How to Become a Colonel

The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels

The Kentucky Colonels is an independent, nonprofit organization with the purpose of aiding and promoting nonprofits in the Commonwealth and its citizens. Membership is open to anyone who has been commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. We hope everyone will consider himself or herself a friend of the Kentucky Colonels.

Become a Kentucky Colonel

To obtain a Kentucky Colonel Commission, a nomination must be submitted to the Governor.  The nominee must also be 18 years old. To nominate an individual please complete the Kentucky Colonel Commission Application

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Governor’s Office in Frankfort. The address is:

Attention Lora Mattingly
Office of Governor Andy Beshear,
State Capitol
Frankfort, KY 40601. 

Or email her at Lora.Mattingly@ky.gov.

Become a Kentucky Colonel

To obtain a Kentucky Colonel Commission, a nomination must be submitted to the Governor.  The nominee must also be 18 years old. To nominate an individual please complete the Kentucky Colonel Commission Application

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Governor’s Office in Frankfort. The address is:

Attention Lora Mattingly
Office of Governor Andy Beshear,
State Capitol
Frankfort, KY 40601. 

Or email her at Lora.Mattingly@ky.gov

“Each time I have the pleasure of bestowing a membership to this exceptional organization on an individual, the great tradition established by Kentucky’s first governor, Isaac Shelby, lives on. The name Kentucky Colonel has become synonymous with strength of character, leadership and dedication to the welfare of others. Just as Isaac Shelby declared his trusted militia members to be his Kentucky Colonels, I see in you those things that place others above self.”
– A recent Governor when commenting about the qualities he considers in a potential Kentucky Colonel
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