CEO African-American Leaders Luncheon Convenes In Hopkinsville

In just one Tuesday lunch hour on the fourth floor of Hopkinsville’s 1002 South Virginia Street building, four local dignitaries brought insight and career knowledge to a panel discussion — answering a wide breadth of questions about leadership, workforce culture and the unique challenges of the world through their eyes.

Sponsored by Hopkinsville Community College and organized by the Christian County Chamber of Commerce, Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch, Pennyrile Children’s Advocacy Center Executive Director Candra Barnett, Minority Economic Development Initiative Executive Director Henry Snorton III and HCC Upward Bound Assistant Director Joe Leavell took turns answering questions from Chamber board member and the semi-retired Anita Simmons — in what was the CEO African-American Community Leaders Luncheon.

Coinciding with February and the celebration of “Black History Month,” all four panelists turned to personal experiences in detailing how to handle successes and failures, how to maintain a positive management style, what does one do during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic — and all while forecasting upcoming goals and challenges in the coming years for their respective organizations.

Lynch noted the pandemic brought about a sense of urgency in his office, and allowed for he and his staff to determine that some meetings could be emails — with time being used more wisely and elsewhere in the community. Employees became more digitally confident, and he added that there has long been a growing sense of accomplishment and success — particularly in continuing Hopkinsville’s fiscal responsibility.

Asked what award he’d like to see for his career efforts, Lynch simply said he’d want a sign that said “Gone Fishin’” — and for good reason.

Barnett said the best way to push through a failure was to “just do it,” and that during the pandemic, her office saw multiple crises handled — from an office move, to hiring two more employees, to a staff member losing a home due recent tornadoes, and to a staff member having a child born five weeks early.

Asked what it meant to be part of Christian County’s diverse culture, and how she assimilated to a “melting pot” society, Barnett said she had to grow up in her career quite quickly.

Snorton III, one of only two African-Americans in the state with certified economic development skills, said he flunked his qualifying test twice before receiving a passing grade — in a third-time’s-the-charm effort. A proud Crofton native who wants to be a New York Times bestseller, he said the pandemic proved to be a bit more difficult to navigate for his office — because the ideas of collaboration and economic development don’t exactly jump off of a Zoom screen and into a budding business.

Leavell noted he grew up “on the other side of the tracks,” and that over the years, he’s learned to “pour himself into others,” in an effort to educate and promote learning, leadership and decision-making skills within the community. He’s turned this into strong tenures at both the Hopkinsville Boys & Girls Club and now at HCC, and he added that any and all company problems can be solved in-house — if that’s the desire of everyone involved.