My grandpa nominated me and got the certificate for me. Unfortunately they spelled my name wrong and I lost the mail they sent to have it fixed. Anyone know if that's something I can still get fixed?

Mine was spelled wrong as well. Wrong middle initial. Maybe since it has grandpa memories it is worth fixing, but not so much for me.

Did some calling, as you suggested. The lady I talked to said she'd try and track down what went on, but she said it looked like the commission appointment had actually been back in October! She said she'd see if she could find out who nominated me, and where they were from.

 

She just called back with a name, that I didn't recognize. When I told her about my boss getting a similar letter, she checked and said his commission date was the same as mine, and that it was most likely the same person who nominated him.

 

Some more calls and some more information gained. I finally figured out who it was that nominated both my boss and myself. Turns out it was a lady we both worked with this past summer when we were helping organize the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall coming to town.

 

Seems our certificates were sent to her address back in October (which is why we never received any notice before). But the lady in Frankfort said she was going to get with the governor's office tomorrow to see about getting them replaced and sent to us directly. (They were going to have to re-do mine anyway, since my name was misspelled originally.)

Mine was presented to me by Governor Brereton Jones personally. It was at a ceremony where myself and several others were recognized for some high achievement so important that I don't recall what it was.

 

A relative who lives out west displays her commission in an impressive frame behind the desk in her office. Folks there are highly impressed and honored to know someone of such high prestige from her native state.

They left off the 20?

 

:lol2:

I am one

Id love to be nominated. Unfortunately no one I know is a colonel.

Mine was spelled wrong as well. Wrong middle initial. Maybe since it has grandpa memories it is worth fixing' date=' but not so much for me.[/quote']

 

I guess I'm lazy because if it requires too much effort Ill probably just leave it.

I've been proud to be a Kentucky Colonel since 1976, commissioned by Julian Carroll.

 

I was awarded a framed commission certificate with the great seal attached, and have been a contributing member ever since.

 

I think it was much more prestigious back then. As TAC said, it seems to be much more commercial/fund-raising now than back in the day.

Mr. lawildcat has always wanted to be a Kentucky Colonel. Maybe someone who knows him and is already one (TAC *cough cough* or Mustang *cough cough*) can nominate him?

Once upon a time the only way you could become a Kentucky Colonel was for another Kentucky Colonel to nominate you and then the Governor would issue you a commission.

 

It surprises me that some have said they received a Kentucky Colonel commission by simply making a donation, I never heard of that before. I guess they have changed the way they do things.

I just became a Colonel a few years ago and as I recall that's how I was notified but I did know that a friend of mine had nominated me. You DO NOT have to pay anything to get the wall certificate and it came after my notification letter. I also got some fancy looking business cards. I did send a contribution to the Colonels when I was first comissioned.

 

FWIW being a member of the Honorable Order is the reason that Harland Sanders referred to himself at Colonel Sanders. I don't think he ever had any actual military rank.

 

This all reminds me of a treasured friend of mine who is no longer with us that became a Kentucky Colonel back in 1966 while being an Ohio resident. I asked him how he managed that considering he was not a Kentucky resident.

 

I'm presently viewing the framed certificate that he received as it is in my possession because he turned it over to me before passing. It is signed by Governor Edward T. Breathitt and Ky Secretary of State Thelma L. Stovall.

 

It states: To all to Whom These Presents Shall Come, greeting: Know Ye, That "Honorable (My Friend's name), Cincinnati, Ohio Is Commissioned a Kentucky Colonel - I hereby confer this honor with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities thereunto appertaining.

 

To the best of my understanding of how this came to be, my friend was once a highly respected court reporter who was once the president of the national court reporters, who was originally raised in Wisconsin, and during his time in the Army was trained in Intelligence and court reporting as well as having the privilege of being the scheduling director of Bob Hope's CSO tours where he had the privilege of meeting Bob and various other hotsy-totsy movie stars of the day, one of which was Loretta Young. After service and additional schooling he landed a nice position in D.C. recording Congress sessions and United States international affairs, as well as being the stenographer for JFK's Inauguration on a cold frigid day that required warm finger flexibility.

 

One time while vacationing in Havana, Cuba he was arrested by Fidel Castro's men under the alleged notion that he was a spy and was released the next day after passing intensive questioning where his alibi was that he was working in Miami then travelled to Havana for leisure, and because he was able to read his coded transcripts that were along with his recording equipment, they bought his story, put him up for the night where he woke to the sound of a firing squad in a courtyard taking care of other captured suspects who were not as lucky as he was, and then promptly released.

 

While in D.C. and because of his respected credentials he was invited to Cincinnati for a temporary position handling a case where the judge liked him so much and requested of him to take the permanent position as the head court reporter, which he gladly took to get away from the D.C. rat race, and settle into a more manageable position in a less hectic town. In doing so he still at times was called on to take care of other cases outside of the area as well as having the privilege of being invited to appear on the Bob Braun Show with Johnny Bench on a day where the theme was humorously related to locals who had special talents. Johnny's was to hold 7 baseballs in his hand, and my friend's were the fastest fingers in the court room where they purposely spoke as fast as they could to him on the air while he rapidly recording everything that was said.

 

With his additional work outside of the area, he was called to Kentucky to be the recorder of hearings related to business disputes involving Colonel Sanders and John Y. Brown Jr. dealing with Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise issues between the two.

 

Because he was ordered not to associate with any lawyers involved with the case, Colonel Sanders offered to put him up for the night at his home where he and his wife treated my friend to a meal that included fresh green beans from his own garden. This was an unusually memorable day in his life, and he added that Colonel Sanders cussed like a sailor.

 

Because of this meeting, Colonel Sanders nominated my friend to be an Honorary Kentucky Colonel and his request was promptly granted, and until my knowledge of his story, I never realized that a Kentucky Colonel could be anything other than a Kentucky citizen.

 

Because of his storied past I have in my possession, his Kentucky Colonel certificate, and four awesome photos of him with: Colonel Sanders, Bob Hope, Loretta Young, Johnny Bench, as well as the photo of him exiting the plane in Cuba looking like it came straight from a Bond movie with him in a black suit with black shades. I never understood with complete certainty why Castro's men awarded him this photo as they released him as I find that incredibly odd, and with his sworn to secrecy requirements, never truly got to the bottom of what the heck he was doing in Havana.

 

I've probably shed far too much information about him here than he would care for me to post, but his story is far too interesting not to be told. Hopefully he doesn't mind, and that I didn't disrespect him in doing so. Because I'm questioning myself about that, I at least felt that in his honor I would not shed light on his name. His is not a household name anyhow, so even if I did it would not resonate with anyone anyway.

 

Hope no one minds the long story and that some find it as interesting as I do. If not, sorry about the significant minutes that I might've stolen from you as you plowed through the details.

My father-in-law was one.

My husband and son are one.