Management Committee

WILLIAM S. LANGHORNE, Chairman, has been a member of our board since 2006. A graduate of Babson College, a collegiate school of business, where his focus was in Entrepreneurial Studies and Law. Mr. Langhorne is a member of Washington Investor with other KRP board members and unit holders, Washington’s oldest investment club. Mr. Langhorne is a member of the board of Georgetown Heritage, “Georgetown Heritage is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization working to revitalize, activate, and interpret the National Park Service assets in Georgetown into inviting, inclusive, and inspiring destinations, with an initial focus on the C&O Canal National Historical Park.” GeorgetownHeritage.org.


BRUTUS J. CLAY III serves in an investor relations capacity with The Forestland Group. In addition to Mr. Clay’s role with TFG, he is President of Runnymede Farm, a family owned Thoroughbred breeding operation in Paris, KY. Runnymede Farm was founded in 1867 by Mr. Clay’s great grandfather, Col. Ezekiel Clay, and is considered to be the oldest, continuous family owned thoroughbred operation in Kentucky. Mr. Clay co-founded, Horse Country, a nonprofit organization that acts as a central marketing and booking agency to open farm gates to the public and connect visitors emotionally to the farms. He serves on the board of Kentucky River Properties (a mineral rights and timberland holding company) and is actively leading the company’s strategic planning process to diversify its holdings. Mr. Clay has developed and manages entities that own and operate Texas Roadhouse restaurants. He has invested and raised capital for multiple startup companies, including PDx Biotech. Mr. Clay co-founded The Learning Center at the Lexington School, a school within a school, to educate children with learning differences (e.g. dyslexia, dysgraphia). He is a board member of Horse Country and The Bluegrass Conservancy.


PETER KIRILL, JR. has been a member of our board since 2002. He served as director of KRCC from 2000 to 2002. Mr. Kirill has been in the retail automobile business for over thirty years where he has been an active partner or investor in eleven different agencies during that time span. He was also involved on two different dealer advisory boards, one as a member, the other as president.


ROBERT BLAND SMITH has been a member of our board since 2006. Mr. Smith is a director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment. Previously, he was a director of Owens Corning Corporation, Sunshine Mines Corporation and a Trustee of the Dalkon Shield Claimants Trust. Earlier, he served as Chief Council and Staff Director of the US Senate Governmental Operations Committee and Chief Legal Assistant to Senator Sam Ervin, Jr.


DELL JAGGERS was elected to KRP’s board in the spring of 2015. He is the owner of Poplar Ridge Enterprises, Inc., a management and consulting service for energy related businesses. Mr. Jaggers is a Civil Engineering graduate from the University of Kentucky (1980), and BS Engineering Arts from Georgetown College (1980). He has over 35 years’ experience in the coal industry including 22 years with Alliance Coal (VP Engineering and Planning), 2 years with Allied Resources – WKY (President), and 2 years with CBC Engineers (VP). Mr. Jaggers continues his development business with Poplar Ridge serving clients in the areas of coal, oil, gas, and biomass. Dell is married to Debbie, and resides in Nicholasville, KY.


STEPHEN G. BARKER has been a member of our board since 2017. He also serves as the President, CEO, and General Counsel for Kentucky River Properties LLC, Liberty Land, LLC, Freedom Energy, LLC, Timberlands, LLC and KRCC Oil and Gas, LLC. Mr. Barker joined Kentucky River Coal Corporation in 1986 and served as a staff attorney and Assistant General counsel until 2010, when he was promoted to Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Barker has a B.S Degree in Forestry from the University of Kentucky and a J.D. Degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Mr. Barker is an officer and member of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Coal Lessors in Washington, DC, and is a member of the American Bar Association and Kentucky Bar Association. Mr. Barker is also a member of the Society of American Foresters and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.