A food service industry leader, a philanthropist and an extension educator are the newest members of the University of Kentucky School of Human Environmental Sciences Hall of Fame.
Each year the school, part of the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, honors alumni who have made a positive difference in their profession, their communities and to the school. Patricia Brantley Todd, Martha Allen Nall and the late Elizabeth Cromwell Kremer will become the newest members of the Hall of Fame during a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at UK’s Hilary J. Boone Center.
“Dr. Nall and Mrs. Todd have had lifelong associations with the School of HES – first as students – now as staunch supporters. Their many contributions have strengthened our programs for today’s students and our future students,” said Ann Vail, the school’s director. “Mrs. Kremer led in a time when there were few leadership opportunities for women. Her work provided a foundation for future generations of HES majors to initiate leadership in a variety of roles across Kentucky.”
A native of Earlington, Patricia Brantley Todd received her bachelor’s in home economics from UK in 1968 and a master’s in home economics from Simmons College in Massachusetts in 1973.
She taught nutrition to Massachusetts high school students early in her career. Today, she is a philanthropist for many causes, most of which are linked to human environmental sciences. She has served on and chaired many boards, commissions, councils and committees. Todd was founding co-chair of UK’s Women and Philanthropy Network and a founding member of the Women’s Circle, the primary endowment program of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. She currently serves as the honorary chair for the UK Plaid Project. Her many awards and recognitions include the UK Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 2011 and the 2013 Winner’s Circle Award presented by the Lexington Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Martha Allen Nall of Calhoun received her bachelor’s degree in home economics vocational education from UK in 1970. She then received her master’s degree in management and family economics from Purdue University in 1972 and a doctorate in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University in 1983.
As a student, Nall served as president of the Kentucky Association of Future Homemakers of America and as vice president of the Student Association of the American Home Economics Association.
From 1974 until 2012, Nall worked for the UK Cooperative Extension Service where she educated and empowered extension professionals and taught UK students. During this time, she served in leadership roles for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and its Kentucky affiliate. She has received numerous awards for her leadership and service including the AAFCS Leader Award and the Distinguished Service and Meritorious Service awards from Epsilon Sigma Phi, a societythat awards excellence within extension.
The late Elizabeth Cromwell Kremer was from Cynthiana and received her bachelor’s in home economics from UK in 1925.
Upon graduation, she became a food service manager with Schrafft’s restaurant chain in New York City. She later managed restaurants in Louisville and Cincinnati in the 1930s. After taking a break from her career to raise two daughters, she returned to the food service industry in 1967. At that time, she was director for food service at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. In this position she gained national prominence for organizing and launching food service at the historic preservation site. Under her leadership, the village’s Trustees’ House Dining Room served more than 2.5 million meals and sold more than 153,000 copies of “We Make You Kindly Welcome,” a cookbook of Shaker recipes that she compiled in response to customer requests.