Board & Officers

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Todd Osterloh

Secretary

Todd Osterloh is a member of Sturgill, Turner, Barker and Moloney in Lexington, Kentucky.  In addition to serving as the Booneville City Attorney, Todd has represented more than two dozen municipalities in a wide variety of matters, including water, wastewater, and stormsewer cases, and advises public agencies on eminent domain as well as planning and zoning matters.  In addition to municipal law, Todd is an experienced energy and utilities law attorney.  Todd is on the leading edge of solar energy law, working with over a dozen energy corporations on construction of utility scale solar projects in Kentucky.

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Hillary Hightower

Executive Director

Hillary Hightower is the Director of the Law Department for the City of Bowling Green, while also serving as the City Attorney.  After obtaining her B.A. at the University of Kentucky and her J.D. from the University of Louisville, Hillary started her law career in 1995 at Satterfield and Harmon, where she represented the City of Bowling Green on a contractual basis. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Municipal Attorneys Association of Kentucky and the Kentucky Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Prior to coming to work for the City of Bowling Green full-time in 2020, Hillary was an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for 16 ½ years.

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Kandice Engle-Gray

Treasurer

Kandice Engle-Gray is the founding member of Kandice Engle-Gray, PLLC, in Lebanon, Kentucky and has enjoyed practicing in the Commonwealth for 27 years. Kandice has served Lebanon, Kentucky as its City Attorney for the past 19 years and also currently serves as legal planning/zoning counsel for Washington County Planning Commission, Greensburg’s Planning & Zoning and Board of Zoning Adjustments, and Springfield’s Planning and Zoning and Board of Adjustments, as well as various quasi-governmental entities in her region. In addition to her municipal work, Kandice practices general civil law with a focus in estate planning and elder law, solar farm contracts, real estate, corporate law and not-for-profit formation and governance. Kandice obtained her B.A. With Distinction from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia and her J.D. from the University of Louisville.  Her law journal article Pregnancy Discrimination in the Insurance Industry was published in the University of Louisville Journal of Family Law. Kandice currently serves as Treasurer for MAAK, Secretary/Treasurer for Marion County Cares, Inc., Secretary for Marion County Good Samaritans, Inc., and also presently serves or recently served on various municipal, educational or other charitable organizations boards of directors.

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Scott Crabtree

Board Member

W. Scott Crabtree is a solo practitioner in his law office located in Franklin, Kentucky, where he focuses his practice in the areas of municipal, corporate, tax and commercial law, as well as civil litigation.ᅠ He has served as the City Attorney for the City of Franklin, Kentucky for more than 25 years, and has assisted in growing the city with over 50 annexations, which has doubled the land size of the city.ᅠ He also assists the city with industrial recruitment, whereby he has received two meritorious awards for industrial/economic recruitment.ᅠ Mr. Crabtree previously served as the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney in the 49thᅠJudicial Circuit, and President of the Simpson County Bar Association.ᅠ He received a B.S. degree in Accounting at Western Kentucky University and a J.D. degree at the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.ᅠ He currently serves on both the Executive and Legislative Boards for the Kentucky League of Cities, and he is a board member for the Municipal Attorneys Association of Kentucky.

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Darren Sammons

President

Darren Sammons is the City Attorney for the City of Nicholasville.  Previously, Darren worked at the Department for Local Government.  Before working for the government, Darren worked as a civil litigator for eight years.  Darren has worked for several prominent law firms and well-known trial attorneys in the areas of medical malpractice, insurance coverage and bad faith, product liability and various catastrophic injury cases.  Their experience includes significant jury trials, appellate advocacy and all aspects of complex civil litigation.  Darren completed their undergraduate education at Eastern Kentucky University where they earned a Bachelor of Science in Police Administration.  They earned their Juris Doctor in 2004 from the University of Kentucky where they were on the Moot Court Board and the Moot Court National Team.  At UK, Darren was recognized for their legal writing and also received an academic award from Phi Alpha Delta.  They are the author of “Kentucky Law of Spoliation” in the 2006 DRI Compendium on Spoliation of Evidence.

Before law school, Darren worked for six years as an Investigator with the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and served as a paratrooper and Spanish linguist in 20th Special Forces Group with the Army National Guard where they earned the rank of Sergeant.  While in the Army National Guard, Darren earned numerous accolades, including graduating as class valedictorian from the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey California.

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Charles Cole

Board Member

Charles D. Cole is a member attorney at Sturgill, Turner, Barker and Moloney in Lexington, Kentucky. Charley provides legal counsel to multiple Kentucky cities and represents a variety of governmental and quasi-governmental entities. He is knowledgeable in the numerous areas of law that affect public entities on a daily basis, including personnel and employment issues, statutory civil rights, planning and zoning, risk management, administrative law, and open records and open meetings laws. He is a regular presenter on topics concerning governmental and quasi-governmental entities and their officials, such as disciplining of public employees, qualified official immunity, and sovereign immunity. From crafting legal strategy to responding to media inquiries, Charley knows how to handle litigation and other legal problems that require a rapid response under the spotlight of public attention. He has been named to both 2023 U.S. News “Best Lawyers” and Kentucky SuperLawyers for his municipal law expertise.

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John Adams

Vice President

John Adams followed in his mother Norma Adams’ footsteps, becoming Somerset City Attorney in January 2019, nearly 50 years after her tenure in the same role. Before this full-time appointment, John amassed 20 years of legal experience in Somerset, specializing in general civil law, including insurance defense, real estate and title law, business law, and community/commercial development. His legal expertise spans both litigation and transactional work. John’s early career included roles in real estate and an active engagement in politics, including serving as a U.S. House of Representatives Page and interning for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.

He holds a BA in Finance from the University of Kentucky and a JD from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, with initial studies at Washington and Lee University. Married to Christie Champlin since 2002, the couple is deeply involved in Somerset’s civic and educational initiatives. John has notably contributed to local and regional boards, including a term as Rotary Governor for Eastern Kentucky’s 40 Rotary Clubs and a board member for the Mill Springs Battlefield Association. John, Christie, and their son Charlie, born in 2010, enjoy participating in sporting events, especially baseball, and recreational SCUBA diving across the Southeast U.S. and the Caribbean.

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William M Cox Jr

Board Member

With over two decades of experience in Western Kentucky, Will offers comprehensive legal services covering civil litigation, real estate, estate planning, business formation, criminal cases, municipal law, and government affairs. Likening his role to a family doctor, he claims to address 85% of legal issues directly, referring the rest to specialists. A 1999 graduate of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, he also holds a degree from the University of Kentucky (1991). Will is admitted to practice across Kentucky and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, holding memberships in both the Kentucky and Hopkins County Bar Associations, with leadership roles in the latter.

Before establishing his firm, Will engaged in government relations for a national cable operator and served in local government, including two terms on the Madisonville City Council and as Mayor, where he notably led the city’s response to the 2009 Ice Storm. Will, alongside his wife Marci and their two dogs, resides on their family farm near Madisonville.

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Ken Howard

Board Member

Ken is a lifelong resident of Elizabethtown, is married to Lisa and they have 3 children and 8 grandchildren.

 

Ken graduated with an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Kentucky and Juris Doctorate from the University of Louisville School of Law.

 

Ken has practiced law in Elizabethtown since 1980, serving 17 years as the Hardin County Attorney, 13 years as a Hardin Circuit Judge and as Elizabethtown City Attorney since 2021.

 

Ken is currently serving as a director emeritus on the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation with 20+ years of service.

 

Ken is an active member of Memorial United Methodist Church in Elizabethtown and currently serves as Lay Lead

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