Flame of Excellence
About the Flame of Excellence Award
Leadership Kentucky annually honors a Kentuckian with the Flame of Excellence Award. This award recognizes someone who has contributed immeasurably to the success of Kentucky and its residents. The awardee demonstrates exemplary character and has impacted Kentucky positively either through professional or volunteer activities. The awardee does not have to be a Leadership Kentucky alumni.
2022 Recipients - Former Governor Paul E. Patton and Judi Conway Patton
Flame of Excellence Award Recipients
2002 – Dr. Thomas D. Clark, Kentucky Historian Emeritus
2003 – Edward T. “Ned” Breathitt, Former Governor
2004 – John R. Hall, Retired Chairman/CEO, Ashland Inc.
2005 – Martha Layne Collins, Former Governor; Chair/CEO Kentucky World Trade Center
2006 – Wendell H. Ford, U.S. Senate, Retired; Wendell H. Ford Government Education Center
2007 – Albert P. Smith, Jr., Retired Host of “Comment on Kentucky”
2008 – David A. Jones, Founder & Former Board Chairman, Humana, Inc.
2009 – Eula Hall, Founder, Mud Creek Clinic
2010 – Owsley Brown Frazier, Founder & Chairman, Frazier International History Museum
2011 – Dr. T. Pearse Lyons, Founder & CEO, Alltech
2012 – William T. Samuels, Jr., Chairman Emeritus, Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc.
2013 – Dr. Lee T. Todd, Jr., Past President, University of Kentucky
2014 – Bill Goodman, Host, KET
2015 – John A. Williams, Sr. – Computer Services, Inc.
2016 – Helen Carroll, Toyota, retired
2017 – William (Bill) Jones, U.S. Bank
2018 – David Adkisson – Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
2019 – Myra Ball – Ball Homes and Donamire Farm
2020 – Alice and Wade Houston - HJI Supply Chain Solutions
2021 - Porter G. Peeples, Sr. - Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County
2022 - Former Governor Paul E. Patton and Judi Conway Patton
2023 Wilson W. Wyatt, Sr. LKY Founder, Statesman, (posthumous)
