Capitalization

In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. Use a capital letter only if you can justify it by one of the following principles listed:

• Proper nouns: Jessica, Jeff, America, Lexington.
• Proper names: Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and south when they are an integral part of the full name for a person, place or thing: Democratic Party, Kentucky River, North Carolina.
• Lowercase these common nouns when they stand alone in subsequent references: the party, the river, the street.
• Lowercase the common noun elements of names in plural uses: Ecton and Cheapside parks, Main and Maxwell streets.
• Sentences: Capitalize the first word in a statement that stands as a sentence.
• Titles: Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name. Lower case formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas.

The customer service award was presented by Mayor Melanie McGee.

The director called the meeting for 2 p.m. today.

The chief administrative officer, Lindsay Smith, spoke to the press earlier today.