Missy Vanderpool receives statewide award
Missy Vanderpool, executive director of Henderson Economic Development, has received the top award from a statewide organization.
The Kentucky Association for Economic Development presented Vanderpool its 2026 Community Professional of the Year at KAED’s Economic Forum Awards Luncheon on Thursday.
Vanderpool has led Henderson Economic Development for six years, emphasizing partnerships, community engagement and opportunities for growth in her hometown.
“Economic development is about more than attracting new investment. It is about building relationships, bringing people together, and creating opportunities that make our communities stronger,” said Ray Hagerman, chair of KAED’s board of directors. “Missy exemplifies that commitment through her leadership in Henderson and her involvement in organizations that contribute to the well-being and future of her community.”
Vanderpool led the coalition of community partners that recruited the Pratt Industries corrugated box recycling and paper mill that opened in 2023 and today employs approximately 350 people.
Before entering economic development, Vanderpool worked in real estate, serving as president of her Realtors association and earning Realtor of the Year recognition. She later became executive director of the Henderson Audubon Board of Realtors and earned the Realtor Certified Executive designation.
A Henderson Community College graduate, Vanderpool serves on boards supporting health care, education, agriculture, business and community services. Those include Deaconess Henderson Hospital, Healing Reins of Kentucky, the Tri-State Women’s Network, the Murray State Economic Development Advisory Board, the Henderson County High School CTE Advisory Committee, the Henderson Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board.
Her previous honors include Volunteer of the Year from the Downtown Henderson Partnership, the Linda E. White Woman of the Year award and induction into the Henderson County High School Alumni Hall of Fame.
Thurman recognized by Friends of Library
Susie Thurman was recognized on Sunday, Nov. 1, for her years of volunteering and service with the Henderson County Public Library’s Friends of the Library.
Current Friends of the Library board president Lorie Maltby had this to say about Thurman:
“Susie became involved with the Friends of the Library in the 1980s. In the early 2000s, she became president of the board, a position she held for 15 years. Beginning in 2015, she was appointed to the HCPL Board of Trustees and served two 4-year terms. In 2023, she rejoined the Friends board where she continues to be an active member, coming to meetings, volunteering for events and providing leadership and wise counsel.
Thurman is a retired educator, having taught English at North Junior High School for 16 years, at Henderson County High School for 11 years and for nearly 20 years as an adjunct instructor at Henderson Community College, where the institution’s adjunct faculty annual award is named in her honor. Thurman has also written numerous books, including her most recent work, a trilogy that documented the letters her father wrote home to her mother when he was stationed in England during World War II.
The Friends of the Library recognized her for “her many years of service to and untold contributions to the Friends organization and to the HCPL.”
As if she hasn’t done enough, Thurman is also on the board of West Kentucky Public Service Journalism Inc, the publisher of the Hendersonian.
“She is a true friend of the library and to the community of Henderson,” Maltby said.
Thurman said that 73 years ago she got her first library card from the Henderson County Public Library, and the library has been a part of her life since.
“It’s been a treasure and a pleasure,” Thurman said.
