Want to honor an ‘unsung hero’ in Lexington? Here’s how you can
Leadership Lexington wants to honor public and civil service workers at an event later this year, and the group is accepting nominations from the public for local heroes.
Nominations for the awards are open until the end of June and the public is invited to submit nominations. All public servants are eligible to be nominated for the awards, and they’ll be honored at the Lexington Unsung Heroes Ball.
The main award being handed out is the “Lexington Unsung Hero Award.” The award will be given to an individual working in public or civil service who has “demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the Lexington Community through their work, and who has also had a positive influence on their workplace,” the ball’s website says.
“That is going to be the overall winner who we feel like really captures the essence of the city,” said Bilal El-Amin, co-project manager for the ball.
Several other awards will be given out at the ball in August to public servants who have provided great contributions to the community. People who work in the police, fire, emergency services, education or city services industries are among those eligible for the awards.
Funding for the ball is provided by community sponsors, and the group is still accepting sponsorships. Tables for the ball are up for sale. El-Amin said the group will make individual tickets available for sale later in the summer.
“If they would like to sponsor a table or sponsor any type of gifts or swag, we would love that,” El-Amin said.
Leadership Lexington wants to make heroes ball annual
Leadership Lexington is Commerce Lexington’s primary leadership development program. The program is meant for leaders in Lexington and its mission is to provide people the chance to learn more about the city and prepare for the challenges it may face.
Each year, a class of leaders is selected to participate in the program, and the class comes up with a community project to better the community. El-Amin said he and other members of the 2023 class came up with the idea for a ball for their community project.
He wanted to highlight some of the work being done by people who don’t receive a lot of recognition.
“We were just coming off COVID and a lot of things were happening that time and our city workers and health care workers and educators were really helping propel, push everything forward, and I just felt like they needed to be recognized and appreciated,” El-Amin said.
The ball will take place at the University of Kentucky’s Longship Club on Aug. 5. It’s the inaugural year for the ball, and El-Amin said Civic Lex will host the event next year.
“It’s not just a one-time thing, it’s going to be an annual event,” El-Amin said. “It’s a great thing for the city. It’s a great motivator to just keep people motivated to giving back to the city.”
