini, Mayor of Hazard.

The following organizations received awards to recognize their dedication to Hazard and Perry County:

• American Red Cross
• Appalachian Arts Alliance
• Appalachian Regional Healthcare/Foundation for Healthier Communities
• Drinkard Development
• EKCEP
• Foundation of Appalachian Kentucky/Perry County Foundation
• Hazard Community and Technical College
• Hazard Fire Department
• Hazard Independent Schools
• Hazard Police Department
• Housing Authority of Hazard
• Housing Development Alliance
• Judge-Executive Scott Alexander/Perry County Fiscal Court and county employees
• Kentucky Power
• Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD)
• KRCC
• Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter
• LKLP
• Mayor Happy Mobelini/City of Hazard commissioners and city employees
• North Fork Local Foods
• Perry County Ambulance Authority
• Perry County Emergency Management
• Perry County Long-Term Recovery Group
• Perry County Schools
• Perry County Sheriff’s Office
• Perry County Soil and Conservation District
• Primary Care Centers of Eastern Kentucky
• WSGS
• WYMT

There was also a very special moment when 103-year-old Roy Drinkard, a businessman from Alabama with a decades-long connection to economic development in Hazard, was honored. Drinkard was in attendance and given a standing ovation and birthday cake. He turned 103 in July. One of his many properties across the United States, where a JC Penney used to be in Hazard, was turned into a flood distribution center.

Former WYMT morning anchor Dakota Makres served as the master of ceremonies.

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