Crawdad Sizemore Inducted into Wall of Fame at Clay County Days Festival

MANCHESTER, Ky. — A beloved local leader and lifelong public servant was posthumously honored at the 2025 Clay County Days Festival, as former Judge-Executive Carl "Crawdad" Sizemore was inducted into the Clay County Wall of Fame.

Sizemore, who served four terms as Clay County Judge-Executive from 1982 to 1993 and again from 2006 to 2009, was recognized for his decades of dedication to the people of Clay County. Known for his kindness and personal outreach—often stopping by homes with gifts of cheese or sending birthday and holiday cards—Sizemore left a legacy of compassion and community service.

“He was a true example of servant leadership,” said current County Judge-Executive Tommy Harmon, who also served as Deputy Judge-Executive under Sizemore. “Crawdad always put others before himself. I worked for him and remember that every single day, he insisted on buying my lunch. That was the kind of man he was.”

During his tenure, Sizemore oversaw the creation of the county’s first centralized road department, the formation of the Clay County Ambulance Service, and numerous infrastructure projects, including the installation of water lines and construction of private bridges, which was permitted under the law at the time. He also played a key role in establishing Rawlings-Stinson Park and constructing what is now known as the Crawdad Building—an emergency and community shelter that remains heavily used today.

Sizemore also helped secure the location of a federal prison in Clay County, a project that provided long-term economic benefits for the area.

Born in 1940 to Brack and Alma Bowling Sizemore, Carl "Crawdad" Sizemore married Mariam Sizemore in 1960. The couple had two children, Kaye Deaton and Billy Edward “Bo” Sizemore, and three grandchildren, Erica Sizemore, Logan Deaton, and Landon Deaton. Though he passed away in 2019, his memory lives on in the community he helped shape.

Sizemore's children, Kaye and Bo, accepted the Wall of Fame award on behalf of their late father during a heartfelt ceremony filled with memories, gratitude, and community pride.