When she started working, as a newly minted attorney, in Warren County Attorney Mike Caudill’s office in 1996, Amy Milliken quickly saw how important were the services provided by the Kentucky Association of Counties and became involved in that statewide organization.

Now Milliken, who was appointed to the county attorney post in 2004 and has been in the position ever since, is assuming the top position on the KACo executive committee.

Milliken, the first female county attorney in Warren County history, will be sworn in Thursday and become only the second county attorney to serve as KACo president.

First elected to the KACo executive committee as second vice president in 2019, Milliken will complete her four-year term on the officer track by leading for one year an organization made up of elected officials from all 120 Kentucky counties.

Normally held by a county magistrate or judge-executive, the presidency of KACo is a platform that will allow Milliken to guide an organization that she says has been a valuable resource for her and other county officials.

“KACo has been instrumental in providing training to keep us out of lawsuits,” she said. “They provide a ton of training for magistrates, sheriffs and jailers. They have two attorneys on staff that we can call for advice and assistance.”

Milliken, a past president of the Kentucky County Attorneys Association, said her leadership of KACo will mean traveling to Frankfort “a couple of times a month” and possibly more often during the 30-day session of the Kentucky General Assembly that starts in January.

That time commitment by Milliken is seen by Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon as a potentially good investment.

“KACo advocates for Kentucky counties to the state legislature and to our congressional delegation,” Buchanon said. “The president works with KACo staff to voice our needs and give testimony to various committees on behalf of our county governments.”

Buchanon said Milliken will be particularly effective because of her “legal experience and her complete understanding of the legislative process and how it affects the various offices within county governments.”

Milliken will succeed Boyle County Magistrate Phil Sammons as KACo president and become only the fifth woman to serve in that role.

She is only the second Warren County elected official to serve as president of the association. Former Warren County Sheriff Jerry “Peanuts” Gaines was KACo president in 2014.