Kentucky Historical Society
KHS Honors Abraham Lincoln Society Members, New Inductees

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 2, 2010)— The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) Foundation honored its major donors and supporters by inducting three new members into the Abraham Lincoln Society at the Lincoln Society Gala on Oct. 18, 2010 at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort.

Individuals and groups are inducted into the Abraham Lincoln Society when their cumulative gifts to the KHS Foundation reach the level of $25,000 or more. The Society has six tiers of membership. Donors of $1 million or more are recognized as Presidential Advisers; donors at the $500,000 level join as Chancellors Friends; donors at $250,000 or more become Director’s Fellows; Founding Trustees have contributed funds equal to or greater than $100,00 and donors of $50,000 or more are designated Trustees.  Gifts may be made through cash or pledges fulfilled over a period of up to five years, cumulatively.  Corporations, foundations and organizations are all eligible for Abraham Lincoln Society membership.

The 2010 inductees include the Mary D. Kelly Living Trust; Ronald and Michele Morgan; Gov. Brereton Jones and Elizabeth Lloyd “Libby” Jones; and John R. and Donna S. Hall.

In 2008, KHS received 17 original Paul Sawyier paintings from the estate of Mary D. Kelly, giving KHS the honor of hosting one of the largest repositories of Paul Sawyier paintings in the country.  Kelly’s bequest was the largest single acquisition of Sawyier’s works by KHS. KHS showcased pieces from the Kelly acquisition at the 2010 Abraham Lincoln Society Gala. The KHS Foundation inducted Kelly posthumously  into the Abraham Lincoln Society at the Founding Trustee Level, and recognized her son Clay, and two daughters, Mary Herbert and Anne White, on behalf of the Mary D. Kelly Living Trust.

Over a 20-year period, Ronald Morgan purchased and preserved more than 11,000 postcards depicting Kentucky scenes.  Together, these images document Kentucky over 70 years, from approximately 1870 to 1940. Ronald and Michele donated this collection to KHS in November 2009, and the Morgan Kentucky Postcard Collection is believed to be one of the largest collections of postcards dedicated to Kentucky subjects in any United States library or repository. KHS showcased the Morgan Kentucky Postcard collection at the Gala event, and inducted the Morgans as a Trustee of the Abraham Lincoln Society.

Gov. Brereton and Elizabeth Lloyd “Libby” Jones, long-time supporters of KHS, were also inducted into the Abraham Lincoln Society at the Trustee level.  Libby served three years as KHS president and currently serves on the KHS Foundation Board of Directors. She has loaned her name to one of the most important efforts of the Foundation, the Elizabeth Lloyd Jones Student Scholarship Fund, which supports the visits of several thousand schoolchildren each year to the KHS history campus.

Noted philanthropic couple John R. and Donna S. Hall, lifetime members of KHS, were also inducted into the Abraham Lincoln Society at the Trustee level. John, the retired chairman of Ashland Inc., has served on the KHS Foundation Board since 2001, and was elected president of the Foundation in 2008. Between the two of them, John and Donna serve on 16 boards across the Commonwealth and beyond.

The KHS Foundation is a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization established in 1991. It receives grants, bequests and gifts from individuals, corporations and others in support of the work of the Kentucky Historical Society. For more information on or to support the Foundation, visit www.history.ky.gov and click Give/Join.

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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history. The KHS history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the website at www.history.ky.gov.