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Kentucky Colonels from around the world are invited to Louisville for the annual ROMP event, which is designed to celebrate the organization’s rich history of good works. Photos furnished.
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Kentucky Colonels from around the world are invited to Louisville for the annual event, which is designed to celebrate the organization’s rich history of good works.
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Kentucky Colonels from around the world are invited to Louisville for the annual event, which is designed to celebrate the organization’s rich history of good works.
It’s a lot of fun to tell people who aren’t familiar with Kentucky that you are a Kentucky Colonel. The honor, however, is more than a curiosity or a conversation starter – for over 200 years Kentucky Colonels have been concerned with giving back to the people of Kentucky and making the state a better place to live.
Many immediately connect the title with the Kentuckian who most famously incorporated the title into his public life, Colonel Harland Sanders, but the list of famous Kentuckians who are also Kentucky Colonels ranges from Muhammad Ali and Hunter S. Thompson to Rosemary Clooney and Sturgill Simpson. It’s not an honor reserved for Kentuckians alone, however – other famous Kentucky Colonels have included Walt Disney, Whoopi Goldberg, Ringo Starr, Betty White and former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
“The only nomination requirement other than the individual’s service to their community is that they be nominated by an active Kentucky Colonel,” said Colonel Sherry Crose, the executive director of the Kentucky Colonels organization. For a colonel to be considered “active,” he or she must contribute annually to the organization’s Good Works Program – the program at the helm of the organization’s mission to help provide financial support Kentucky charities.
The history of the “Kentucky Colonel” title stretches back to 1813, when Gov. Isaac Shelby bestowed the rank unto militia officer Charles S. Todd (his son-in-law and aide-de-camp) following a successful campaign in the War of 1812. Kentucky governors continued to commission the title to military officials in the years that followed, with Gov. William Bradley appointing the first “honorary” Kentucky title in 1885, separating the honor from the armed services and creating the ceremonial nature of the title we know today.
Although Kentucky Colonel commissions had been handed out for over a century, it wasn’t until 1931 that a “society” of colonels was organized, with founders aiming to band colonels together for the purpose of advancing Kentucky and supporting Kentuckians. The group’s first opportunity to make a major impact came with the Great Flood of 1937, which had a devastating effect on parts of northern Kentucky and other states along the Ohio River. During the previous six years, leaders of the new organization had worked with zeal to engage Kentucky Colonels, and then-Gov. Ruby Laffoon fervently commissioned new colonels, including Hollywood stars such as Mae West, Fred Astaire and W.C. Fields. Colonels from around the country used their celebrity and connections to raise funds to help Kentucky recover from the disaster.
Kentucky Colonels Dahlijah Rahm (of Canada) and Robert Provo (of Kentucky) dancing at the 2018 ROMP. Photo by Colonel Nick Mills.
In the ensuing years the colonels mobilized to support the war effort during World War II, and after the war, the group’s commitment to charitable work grew rapidly with the organization’s Good Works Program, which has touched the lives of millions of Kentuckians.
“2018 has been a record year for us,” said Crose. “We awarded $2 million in grants to 231 nonprofits in Kentucky.” Recipients span the state, from Pikeville to Owensboro and numerous locations in between. Since officially becoming an IRS-recognized nonprofit organization in 1951, the Kentucky Colonels are approaching $50 million in grant funding awarded to nearly 7,000 Kentucky nonprofits.
Funding for the Good Works Program comes solely from contributions made by individual Kentucky Colonels. There are more than 30,000 active Kentucky Colonels, residing in all 50 states and 46 countries worldwide.
“There are 30,000 people who have stepped up to give in a way that is meaningful to them to help our state,” Crose said.
The grants awarded through the program address five major areas of focus: youth services, education, community enhancement, crisis relief and historic preservation. The organization also maintains a fund for emergency grants – funds that have been crucial in helping organizations recover from disasters, such as a recent fire suffered by Louisville’s Boys & Girls Haven, an organization that helps teens who age out of the foster care system. The fire displaced 16 teenagers from their homes.
Grants through the Good Works Program are greatly valued by their recipients. God’s Pantry Food Bank, a Lexington-based organization that provides over 34 million pounds of food annually to individuals living in 50 counties in central and eastern Kentucky, has received funding at least 10 times from the program. The funds have allowed the food bank to acquire food storage racks for the warehouse, additional trucks, inventory equipment and a cooler expansion, as well as food.
“One of the best things about the Good Works Program is that it often supports projects that aren’t as appealing to other funders but are absolutely necessary for an organization,” said Rebecca Wallace, director of donor relations and communications for God’s Pantry. “The need for equipment such as pallet jacks and forklifts doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, but those items are essential for us to do our work as efficiently as possible, allowing us to get more food to more people.”
The Kentucky Colonels organization operates with a staff of five, so it relies heavily on its board of trustees during the grant-awarding process. “The trustees are the ones who go out into the community, see the organizations work and talk to their staff, and decide who will receive funding,” Crose explained. “They take the work very seriously, and they want to make sure that donors can trust that their funds are used in the best way.”
Commissioning new Kentucky Colonels remains a function of the Kentucky governor’s office, with a staff member reading every colonel application that is submitted. Each governor has the latitude to put her or his own stamp on the program, operating it however he or she chooses.
“It’s their program,” explained Crose. “Each governor can change the nomination process and the criteria, but the spirit of the program from its founding is to honor individuals who have helped their communities.”
The organization has set an ambitious goal for the future: By 2025, it hopes to be able to sustainably award $5 million annually through the Good Works Program. Crose said the organization has adopted some new strategies to reach that goal.
This year’s ROMP event took place on Veterans Day week- end and paid special recognition to colonels who are veterans. Photo furnished.
“The number of active colonels is only a drop in the bucket compared to the number of people out there who have received commissions,” she explained, adding that the organization’s staff and board know that to grow, it’s crucial to engage existing colonels who are inactive while also engaging those receiving new commissions.
Education about the function of the Kentucky Colonels is a priority, as many have heard of the Kentucky Colonels but have no knowledge of the Good Works Program and its impact on the state. Expanding its online presence and adopting new social media strategies is one way the organization is working to spread the word to a broader audience. The group has also established the Kentucky Colonels Day of Service (the first Saturday in October), with hopes that it will grow to include groups of Kentucky Colonels volunteering globally, wherever they happen to be.
Another way the organization reaches out to existing Kentucky Colonels is through the Romp, an annual event where colonels gather in Louisville to celebrate the organizations receiving grant funding and provide an opportunity for Kentucky Colonels to meet each other and make connections. The Romp takes place in November and includes bourbon tastings, visits to Churchill Downs and special programs honoring veterans.
Crose appreciates all active Kentucky Colonels, no matter their financial contribution to the program.
“We receive letters with dollars in them from older colonels on fixed incomes who want to contribute but don’t have a lot to give. We know there are younger people who want to contribute but don’t yet have the dollars. Every gift that is meaningful to the donor is important to us, and that’s why we’ll never have a set fee for being an active colonel,” she said.
Being honored as a Kentucky Colonel is far more than receiving a certificate and a fun honorary title. The work of the organization throughout its long history has touched the lives of nearly everyone in Kentucky.