Councilwoman Marcelene Taylor provided an update on the second meeting of the Jamestown Lakefest Committee at this month’s meeting of the Jamestown City Council. Taylor announced that country music star Joe Diffie has been tentatively scheduled to be the main attraction for this year’s festivities.

Taylor also announced that the beauty pageant schedule would return to its traditional format; that all pageants will be held on Friday night of the celebration.

“Our budget is really tight,” said Taylor, “so if anybody wants to donate we’d appreciate it.”

A golf scramble and softball tournament have been organized to assist in money raising efforts.

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Robert Rapone, the president and CEO of Bruss North America, is retiring at the end of the month after a long career with the auto parts importer, with the last dozen years spent in Russell County getting the company off the ground in the United States.

Rapone was given a send off a week ago Monday morning at the monthly meeting of the local Industrial Development Authority at Duo County’s headquarters in Jamestown with many community and local business leaders sending kind words and well wishes his way.

“Twelve years seems like a long time but it went really fast,” Rapone said. “We’ve had some good times and we’ve had some bad times.”

Rapone was speaking of the sluggish economic situations that began in 2008 and forced his company to cut back on employees as the auto industry weakened considerably.

“I remember calling Gene (Royalty) and saying ‘we’re in trouble and I’m going to need some help’ and the community, the state, I had never seen an outpouring of support,” he said. Those tough times have since passed for Bruss and Rapone has overseen a large expansion several years ago and now has a plant with around 350 workers currently employed.

“In 2009, we had about 20 if you remember,” Rapone said, speaking of those bleaker financial times. “We did go through a pretty downtrodden time.”

But with the help of his company and a community behind him, Bruss has rebounded in a big way and has become a stable workplace for many Russell Countians.

“I will tell you, the Bruss company has phenomenal products, and we went out and sold those products and if you go down there now there is not much room left in the expansion,” he said. “The growth in two years has been phenomenal. Back in 2009 we did over $10 million and last year we did over $60 million. This year we hope to do close to $70 million and that trend will continue but it wouldn’t have happened without you and all the support that you’ve given us.”

Rapone said at times he hasn’t been the easiest person to get along with and his direct personality leads to a no-nonsense lifestyle.

“Just to show the character of the people here you put up with that for quite a while in a lot of ways,” he said. “You’ve always made my family feel welcomed in this community.”

Rapone also thanked Russell County Industrial Authority Director Gene Royalty for all his hard work and contributions to the community saying there wasn’t a better person to contact during a time of need than Royalty.

“He’s been very patient with me,” Rapone said. “His counsel was always appreciated and he’s done an excellent job of mentoring me.”

Royalty, who said Bruss was one of the best things to ever happen to Russell County, also said he first met Rapone in July 2000 when Bruss was looking to locate in the United States. He even recalled Bruss’s first shipment in February of 2002 and noted it as a monumental achievement for the county.

While much of Rapone’s talk centered on the successful company he has overseen these last 12 years he also spoke of his deep appreciation for Dr. Rick Miles, who helped Rapone discover and recover from a serious health issue several years ago.

“He actually got me well very quick and has kept his eye on me every six months,” Rapone said.

Christopher Gauglitz will be taking over as the CEO of Bruss North American come April 1.

“He is looking so much forward to being here and becoming part of the community,” Rapone said of his successor.

Royalty, Judge/Executive Gary Robertson, Russell Springs Mayor Hollis DeHart and other community and business leaders spoke about what Rapone and Bruss have meant to the area.

Rapone, who was given a plaque honoring him for his service to the community, and his wife, will reside in Tampa, Florida, following his retirement at the end of the month.