Ahead to Forging a Community VisionFrom Measures and Milestones: The Conference Proceedings
pp. 1-6, published 1997
Senator Nick Kafoglis
It is my privilege to be the 1997 Chair of the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center’s Board of Directors. This year’s conference is exceptional in several different ways. This is the first time we’ve held our conference at a site outside the Lexington-Frankfort-Louisville corridor, and your attendance here today indicates that you will travel outside the "Golden Triangle," especially if we hold it in such a beautiful facility as this Center for Rural Development.
We are also presenting the first Vic Hellard, Jr., Award in honor of a beloved figure in Kentucky public life, whose vision provided the inspiration for the establishment of the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center. To open our conference and to make the presentation of the first Hellard Award, we are greatly honored to have with us the first citizen of the Commonwealth, Governor Paul Patton, who, in less than two years as Governor, has achieved historic changes for the Commonwealth. Please join me in welcoming our "can-do" Governor, the Honorable Paul E. Patton.
Governor Paul E. Patton
Thank you, Senator Kafoglis, and thank all of you very much. Thank you for a warm reception, and for inviting me to start off this conference. Let me congratulate the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center Board and staff on the work that you have done. I have read your publications, and they have been very much an inspiration and guide to me as I try to plot a course for the Commonwealth. I am confident that they have been equally valuable to the legislature and other leaders in this state.
I really believe that we need to emphasize long-term planning. Even though we were a leader in this nation in the years before the Civil War, in the century after it we fell behind. We lived for today, did not plan for the future, did not invest in our people, did not invest in our infrastructure, and dropped from being one of the leaders of this nation to one of the states that was the furthest behind.
I have seen a reversal of that trend over the last decade or so. Kentucky is more willing to look to the future of its children and plan ahead to work to build a better Commonwealth. That’s the way I’ve tried to lead the Commonwealth over these past two years. I have done things, like addressing workers’ compensation, that build our business capacity in the short run. But I know that we will build a stronger economy in Kentucky by increasing the productivity of our workforce, and in this world, in this nation, at this time, that must mean increasing the mental capital of our workforce.
I applaud the leaders of Kentucky over the last decade, including Senator Kafoglis, June Lyne, and other members of the General Assembly, who in 1990 faced up to the reality and the opportunity that a Supreme Court verdict gave to this Commonwealth and made what I believe is the most bold step made by Kentucky in this century: the commitment to build that foundation of elementary and secondary education into a world-class educational system.
I had the pleasure of being in Washington where Kentucky, for the Kentucky Education Reform Act, was one of ten honorees by the Ford Foundation for their Innovations in Government Award, based on a study by the Kennedy School for Government at Harvard. It is certainly a pleasure for me to be the Governor of this state when I can see our state honored in national forums for its vision and courage and set as an example for other states to follow. It’s a pleasure for me to be able to attend a national education conference, as I did in New York about a year ago, and know that as other states struggle with issues, we have already dealt with them in Kentucky. And, while they are struggling with things we addressed seven or eight years ago, I can advise them of problems they can anticipate. Once you have made the fundamental decisions, the struggle is not over; it is in fact a continual struggle. It’s a pleasure for me to be recognized as one of the leaders in education in this nation because I’m the Governor of the state that is recognized as one of the leaders in education.
You may know I am Chairman-elect of the Education Commission of the States, that organization established by the governors a generation ago to lead educational change in this nation. I’m the Chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board, the organization we in the South have established to provide leadership in education. That is a result of long-term planning and our administration has been able to carry that vision forward and address postsecondary education, building upon the foundation of elementary and secondary education. All of these things together show a Kentucky that is now looking to the future.
While I was at the dinner in Washington, I had the opportunity to sit by the head of the Kennedy School of Government as he was talking about campaign finance reform. He asked me some questions about it and obviously did not know that Kentucky had made major advances in that area. I explained to him what we have done and he said, "Please send me some more information on that because that sounds like the most effective system that I have ever heard of." He invited me to go to Harvard and address the people there about what Kentucky has done to try to look to the future and have a more effective system of selecting our major leaders in state government.
I see a Kentucky that looks to the future and the work of this organization is vital in allowing the policymakers of this Commonwealth to really look at these issues long range. Though things like education and basic infrastructure are absolutely vital, they are certainly not the only things that we need to look at. An issue that this conference addresses, the building of civic capital or getting people reconnected with government, is equally valid and in fact is another subject of study in partnership between the Ford Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government.
How do we get people reconnected with government? It’s very, very vital. It seems that we have lost the concept that we are the governed. We’re viewing government as some remote entity disconnected from us as individuals that on the one hand provides things that we need and want, and on the other hand is some enemy, something that takes our tax money and even beyond that does things that we oppose. We have lost that sense of government being us and that is a terribly dangerous attitude for citizens in a democracy. We must, through forums such as this throughout the state, reattach our people to government and get them to understand that if we are going to have a great society in this nation, state, or individual community, then we as people have to build it. We cannot sit back and wait for government to build a good community. We can’t sit home and just criticize; we must get engaged. I understand that is the purpose of this conference, and that is important, perhaps not as visible as education, roads, water or basic infrastructure, but equally important.
I understand that Bill Bishop registered for this conference. He talks about the need to build civic capital and certainly he is right, and that is one of the very vital elements of building a community. We as a state have struggled with how to build a stronger community and economy in eastern Kentucky. This is something that I am obviously very personally interested in and very committed to. So we have decided to select two communities in eastern Kentucky, Hindman and Jenkins, and see if through a concentrated effort we can build a viable self-sustaining economy in those two communities, see what we are doing wrong, and perhaps learn more about how we need to adjust our strategy.
One of the things that we are going to concentrate on is how to build civic capital. How does government get people involved on a local level? How do we separate the line between brainwashing and government coercion and government education? How does government get people more involved in building their community and more appreciative of the fact that it is up to them? Those are questions that I don’t have the answer to, but that you will be discussing during this one-day conference. I will be anxious to review the results of your work. So, again, let me compliment the entire staff of the Center, the Board, and each of you for participating in this conference.
Thank you very much.
Senator Kafoglis:
Thank you, Governor. It is now time for us to make the first presentation of the Hellard Award. The Hellard Award is given in honor, in memory, of Vic Hellard, Jr., the long-time director of the Legislative Research Commission. Vic had a distinguished career. He was an attorney and a legislator. I served with Vic when both of us were freshman legislators in the 1972 legislative session. We formed a steadfast friendship at that time. Subsequently, he became the Director of the Legislative Research Commission, and behind the scenes he worked to improve the professionalism and effectiveness of the staff and became a strong voice for legislative independence.
Vic was also a quite accomplished actor. Many of you probably saw him perform in community theater. All his friends remember his playful wit. One of his favorite tricks was to give me a call, knowing that I was a doctor, and ask, "Is this Dr. Kafoglis?" I would say "Yes" and would listen very attentively. He said, "Well, I’ve got a temperature of 106 and I need somebody to do something right away." I would be very concerned and say "Meet me at the hospital right away." Then he would start laughing and say, "This is Vic Hellard."
Though he had a playful wit, he had great seriousness of purpose, and the thing that was so impressive about him was how he was effective without being out front. He inspired other people to achieve their potential, and he loved for other people to get credit. The Hellard Award recognizes an individual for his or her work in the interest of the future of the Commonwealth. The criteria for the award include the demonstration of long-term vision and innovation, championship of the equality and dignity of every person, efforts to enhance the processes of a democratic society, and an approach to work distinguished by commitment, caring, generosity, and humor. The Hellard Award recipient was selected by the Board of the Long-Term Policy Research Center from a very impressive list of nominees made by the public. It is my pleasure now to ask Governor Patton to present the first Hellard Award.
Governor Patton:
I had the opportunity to get to know Vic Hellard, neither as a member of the legislature nor as a member of the state government, but in working on some legislation. I found him always to be a gentlemen, always an individual who was trying to be helpful and cooperative, and always an individual who had the best of Kentucky at heart. So, Judge Anthony Wilhoit, you are a liked individual, and it is certainly my pleasure to present you this award in recognition of your long and outstanding career in public service in Kentucky.
Judge Wilhoit:
Many of you know that this particular award probably means more to me personally than to anybody else on earth. You put the monkey on my back. I don’t know how many years of public service I have left, but I will redouble my efforts now to live up to the high ideals that this award honors and to live up to Vic Hellard’s standard that he set for all of us. Thank you so much.
Senator Kafoglis:
I want to recognize Ellen Hellard, Vic’s wife. We are just delighted to have you here with us today. Governor Patton, we thank you very much for being with us today.
Judge Anthony M. Wilhoit recently retired from his post as Chief Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals where he served for 21 years. Judge Wilhoit began his career as a police judge and as City Attorney for Versailles. In 1967, he became Woodford County Attorney and served in that post until 1972 when he became a public defender. In 1972, Judge Wilhoit was named to the Kentucky Crime Commission and, in 1975, appointed to the post of Deputy Secretary of the Kentucky Department of Justice. He presently heads the Legislative Ethics Commission. He holds an AB from Thomas More College, a graduate degree and a law degree from the University of Kentucky, and a degree in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia Law School.
The Vic Hellard, Jr., Award recognizes an individual for his or her work in the interest of the future of the Commonwealth. Criteria for the award include the demonstration of long-term vision and innovation, championship of the equality and dignity of every person, efforts to enhance the processes of a democratic society, and an approach to work distinguished by commitment, caring, generosity and humor.
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