LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Derby Museum President and CEO, Patrick Armstrong, now shares in a prominent honor previously bestowed upon the likes of late-night talk show host David Letterman, country music artist Luke Bryan, and Academy Award winning actor and director Warren Beatty. Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah, Armstrong will be honored as a Significant Sig.
Since 1935, the Sigma Chi Fraternity has honored more than 1,800 Sigma Chis with this distinguished award. The organization recognizes alumni who have achieved high levels of professional success. The 2019 class honors nearly 140 recipients from a variety of fields, including five members of the United States Congress, Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Pace, and best-selling author Michael Connelly.
In addition to being nominated by his lifelong fraternity brothers, legendary trainer and personal friend, D. Wayne Lukas, secretly wrote a letter on Armstrong’s behalf, recommending him for the award. “Being a Sigma Chi continues to be one of the greatest influences on my life and has been an incredible experience for me both personally and professionally,” said Armstrong. “The life lessons Sigma Chi has taught me have been proven keys to success.”
Armstrong has been president and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky. since August of 2015. In just under four years, he has grown the museum staff from 74 employees to 98, spearheaded the largest expansion in Kentucky Derby Museum history, and was key to bringing the D. Wayne Lukas collection to the museum. During his tenure, overall revenue has increased a whopping 35% and attendance continues to rise, currently up 11% over last year.
Armstrong previously worked for Kentucky Derby Festival for a collective total of 20 years, serving from 2005- 2015 as senior vice president of Marketing and Development, with a focus on marketing, advertising, ticketing, and sponsorship and corporate fundraising for the Festival. His team at Kentucky Derby Festival garnered over 29 million dollars in cash sponsorship over the span of 10 years. He has also worked as Marketing director for WLKY Television, and as Marketing Services manager for Clear Channel Radio in Louisville.
Armstrong is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Management. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors for Assumption High School, a private, Catholic school also in Louisville. He is a graduate of Leadership Louisville and Focus Louisville, and a 2002 recipient of Louisville Business First’s ‘Forty Under 40’ award. He was named in the “Top 100 Marketing & Advertising Influencers in Louisville in 2017 by Insider Louisville.
He and his wife have two daughters and reside in a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky.
For more information about the Significant Sig Award, click here.
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