''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 so ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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 George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

on its first (and 101st) cover and has featured such Kentucky notables as

Ashley Judd Ashley Tyler Ciminella, known professionally as Ashley Judd (born April 19, 1968), is an American actress and activist. She grew up in a family of performing artists, the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country ...

Molly Sims Molly Sims (born May 25, 1973) is an American fashion model and actress. She was featured in campaigns for Jimmy Choo, Escada, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, and Chanel, among others. She frequently modeled for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Iss ...

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 o ...

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. His fiction is known for its attention to the natural world, working-class characters, a ...

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 Frankfort is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat, seat of Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County in the Upland Sou ...

, 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 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 The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

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 2 ...

and J. B. Holmes, 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 Équestre 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, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

Irvin S. Cobb Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876 – March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, editor and columnist from Paducah, Kentucky, who relocated to New York in 1904, living there for the remainder of his life. He wrote for the ''New York Wor ...

, and Harriette Simpson Arnow; 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 (1999), who has graced the cover four times, Heath High School-shooting survivor Missy Jenkins (2000), Drs. Layman Gray and Robert Dowling (2001), First Lady

Judi Patton Judi Jane Conway Patton (born 1940 in Pikeville, Kentucky, US) is an American activist for women's safety and child abuse prevention. She served as the First Lady of Kentucky from December 12, 1995, until December 9, 2003, during the tenure o ...

(2002), Kentucky's military (2003), KCTCS President Michael McCall (2004), author

(2005), Drs. A. Bennett Jenson and Shin-je Ghim (2006), and then 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 university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

basketball game. In attendance was three-time heavyweight boxing champion

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, who contributed 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'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

''. Academy Award-winning actor

took the honor in 2009, and Medal of Honor recipient

Dakota Meyer Dakota Louis Meyer (born June 26, 1988) is a current United States Marine. A veteran of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009 ...

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''.

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