Five community projects are in the running for the 2024 Beautify the Bluegrass Governor’s Award, an annual initiative of Kentucky Living, Kentucky Electric Cooperatives and the Kentucky Governor’s Office.

Started in 2017, Beautify the Bluegrass recognizes community members across the commonwealth for their efforts to improve public spaces. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear joined Kentucky Living’s Best in Kentucky Awards show on August 14 to congratulate the 2024 winners and announce the finalists for Beautify the Bluegrass.

“Thanks to Kentucky Living and Kentucky’s electric cooperatives for supporting homegrown beautification efforts across the commonwealth. We were so pleased to honor the Beautify the Bluegrass finalists at the capitol last fall and look forward to doing it again,” said Governor Beshear. “Congratulations to these finalists and thank you to all the volunteers who work to improve their communities. Looking forward to seeing all the beautification projects that happen around our great Commonwealth this year!”

This year’s Beautify the Bluegrass finalists, which hail from Lee, Daviess, Campbell, Boyle and Wolfe counties, were selected from among dozens of noteworthy projects across the state.

Big Rivers Electric and Kenergy

Landscaping for Habitat for Humanity Training Center, Daviess County
Over 20 volunteers from Big Rivers Electric, Kenergy, and contractors planted a landscaping barrier at the Habitat for Humanity Owensboro-Daviess County Training Center, which offers hands-on homeowner training.

Danville Downtown Streetscape Project, Boyle County

The $6 million, two-year project transformed downtown Danville’s Main Street with wider sidewalks, buried utilities, new trees, upgraded the Weisiger Park fountain, and added outdoor dining, creating a safer and more inviting pedestrian-friendly area.

Devan Horton

Works of Art That Bloom, Campbell County

With a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women’s Art as Activism, Devan Horton created plantable art materials from natural items, organized a community event to create art with them, and planted the artworks in a blighted lot, transforming it into a blooming native pollinator meadow called “Perennial.”

Jackson Energy and various Beattyville entities

Beattyville Highway 11 Welcome Sign, Lee County

Beattyville’s newly renovated welcome sign, funded by Jackson Energy, was revitalized by 24 volunteers who cleaned, repainted, installed solar lights, added flower planters, and mounted new flags, all with locally sourced materials.

Friends of Red River Trash Cleanups, Wolfe County

The Friends of Red River (FORR) hosts monthly cleanups of Kentucky’s only Wild and Scenic River, removing tons of trash and thousands of tires, and in 2024 released a documentary, *River Cowboys: Keeping it Wild*, highlighting these efforts, which premiered at the annual Wild & Scenic Red RiverFest.

Now through August 28, readers can visit KentuckyLiving.com to learn more about each project and vote for their favorite of the five finalists. Click here to learn more and vote.

Kentucky Electric Cooperatives recognized Tony Brannon as its 2024 Distinguished Rural Kentuckian during the co-op association’s 78^th Annual Meeting in Louisville.

Distinguished Rural Kentuckian is the highest honor bestowed by the association, which consists of all 26 electric cooperatives across the commonwealth. It recognizes outstanding individuals who have devoted their lives to Kentucky in a way that matches the co-op mission of enhancing the quality of life here. Kentucky Electric Cooperatives President and CEO Chris Perry presented Brannon the award following a special video tribute. The full video can be viewed on the association’s YouTube channel.

“Having been born and raised on a farm and cutting my teeth on the steering wheel of a Model B Allis Chalmers tractor, I certainly felt rural.  Growing up as a teenager working in a dark tobacco patch, I’m not so sure I felt distinguished!  However, this rural upbringing and modest farm hard work ethic, combined with my Murray State education and 35 years of employment motivated me to a lifetime of service…for both agriculture and rural Communities,” said 2024 Distinguished Rural Kentuckian Tony Brannon. “It’s not easy to serve Kentucky agriculture statewide from the far west, but with commitment and passion and working with colleagues from all across the state, I did the best I could.  To have this ‘best I could’ rural and agricultural service recognized as ‘distinguished’ by this prestigious organization is certainly a capstone career highlight.”

Brannon, the retired Dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture at Murray State University, is the 40^th Distinguished Rural Kentuckian. Since 1982, the association has honored recipients from the arts, politics, journalism, business, education, religion, athletics, and agriculture. Two former honorees were in attendance at this year’s banquet, 2018 recipient Warren Beeler and 2021 recipient David Beck.

“Kentucky’s electric cooperatives power the lives of Kentuckians in 117 of 120 counties. Because member-owned co-ops belong to and are led by the people they serve, we believe it is important to recognize those who share our commitment to improving the quality of life in our local communities,” said Kentucky Electric Cooperatives President and CEO Chris Perry.

The Annual Meeting’s banquet featured a keynote address from Anthony Robles. Born with one leg, Robles overcame a number of challenges to become the 2011 NCAA wrestling champion. His inspiring life story will be told in the motion picture, Unstoppable, in theatres later this year. Robles encouraged the co-op audience to never give up, learn from mistakes and obstacles and to “never let your challenge become your excuse to say you can’t do it.”

With a theme of Support, Advocate, Educate, the meeting, held annually in Louisville since 1948, included important updates on safety and communications with a focus on reliability and cost pressures faced by co-ops and their members.

Featured speakers included Youth Leadership Council delegate and Pennyrile Electric representative Mason Lovell of Muhlenberg County, RunSwitch PR Founding Partner and political strategist Scott Jennings, National Renewables Cooperative Organization CEO Michael Keyser and former Navy SEAL and noted sports performance specialist Jason Kuhn.