Kentucky treatment and recovery leaders honored with 2024 Champions of Recovery Awards
Award winners include Rep. Moser, Rep. Heavrin, Sen. Wheeler, Nancy Hale, Dr. Burns Brady, and Logan Aluminum
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 17, 2024) – The Kentucky Association of Independent Recovery Organizations (KAIROS) and the Recovery Consortium of Kentucky (RECON KY) announced their 2024 Champions of Recovery Awards winners, during the Kentucky Chamber’s 9th annual Kentucky Workforce Summit at the Central Bank Center in Lexington on May 14.
More than 250 attendees participated in a special luncheon to celebrate the significant progress being made across the commonwealth’s recovery community — especially related to creating second-chance employment opportunities.
Recipients of the inaugural KAIROS Legislative Champion Award — recognizing state lawmakers who have partnered to advance significant legislation to improve treatment resources, standards of patient care, and long-term results for Kentuckians — included:
- Representative Kim Moser, of Taylor Mill – lead sponsor of this year’s House Bill 505, which amended requirements for Peer Support Specialists to increase accountability and standardize qualifications, training and oversight across the industry to help better serve persons in treatment
- Representative Samara Heavrin, of Leitchfield – lead sponsor of last year’s House Bill 248 (and co-sponsor of this year’s House Bill 462), which established much needed quality standards for recovery housing in Kentucky — a critical component to sustaining long-term recovery among individuals with substance use disorders
- Senator Phillip Wheeler, of Pikeville – lead sponsor of this year’s Senate Bill 71, which implemented guidelines for addiction treatment centers to provide transportation services to clients exiting recovery programs and incorporated important guardrails for the alternative sentencing worker (ASW) program
“The 2,100+ dedicated professionals represented by KAIROS are extremely grateful for our strong legislative partners,” said John Wilson, Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) market president and KAIROS chairman — who joined Alaina Sweasy, Lane13 Consulting CEO and KAIROS vice-chair, on stage to present the awards. “Thanks to their collaboration and commitment, we are advancing the commonwealth as a national leader in addiction treatment and recovery.”
Inductees into the fourth annual class of the RECON Kentucky Recovery Hall of Fame — recognizing individuals in long-term recovery and those who have taken a leading role in addressing Kentucky’s addiction crisis through prevention, treatment, education and advocacy efforts — included:
- Congressman Hal Rogers Award (for a policymaker or public official): Nancy Hale, of Mount Vernon – following a 34-year career in public education, helped to lead Operation UNITE (an innovative substance misuse and recovery collaboration serving 33 southern and eastern Kentucky counties) for more than a decade — including as its third president and CEO from 2015-2023
- Jay Davidson Award (for an individual in recovery): Dr. Burns M. Brady, of Louisville (posthumous) – following 25 years as a family medicine doctor, co-founded The Healing Place (an award-winning Louisville-based addiction recovery program serving individuals at no cost to the client) and volunteered extensively across the U.S. to help with recovery efforts in the prison system
- Second Chance Employer of the Year Award: Logan Aluminum, of Russellville – strong advocate for fair chance employment and the Kentucky Chamber’s Workforce Recovery Program and influential in passage of Senate Bill 191 (2020), which provides businesses with liability protections when hiring individuals in recovery through the Kentucky Transformational Employment Program
Full details about the Kentucky Recovery Hall of Fame and past honorees are available at kyrecoveryhof.com.
To learn more about KAIROS, please visit kentuckyrecovery.org; and to learn more about RECON KY, please visit reconky.org.
High-resolution photos of today’s award winners can be downloaded at bit.ly/4bB6iOM.
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Kentucky Association of Independent Recovery Organizations (KAIROS) is an advocacy organization that brings together leaders in Kentucky’s addiction treatment field to advocate for evidence-based practices and policies that advance the field of recovery and lead to better outcomes for individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). For more information, visit kentuckyrecovery.org.
Recovery Consortium of Kentucky (RECON KY) brings together stakeholders from all parts of the treatment system and business community to advance the importance of a comprehensive, long-term approach to recovery that addresses the social determinants of addiction, while strengthening treatment and mental health services. For more information, visit reconky.org.
