Unlocking the heroic spirit in others.
Filmmaker, Brett Culp is a personal cinematographer for Hollywood stars, music icons, hall of fame athletes, and royal families. Brett has developed an expertise for creating ‘mini-movements’ that bring diverse groups of people into dialogue and inspire the heroic spirit in everyone. With his uplifting, non-profit documentary film Legends of the Knight, Brett pioneered a ground-breaking approach to community building and relationship-driven engagement. Brett has built a very successful career and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.
United Way of Southern Kentucky Honors 60 Heroes in Honor of 60th Anniversary
In 1956, a group of concerned citizens came together with one thought in mind – how can we help make our community better? And thus the foundation was formed for United Way of Southern Kentucky as we know it today. 2016 marked United Way’s 60th Anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, United Way recognized and honored 60 Heroes – 60 individuals who have helped shape and improve United Way over the years.
A Hero can been defined as “a person of distinguished courage, admired for combating adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength, often sacrificing his or her own personal concerns for some greater good.” With this definition in mind, United Way would like to honor the following as its 60 Heroes. Their passion, dedication, and commitment has left its mark on United Way of Southern Kentucky… simply put, if not for their influence, United Way would not have the impact on our community that is does today:
The 60 South Central Kentucky Heroes honored are listed below.
Mr. Tommy Adams, Ms. Lee Alcott, Mr. Alan Baker, Mr. Vince Berta, Mrs. Kathleen Berta, Ms. Lynne Bosley, Mr. Harold Brantley, Mr. Craig Browning, Mr. Richard Callahan, Ms. Lynn Chism, Mr. Scott Crocker, Ms. Barbara Deeb, Mr. Leonard Deloteus (d), Mr. Thomas A. Donnelly, Dr. Dero Downing (d), Mr. Charles English, Jr., Mr. Harold Evans (d), Mr. Evan C. Evans, Sr. (d), Ms. Sandra Force, Ms. Ruby Goodwin (d), Mr. Michael Grubbs, Mrs. Donna Harmon, Mr. Mike Harris, Mr. Bill Hatter, Mr. Wallace Herndon, Ms. Deborah Hills, Mr. John Hines (d), Mr. Ervin Houchens (d), Mr. Mac Jefferson, Mr. Jim Johnson, Mr. Zachary Kafoglis, Mr. Robert Kirby, Mrs. Norma Jean Kirby, Mr. Alex Ray Lackey, Mr. Owen Lambert, Mr. Jim Martens, Mr. Cornelius Martin (d), Mr. Harold Matthews, Mr. Rick Medlin, Mr. John Milliken (d), Mr. Charles M. Moore (d), Mr. Brad Odil, Mr. Tad Pardue, Mrs. Suzanne Paugh, Mr. Larry Pike, Mr. Bob Preston (d), Mrs. Ann Puckett, Dr. Gary Ransdell, Mr. Eldon Renaud, Mr. Paul Schnoes, Mrs. Sheila Simmons, Mr. Herb Smith, Sr. (d), Mr. Wilson Stone, Mr. Steve Thurmond, Mr. Joe Tinius, Mr. Lee Truman, Mr. Bill Waltrip, Mr. Barry Williams, Ms. Joyce Wilson, and Mr. David Wiseman
Filmmaker, Brett Culp, Keynote Speaker at a Gathering of Heroes
Filmmaker, Brett Culp was brought in as the keynote speaker for the United Way of Southern Kentucky 60 Heroes event. Brett gave a mesmerizing, high-energy speech that had the audience engaged from the start. Sublime Media Group was asked to document the event. We took a moment to talk with Brett about the evening and his future projects.
“Hi, I’m David with Sublime Media Group. Here at Sublime we love to tell our client’s stories and we also love good storytellers. One of our favorites is my friend for over twenty years and fellow WKU grad, filmmaker, Brett Culp. Brett is one of the most positive people you will ever meet. He genuinely loves others. The best thing is, he uses his talents to celebrate the human spirit. His first film, Legends of the Knight, was screened in 110 cities and raised $100,000 benefiting over 60 charitable organizations. I was thrilled when my friends at United Way of Southern Kentucky, took my suggestion and invited Brett to be their keynote speaker for their 60th Anniversary Celebration, A Gathering of Heroes.
My heart is so much for people who are committed to helping communities. Who really believe and see possibility and can see and really commit themselves to making a difference, and bringing hope to people who in many cases don’t have any. When I received the call, when I was invited to be here, and when they told me they were going to honor these 60 people, that had been part of 60 years of history of this community, it was impossible to say no to this. I was really honored to be here and to help them celebrate this amazing thing that they’ve accomplished together and that they are continuing to accomplish together, everyday, for people in this community. It was a joy to be here and see them honored and to encourage and affirm them as they continue to move ahead.
We were celebrating with United Way. He brought a message of hope, he brought a message of inspiration about the importance of people making things possible in other people’s lives.The words that he said, the message that he had, his entire presentation from start to end, you could hear a pin drop in that room it was that good.
Legends of the Knight was my first documentary film. I didn’t know what I was doing I didn’t know what we were going to do with it. It just kind of touched a special nerve with people. We found a great way to distribute it. It was really in the spirit of what it was and that allowed us a unique opportunity to share it. That has kind of changed my world. Now I’m in the process on two more films, one called ‘Look to the Sky’ which is going to come out in spring of 2017, and then another film called ‘A Voice that Carries’ which is coming out in fall of 2017. So I’m working on two projects simultaneously as well as a lot of other crazy stuff. I do a weekly podcast called ‘Being an Everyday Hero’ which is about an extension of what my film work is about. I have a lot of things going on and it’s been quite a journey.
For more information about Brett and his films, including his new one ‘A Look to the Sky’, go to risinghero.org. To find out more information about Brett and his mission to inspire people to find their inner super hero, go to brettculp.com. And remember, #supermanisreal”
