CORBIN, Ky. (LEX 18) — SOAR kicked off its annual summit this week at the Corbin Arena. SOAR, which stands for Shaping Our Appalachian Region, is an organization that works to fill economic gaps in eastern Kentucky communities and brings communities together to innovate. Around 1,500 people are expected to attend. That number includes government, business, and community leaders from the 54 eastern Kentucky counties that SOAR serves.
One attendee, Jorden Hill from Barbourville, says, "You're finding out about events that maybe you don't find out about other places. You get a chance to meet people you can kinda work with in unison to do things that you don't always get exposed to."
For some, it’s their first time at the summit, others have been coming for years. Everyone here has said that the energy is high, and the networking opportunities are endless.
Another attendee, Whitney Allen from London, says, "You get to reconnect to a lot of different people. Everyone is really passionate here about the work that they do individually with their organizations but also collectively together as a SOAR organization."
SOAR hosts this conference with the goal of having a mass exchange of ideas. Different organizations and leaders come out to speak and get communities motivated about growth and improvement.
SOAR’s executive director, Colby Hall, says, "Really after today, is attendees leaving with a fire in their belly to go back home and if they're passionate, whether it's about broadband, infrastructure or a specific business venture as an entrepreneur, or workforce development or bringing in new industry in town or tourism, there are so many different topics that we're gonna cover over these next two days — there's something for everybody."
SOAR has hosted this event for around 10 years. Its leaders explain it was started by Congressman Hal Rogers and Governor Steve Beshear to move this region forward after the collapse of the coal industry. Its goal is to think about what's next and to promote new ideas and industry.
Hall says, "We're in a day and age, there are a lot of different ways to entertain yourself, there's a lot of different passions and pursuits, but generally what unites people that come to SOAR events is that they believe in eastern Kentucky and they believe eastern Kentucky, its best days are ahead of it."
One of today's speakers, Amber Decker from Somerset, shares that this summit is an opportunity for communities to learn more about each other and grow stronger together.
Decker says, "This is a great opportunity to speak with the minds and the leaders in our area to share information, pick each others brains about the needs in the area and how we can all fit together to make those happen."
