NEWS RELEASE
FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 19, 2016) – Governor Matt Bevin and First Lady Glenna Bevin today unveiled the official 2016 Governor’s Commemorative Poster during the Kentucky Derby Festival (KDF) Board Luncheon. The event was held at the Governor’s Mansion.
The poster was presented to KDF Chair Wes Rutledge. In return, Rutledge presented Governor Bevin with Derby Festival’s Official Poster and Mrs. Bevin with a gold-filled Pegasus Pin.
Mrs. Bevin selected the commemorative poster based on work created by artist Kelly Brewer from Lexington. The poster depicts three colorful jockeys and their horses coming down the stretch at Churchhill Downs with the iconic twin spires in the background.
“Kelly Brewer is a celebrated Kentucky artist,” said Mrs. Bevin. “I chose this particular piece for the rich textures and colors that capture the thrill of the running of the Kentucky Derby, and the iconic horizon that signifies the great history of one of America’s oldest and most cherished pastimes.”
Every year since 1983, KDF board members have traveled to Frankfort in a caravan of official vehicles to attend its April board meeting and luncheon hosted by the governor of Kentucky. The tradition started when then-Lt. Gov. Martha Layne Collins, a former Derby Festival Queen, invited the Festival’s Board to a luncheon at the Old Governor’s Mansion. The event moved the next year to the current Governor’s Mansion in Frankfort.
“I remember helping the Lieutenant Governor’s staff cut mint for the juleps served at the first luncheon,” said Derby Festival President and CEO Mike Berry, who served as an Administrative Assistant to Gov. Collins for three years. “It’s a very nice event and our board members really seem to enjoy it.”
Copies of the 2016 Governor’s Commemorative Poster will soon be available online for purchase. The cost is $15 per poster.
Photo caption: First Lady Glenna Bevin, along with Governor Matt Bevin and artist Kelly Brewer, presenting the 2016 Derby Commemorative Poster to Wes Rutledge, Chair of the 2016 Derby Festival.
About the artist: Kelly Brewer’s love of art formed her focus on the past, helping her graduate from the University of North Carolina with an art history degree. Brewer has become an acclaimed Kentucky artist with a growing national reputation. Her work is exhibited throughout the United States and she has received local and national awards of merit. Master painters Joaquin Sorolla, John Singer Sargent and Nicolai Fechin greatly influence her impressionistic approach. She is a proud Kentuckian and mother of three daughters.