His second career: Kurt Anderson thrives as director of a Hopkinsville nonprofit

As I contemplate my own departure from the practice of law, I think about attorneys who have been my colleagues in Christian County and have retired or made a change to another career.

Frankly, I do not know of many local lawyers who gave up their practices before they were well into their 70s or 80s. One of the few who made a transition fairly early in his law career is Kurt Anderson.

Kurt is now the director of the Aaron McNeil House, a nonprofit that provides a food pantry, commodity distributions and financial assistance for residents who need help paying utility bills, rent and other expenses.

Prior to joining Aaron McNeil, he maintained a law practice with Lucius Hawes in Hopkinsville for about 20 years and focused on personal injury and worker’s compensation cases. Kurt lived in Hopkinsville for many years while he was growing up and attended undergraduate school and law school at the University of Kentucky. He returned to Hopkinsville and started his law practice in 1992.

Kurt describes the law profession as “good and honorable” and said that his law firm was a great place to work. It enabled him to make a good living for his family. However, he admitted that he “did not have great passion” for the work — and both he and his wife, Susan, knew that he would not remain in the practice of law.

His decision to leave came sooner than he expected. Kurt was serving on Aaron McNeil’s Board of Directors when the opportunity came for him to become its director after the lead employee serving at that time was charged with theft from the organization. Kurt was concerned about the agency’s loss of its good reputation.

The position was a good fit for Kurt because he had become involved in mission work through First United Methodist Church. He and other members of the church travelled to southeastern Kentucky two times a year for several years to the Red Bird Mission and provided home repair services to the local community.

The origin of the Aaron McNeil House and the story about its namesake, the Rev. A.H. McNeil, also stoked Kurt’s passion as a history buff.

McNeil, a Black man born Oct. 10, 1858, in North Carolina, moved to Hopkinsville to start an Episcopal ministry, which included a church and a school. The local Grace Episcopal Church helped him establish the Chapel of the Good Shepherd in the 1890s at Second and Liberty streets. (The clergyman’s full name was actually Alexander Hamilton McNeil. It is unclear how he became known as Aaron McNeil, but that is the name that remains with the nonprofit today.)

Sadly, McNeil died suddenly of a stroke on Jan. 14, 1901. He was in his early 40s. Days prior to his death, he had qualified to become an Episcopal priest. The church he founded continued to operate until 1972, when it was consolidated into Grace Episcopal Church. That church wanted to honor the legacy of A.H. McNeil and turned the Chapel of the Good Shepherd building into a community center.

Hanging in the center today are photos of McNeil and of the building’s interior and exterior when it was still a church.

Today the nonprofit has two main programs, crisis relief and its food pantry. People in the community who are facing a crisis situation can qualify for rent and utilities assistance twice each year.

Two examples Kurt gave to explain circumstances when the agency has stepped in with assistance were when employees of Ebonite found themselves without a job upon the sudden closing of the factory and during the General Motors strike that affected Metalsa employees who lost pay for a time.

The Aaron McNeil House probably is known most for its food pantry. It is open five days a week, and a household can receive groceries every other month. The agency once required the recipient to provide proof that they resided in Christian County. After the need for food assistance increased during the pandemic, the agency relaxed its requirements, and people now can get food for any reason.

A newer service is the commodity distribution program operated through Feeding America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It began eight years ago in the downstairs part of Aaron McNeil House where they could accommodate up to 200 people per month. When they outgrew that facility, they moved the food distribution to the Boys & Girls Club on Walnut Street and then to the Western Kentucky State Fairgrounds, where they now distribute food on the second Saturday of each month.

The agency serves an average of 750 households a month with 20,000 pounds of groceries. Last month 870 households received commodities. The food is provided free to the Aaron McNeil House. The agency’s only cost is $225 for delivery on a tractor-trailer rig to the fairgrounds.

During Kurt’s tenure as director, he has seen a constant need for food and crisis relief to help maintain housing for those in the community. The number of people seeking assistance continues to cycle through spikes and declines.

Aaron McNeil board chair Jennifer Whitfield said Kurt and Susan Anderson have worked as a team in the many charitable missions they serve. She described Kurt as a good leader who “is always looking for new ideas and new ways” to help those in need. A testament to his leadership skills and ability to inspire people is the large group of dedicated volunteers who support the programs of the Aaron McNeil House. She said Kurt’s love for people and his motivation “to make the world a better place” are the keys to his success.

I asked Kurt to compare his career and life as an attorney to his current position as the head of a charitable organization. He mentioned the high level of pressure and long hours that are part of practicing law. But the lessons learned from representing clients in legal cases helped him to lead and work with staff and board members at Aaron McNeil House. He unequivocally stated that he is enjoying his second career more than being a lawyer.

Hopkinsville has benefitted, as well, from Kurt having first practiced law here before he transitioned to head up one of the community’s most important charitable missions.