Forcht awarded honoray degree from Cumberland

A Corbin attorney and businessman was presented an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree Monday by Cumberland College president Dr. James Taylor during a special Honors Convocation ceremony at the school.
Held in the O. Wayne Rollins Center, the honors program is an annual event held to honor the Cumberland College’s best professors, students, alumni and outstanding community members.
“Mr. Forcht, because of your stellar success, your support and caring for your fellow man, and your commitment to making this world a better place, the Cumberland College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to award you the Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree,” Taylor told hundreds gathered at the ceremony.
Forcht, who is President and CEO of First Corbin Financial Corporation – a holding and management company located in Corbin and Lexington – was a professor at Cumberland College in the 1960s and left his position as chairman of the Commerce Department at the school. He is a native of Louisville and earned a BS in Commerce from the University of Louisville and an MBA in Finance from the University of Miami before returning to UofL to receive a law degree.
“I want to thank my family, especially my wife Marion and my four children,” Forcht told the crowd after being bestowed the degree. “I also want to thank my friends and associates, especially those who encouraged me to accept this degree. I am proud to be a member of this fine institution.”
Through First Corbin Financial, Forcht owns eight nursing homes in Southeastern Kentucky with about 1,000 total beds. He also owns nine Kentucky banks, including Williamsburg National Bank and Tri-County National Bank, with total assets of over $650 million, Duke Publishing, Inc., 17 radio stations, Hamburg Home Journal in Lexington and the News Journal in Corbin and Williamsburg. All told, his companies employ over 1,600.
Forcht was selected by members of the Corbin Tourism Commission and the Greater Corbin Chamber of Commerce last year as the 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year.
During his introduction, Taylor called Forcht one of the college’s largest financial donors.
Erica Harris received the award for service for 2004 and Dr. Kathleen Vettorello was given the Dr. William T. Miles Memorial Award for Community Service.
Dr. Jeff Smoak, a professor of music and chair of the music department, received the excellence in teaching award.