“Hometown Hero” Keith Wells said he doesn’t do everything he does for the recognition. Wells, the Superintendent of the Owensboro Day Treatment, would in fact rather not tell everyone that he was recognized as this year’s “Hometown Hero” for the weekend’s Air Show festivities. However, the title comes with a once-in-a-lifetime, hour-long flight with the Air Force Thunderbirds, so it’s hard to hide from the honor.
“It’s a beautiful honor just to be recognized and thought of in that way. I don’t do it for recognition. I told someone the other day, they called me the hometown hero and I said, I’d rather be more like Batman. I’d rather you not know what I’m doing. It just gets done,” he said.
His wife and son, Misty and Reece Wells, say otherwise. To them, Keith deserves the honor and more for what all his efforts.
“He deserves it; he does a lot, and to see him being recognized is pretty special for us,” Misty said. “…This was a complete surprise. He is all about helping those that need help, and his parents instilled that in him. And we’re trying to teach it to this young man here [Reece].”
During his flight, Wells traveled just 10 mph under the speed of sound, reached 9Gs, and piloted the plane for a moment. His pilot Major Jeffrey “Simmer” Downie said that Wells took the flight and “crushed” everything.
“Keith crushed it up in the air. He did phenomenal. He didn’t get sick once, which is pretty rare to be honest. So he handled it in stride. He’s a very strong, fit person, so he was well-equipped to handle it. I think he’s still got a feeling for how difficult the environment the regime of flight is and just the assault that it is on your body and your senses,” Downie said.
After the flight, Wells said he has a newfound respect for the 130-member crew that it takes to get the Thunderbirds in the air.
“Obviously, you have a lot of respect for active duty veterans and a special place for pilots, but after flying, I have a newfound respect for what they do and what they go through. I can only imagine in combat how wild and difficult that is, but it was unbelievable,” Wells said.
He said the key takeaway will be to use his experience to inspire the students he sees every day.
“I want to make sure my students understand the importance of the job these guys do, and some of our kids could have this opportunity as well. So I’ll definitely let some of our students know this isn’t an opportunity. It’s an option for them,” he said.
Wells has been an employee of the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice for 25+ years, earning the 2021 Day Treatment Superintendent of the Year award. He has been encouraging at-risk youth to succeed in some capacity for 25+ years. He says he has a “knack for being able to reach troubled youth that no one else can reach and has the ability to talk to kids and remind them of their obligations without being authoritative.”
Wells was inducted as a Distinguished Alum of Brescia University in 2022 for all his community work. He serves on the Board of Directors with River Valley Behavioral Health, Lighthouse Recovery Services, and the Owensboro YMCA. He is also a committee member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Daviess County Public Schools and a team member for Daviess County Juvenile Drug Court.
