Saving A Big Cave In A Small Kentucky Town
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF August 31, 2026
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Saving A Big Cave In A Small Kentucky Town
Speaker: Dave Foster
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Ringing the Rotary Bell to start our eClub Meeting
Welcome to our Meeting
Steve Munns, Club Secretary, TRF Co-Chair, Member
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE IF OFFENDED: I once had a friend who had a job circumcising elephants.
The pay was lousy, but the tips were huge.
Inspiration
Here's a video we shared several years ago, and it's a gem. Combine beautiful footage with intriguing historical footprints, and you might get something like this. Enjoy!
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Glad Humans Don't Have to Worry!
Why is it always males that get eaten during sex?
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PROGRAM: Saving A Big Cave In A Small Kentucky Town
SPEAKER: Dave Foster
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
The American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) moved from Richmond, Virginia to the tiny hamlet of Horse Cave, Kentucky in 1986, with the goal of restoring Hidden River Cave and building a national cave education center. At the time, Hidden River Cave was considered the most polluted cave in America.
ACCA President David Foster will discuss the challenges of taking on a major environmental cleanup and building an educational facility in rural Kentucky. The project involved raising millions of dollars over several decades and negotiating the ups and downs of local politics, as well as the challenges of surviving and getting the job done in a low-income community.
David Foster is the President/CEO of the American Cave Conservation Association, and has worked with the ACCA since 1984. He helped pioneer the development of bat gates, which are protecting federally-endangered Gray bats, Indiana bats, and Big-eared bats at hundreds of cave sites across the U.S. He designed cave management training programs for federal and private land owners, developed widely used education programs and materials, and has cleaned up dumpsites in cave areas throughout Kentucky.
David is best known for his work in restoring Kentucky's Hidden River Cave and solving the waste treatment problems that had plagued the cave for decades. Dave directed the planning and development of the American Cave and Karst Center, a national cave education facility which includes the American Cave Museum and the restored Hidden River Cave in downtown Horse Cave. The cave restoration has been featured in Reader's Digest and the New York Times, and is considered one of the best cave restoration success stories in the world.
Members and guests, please welcome David Foster!
To learn more, go to:
https://www.caveconservation.com
https://www.hiddenrivercave.com
Contact the ACCA at:
acca@cavern.org or hiddenrivercave@gmail.com
On social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hiddenrivercave
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenrivercave1480
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiddenrivercave/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenrivercave
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.
Our weekly podcast is now called:
Inspiring People - Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
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