Commonwealth of Kentucky
About Kentucky
When talking about the Commonwealth of Kentucky a person cannot help but to wonder about its history and the people who made it the prosperous and famous place it has become today. As a Kentucky Colonel it is your duty to protect its image, promote it, and show respect for its traditions and customs in every way to give it the dignity and prestige that it deserves.
Today, Kentucky is best-known for its state parks, horse racing, bourbon, moonshine, coal, automobile manufacturing, tobacco, bluegrass music, college basketball, fried chicken, and of course the Kentucky colonel. -Wikipedia
Role of the Kentucky Colonel
The Kentucky colonel has a modern role in today's society as a commissioned civil officer and goodwill ambassador. Inasmuch, he or she is both officially and unofficially responsible for a great number of obligations if they use their title in a legal sense and to their advantage. The duties of Kentucky colonels are easy to manage and involve basic knowledge which we hope to be able to provide here as your guide.
Kentucky colonels present the Commonwealth with charm, pride, and integrity. We like to view ourselves as its official goodwill ambassadors, it is a role that we have fulfilled since people began coming to Kentucky starting with the legendary Daniel Boone who was the territory's first settler and leader, probably also its greatest goodwill ambassador bringing the first settlers here building the Wilderness Road. Boone also became known as its "first colonel" more than a decade before the territory became a state when he was commissioned in 1775 by Col. Judge Richard Henderson proprietor of the Transylvania Company, Col. Boone also helped write the Kentucky Magna Charta, he was commissioned again in 1780 to the Fayette County Militia by the Governor of Virginia.
As the story goes the indigenous Shawnee of Kentucky only trusted Daniel Boone and adopted him as an honorary member of their tribe, which allowed him to serve uniquely as the frontier's ambassador.
"I returned home to my family, with a determination to bring them as soon as possible to live in Kentucky, which I esteemed a second paradise, at the risk of my life and fortune." – Daniel Boone (1773)
Promoting Kentucky
To promote Kentucky is to know Kentucky, its people, its customs, and what it has to offer to others such as tourism, attractions and economic opportunities. To better know Kentucky we recommend using the Internet to start by learning the information about Kentucky on Wikipedia, there is a very good top-rated article there about the Commonwealth.
There are also several other texts which all good Kentucky colonels should have or at least read one of them is the Kentucky Encyclopedia by John Kleber. For a more historic view of Kentucky you can also review the Encyclopedia of Kentucky by Nancy Capace.
Promoting Tourism in Kentucky
One of the main attractions of the Bluegrass State is its tourism opportunities, it is also the best way to directly benefit Kentuckians and the state. Today Tourism ranks as the third largest industry in Kentucky, it is among education, health care, and manufacturing. It is also the number one source of income from out of state investment.
According to the Lane Report in 2019, "Using the Tourism Economics model, the economic impact of the tourism industry in Kentucky went from $10.9 billion in 2017 to $11.2 billion in 2018, generating more than 94,500 jobs and $787 million in state and local taxes." Today tourism is in excess of 13 billion dollars for 2019.
There are several really good websites you can learn about what Kentucky as to offer in the area of tourism.
If you are a Kentucky colonel that is also hospitality professional or have an attraction you would like to add or update you can do that at the Kentucky Tourism Industry Portal.
Promoting Economic Development
Another great way to function well as a Kentucky colonel is to promote doing business in the state, starting a small business, or purchasing goods that are produced in Kentucky. Becoming a Kentucky colonel gives a person ample authority with their letters patent to perform any of these functions.
You can learn more about Kentucky's economic profile and the industries that thrive in the state.
Think Kentucky (Major Industries)
Statistical Atlas (Kentucky Industries)
Promoting History and Culture
Promoting history, society and cultural values are very important aspects to being a goodwill ambassador, by understanding them and knowing about the key people and ideals that make the state what it is can be very engaging and lead to very friendly conversations. Here on our website we offer quite a few links to reference materials and lists of resources and ideals. Some of them are listed here: