Steve, an accomplished author himself, discussed the challenges facing students coming out of college who want to write for careers. “It used to be there was a path for anyone wanting to write through journalism, but that no longer exists. The industry has changed and it’s not on the writer’s side. The James Baker Hall Foundation is doing just that through supporting writers . . . especially supporting young writers. It is important for kids to see a path.”

When asked about the one thing that pleased him the most about the work of the Foundation, Steve replied outreach. “It takes time to work statewide and build bridges. But the outreach to different groups is important and we continue to do that well.”

Steve Vest was a Governor Award in the Arts (Media) honoree. Founded in 1998, Kentucky Monthly has more than 100,000 monthly readers. He is the author of Unexpected Inheritance (Butler Books, 2014), a memoir about being raised by older parents and a hard-to-please grandmother, two collections of columns, including THAT Kind of Journalist (2008), and the publisher of the 2012 anthology Kentucky’s Twelve Days of Christmas with editor James B. Goode. His most recent work is George Graham Vest–The Life and Times of Dog’s Best Friend, a fitting biography to one of America’s best statesmen, a descendant of the Vest family.

Vest holds Journalism and English degrees from the University of Louisville and Murray State University (MFA-Creative Nonfiction). His work has appeared in newspapers nationwide, including The Journal of Kentucky Studies, Still, and the anthology Of Woods and Waters (2005) by Ron Ellis. A frequent speaker, Vest teaches communications at Campbellsville University, public speaking at Midway University, and feature writing and storytelling at Eastern Kentucky University. He and his wife, Kay, live in Frankfort, Kentucky. They have four grown children—Christopher, Katy, Molly and Sydney.