LEXINGTON, Ky.—Bluegrass Tomorrow recently honored Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney W. Blaine Early, III with the Robert N. Clay President’s Award for most valuable board member. This is the second time Early has received the award.

Bluegrass Tomorrow is a non-profit organization committed to preserving, protecting and promoting activities in Central Kentucky that positively affect quality of life and economic development.

A long-time board member of Bluegrass Tomorrow, Early is currently Vice President of the Bluegrass Forever Green initiative and a member of the Executive Board. He previously served as Chair and Secretary of the board. Early is a passionate advocate for Bluegrass Tomorrow’s objectives in the areas of promoting the use of local foods and agriculture, the Regional Land Use Partnership, trails initiatives and sustainability.

Early is a Senior Member (Partner) based in Stites & Harbison’s Lexington, Ky., office. His practice focuses on environmental law, including environmental compliance, permitting, transactions, response to enforcement actions, regulatory development, and related administrative and civil litigation. Additionally, he advises on sustainability and energy matters, including development of renewable energy facilities.

Beyond his work with Bluegrass Tomorrow, Early has an extensive record of community service. He is past Chair of the Kentucky Chamber’s Energy & Environment Council, the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Environmental Commission, Watershed Watch in Kentucky, the American Bar Association’s Water Quality and Wetlands Committee of the Section of Environment, Energy & Resources and the Kentucky Bar Association’s Environmental Section. Before law, Early was a professor of biology and Chair of the Biology Department at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky. He earned his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Louisville, and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky. Before joining Stites & Harbison he was judicial law clerk to the Hon. Jennifer Coffman, United States District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.