50 years of fun
Kentucky Sheriffs’ Boys & Girls Ranch
GILBERTSVILLE
The Kentucky Sheriffs’ Boys & Girls Ranch in Gilbertsville has served children and their families in every county across the state for 50 years. Jerry Wagner, executive director of both the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association and the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Boys & Girls Ranch, has devoted 43 years of his law enforcement career to the ranch.
Wagner, a lifelong Fleming-Mason Energy consumer-member, began working in the Fleming County Sheriff’s Office in 1982. “One of my first assignments that they put me on there was raising money to help support the Sheriffs’ Boys & Girls Ranch in our local community,” he says. Every year after that, Wagner continued fundraising for the organization that operates solely on donations. Then in 2007, he became the executive director.
The ranch is a weeklong summer camp that strives to make a positive impression on the lives of children ages 8-11, with alternating sessions—boys come one week, girls the next. The camp serves around 350-400 kids each summer. Sheriffs’ offices in each county work with schools, churches and civic organizations to select children who may benefit the most from spending time there. Programming includes drug and alcohol education classes and interaction with counselors, plus plenty of downtime for games, arts and crafts, and swimming. “It’s a good mix of education and social fun,” Wagner says.
Children also interact with the sheriffs and deputies. “It gives us the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with the children and law enforcement because we’re looking to build a good relationship with those children,” Wagner explains. “We like to build relationships now rather than mending them later.”
As the ranch celebrates five decades of service to Kentucky’s children, Wagner continues raising money for the program, just as he did when his law enforcement career first began. Buildings on the grounds were originally built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s, so fundraising efforts are underway to either update or construct new kitchen and dining facilities.
“I’m just very proud that we’ve been able to serve the youth of our state for 50 years and do it at no cost to the families that we have provided that for,” Wagner says. “And that’s just something that we’re all proud of, and we’d like to continue that.”
Learn more or inquire about volunteer opportunities: (270) 362-8660
www.kentuckysheriffs.org
AMY COBB is the author of two book series for children, Band Geeks and Libby Wimbley
