Currently there is an application filed with the governor's office in Frankfort that allows people to submit nominations for a person to become a Kentucky Colonel.

The following year in 1934, Governor Ruby Laffoon and Admiral Pettijohn held their first event for the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels with a Derby Eve dinner party on May 4.

At the banquet sponsored by the Governor, officers were elected by those who attended including Mae West, Eddie Cantor, Thomas D. Taggart and the charter organization that formed in New York months earlier.

[4] The following year Mrs. Mary Nisbett Laffoon while in New York met with General Pettijohn and the second in command to make arrangements for 750–1000 Kentucky colonels and admirals to attend the Derby Eve celebration.

Since they began in 1933 the HOKC has established itself as a well-known organization renowned for its charitable giving and events, including annual barbeques and Derby parties.

In 1957 they incorporated the organization as a nonprofit dedicated to building playgrounds, curating history, awarding scholarships and providing relief to Kentuckians in need.

The organization's charitable efforts have also sometimes extended past the borders of the Commonwealth, such as contributing to natural disaster relief in neighboring states.

Recipients of the Kentucky Colonel Commission are invited to donate and participate in the HOKC's charitable efforts throughout the state to be considered an active member.