by Harper Spaulding
The Paducah Sun
June 24, 2026
Used with permission.
After a career helping protect local historical sites, a Paducah native was named president of one of the country’s largest historical preservation organizations.
Brent Leggs, a Paducah native, was unanimously appointed as president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation on Monday. The trust is a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that aims to protect American historical sites. During his 20 years at the organization, Leggs used his expertise to help local historical sites such as the Hotel Metropolitan and Burks Chapel AME Church secure grant funding.
“As the founding executive director of the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, I’ve worked to help expand this field — making it more inclusive, more representative, and more connected to communities across the country,” Leggs said. “As I take the helm as CEO, that work doesn’t change; it deepens.”
Hotel Metropolitan Executive Director Betty Dobson said she has known Leggs for years, meeting him early in his career, though she first learned he was a Paducah native while both were involved with the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission. She described Leggs as a kind and intelligent person with a passion for history.
On Leggs’ appointment as trust president, Dobson said he fit the role.
“What were they waiting on? They should have done that years ago,” Dobson said. “He is so deserving of that position, that title.”
Leggs previously helped the Hotel Metropolitan apply for and secure a $1.34 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, funds that are currently being used to support a $400,000 renovation of the building’s exterior. Dobson said Leggs’ help was invaluable in both finding and applying for the grant.
“It was amazing when he called and said, ‘I think you would qualify for this particular grant, and with the Mellon Foundation,’ ” Dobson said. “It was amazing when we got the call, and they said, ‘You got the grant.’ I was like, ‘You’re kidding, right?’ But it was wonderful.”
Dobson said she hopes to work with Leggs in the future. She said she thinks he will always have a deep love for Kentucky and continue to serve the local community.
Through his work in historical preservation, Leggs also helped secure grant funding for Burks AME Chapel, a historically black church located just behind the Hotel Metropolitan. Renovations to the Chapel are still ongoing and are funded by grant funds from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the fund Leggs founded. The fund has also been used to help with St. James AME Church in Mayfield, Kentucky, after it was damaged in the December 2021 Tornado.
J.W. Cleary, local NAACP chapter president and member of the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, said he was happy to hear of Legg’s appointment to president. Cleary, also a member of Burks Chapel, said everyone who meets Leggs comes to like him and said he was deserving of this new position.
“Sometimes in life, you got to wait to your turn, and that’s what he did,” Cleary said. “He waited to his turn, and he just kept trying to do the right thing, and so he got the position, and I’m just so proud of him.”
Cleary said he looks forward to continued work with Leggs.