Ronica Shannon
The Madison County Historical Society is presenting the community with a chance to give a holiday gift that will help preserve the county’s rich history and last a lifetime.
Sponsors are being sought to help fund the Madison County Heritage Walk of Fame that is well on its way to surrounding the county courthouse with tributes to local historical figures.
Very little governmental funding has been donated to the project, which included $5,200 given by the Madison Fiscal Court to pay for the concrete and installation of the first six honorees.
The Richmond City Commission voted earlier this year to allot $10,000 for the project, however, when discouraging news about the city’s financial status was released later in the year, the historical society agreed to give that money back to the city to be used elsewhere.
This has left the Madison County Heritage Walk of Fame project mostly in the hands of private sponsors.
“I will never give up in seeking sponsorship for the Madison County Heritage Walk of Fame,” said Charles Hay, treasurer of the county’s historical society. “We want to educate people, especially young people, about what Madison County has to offer.”
Levels of sponsorship are as follows: Friend, $100-$499; Patron, $500-$999; Underwriter, $1,000-$2,499; Benefactor, $2,500-$4,999; and Guarantor, $5,000 or more.
All of the sponsorship money does not have to be paid at one time. For example, if a person or entity wanted to donate $1,000, they could give $500 at first, then pay $100 a year for the next five years, Hay said.
He also encouraged Madison County teachers to take on sponsorship in the form of history or social studies class projects.
The first honorees, who were dedicated in August, are explorers Daniel Boone and Christopher “Kit” Carson, suffragist Laura Clay, Berea College founder and Berea co-founder the Rev. John Gregg Fee, former Kentucky governor and representative James Bennett McCreary and Monk Estill, the first freed slave in Kentucky.
Hay said the walk of fame is the only one in the nation which recognizes a particular county.
Each honoree has a brass plaque set in concrete in the sidewalk that surrounds the courthouse, and a small stand next to the first group of plaques holds brochures with information on each of the honorees.
The Walk of Fame is a collaborative effort between all three county entities (Richmond, Berea and Madison County), as well as local sponsors.
Each plaque installed as part of the Walk of Fame can cost anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000, however, citizens are not allowed to go ahead and purchase a plaque for a certain person.
All honorees featured must first be submitted as a nomination to the Madison County Historical Society, and are to be a fair mixture of class, gender and race, Hay said.
All nominees for the Walk of Fame must be deceased, regionally or nationally recognized for their work and have been born or lived for a significant portion of their lives in Madison County.
Nominations for the 2010 class are being accepted, Hay said, by submitting a nomination form included in the guide booklets as well as on the society’s Web site, www.madisonhistoryky.org. The site also includes additional information about the six honorees in the 2009 class.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
