Get to Know Jeff Taylor (Alpha Beta ’72) the ATO. He has dedicated his life to serving his fellow man and his Brothers in leadership positions.
After graduating from Elizabethtown High School in 1971, Jeff pledged ATO in the Spring of 1972 in the Alpha Beta Pledge Class. In his three years as an active in Zeta Lambda, he served as treasurer, house manager, pledge trainer and was Worthy Master (President) 1974-1975.
Jeff was awarded the Thomas Arkle Clark Award (TAC) by the Chapter in 1975 and then later the TAC recipient of Provence 27. Of the 7 finalists among the 32 Provinces, he received the national TAC Honorable Mention Award. The TAC Award is given only to the most outstanding senior candidates for undergraduate degrees for their excellence in scholarship, leadership, service, and the personal qualities of character, integrity, and responsibility. These qualities have remained throughout all of Jeff’s endeavors.
Steve Meacham (Omega ‘71) Jeff’s Big Brother
“Jeff was quiet and reserved when I first met him but he blossomed as an ATO and campus leader. He leads by example and dedication, not for the glory.”
He served as Province 27 Chief from 1977 to 1980. In the summer of 1980, Jeff was chairman of the Host Committee for the ATO National Congress in Louisville, Kentucky.
From 1990 to 1994, Jeff served as President of the Murray State Zeta Lambda Alumni and Housing Association. During this period, he successfully negotiated the property swap with MSU, trading the fraternity’s property at 101 North 16th Street for our current house location. Jeff initiated the initial fundraising campaign to construct a new chapter house that raised over $200,000 from alums. The fraternity house was completed August 1993. In 1994 the alumni association awarded him the David A. Moffitt Distinguished Service Award.
David Franklin (Chi ’70) Lifelong Friend:
“We go on ‘Walk Outs’ every year with around 12 of us ATOs to New Orleans and have a ball. Jeff and I get together every chance we can. We are both Colts fans so we usually get together 4 or 5 times a year. He’s a great friend and a great ATO.”
In a project that he initiated in 2008, Jeff chaired the Zeta Lambda 50th Anniversary Committee and put together a 50th Anniversary ATO reunion celebration in Murray on May 14-16, 2009, that was attended by 400 alumni brothers, including 20 charter initiates.
In 2004 Judge Taylor was presented an Outstanding Achievement Award by the Pi Sigma Alpha Honorary Society at Murray State. Judge Taylor served on the Board of Regents at Murray State University from 2006-2009. During his tenure he chaired the Finance Committee and the Regents Tuition Task Force Committee, while serving as a member of numerous other committees.
Get to Know Jeff Taylor the Honorable Judge KENTUCKY COURT OF APPEALS
Judge Taylor has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Murray State University and a Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Memphis. Taylor attended night law school for three and a half years while teaching political science classes during the day at Jefferson Community College in Louisville and working as an intern in the Hardin County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office. He earned his law degree from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, graduating with honors in 1982.
Randy Hutchinson (Tau ’68) Former Law Partner:
“Jeff has a great legal mind and shows good thinking in staying focused to be fair but just as a judge. He is the epidemy of the ATO spirit of Brotherhood.”
From May of 1983 to December of 2003, Taylor practiced law in Owensboro. From 1983-1987, Taylor practiced law with Zeta Lambda alum M. Kirby Gordon II (Kappa ’64) and from 1988-1990 practiced with Zeta Lambda alum Randy Hutchinson (Tau ’68). From 1990 until December 2003, Taylor was a sole practitioner lawyer in Owensboro until his election as a Judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November of 2003. Taylor is in his 19th year on the Court and is currently the second longest tenured appellate judge in Kentucky.
He has served as a member of the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission since 2016 and is one of six judges statewide who serve on the Commission. He previously served on the Judicial Ethics Committee from 2012-2016. He is also a member of the Judicial Workload Assessment Committee and is a former member of the Judicial Branch Compensation Commission.
Alan Stout (Alpha Eta ’74) Fellow Brother and Judge Colleague
“Jeff Taylor is the embodiment of what Brotherhood is all about. He is Mr. Zeta Lambda.”
He is a past-president of the Kentucky chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He is also past-president of the Daviess County Bar Association, Daviess County Public Defender Corporation and the Daviess County Lawyer Referral Service. He is a member of the Kentucky and Daviess County bar associations. In 2016, he was awarded the Joseph Hamilton Daviess Award by the Daviess County Bar Association for outstanding public service to the legal profession and his community.
Roger Watson (Alpha Gamma ’72) Roommate
“We are lifelong friends. Jeff lives the ATO Creed as a natural born leader. The ‘Walk Out’ this year with him was great.”
Judge Taylor is a Life Fellow in the Kentucky Bar Foundation and a member of the Brandeis Honor Society at the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.
He has been a member of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce for 32 years and is a current member of the Ohio County Chamber. Judge Taylor is a past-president of the Owensboro Kiwanis Club and has been a member for 37 years. The Owensboro Kiwanis Club has named him Kiwanian of the Year 4 times and Kiwanis International has inducted him into the Legion of Honor.
He has served on the Girls Inc. Advisory Board of Trustees for 31 years. He is a former board member of the Owensboro-Daviess County Committee on Aging. He is a member of the American Legion SAL (Sons of American Legion) Post 9 and has been a frequent volunteer for the Salvation Army and Boy Scouts Law Explorers.
Jeff is married to the former Betty Keller of Christian County. She has one son and the couple has two grandchildren. The Taylors are currently members of Beaver Dam Baptist Church in Ohio County.
Steve Farmer (Xi ’66) Zeta Lambda Historian and Get to Know Writer
“We are proud of our Brother Jeff Taylor for he truly embodies the principles of Virtue, Truth, and Love that Alpha Tau Omega reveres“.