Morehead, KY. – The inaugural BRIGHT Kentucky class, a Leadership Kentucky program, graduated in Morehead on Friday, November 22, 2019. Forty-eight civic and community leaders from across the Appalachian region of Kentucky celebrated completion of the program at the Morehead Conference Center.
SOAR Business and Innovation Champion Jeffery Justice was a member of the inaugural BRIGHT Kentucky class.
BRIGHT Kentucky is designed to build the capacity of next-generation leaders in the Appalachian region of Kentucky to innovate, collaborate, and advance community and economic development.
“We want the participants to understand they are making the future,” said Elmer Whitaker, who sits on Leadership Kentucky’s executive committee. “They are the future and they determine the future.”
BRIGHT Kentucky engages bright, entrepreneurial minds from all sectors and regions to offer non-partisan, ethical leadership training, expanded networks, and mentors designed especially for residents of the 54 Kentucky counties of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
A major focal point of the program is to help participants fully understand the local economic context and to build skill sets in communication, collaboration, consensus building, visioning, and community engagement. Participants will complete the program with the skills necessary to think long-term and strategically to build up the strengths of the communities and lead the region to a more prosperous future.
Thanks to the ARC grant and private funding, the program will be offered free-of-charge to approximately 50 more participants in 2020.
Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) is proud to be a financial contributor and supporter of this program. SOAR Business and Innovation Champion Jeffery Justice was a member of the inaugural class.
For more information, check out this article published by Spectrum News.