There’s nothing like a newcomer to make the rest of us sit up and take notice of our surroundings.
It’s a common trait that when you’ve lived in one place for a goodly length of time, it’s an easy lapse of attention to fail to truly notice the many sparkling details of the LIFE you’ve chosen to live in this place we call home. So, it can be a wake-up call when someone arrives on the scene and takes the opportunity to truly explore their newfound environs—all the while helping the rest of us to join in the adventure.
Introducing Meghan Malloy, who says of her approach: “I terrorize with positivity.”
This writer can attest to that. It was hard to keep up with her in our conversation about her “chance” (which is also her husband’s name) encounter with Paducah while enroute to places north and south.
Meghan Malloy and Chance Chapman were making occasional treks from their home in Louisville to Florida to visit parents. “We watch a lot of HGTV and we had seen a program about hometown makeovers and one was done in Watumpka, AL,” explains Meghan. “So, on one of our return trips from Florida, we decided to stop by this small community and see how the town had been transformed by the HGTV crew.” Their serendipitous stop for the night before heading home was in Paducah.
“We also watch a lot of Food Network, so the local fare is always high on our agenda when we travel,” Meghan adds. On this first visit they took in the former Café de Fae, the freight house, and Max’s. “Our immediate response to this overnight sensational stay was that Paducah had some really good food,” she concluded.
On Chance’s birthday in the summer of 2024, the so-called northerners (they originally hail from Michigan) decided that they could use another delightful dose of Paducah’s hospitality. “So, we came down for the weekend, booked a stay at The DImlight on 7th Street, and made the Visitors Bureau our first visit to gather any new information about sites and stops we should make this time around,” Meghan recalls. To their previous Paducah culinary experiences, they added a brunch at Stella’s and a pizza at Beerwerks, which simply added more foodie kudos from the duo. “However, our visit to the Visitors Bureau proved to be MUCH more than a place to grab maps and plan day trips.”
Linda Ogden welcomed Meghan and Chance that afternoon and began her usual queries about where the couple was from and what they were interested in doing. After their profuse praise for Paducah, Linda asked on a whim, “So, would you like to live here?” As it turned out . . . they actually would.
Long story short—Linda’s house was for sale in Lower Town. They took a look, loved it, and closed on it three months later. From that day forward, Meghan has begun a quest to answer the question from her big city friends: Why Paducah?
She’s WAY More Than A Silly Goose
After making the move, Meghan heard about a Facebook group called the Porch Goose Club of America which boasts more than 200,000 members. This awareness apparently released Meghan’s inner avian advocacy. “I don’t know what it was, but it just seemed so fun, and as I began to wade through the stories of people and their geese, I ultimately created what has become my Paducah partner in carousing around town—Barbara Jean Gander Woodsen—a goose with good intentions.”
So not only has Meghan curated a Facebook page designed to answer the question, Why Paducah, but she’s now being joined by her no doubt soon-to-be-famous goose, as she posts weekly about ALL things Paducah. And believe us, it’s everything it’s quacked up to be. (We could not resist.)
Each week, Meghan (and often Barbara Jean) zips around town introducing us (or re-introducing us) to all the people and places that make Paducah a delightful destination—and for Meghan and Chance—a lovely place to live.
As a 20-year veteran in the hospitality industry, creating unforgettable experiences are in Meghan’s DNA. There isn’t room on these few pages to even begin to chronicle the positively prolific ideas that are swirling in Meghan’s head with regard to promoting all that Paducah has to offer. So, stay tuned to her social media menu for Meghan’s unending delivery of WHY we all love our hometown.
Geese For Sale
Meghan is now convinced that EVERYONE needs a goose that can call Paducah home! She is opening (for now from her garage) the Paducah Porch Goose company. A local artist named Centimbryo designed her Paducah goose logo using, of course, Barbara Jean as its focus. “I just want to make it a true Paducah business and get others involved with the goose obsession to promote our fabulous community,” Meghan laughs.
