Coaching, community and culture aren’t foreign concepts to Shannon Booth.
A Marshall County native and the wife of Trigg County’s Superintendent, Rex, she played for legendary skipper Howard Beth and assisted the Lady Marshals’ next coach, Joseph Simmons, before she and her husband followed a number of educational pursuits across the Commonwealth — each of them with these passions in mind.
Now, it’s all come full circle.
Thursday morning at Cadiz City Hall, Mayor Todd King and City Clerk Susan Hyde announced Booth as the next Renaissance On Main director.
She will still serve as an assistant to Hyde and the city, while navigating the hopes and challenges that come with small-town Main Street.
King and Hyde both confirmed that Booth was interested in pursuing this career with the city, and after several conversations, decided the fit was natural.
Booth is fully cognizant that with this position comes great responsibility. Not only does it require constant attention through the holidays, but its day-to-day efforts include oversight of the Renaissance Stage and Renaissance Center, the seasonal Cadiz Farmer’s Market and Junque Fest, all while serving as a key pillar on the Trigg County Country Ham Festival Committee — which meets monthly in order to smoothly plan the special October weekend.
Running at this speed, however, isn’t abnormal for Booth. For nearly two decades, she worked at least the weekends at Belew’s Dairy Bar in Aurora, once served as an assistant under Rechelle Turner at Murray State University, and currently coaches her daughter’s club volleyball team in Bowling Green.
This weekend, she and the family are moving into a new house in Trigg County — further entrenching them in the area, for what she hopes is a long time.
Along with what Trigg County typically offers, Booth said she would like to see more food truck opportunities and a few more unique events added to the schedule.
But for now, she’s looking forward to building a team atmosphere — especially after the community rallied around the 48th Annual Trigg County Country Ham Festival.
It’s there, she said, where she was moved to seek this position.
Meanwhile, City of Cadiz officials remain uninvolved in an ongoing Kentucky State Police investigation centered on former On Main Director Brianna Hyde. A request for comment from KSP Post 1 has not been returned.
