Jermo Reese (b. 1979)
Mr. Reese, is a native of Lexington Kentucky. Reese spent his childhood working alongside his grandfather Frank Wilson on a local Thoroughbred farm, where his love of horses began. In 2004 Jermo moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in photography and while with a client, a conversation about horses came up. He told the client of his experience and offered to help. Reese spent the next several years working with Draft, Quarter, and Arabian horses.
Reese enjoyed this learning experience and it was confirmed that dealing with horses was in his blood. In 2015, Reese moved back to Lexington Kentucky to care for his widowed grandmother. His first week back, there was a news story about a man being indicted for recruiting gang members. Being raised in this city, Reese pondered how could he promote change.
Later, while meditating in the room his grandfather Frank passed in, Reese was drawn to a portrait of his grandfather working as a ringman “green coat”. In that moment Reese asked, “Granddaddy, what are you trying to tell me?” and Frankie’s Corner Little Thoroughbred Crusade (FCLTC) was born.
Along with being the director of FCLTC, Reese serves as a board member, mentor, and advisor for young adults in the region. Reese’s mantra, “Because every child deserves a chance at a life-changing experience” is the core of his service.
Oscar Dishman (1923 - 2000) — Award accepted by Daughter, Marilyn Dishman
Mr. Dishman was born in New Zion, Scott County, Kentucky. He spent his summers on his grandparents farm where they raised pleasure horses. He also learned a lot about horses from his father who worked at C.V. Whitney’s farm in Fayette County.
In 1962, Dishman was one of the few African American thoroughbred owners/trainers in America. By the 1970s, Dishman was training up to 35 horses at a time and working with famous jockeys and racing at famous tracks. His horses brought fortune and fame by winning big races. He entered the Kentucky Derby with a Black owner, Black trainer and a Black jockey but that horse mysteriously died, a month before the race.
Dishman trained several horses that won in excess of $100,000 in one year. Silver Series, Golden Don and Dondugold contributed to his success. Dishman’s proudest moment was when Golden Don ran 3rd against Secretariat in The Canadian International in 1973.
Dishman won numerous awards like River Down’s’ Winningest Trainer. He received the Alonzo Lonnie Clayton Award and a citation from the Kentucky State Senate when he was inducted into the Kentucky Black Sports Hall of Fame. Dishman’s rags to riches story was published in both Ebony and Jet Magazines. He received the Black Trainer Award for Excellence and Achievement in the Thoroughbred Racing Industry.
Not only did Dishman fight for civil rights on the track, he fought for equal rights in education. With the help of the NAACP, he filed a lawsuit against the Scott County Board of Education to desegregate the schools, which occurred in 1956.
Dishman was married to Sarah Johnson for 58 years before his death, leaving behind his three children: Carolyn Dishman Bell, Bernard Dishman and Marilyn Dishman.