Foundation for DCPS Announces Distinguished Alumni 2012

The Board of Directors of the Foundation for Daviess County Public Schools is pleased to announce that Senator Wendell H. Ford will be their Distinguished Alumni 2012. Senator Ford will be honored at the Foundation’s Focus Awards 2012 event on April 17^th at 6:00 p.m. at Apollo High School. The Focus Award Finalists and the members of the Founder’s Society will also be recognized at the event.

Wendell H. Ford was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, on September 8, 1924, and graduated from Daviess County High School in 1942. Ford attended the University of Kentucky before serving in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946 and in the National Guard for 13 years.

Wendell Ford was elected to the Kentucky state senate in 1965. Two years later, he was elected Lt. Governor. He became the state’s 49^th governor in 1971 and was elected to the first of four terms as U.S. Senator in 1974. In 1992, Ford received the largest number of votes every recorded by an elected official in Kentucky. Upon his retirement, Ford held the record in Kentucky for the longest consecutive service in the Senate.

Ford served on four committees in the Senate: Rules & Administration, Joint Committee on Printing, Commerce, Science and Transportation and Energy & Natural Resources. Ford was chair of the inauguration committee for President George H.W. Bush and both terms for President Bill Clinton.

“We are delighted to be able to honor one of DCPS’s most influential and well-known graduates as our Distinguished Alumni 2012 at our Focus Awards this year,” said Vicki Quisenberry, Executive Director of the Foundation. “Senator Ford has had such a remarkable influence on Kentucky, U.S. and world politics that we will never be able to properly thank him for his years of service to the people of this state. We can, however, honor him at this event and humbly show our gratitude for his contributions.”

Tickets for the event will go on sale in March after the Focus Award finalists are announced. Additional information may be accessed through the Foundation web site at www.foundationfordcps.org or by calling the Foundation office at 231-5583.