By: Trevor Graves, Leadership Kentucky Class of 2022

The penultimate session for the 2022 Leadership Kentucky class took place in scenic Central Kentucky on November 16-18, 2022. In order to keep pace with my esteemed colleagues before me, I tasked myself with finding a single word to describe our session in Lexington and Frankfort. I ultimately concluded with HOME, not only because Lexington is my home, but Kentucky is home to each of us in the Leadership Kentucky class and the three days in Central Kentucky were laser-focused on the things that make Kentucky special and why so many residents of Kentucky, including every one of my classmates, are so proud to call Kentucky home. As detailed below, our three days focused on three of the things that Kentucky is most famous for, namely, horses, bourbon, and basketball. Furthermore, we heard from people in both the private and public sectors that have so much pride in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky and work tirelessly every day to make it a better place for not only the current residents but future generations.

The session began at the world-renowned Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington. Rood and Riddle opened in 1981 and since that time has offered a wide range of services to a variety of different horse breeds and numerous Kentucky Derby winners, including surgery, internal medicine, equine podiatry, ambulatory services, reproduction, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory services. The class took a tour of the barns, hospitals, and services offered at the hospital, which highlighted the expertise offered for the horse patients in a caring, professional, and ethical manner that benefits the entire equine community.

The equine theme continued with a short bus ride to Spendthrift Farm, which is home to the largest roster of stallions in North America and is situated over roughly 1,200 beautiful acres in the heart of the bluegrass region. The class took another tour of the immaculate facilities and learned the intricacies of how a stallion farm operates and the thoroughbred breeding process. The tour process showcased the homes of Spendthrift’s twenty-eight (28) stallions, including Into Mischief, the reigning champion general sire. The highlight of the tour was the surprise appearance in the paddock of Authentic, the 2020 Horse of the Year and 2020 Kentucky Derby winner. 

The final stop of the day was at The Cornerstone on the campus of the University of Kentucky. As we learned, The Cornerstone serves as the gateway to an emerging innovation district that will further link the university to the city of Lexington. The ground floor of The Cornerstone consists of 23,000 square feet of mixed-use space to further enhance the north side of UK’s beautiful campus. A flexible, technology-rich innovation space with a variety of programming that is designed to stimulate conversation and collaboration between students, faculty, staff, and the community. The Cornerstone seeks to serve as an innovation hub to cement UK’s role at the center of creativity, technology, entrepreneurship, and economic development. The tour and question and answer session was followed by a reception at The Cornerstone Exchange food hall. 

Thursday’s session took place exclusively in our Commonwealth’s beautiful capital city, Frankfort. We were met at the Kentucky History Center by Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Ryan Quarles. Commissioner Quarles gave an impassioned speech on the importance and economic impact of agricultural activities in the Commonwealth, including initiatives to combat hunger and connect our Commonwealth’s farmers to new and emerging markets. Commissioner Quarles was followed by our own, Scott Alvey, Executive Director of the Kentucky Historical Society. Scott arranged for tours of the Kentucky Historical Society that left the entire class with only one complaint; not enough time to see everything that the Kentucky Historical Society has to offer. 

After leaving the Kentucky History Center, the class went to the Capitol and met with leaders from all three branches of the government, i.e., the judicial, legislative, and executive branches. Specifically, the class was fortunate to take part in a discussion, question and answer session, and tour of the Supreme Court by Justice Michelle Keller. Justice Keller was followed by former state representative and current senior advisor to Governor Andy Beshear, Rocky Adkins, who highlighted the encouraging economic developments currently ongoing in the Commonwealth. Finally, our class dined on a lunch consisting solely of Kentucky Proud products while listening first to its own classmates that participated in a government class panel and then to President of the Senate, Robert Stivers, and House Democrat Leader, Joni Jenkins. Despite what the national media often indicates, Mr. Stivers and Ms. Jenkins emphasized that our servant leaders in Frankfort often work together for the betterment of the Commonwealth and the citizens. 

After learning about the inner workings of our government in Frankfort, we took a trip to Jim Beam Old Grand Dad Plant in Frankfort, wherein we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the expansive bottling process as well as the opportunity to partake in a delightful tasting of Beam Suntory’s new On the Rocks line of spirits. The trip to Jim Beam was followed by a bus ride to the Frankfort Country Club, where the class enjoyed a wonderful dinner. The night concluded with a class-wide trip to watch the University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team play at historic Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington. A special thanks to the University of Kentucky Alumni Association and its Associate VP and our own Jill Smith for obtaining tickets for the entire class to watch the Cats beat South Carolina State in resounding fashion, 106-63. 

by Trevor Graves, Leadership Kentucky Class of 2022

On Friday morning, the class traveled to The MET (named after its unique location, at the corner of Midland & East Third). The MET is a 75,000 sq. ft. mixed-use facility that is designed to bring new resources to Lexington’s East End community, with plans for a new grocery store, a restaurant, additional retail space for commercial lease, along with several residential loft units. In addition to new services and retail offerings, The MET should bring new jobs to the East End, increase homeownership opportunities, and promote the local arts. We heard from Rob Perez, owner of DV8 restaurant about his story of redemption and his efforts at promoting rehabilitation through his restaurant. We also heard from Kevin Smith, President, and CEO of Community Ventures Corporation, and others regarding their efforts at the MET and their desire to bring long-lasting change to Lexington and Kentucky as a whole. The day ended with an enlightening tour of the art exhibits at the MET and more details about the amazing local artists in Central Kentucky. 

Each of the first five sessions have been memorable, educational, inspiring, and unique. The Central Kentucky session was no different. It was especially gratifying to show off the place I call home and see how its residents are working hard every day to better the lives of the current residents and the Commonwealth as a whole.