It’s late August, which means football is near, kids are going back to school, and the Crafts are buying an outrageously expensive ham at the Kentucky State Fair. The 61st annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast and Charity Auction was held this morning in Louisville, and Joe and Kelly Craft, two prominent Kentucky boosters, […]
It’s late August, which means football is near, kids are going back to school, and the Crafts are buying an outrageously expensive ham at the Kentucky State Fair.
The 61st annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast and Charity Auction was held this morning in Louisville, and Joe and Kelly Craft, two prominent Kentucky boosters, teamed up with Central Bank, represented by Chairman/President and CEO Luther Deaton, to bring home the grand prize, a 16.5-pound country ham. The Crafts and Central Bank paid $10 million for the ham, splitting it two ways, $5 million each. That’s below last year’s record price of $10.5 million, which the Crafts paid all by themselves. This is the fifth year in a row the Crafts have won the ham, with Deaton and Central Bank also splitting it in 2023 ($10 million), 2022 ($5 million), and 2021 ($4.8 million). Of course, it all goes to charity.
The Crafts were unable to attend due to prior obligations (Kelly is in Australia for some political work), but they sent good representatives. Mark and Lee Anne Pope attended the breakfast, posing with the winning ham afterward. Jennifer Barber, a Frankfort native who served as a delegate to the United Nations when Kelly Craft was ambassador, made the bids on the Crafts’ behalf. Given the Crafts’ track record of supporting Kentucky’s NIL efforts, we appreciate her splitting the bill with Central Bank this time. Barber said the Crafts’ contribution will go toward the Boys & Girls Club of Barren County, the Craft Academy for gifted students at Morehead State University, and building homes in Eastern Kentucky.
No word yet on how the Crafts and Deatons will split the ham, which was produced by Broadbent’s Country Hams in Kuttawa, Ky., but Deaton is already making plans to eat some of it with his family on Christmas morning. He told reporters he’ll take some of the portion to a local McDonald’s where he hangs out with some farmers.
The Popes also attended last year’s ham breakfast along with Vince Marrow, Oscar Tshiebwe, Chip Trayanum, and Gerald Mincey. My, how things change. Marrow is now at Louisville; Trayanum plays for Toledo, which comes to Kroger Field next weekend; and Mincey went undrafted this past spring.
Enjoy some pictures from the event. That food looks really good.
Category: General Sports
