The Kenton County Fiscal Court recognized Larry Maxey on Thursday night as a 2022 Pioneer Award honoree for outstanding community service.
The Pioneer Award is given to residents of Kenton County who provide service to the community and demonstrate leadership combined with an awareness of the needs of fellow residents.
The Kenton County Ethics Commission reviews nominations and identifies four deserving individuals each year.
The award called Maxey a “voice for rural Kenton County.” He worked closely with Simon Kenton High School to establish programs for vocational agricultural education and served as President of the Kenton County Farm Bureau for 25 plus years.
Other accomplishments by Maxey throughout the county are:
- Founding chair of the Kenton County Cooperative Extension District Board
- Board member for the Kentucky Simmental Association
- Chair of the Northern Kentucky Farmer’s Market
- Board member for the Kenton County Fair Board
- Creator and Director of the Kenton County Fair 4H/FFA Livestock Show and Sale of Champions
- Served on the board of directors and executive committee for the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
- Served on the OKI Board of Directors and Executive Committee
“His ‘nothing is impossible’ mentality aids him in accomplishing whatever he sets out to do,” the award stated.
“This was a complete surprise to me. I had no idea this was happening, but I am honored to receive it. It means a lot to me,” Maxey said.
One thing that was not on the proclamation that Maxey mentioned was his time as chair of the sesquicentennial planning committee for the 150th anniversary of the county in 1989.
“I think this is an appropriate place to talk about that a little bit because most of us probably don’t realize that just about 50 feet from the front door out on the left is an egg-shaped stone above a time capsule that was placed there in 1990,” Maxey said.
The time capsule is set to open at the county’s bicentennial in 2040. Maxey said he is reminded of all that they did across Kenton County that is represented in the time capsule
“There’s a lot of neat stuff in there,” Maxey said. “Somewhere in the treasury of Kenton County is a CD that was purchased by us in 1990 that will accrue to whatever value it has in the year 2040. So, they have something to look forward to because we didn’t have any money. So hopefully, there will be a nice little nest egg for whoever it is that opens it.”
