For Release: 2009-04-27 15:51:00
Colmon Elridge III, executive assistant to Gov. Steve Beshear, director of faith-based and community initiatives and director of strategic initiatives is the next guest on Connections with Renee Shaw. The program airs Friday, May 8 at 4/3 p.m. CT on KET2 and Sunday, May 10 at 1:30/12:30 p.m. CT on KET1.At age 27, Elridge is the youngest person in the country to hold the post of executive assistant to a governor and one of the youngest members of the governor's administration. His career in public service began in the seventh grade when he became class president. He went on to win numerous speech tournaments, graduate from Transylvania University, serve as outreach director for the Kentucky Democratic Party and much more. Elridge discusses his ambitious career and talks about what inspired him to go in to public service.
In 2007, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama visited Lexington, his campaign contacted Elridge to introduce him. Elridge revisits the experience and shares the words of advice Obama gave him during their brief meeting. Elridge also discusses minority participation in political office, programs he is currently overseeing and his personal career goals.
Additionally, Elridge shares some of his family history, including growing up in Cynthiana, the heart-wrenching suicide of his father and the powerful bond he has with his remaining family members.
Connections with Renee Shaw is a KET production, produced by Shaw and Carolyn Gwinn. More information about Connections, including streaming video, is available at www.ket.org/connections. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
Contact: Amanda Stroud
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