April 21 – Meet our Speaker Kip Cornett!

If Kip Cornett is at the Rotary podium, you can be certain that something big is going on in Lexington. When last we saw him, it was to learn about the week-long events surrounding the 2022 Breeders’ Cup held at Keeneland. That was then; this is now.

In 2025, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Lexington’s founding. In September 2023, Mayor Linda Gorton announced the members of the Mayor’s 250 Lex Commission. The commission is planning an entire year’s worth of events honoring the cultural and historical significance of Lexington’s past, present, and future.

Lexington was founded in 1775, one year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, by William McConnell and frontier explorers who set up camp near a natural spring, now known as McConnell Springs. In honor of the American Revolution battles in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the frontiersmen named their site Lexington.

One focus of the commission will be June 2025, called ’ Come Home ’ month. June is the month Lexington is believed to have been named. The city is inviting anyone who has lived here, has family here, or would like to see all we have to offer to travel here for a month-long cultural experience.

The Commission is led by co-chairs Eunice A. Beatty, PhDand the aforementioned Kip Cornett. We are delighted to welcome Kip to update us on the work of the Commission and all that is being planned as part of this celebration. Karl“Kip” Cornett was born in Hazard, Ky., and moved as a teenager to Lexington, where he tended heat and, in 1977, graduated from the University of Kentucky. Just a short seven years later, Kip founded CORNETT, an advertising firm that has become one of the leading agencies in the region. The company quickly grew and works closely with such brands as Valvoline, Keeneland, Tempur+Sealy, Buffalo Trace Distillery, as well as the University of Kentucky, UK Athletics, and UK Healthcare.

Kip’s great passion for the city of Lexington has been evidenced throughout his life. In 2015, Kip served as the chair of the Breeders’ Cup Festival Committee, helping Keeneland and the city execute one of the most successful running events in its 31-year history. He is actively involved with numerous boards and civic efforts, including The Fayette Alliance, YMCA, The Lyric Theatre, and Picnic with the Pops Commission.

Kip and his wife, Ellen, live in Lexington.