The guest speaker for the 43rd Russellville-Logan County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet will be the Honorable Arnold Lynch. retired District Judge of Hopkinsville/ Christian County.
The banquet will be held on Saturday, June 10, at 6 p.m. at the Russellville Parks and Recreation Sportsman Club. You are invited to this evening of celebration.
Hon. Judge Arnold B. Lunch is a native of Hopkinsville. He graduated from Hopkinsville High School in 1971 where he excelled in academics and athletics. He went on to attend Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. Upon graduation in 1975, he was a Drane Award nominee that is given to seniors excelling in character, scholarship, leadership and service to the university.
He attended the University of Kentucky College of Law, graduating in 1970 and make the decision to return to Hopkinsville to practice law. Arnold was a partner with Hunter and Lynch for less that a year before his partner made a decision to move on to other endeavors. In 1960, the Lynch Law firm was established and served Hopkinsville and Western Kentucky for the next 22 years. He served as a legal practitioner and assistant county attorney for 21 of those years. He was elected the first African American judge in Western Kentucky in 2002,taking the bench in 2003.
Arnold is a member of Kappa Alpha Phi fraternity. As a member of Virginia Street Baptist Church, he serves as a treasurer, trustee, and Sunday School teacher.
Over the years he has received dozens of awards statewide, regionally and locally. He retired in 2014 to attend to family, grandchildren, church and community, in tat order. He currently stays busy with Pioneers, Inc., one of the oldest African American organizations in Kentucky, along with his church, family and community.
During his career as a district judge, he was widely respected by his peers and others in the community because of his hard work.
He has been married to Ruth Lynch of Lexington for 52 years. They have two children, a daughter Amelia (husband Will), who serves as a principal, and their son Blaine (wife Vanessa), who is an engineer, and five grandchildren.