by Kennedy Williams, Ben Overby
The Paducah Sun
May 8, 2026
Used with permission.
A Paducah Tilghman High School student received a new car on Thursday after winning Hands of Hope’s Road to Excellence drawing — an event that encourages students to strive for better behavior, attendance and grades.
Antonio Hunt, a senior at Paducah Tilghman, said he was working at his co-op job when the school contacted him about returning to the Innovation Hub for his new 2025 Nissan Versa. According to Hands of Hope’s Executive Director, Kimberly Yates, this is the second year the Road to Excellence Program has given a new car to a student.
“This is our second year, and it was started because of issues involving attendance,” Yates said. “Of course, it doesn’t just focus on that. We’re basically here to help increase the numbers on anything, whether it be attendance, academics and such.”
In addition to an end-of-year car giveaway, Hands of Hope also provides three gifts a month throughout the school year. Tony Brock, director of pupil personnel for Paducah Public Schools, said that these rewards can be achieved through good attendance, arriving at school on time, avoiding unexcused absences and maintaining good grades.
Regarding the impact of Hands of Hope’s student rewards, Brock said, “It’s an opportunity, then, to recognize students for their continued effort throughout the school year and keep that momentum going.”
Yates said all students are eligible to earn tickets throughout the school year that can be entered into the Hands of Hope drawings. These tickets can be earned in various ways, rewarding students for different behaviors.
“You have all year to collect tickets to go into the drawing, and some of those ways to get tickets might be doing something in the community, standing up for a fellow student — a fellow classmate — [and] good grades,” Yates said.
Brock elaborated that students can be entered into the drawings multiple times by continuing to earn tickets all year, enabling students to have more than one chance at winning.
“The better their grades, attendance and behavior are, the more chances their name gets put into the hopper for selection,” Brock explained.
Blair Tolar — a Hands of Hope board member — highlighted the program’s role in providing rewards to students, specifying that Hands of Hope arranges the prizes by partnering with community partners. He said that the program is not involved in setting the criteria for students, with Paducah Tilghman faculty being the ones who decide the winners.
“I feel like we’re just kind of like Santa Claus. We just bring the gifts,” Tolar said. “We want the kids of this community to be rewarded for the things the school wants to reward.”
Yates also stressed the importance of the community when speaking about the school’s monthly rewards, noting that many of the donors are local small business owners, and added that the car giveaway would not have been possible without their partnership with Nissan of Paducah. She said that several community members remain anonymous in their donations.
In reflecting on the impact of Hands of Hope, Tolar similarly commended the impact of the community. “It’s just been a really great opportunity to interact with local businesses that are very charitable and giving and want to support such a great program,” Tolar said.
When asked about his new car, Hunt credited his mother for the tickets he earned toward the drawing. He said all his hard work was a result of his mother “being on [his] back to stay motivated.” He said when he got a chance to call his mom, she would probably cry when she heard the news.
Yates said anyone interested in contributing to or getting involved with the Hands of Hope program can contact her or Tolar.