2026 Hall of Fame Inductees

Steve Parker

Steve Parker was born into an Air Force family and eventually joined the USAF in 1971. During his 29-year career with the Air Force he flew airlift missions in Vietnam, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Panama, the Persian Gulf, and Bosnia. He has experience as a classroom and aircraft instructor and has extensive leadership and management expertise. Steve retired as a Colonel in 2000, after commanding the Air Force ROTC program at University of Kentucky. Wanting to remain in the Commonwealth, he began an 18-year career in Kentucky aviation.

Steve was the first paid employee of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky (AMK). At that time it was a tax-exempt organization and relied on volunteers to operate. Steve raised awareness about the aviation museum and its educational opportunities by speaking with civic groups, school groups, and legislators statewide. During his time with AMK he helped expand the summer camp program beyond Lexington to three or four other locations in Kentucky. This made STEM instruction, flight simulator training, and flight time in aircraft available to students throughout Kentucky. In 2004, Steve was hired as Deputy Commissioner of the newly created Kentucky Department of Aviation (KDA) to grow the agency and raise Kentucky’s profile in the aviation industry. Steve played a significant role in expanding the KDA and elevating it to Department status within the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. He met with elected officials and legislators to establish a funding stream which was used to upgrade airfield infrastructure and enhance maintenance. Steve also traveled to all public-use airports to assess requirements for each to remain safe, efficient, and competitive. He helped develop an enhanced airport inspection program, published the first directory of Kentucky airports, and co-sponsored the annual Kentucky Aviation Conference. Steve joined Stantec Consulting as a Senior Aviation Consultant in 2010, at which time the firm was the engineering partner for 23 of Kentucky’s 57 general aviation airports. After retiring in 2015, he was named Commissioner of KDA. In this role, Steve helped secure support and funding to build a new airport in Gallatin County and advance legislation so the state could leverage economic opportunities associated with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). In 2016 aviation and aerospace parts and components surpassed cars as Kentucky’s number one export.

Among Steve’s many professional service positions, he was co-chair of the Kentuckians for Better
Transportation Air Transportation Committee and Chair of Congressman Andy Barr’s Air Force
Academy Nomination Committee. Steve has also taught public speaking at the University of
Kentucky. He remains active in church, community, and veteran activities.