Beautification project honored with Beautify The Bluegrass Award

FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) — A local community project was honored for helping make Kentucky a more beautiful place to live.

The 2025 Beautify the Bluegrass Governor’s Award were presented at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

The annual award, awarded by Kentucky Living Magazine and the Governor’s Office, recognizes grassroots projects that make a lasting impact on communities across the Commonwealth.

Kentucky Living readers voted for Beautify Loretto, from Marion County, to win for their unwavering passion and their commitment to the power of community.

One finalist was recognized for transforming a historical schoolhouse into a flourishing gathering space for the community.

“We feel very lucky to have been able to participate in this because of the schoolhouse and the blood, sweat, and tears we put into it,” said Belinda Day.

Joe Arnold with Kentucky Electric Cooperatives says participants are not doing this for recognition.

“They’ve decided to spruce up a public area in their local hometown,” said Arnold. “It could be a mural, it could be a weather cleanup, it could be just anyway you can try to improve your local community and this is our way of saying thank you.”

This year marks the ninth year for the statewide program, celebrating local volunteers and organizations working to keep Kentucky beautiful.