Leadership nominations for Kentucky Coalition Board

KFTC Executive Committee nominations continued...

AT LARGE MEMBER: Ebony

O-Rea is a long-time member of the Jefferson County Chapter. Ebony serves on the Leadership Development Committee and digs in on Annual Meetings, where she’s helped plan workshops, facilitate, and participated in panels. This year, Ebony has also been active in the Organizational Change Initiative work, and was recruited to the Synthesis Team where she helped craft KFTC’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal and Vivid Description. Throughout the OCI process, Ebony has helped many of us imagine and envision the next KFTC. Ebony identifies as a Black Woman.

KFTC 2021 (VIRTUAL) ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Friday, July 30 – Saturday, July 31

Nominees for the Kentucky Coalition Board

The Kentucky Coalition is the tax-exempt sister organization of KFTC. It supports leadership development programs and other charitable activities of KFTC. The KC board includes the five members of the KFTC Executive Committee plus three additional members elected by KFTC’s membership at the Annual Membership Meeting.

To be eligible for one of the three elected positions on the Kentucky Coalition board, a person must be a current member of KFTC, may not be an employee or immediate family member of an employee of KFTC or Kentucky Coalition, and may not serve more than four consecutive one-year terms.

The Leadership Development Committee considers all nominees and recommends a diverse slate of three qualified candidates, taking into account a diversity of characteristics including gender, age, race, income, educational backgrounds, place of residence, level of involvement in the local chapter and statewide organization, and issue interests.

Desired qualities for the KC Board include the list of traits used for the Executive Committee, plus: people with prior experience on the KFTC Steering Committee or Finance Committee, people committed to thoughtful stewardship of resources, and people who do not currently serve as their chapter’s Steering Committee representative. That last item is not legally required, but it is desirable.

The following members, in addition to the Executive Committee members, currently serve on the KC Board: • Ezra Dike is in his second term. • Joy Fitzgerald is in her first term. • Matthew Gidcomb is in his first term.

Kentucky Coalition Board nominees

Joy Fitzgerald has long been active in social change, and joined the Kentucky Coalition Board after serving out her term as Shelby County Steering Committee Representative last year. She continues to be an active member of the Shelby County Chapter and many other local organizations and efforts in Shelby County. Joy has supported candidate forums, building alliances with local People of Color-led organizations and community support efforts, and has anchored the local Pride celebrations in Shelby County. She has served one year on the Kentucky Coalition.

Matthew Gidcomb became active with the CKY chapter in late 2014, during the campaign to raise the local minimum wage. He helped start the CKY chapter’s Energy and Equity Committee that works on issues related to Just Transition. He is also a member of the statewide NET committee. He also helped establish the local chapter’s Action for Democracy team. At the chapter level, he has helped shape the local electoral strategy and candidate endorsement process. He has been an active participant in helping draft and shape the local voter guide questionnaire, and is very passionate about the KFTC voter guide. He consistently supports voter registration drives and canvasses and is very passionate about that work. He can always be counted on to help put up chairs and help clean the room during meetings. He’s a software developer and worked on a project with former colleagues to develop a website registry of local arts and culture events and programming. Matthew has served one year on the Kentucky Coalition Board.

Shannon Scott is a member of the Wilderness Trace Chapter, and has served out three terms on the Steering Committee. Shannon also serves on the Leadership Development Committee and the NET committee, and has been active in OCI. Shannon has put a lot of great work into maintaining and growing the Wilderness Trace Chapter by experimenting with social media and anchoring the chapter’s facebook page. She’s helped with voter registration efforts, fundraising, phonebanks, textbanks, and keeping chapter members and others tuned into local events and alliances to build and grow from.

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KFTC OFFICES AND STAFF

MAIN OFFICE

Morgan Brown, Ashley Frasher, and Burt Lauderdale P.O. Box 1450 London, KY 40743 606-878-2161 | Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org

FIELD OFFICES

Jefferson County

E’Beth Adami, Corey Dutton, Alexa Hatcher, Shauntrice Martin, and Jessie Skaggs 735 Lampton Street #202 Louisville, KY 40203 502-589-3188

Southern Kentucky

Laura Harper Knight and Whitney Kuklinski 958 Collett Ave., Suite 500 Bowling Green, KY 42101 270-282-4553

Northern Kentucky

Dave Newton, Joe Gallenstein, and Caitlin Sparks 306 Greenup Street Covington, KY 41011 859-380-6103

Central Kentucky

Tayna Fogle, Jessica Hays Lucas, Erik Hungerbuhler, Heather Mahoney, and Meredith Wadlington, 250 Plaza Drive, Suite 4 Lexington, KY 40503 859-276-0563

Big Sandy

Jerry Hardt and Jacob Mack-Boll 152 North Lake Drive P.O. Box 864 Prestonsburg, KY 41653

Madison County

Lisa Abbott 210 N. Broadway #3 Berea, KY 40403 859-868-1179

Email any staff member at firstname@kftc.org, except for Corey Dutton use: coreydutton@kftc.org, for Jessica Hays Lucas use: jessicabreen@kftc.org, and for Whitney Kuklinski use: whitneykuklinski@kftc.org.

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF ACTION FOR JUSTICE. IMAGINING AND ORGANIZING FOR OUR FUTURE.

This year, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth turns 40. It’s an important time for the This year, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth turns 40! It’s an important time for the organization. We’re refl ecting back on where we’ve been, what we’ve achieved, and what we’ve organization. We’re reflecting back on where we’ve been, what we’ve achieved, and what we’ve learned. We’re making big plans for our future. And our work to organize for a fair economy, a learned. We’re making big plans for our future. And our work to organize for a fair economy, a healthy environment, and an honest democracy continues today. healthy environment, and an honest democracy continues today.

Will you donate today to help us celebrate, organize, and imagine? Go to www.kftc.org/support or cut out the form on page and mail your gift to P.O. Box 1450, London, KY 40743. Will you donate today to help us celebrate, organize, and imagine? Go to www.kftc.org/support or fill out the form on the previous page and mail your gift to P.O. Box 1450, London, KY 40743.

1981

1981: KFTC launched as the Kentucky

Fair Tax Coalition in Hazard in Perry County. The group wanted coal and timber companies in eastern Kentucky to pay fair taxes to support healthy communities.

1988

1988: 82% of Kentucky

voters say “YES” to the Broad Form Deed Amendment to protect landowners from strip miners.

1999

1999: Hopkins County chapter members

and Noel Avenue residents in Madisonville organize for and win sidewalks and storm drainage.

2001

London, Ky. 40743 P.O. Box 1450 Kentuckians For The Commonwealth Change Service Requested

2001: The Jefferson County chapter marched with others

in Louisville against police abuse. The Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression was a leader in this coalition, and has been mobilizing people of color and white people to take action together against racism for over 40 years. Learn more www.kentuckyalliance.org

2007 2013 2019 2021

2007: KFTC’s Canary Project hosted one of several fl yover tours of mountaintop removal sites.

2013: Members and allies rallied at the State Capitol

to support restoration of voting rights for Kentuckians with a felony in their past. The work to respect voting rights continues today and includes: Kentucky Unitarian

Universalist Justice Action Network at www.kuujan. org, ACLU of Kentucky at www.aclu-ky.org, Kentucky Council of Churches at www.kycouncilofchurches.org, Black Live Matter Louisville @BLMLouisville on social media, Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign at www. poorpeoplescampaign.org, Louisville SURJ at www. louisvillesurj.org, and People Advocating Recovery at www.kyapac.org. 2019: Members attended the annual membership

meeting at Berea College in Madison County. Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, the fi rst Black woman Executive Director of the Highlander Research & Education Center, gave the keynote address. Learn more www.highlandercenter.org.

2021: Over 100 members met virtually for a series of conversations to imagine and envision the next 10 years of

KFTC. They set a goal to “Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color and impacted communities, recruit, equip, and activate a network of 100,000 members and partners across all 120 counties to dismantle racism and all systems of oppression, to develop a robust democracy and transform the future of Kentucky.”