FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Commonwealth Policy Center Honors Lt. Gov. Hampton with Award
DATE: March 13, 2016
CONTACT: Richard Nelson
PHONE: (270) 271-2713
Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton visited Western Kentucky on Saturday and received an award from the Commonwealth Policy Center (CPC). The first ever Friend of the Commonwealth Award, presented at a candidate training event in Christian County, is given to conservative office holders who are committed to protecting the unborn, preserving religious freedom and traditional marriage. "I'm really honored by this. I didn't expect this," Hampton told a crowd of 35 in attendance.
Hampton, a former Air Force officer, made political history last November when she became the first black person ever elected to statewide office in Kentucky. She advised candidates and aspiring political leaders in her talk "What I Learned on the Campaign Trail" to "be yourself" while campaigning. Attendees came from as far away as Louisville and Somerset to hear Hampton and seven other speakers, including State Sen. Whitney Westerfield and Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks.
"It's an honor to recognize officials who aren't afraid to tackle the tough issues and work from a principled perspective on issues that are really important but candidates are often afraid to talk about." said Richard Nelson, executive director of CPC. "Isn't she the real deal?" Nelson asked the crowd who gave Hampton a standing ovation.
The award says: "In appreciation to your dedication and service to promoting the idea that our rights are endowed by God; that human life should be protected in all its stages;
religious liberty respected and for promoting that man/woman marriage is the foundational relationship in society; We thank you for your service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky."
State Senator and Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield also received CPC's Friend of Life Award for his ardent support for the Informed Consent Bill, Ultrasound Bill and Abortion Clinic Regulation Bill. "Sen. Westerfield is truly a friend of life," Nelson said to attendees who gathered at the tranquil setting of Sugar Grove Carriage House in Oak Grove.
The Commonwealth Policy Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to shoring up society's pillars of the sanctity of human life, religious freedom and man/woman marriage. The group formed in 2012 with dual goals of engaging the issues of the day from a principled perspective and of helping conservatives get elected to public office.