To: Governor Andy Beshear & Commonwealth of Kentucky General Assembly

RE: Naming Kentucky State Park in honor of Loretta Lynn

State and national parks not only preserve the landscape and wildlife that inhabits the land; they also preserve our history and culture. They are named to honor and preserve the legacy of individuals who have achieved the highest level of excellence in their field, have impacted our culture, and our nation. The effect on the local community must be taken into consideration. Thoughtful attention should be given to local history, heritage, and the reasoning behind the original name. Factors that must be considered are whether history will be lost or preserved. A heavy burden is placed on the shoulders of those who consider renaming a state park because the importance we place on our history. We are asking Governor Andy Beshear and the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s, General Assembly to consider renaming Paintsville Lake State Park, located at 1551 Ky 2275, Staffordsville, Ky 41256 to Loretta Lynn State Park at Paintsville Lake; to honor and preserve Loretta Lynn’s legacy.

Loretta Lynn is a gem, a diamond in the coal; brilliant, bright, beautiful, and resilient. Loretta Lynn is not only kentucky’s daughter; she is a national treasure. Loretta Lynn touched the nation’s heart with her downhome country charm, life story of surviving poverty and overcoming unsurmountable obstacles to reach the pinnacle of success. Loretta Lynn impacted our culture and altered the course of country music forever. Loretta, blessed with God given talent, her Kentuckian can-do spirit, achieved a level of success, which is inconceivable and unimaginable even in hindsight. Loretta Lynn is considered the most awarded female in the history of country music and is regarded as the “Queen of County Music.” Highlighted are lifetime achievement awards and most notable accomplishments:

1967 Country Music Walkway of the Stars Hall of Fame –Inducted

1971 Kentucky Broadcasting Association – Distinguished Kentuckian Award

1979 Academy of Country Music – Artist of the Decade

1983 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame – Inducted

1986 Music City News Country- Living Legend Award

American Academy of Achievement – Golden Plate Award

1988 Inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame

1994 Academy of Country Music – Pioneer Award

1996 Women of Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

1998 Grammy Song Hall of Fame – “Coal Miner’s Daughter”

1999 Kentucky Derby Grand Marshal 

2001 Winter Olympic/Louisville, Kentucky – Official Torch Carrier

2002 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

German Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

University of Kentucky – Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts

2003 Kennedy Center Honoree

2004 Kentucky Women Remembered Honoree

BMI Country Awards – BMI Icon

2005 CMT Music Achievement – Johnny Cash Visionary Award

2006 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame – Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award

2007 Berklee College of Music – Honorary Doctorate of Music

2008 National Songwriters Hall of Fame

2009 George D Hatly Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom Award

2014 Americana Music Association – Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting 

Academy of Country Music – Crystal Milestone Award

2015 Billboard Women in Music Award – Legend Award

Austin City Limits Hall of Fame – Inducted

Music City Walk Hall of Fame – Inducted

2017 Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

2018 CMT Music Achievement – Artist of a Lifetime

2019 Nashville Songwriter Award – Lifetime Achievement Award

Cracker Barrel – Country Legend Award

2021 Academy of Country Music – Poet’s Award

American Motorcycle Association Hall of Fame – Inducted

2022 Kentucky Country Music Association – Legend Award

Women Songwriters Hall of Fame – Inducted

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear – Kentucky Colonel

Appalachian Arts & Entertainment Award – Star of the City Award

2023 Americana Music UK – Songwriter Legacy Award (Posthumously)

Loretta Lynn is woven into the very fabric of our culture and American history from her inclusion in the Smithsonian Institute and National Museum of American History; to the countless songs written about her, such as Dear Miss Loretta;Loretta Lynn’s Lincoln, I Love You Loretta Lynn, and Honey Bee; to various places named in Loretta Lynn’s honor, such as the air space, utilized by pilots to identify their location when preparing to land at Nashville International Airport; Loretta Lynn Parkway, Hwy 13 N in Humphrey County, Tennessee; the rest area on I-40 east bound in Benton County, Tennessee; a section of “Country Music Highway”, US 23 in Johnson County, Kentucky; a rose bred by Canadian Brad Jalbert, named for her Grammy winning album “Van Lear Rose”, debuting in New Zealand at Amore Roses. Loretta Lynn’s mark on history can be found with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, and a star on Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. Further, Loretta Lynn is the only female artist to have a bronze statue, on Ryman Auditorium’s Icon Walk in Nashville, Tennessee. Loretta Lynn has been celebrated and memorialized in the United States from coast to coast and impacted the history of country music worldwide.

Paintsville Lake covers over 1,100 acres and can be described as a man-made lake created in 1979 with the inflow and outflow from Paints Creek. Paintsville Lake State Park opened in the spring of 1984. It is 242 acres situated in Johnson and Morgan County, Kentucky and bordering 13,000 acres leased by the US Corps of Engineers. The entrance to Paintsville Lake State Park is located within Johnson County with the county seat being Paintsville. Paintsville Lake State Park was undoubtably named because of the flow of water being from Paints Creek and the entrance of the park being located within Johnson County. Local history will not disturbed by renaming the park in Loretta Lynn’s honor; quite to the contrary, local and national history may be lost without renaming the park in Loretta Lynn’s honor. Although Johnson County residents will be affected by the parks name change with increased drive times and possible traffic congestion; it will greatly benefit the region economically.Supplying much needed jobs, which have been lost in the area, due to the closure of coal mines as we move toward combatting climate change. The Commonwealth of Kentucky, Tourism Cabinet Secretary, Ron Gentry and Johnson County, Clyde Blevins, executive director, Paintsville-Johnson County, Chamber of Commerce, have been trying to use Loretta Lynn’s name and homeplace as the foundation of creating an attraction to increase tourism to the region since as far back as 1989. Johnson County Department of Tourism contracted Hank Phillips, of Phillips Consulting out of Lexington in 2007 to determine how to increase tourism in the area. Loretta Lynn’s homeplace was determined to be one of Johnson Counties greatest assets. Renaming the state park will display Loretta Lynn’s name on the State of Kentucky’s map; increasing tourism to the area. Further, tourist are likely to remain in region longer to enjoy the natural beauty and explore the area Loretta Lynn wrote, sang, and shared memories of for six decades. Loretta was proud of her working-class background and proud to being a Kentuckian! Loretta Lynn achieved worldwide fame as the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” through her music, books, and the major motion picture depicting her life. Loretta Lynn was one of Kentucky’s greatest ambassadors; driving tourism to eastern Kentucky to visit her home place for over 50 years.

In 2007, the National Trust For Historic Preservation registered Loretta Lynn’s childhood home on Butcher Holler Road in Van Lear, Kentucky and in 2022 the Kentucky Historical Society placed a Historical Marker at Loretta Lynn’s homeplace. It is simply not enough! We implore you to rename Paintsville Lake State Park, located at 1551 Ky 2275, Staffordsville, Ky 41256 to Loretta Lynn State Park at Paintsville Lake, not only to honor and preserve Loretta Lynn’s legacy, but too inspire future generations.