''Kentucky Monthly'' is a general interest regional magazine about the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and Kentuckians. Founded in 1998 by Stephen M. Vest, publisher, Michael Embry, editor, (who retired in 2006) and business manager Kay Vest, it featured actor George Clooney on its first (and 101st) cover and has featured such Kentucky notables as

Ashley Judd Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna ...

Molly Sims Molly Sims (born May 25, 1973) is an American fashion model and actress. She has been featured in campaigns by a number of major brands, including Jimmy Choo, Escada, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, and Chanel. She was a frequent model in the ''S ...

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ...

Silas House Silas Dwane House (born August 7, 1971) is an American writer best known for his novels. He is also a music journalist, environmental activist, and columnist. House's fiction is known for its attention to the natural world, working class characte ...

Annie Potts Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in '' Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty ...

, and numerous others. Based in Frankfort, Kentucky, Kentucky's capital, the magazine features all aspects of contemporary Kentucky culture and presents an annual Kentuckian of the Year award.

History

In 2005 ''Kentucky Monthly'' was presented the Governor's Award in the Arts for media, the Commonwealth's highest prize in the arts. Also in 2005, ''Kentucky Monthly'' was featured in the

Stu Pollard Stu Pollard (born January 26, 1967) is an American film producer, writer and director. His credits include ''Nice Guys Sleep Alone'' and ''Keep Your Distance'', as well as the 2019 survival thriller '' Rust Creek''. Early life and education Pol ...

film ''Keep Your Distance'' in a scene where the main character is named Kentuckian of the Year. ''Kentucky Monthly'' was named the official state magazine for The Cup Experience, a series of events held in conjunction with the 2008 Ryder Cup in Louisville in September 2008. Team USA won the Ryder Cup, led by Kentuckians

Kenny Perry James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 201 ...

and

J. B. Holmes John Bradley "J.B." Holmes (born April 26, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life Holmes, born in Campbellsville, Kentucky, began to play on the varsity golf team at Taylor County High School in Campbel ...

, who were named Kentuckians of the Year. In March 2008, ''Kentucky Monthly'' was selected as the "Official Kentucky Magazine" for the 2010 Alltech

FEI World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive S ...

. In 2008, celebrating its 10th anniversary, ''Kentucky Monthly'' published ''Another Serving: Kentucky Monthly's 10th Anniversary Cookbook'' and ''THAT Kind of Journalist'', a collection of Vest's back-page columns. The magazine has since published: ''Sacred Places of Kentucky'' (2011); ''Seasoned Cooking of Kentucky'' (2011); ''Kentucky A to Z'' by Amanda Hervey (2012); ''Kentucky's Twelve Days of Christmas'' (2012), an anthology of Kentucky-related Christmas material edited by James B. Goode, which includes such writers as

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the liter ...

, Irvin S. Cobb, and

Harriette Simpson Arnow Harriette Simpson Arnow (July 7, 1908 – March 22, 1986) was an American novelist and historian, who lived in Kentucky and Michigan. Arnow has been called an expert on the people of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, but she herself loved citie ...

; and ''Walt's Wisdon'' by Walt Reichert (2014), a collection of the author's gardening columns from Kentucky Monthly. In 2016 ''Kentucky Monthly'' released the ''Kentucky Monthly Coloring Book'' in conjunction with Danville artist Robert Powell. In 2021, ''Kentucky Explorer'' magazine was merged into ''Kentucky Monthly''.

Kentuckian of the Year

Winners of ''Kentucky Monthly'' Kentuckian of the Year award include: Miss America 2000

Heather French Henry Heather Renee French Henry (born December 29, 1974) is a Miss America title holder, fashion designer, and veterans advocate. She is married to former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry. Biography Raised in Augusta, Kentucky, Heather Fre ...

(1999), Heath High School-shooting survivor Missy Jenkins (2000), Drs. Layman Gray and Robert Dowling (2001), First Lady Judi Patton (2002), Kentucky's military (2003), KCTCS President Michael McCall (2004), author

(2005), Drs. A. Bennett Jenson and Shin-je Ghim (2006), and 11-year-old Michala Riggle (2008), who raised $200,000 for autism research selling beaded bracelets. On December 26, 2008, ''Kentucky Monthly'' presented the Kentuckian of the Year Award to Riggle at a

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

basketball game. In attendance was Muhammad Ali, who made a contribution to Riggle's charity. As of March 1, 2008, Riggle had raised nearly $500,000 and was later a guest on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

''. Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney took the honor in 2009 and Medal of Honor recipient

Dakota Meyer Dakota Louis Meyer (born June 26, 1988) is a former United States Marine. A veteran of the War in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. ...

was named Kentuckian of the Year for 2011. University of Louisville athletics director Tom Jurich received the award in 2013 after guiding 10 different Cardinal teams to Top-25 rankings in 2013, including the men's basketball team, which won the NCAA Championship, and the women's basketball team, which played in the championship game. Harlan's Jordan Smith won the honor for 2015 following his championship on NBC's ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.kentuckymonthly.com 1998 establishments in Kentucky Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Local interest magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1998 Magazines published in Kentucky Ten times annually magazines

History

Kentuckian of the Year

See also

References

External links