Lexington family’s legacy of public safety grows

By
Tom Kenny
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A Lexington family’s rich legacy of public safety and public service grew on Friday when the eldest son of former Lexington police chief Anthany Beatty joined the Lexington Police Department.

Anthany Beatty, Junior graduated from the department’s cadet training class.  His father, Anthany Beatty, Senior, served with the Lexington Division of Police for 34-years and became the first African-American police chief in 2001.  Historically, he was the first Lexington Police Chief to be promoted and to have served in every rank of the department.

Beatty’s youngest son, Embry Beatty, has served as a firefighter with the Lexington Fire Department for 11-years.

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"I’ve never tried to persuade either of my sons to go into public safety careers; the job of protecting and serving the public is not always easy," Anthany Beatty, Senior said.  "But what I hope they consistently saw in my career journey, was treating everyone with the utmost respect, being constantly aware of treating others the way I want to be treated, and really enjoying the work I was doing."

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Tom Kenny
Tom Kenny joined ABC 36 News in June of 2001 as a General Assignment Reporter. A native of Peoria, Illinois, he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Western Illinois University. He currently anchors ABC 36 News at 5pm, 6pm and 11pm. Tom has more than three decades of experience in broadcast journalism. He is the only broadcast journalist in Lexington television history to be honored with a national Edward R. Murrow Award. Tom was recognized for reporting on a story that gave a rare glimpse inside the secretive world of the Federal Witness Protection Program. He has won an Emmy Award for anchoring and another for investigative reporting, exposing the deceit and potential danger of online diploma mills. Tom has ten other Emmy nominations to his credit for investigative and feature reporting. He has won Associated Press Awards for reporting and anchoring. He has won two Addy Awards for excellence in promotional writing. Tom was the first broadcast journalist in Lexington TV history to be awarded the Silver Circle Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is one of the highest honors given by NATAS. It recognizes television professionals who have performed distinguished service within the television industry for 25-years or more. Tom was honored for more than his longevity, he was recognized for making an enduring contribution to the vitality of the television industry and for setting high standards of achievement. He was also recognized for giving back to the community as a mentor, educator and volunteer. Tom also has network broadcast experience in radio and television having worked as a sports reporter for ESPN, Sportschannel, NBC Sports and the Breeders’ Cup. He was also the studio host and halftime producer for CBS Radio Sports’ College Football Game of the Week and covered the NFL for One-On-One Radio Sports. Prior to joining WTVQ-TV, Tom was Vice-President of the Houston Astros Minor League baseball team in Lexington. He was part of the original management team that brought professional baseball back to the Bluegrass after a nearly 50-year absence. Tom has lived in Lexington since 1984. In that time, he has been heavily involved with dozens of charity and civic groups, with a special emphasis on helping Veterans. He can be reached at tkenny@wtvq.com. You can also follow Tom on Facebook www.facebook.com/TomKennyABC and Twitter @TomKennyNews. Just click on the links at the top of the page.