The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce presented Dr. Jon Draud with a Northern Kentucky Community Award during a recent Government Forum event with Governor Andy Beshear.
The award is given to individuals, businesses, or organizations throughout the Northern Kentucky Metro region to recognize their positive impact on the community.
Draud dedicated more than 50 years of his professional career to public education. He served in a number of positions, including as a teacher at Holmes High School and as a principal at Covington Third District and Lockland Middle School in Ohio. He also was superintendent of the Ludlow Independent School District and broke into higher education as an adjunct associate professor at Xavier University, director of university partnerships at Northern Kentucky University, and Kentucky Commissioner of Education.
His civic involvement includes spending five years on Crestview Hills City Council and a decade as a Kentucky state legislator, along with the Kenton County Fiscal Court. He has served as Kenton County commissioner since first being elected in 2010.
“For more than five decades, Dr. Jon Draud has been an advocate in our community as an educator and through his civil service,” said Brent Cooper, president and CEO of the NKY Chamber. “He’s spent decades working to make Kenton County and all of Northern Kentucky a better place to live, work, play, learn and give back. As Dr. Draud concludes his current term and prepares for a well-deserved retirement, we are honored to present him with the Northern Kentucky Community Award.”
Dr. Draud has received a number of awards and honors over the years for his public service, including the Paul Mason Legislative Advocate for Children Award from the Kentucky Parent Teacher Association, the Walter R. Dunlevy/Frontiersman Award from the NKY Chamber, and was named an Outstanding Legislator from the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, among others. The Dr. Jon Draud Pioneer Award was renamed in his honor to recognize residents of Kenton County with personal integrity and a record of outstanding service to the community.
To learn more about the NKY Chamber Community Award, sponsored by First National Bank of Kentucky, or to submit a nomination, contact Lynn Abeln at labeln@nkychamber.com.
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce