KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions
Endowment Funders
Alltech • American Electric Power Foundation • An anonymous donor • Mr. Hilary J. Boone Jr. • Brown-Forman • Mr. and Mrs. Alex Campbell • The Cralle Foundation • Thomas and Clara Dupree • Oakley and Eva Farris • Owsley Brown Frazier • John and Donna Hall • Billy Harper • Laura Heddleson • Marshall and Margaret Heuser • Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels • Humana Foundation • Keeneland Association • Marshall Charitable Foundation • National Endowment for the Humanities • Warren Rosenthal
KET’s long-term commitment to producing and presenting programs that tell Kentucky’s story is supported by the Endowment for Kentucky Productions. The proceeds from this $2.25 million endowment will provide KET with secure funding for a variety of educational, biographical, cultural, historical, and public affairs programs about Kentucky—starting with a documentary about Kentucky’s horse industry entitled Thoroughbred.
To be produced by Academy Award-winning director Paul Wagner, Thoroughbred will be a wide-ranging look at the breed and at raising and racing horses in Kentucky. Topics will include the historic richness of Kentucky’s land, the science of breeding, the innocence of a newborn foal, the high stakes of the sale, the thrill of racing, and the serenity of a retired champion. The program is slated to premiere in March 2010, shortly before Kentucky hosts the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Paula Kerger, president of PBS, joined KET Executive Director Malcolm Wall and Nick Nicholson, Keeneland president and CEO, in announcing the completion of the endowment and the selection of Thoroughbred as its first fruit at Keeneland Race Course in October 2007.
“No one tells Kentucky stories better than KET, and there’s no better Kentucky story than the thoroughbred,” said Nicholson.
Fund-raising for the Endowment for Kentucky Productions exceeded the original $2 million goal. One major contributor was the National Endowment for the Humanities, which recognized the need to preserve local stories with a $500,000 challenge grant. It was the only NEH grant awarded to the state of Kentucky and the only television grant awarded in the nation during that funding cycle.
Kerger noted, “KET is one of America’s great public broadcasters. It represents everything that makes public broadcasting so special—a dedication to distinctive content, an emphasis on education, and a commitment to community. I want to commend the funders and entire KET family on their vision to establish this endowment.”
“We’re grateful to our funding partners, whose leadership, trust, and generosity have made possible a lifelong learning gift for all Kentuckians,” said Wall. “The endowment ensures KET’s core mission to enhance the quality of life for Kentuckians through original programs by, for, and about this place we call home.”
