April 14, 2016

 

By Drew Tucker, marketing and media relations coordinator

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - “I'm honored to be here this morning to
help kick off this announcement for the Derby Rose Gala, a fundraiser that
raises funds for scholarships and to help individuals to get into
Campbellsville,” Pat Day, 1992 Kentucky Derby winner, said at Campbellsville
University's Louisville Education Center on April 8.

Along with Jeffersontown
Mayor Bill Dieruf and CU Advancement Board members Sara Curry, Gwinn Hahn,
Betty Hord and Yevette Haskins, Day announced an upcoming concert featuring contemporary
Christian artist Amy Grant, along with Ellie Holcomb and Nichole Nordeman, following
the gala in Ransdell Chapel on CU's campus April 29 at 8 p.m.

“This is
going to be a tremendous concert, and we feel we're going to raise several
thousands of dollars for the scholarship fund at Campbellsville University,”
Benji Kelly, CU vice president for development, said.

Lauren Stevens, a freshman from Taylorsville, Ky., spoke about the importance of scholarships at the news conference. (Campbellsville University Photo by Rachel DeCoursey)

Lauren
Stevens, a freshman from Taylorsville, Ky., said she has been able to be a
Campbellsville University student on an $18,000 scholarship due to the support
from the scholarship fund, and wouldn't have been able to attend without it.

“I can tell
you, honestly, during eighth grade in middle school is when I decided to attend
Campbellsville University. I went there on a visit and came back home and knew
I wanted to go there. I didn't look at other colleges - something drew me
there,” she said.

“I want to
thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to
have these scholarships,” she said.

She said
she hopes that upon graduating she will be able to impact the generation below
her because of Campbellsville's community.

“God's
presence is there, and he's definitely doing something at Campbellsville
University,” she said.

Jeffersontown Mayor Bill Dieruf said Campbellsville University is “family friendly.” (Campbellsville University Photo by Rachel DeCoursey)

Jeffersontown
Mayor Bill Dieruf said it gives him great pleasure to be a part of
Campbellsville University because Jeffersontown is known as a family-friendly
community, and, as Stevens said, CU is family friendly. Campbellsville
University's Louisville Education Center is located just off Hurstbourne Lane
in the Stonybrook area of Jeffersontown.

“We are
proud to have Campbellsville University as a part of our family,” he said. “The
one thing you can't check is the family-Christian attitude they bring and teach
their students.

“Lauren
said she has a scholarship and she's going to come back and pass it forward.
Each one of these students is going to be the type of student who, when they
receive something, they will pass it forward,” he said.

Kentucky Derby winning jockey Pat Day said, “As soon as you drive into Campbellsville, you can sense the presence of God.” (Campbellsville University Photo by Rachel DeCoursey)

Day, who
has been a guest speaker at CU's Gala and chapel in the past, said he came to
Campbellsville to enlarge his knowledge of Jesus Christ.

“As soon as
you drive into Campbellsville, you can sense the presence of God,” he said.
“The Lord Jesus Christ is readily available.”

He said
that after years of alcohol and substance abuse, on Jan. 27, 1984, he made a
commitment to Christ.

“As I
invited Christ into my heart and to feel that overwhelming and unconditional
love of God, I knew we were all called to experience the Lord, the very thing
that Campbellsville stands for and what they're built upon,” he said.

Since the
beginning of the Advancement Board in 2009, the Derby Rose Gala has raised over
$250,000 for the general scholarship fund. Each year, 50-75 students can't come
to Campbellsville University due to a lack of financial support, and the
scholarship fund helps them attend.

The concert
after the Derby Rose Gala featuring contemporary Christian artist Amy Grant,
along with Ellie Holcomb and Nichole Nordeman on their Live Life Together Tour,
will be held on April 29 at 8 p.m. in the Ransdell Chapel at Campbellsville
University, located at 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campbellsville, KY 42718.

Campbellsville
University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more
than 3,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 24 master's
degrees, seven postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The
website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.