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T- I ESAYSTHATIFHE’D BEEN ABLETO GO FISHING OR HUNTING, emphasized that the push behind the civil
T- { or play golf or travel, he probably wouldn’t ey, and the time of each race since the begin- defense program had been because of Virgil
Y- have spent the hours it took to research and ning of the Derby in l875. Couch.
m I write what began as the first history of the Couch's knowledge and interestin the Ken- He has also been the subject of feature
,S_ ; Kentucky Alumni Club of Washington, D.C. tucky Club began in l935 when he was asked articles in national publications such as Business
he Virgil Couch '30 was appointed UK club his- by the Federal Government to take leave from Week, Life, Fortune, The Wall Streetjournal, and
is_ torian at the beginning of l986, and he took his industrial iob as agent for the Texas Com- Look, as well as international publications in
that appointment seriously. The results of his pany in Lexington, for a 60 day assignment to France, Germany and Canada.
' ·, writing efforts are a 550 page history of the assistasa consultantand adviseron personnel The first recipient of the UK Alumni Service
l University of Kentucky, the University of Ken- managementand labor relations. At thattime Award in l96I, Couch was inducted into the
j tucky National Alumni Association, the Ken- there were only a few professionally qualified University of Kentucky National Alumni Associ-
Q tucky State Society and the Kentucky Alumni personnel managers and labor relations execu- ation’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in I970.
—   Club ofWashington, D.C. and much aboutthe tives in industry and even fewer in government. Because of the many hours he spent re-
m j state itself. Couch intended to stayforthose 60 days and searching and writing, Couch said he could
ii-   Couch is legally blind now and because of then return to industry — he stayed for almost easily understand why former club historians
-e’ I poor health is confined to a bed or an easy 40 years. had not tackled the iob earlier. There are 30
ati I chain requiring the aid ofhis wife andafull-time In l948 he was appointed directorof person- chapters in the book which Couch plans to
.a1 home care nurse for personal needs. Writing nel of the economic cooperation administration update each yearto maintain a continuous his-
to and researching the book proved to be good (Marshall Plan), where he served as adviserto tory of both the Kentucky Alumni Club and the
.0_ social therapy forhim — he talked to over 600 over I5 countries in personnel management Kentucky State Society. The updates will be
on _ people by long distance telephone, including systems. During that time he was also the U.S. sentto everyone who has purchased the book.
_€_ _ former governors and senators, most of whom representative to NATO. The Federal Personnel He chose to have the book covered in lightblue
Ed Q he knows personally. Council, made up of top directors of personnel with a heavy plastic ring binder so it can be ,
y L When he finished writing about the alumni in the federal government praised him forestab- opened to lie flat on a table or desk for easy j
  , club, he decided there should be something lishing benchmarksin personnel management reading. ‘
about the history of the U K National Alumni from l935 to I 95I , saying that he had laid the The directorof research atthe Library of Con-
lal Association based in Lexington. The volume groundwork for Improving management of hu- gress has requested a copy ofthe history since
u` · elaborates on a brief history of the association man resources and had promoted merit prin- itolgo Contains the Only record ofthe estobligh-
th written by Thomas D. Clark, former UK history ciples of employment throughout the world. ment and operation of the National Confer- :
“· professor. That accomplished he says it Heioined the Federal Civil Defense Adminis- ence ofState Societies, which is made upofthe
if` became clear to him that there should be a tration in l95l where he was responsible for 50 store societies in Washington, D_C_
m history ofthe origin of the I3 UK varsity sports developing training programs and for estab- The book is available by mail. Send $25to ·
Vi- as well. lishing the "UniversityforSurvival,"the national the UK Alumni Club, 429 3rd Street, NW, l
F6 The more he wrote the clearer it became to civil defense training center Though the school Washington, D.C. 20002, attention Bob Rush- L
n· him that there was a need for a history of the was designed to teach methods of survival ing —orfrom the Kentucky State Society l23l2 ?
th I University of Kentucky, followed by a brief during wartime, italso proved useful in learning Starlight lane, Bowie, Md. 207I5, attention `
or history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and to deal with the devastation oftomados, floods, William Park.
ii- a history of the Kentucky State Society. Couch’s explosions and other disasters. The school’s
so own experiences in learning the history of UK graduates included representatives of federal Kuyjohnson »86 ,S ¤$$,$,¤n,€d,,O,OtAtUmn, public,}
es firsthand from his studentdays in l926, and as and state agencies, mayors, and other people tion; i
ri- an alumnus since l‘?30, are alsoincluded inthe with positions essential to the civil defense E
_ book. efforts in communities all overthe United States. `
  Readers have been surprised to find bio- They were taught howto organize and operate
l graphical sketches of the fifty Kentucky Cherry programs in their home communities. ;
Blossom Princesses and their parents, the his- Because of his prominence in, and identifica-
tory ofChurchill Downs andthe Kentucky Der- tion with, the civil defense effort, Couch was `
bywith names ofeach Derby winnen the lock- featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in an ,
October I96l issue. At that time he was the ¥
, only career employee in the federal service to i
have been so honored. The TIME article
UK 5