Monthly Archives: March 2010

Dan Cherry, Retired Brigadier General for the United States Air Force, presented Dr. Mike Binder, Dean of WKU Libraries, with several copies of his book, My Enemy My Friend: a story of reconciliation from the Vietnam War as a donation to each of Western’s six library locations. Mr Cherry is President of Aviation Heritage Park, an educational aviation museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Dan served for twenty nine years as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His military credentials include flying 295 combat missions during the Vietnam War and serving as Commander and Leader of the Air Force Thunderbirds. Dan currently resides in Bowling Green, Kentucky and is a member of the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame.

Book Description: On April 16, 1972 at 15,000 feet in the skies near Hanoi, North Vietnam, Major Dan Cherry first met Lieutenant Nguyen Hong My. In an intense aerial battle Dan shot down the MiG-21 piloted by Hong My. Thirty six years later Dan and Hong My met face to face in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for the first time since that fateful day. This book describes that meeting, Hong My’s subsequent trip to the United States and the strong friendship that has evolved between these two men. The book’s universal message of reconciliation and friendship has appeal to all ages.

Tonight (March 18) on WBKO at both 5 pm and 10 pm, Amy DeCesare will be featuring our US Bank art show in her “View from the Hill segment. Be sure to watch our program being highlighted. FYI, Jennifer

Hitcents and WKU Libraries have partnered to create  a new website highlighting the layout, description and general plan for a new permanent exhibit to be housed at the Kentucky Museum. Hitcents, a nationally known  website and software development company that has created more than 200 websites, partnered with WKU Libraries to create the site to build interest, enthusiasm and funding toward the exhibit named The Horse in Kentucky.

Hitcents provided gift-in-kind services to create the website. According to Ed Mills, Chief Financial Officer for Hitcents, their company became excited about the project from day one. “After a casual conversation with Mike Binder, we learned of their vision to create a horse exhibit to be housed in the Kentucky Museum. Our company slogan ‘Dream it Real’ fit with the aspirations of this project,” said Mills. “Less than four weeks after our first conversation, we have managed to get the project out of the starting gate with the new website, www.horseinky.com.”

“We are very pleased with the final product Hitcents put together for The Horse in Kentucky,” said Mike Binder, Dean of WKU Libraries. “They’ve created an amazing website and we look forward to communicating our plan to the public as we continue to develop the funding base to make this exhibit a reality.”

The Horse in Kentucky recently received a $35,000 grant from the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau’s special tourism project funding. “For years, the state of Kentucky has promoted and spent millions on the horse industry,” said Vicki Fitch, Executive Director of Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Now, Bowling Green will be able to offer visitors a permanent exhibit reflecting one of our state’s top industries and points of pride.”

Solid Light, Inc., a design and planning firm based out of Louisville, Kentucky, has been contracted to design, construct and produce the exhibit. The Horse in Kentucky will operate on the fundamental question, “Why is Kentucky the horse capital of the world?” The website explains how the exhibit will explore three unique themes related to specific aspects of the horse’s prominence in Kentucky: the science, the function and the soul of the horse. There will be featured stories throughout the exhibit from past and present Kentuckians who have worked closely with horses of various breeds.

According to Timothy Mullin, Director for the Kentucky Library & Museum, the exhibit will also branch out to include all the many businesses touched by the horse industry. “A farmer, a saddle maker, feed suppliers, veterinarians, show judges, horse beauty parlors, therapy riding stables…the list is endless because the horse industry touches so many Kentuckians’ lives,” said Mullin.

For more information about The Horse in Kentucky exhibit, go to www.horseinky.com or call Timothy Mullin at 745-6261.