The Kentucky Martin Luther King Jr. Commission has named a Madisonville man the recipient of this year’s Martin Luther King Citizenship Award.
The Commission will present the award to State Human Rights Commissioner Timothy Thomas today in Frankfort. Thomas is serving his third term representing the First Supreme Court District on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Board of Commissioners and is president of the Hopkins County Joint Planning Commission, on which he has served for 17 years.
Thomas is also in his second term as commissioner of the African American Heritage Commission. He serves on the Madisonville-Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce and is a state representative of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Planning Association. Thomas is a member of the Madisonville-Hopkins County NAACP and associated member of the Kentucky Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
Thomas was a cofounder of the former African American Unity Committee as well as founder and host of the public service television program, “Focus on Hopkins County,” which has run for 18 years and has a viewership of more than 100,000.
“Kentucky Human Rights Commissioner Thomas is an asset to us in the work to rule on discrimination complaints for the people of Kentucky and to raise awareness of civil rights across the state,” said John J. Johnson, executive director of the Kentucky Human Rights Commission. “His commitment to service is reflected by his leadership and involvement with a large number of organizations and government entities, and we congratulate Commissioner Thomas on this well-deserved award from the state Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.”
Thomas receives his award today at the state annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday celebration. Governor Steve Beshear and Lieutenant Governor Crit Luallen are expected to attend.
