Celebrate with us 2024 Kentucky Public Service Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni Banquet

Excerpted from this UKNOW piece by Ron Zimmer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2024) — Civic leader and collegiate sports marketing pioneer Jim Host has been selected as the 2024 inductee into the Kentucky Public Service Hall of Fame. Host also served three times as a member of a Governor’s Cabinet.

He will receive the award at the UK Martin School of Public Policy and Administration Kentucky Public Service Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni Banquet at Spindletop Hall on April 26, sponsored by the Board of Visitors. Kate Shanks will also be honored. She is the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of public affairs, who is the recipient of the Martin School’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Shanks earned her master of public administration from the Martin School in 2006. She has been with the Kentucky Chamber since 2015.  Shanks was promoted to vice president of policy development in October 2018, later becoming became vice president of public affairs in November 2019. She was elevated to the position of senior vice president of public affairs in July 2021.

“Kate personifies the Martin School’s mission of preparing graduates to make meaningful contributions in the public policy arena,” said Ron Zimmer, the Martin School director.  “She is highly regarded for her expertise in a variety of areas and is an outstanding role model for our present and future students."