Hellllloooooooo September!

You read that right, September is here and Fall is just around the corner. Our Eastern Kentucky region is ready to start going to those pumpkin patches and apple-picking places soon, but first, we have a few announcements to share before we can let Fall enter our houses.

However, it seems that everyone’s already gotten a fall or Halloween decoration set in their homes already.

Bath County wins Junior Chef Championship

The Bath County Junior Chef Team came out on top in this year’s Farm to School Junior Chef program during the championship cook off against LaRue County on Friday at the Kentucky State Fair.

The Bath County Wildcat Catering Crew team – Blaine Wilson and Dalten Lee – prepared its Wilsons Frittata and Richards Fruit Cup. Bath County was coached by Vickie Wells. Each member of the team received a $10,000 scholarship offer from Sullivan University.

The Junior Chef competition is part of the Kentucky Proud Farm to School Program, which helps Kentucky schools purchase local foods to serve to their students. Children get fresh, nutritious local foods to help them grow up healthy and strong. Local farmers get another market for their farm products. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) administers the Farm to School Program and the Junior Chef competition.

Students who are interested in competing in the next season of Junior Chef are advised to see their school’s food service director or consumer science teacher for more information.

You can read more about the competition HERE. 

24th Annual Northeastern Kentucky Small Business Awards Breakfast

Get ready to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation at the year’s most anticipated event! Hosted by the Kentucky Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the 24th Annual Northeast Kentucky Small Business Awards Breakfast is back and better than ever. This prestigious event will honor and recognize nearly 40 businesses in 9 different categories.

Gather together to celebrate entrepreneurship, honor outstanding businesses, and gain insights from remarkable leaders like Devanny King from the Women’s Business Center of Kentucky. 

Register by September 22 for this must-attend event in the FIVCO area!

Register for this event HERE.

Somerset Community & Technical College Hosts Heavy Equipment Course

Somerset Community and Technical College’s Workforce Solutions has a NEW Heavy Equipment Training program! 

This is a 15-week course where students learn to operate a bulldozer, mini excavator, skid steer, and a backhoe! Enroll today! 

Classes begin in October. 

For more information and to register call them at 606-451-6692

You can find a flyer for this program HERE.

Vision 2 Venture

Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, EntreEd, and SOAR are all partnering to offer a day-long professional experience for 9-12 educators called: Vision 2 Venture: Cultivating Entrepreneurship in the Classroom.

Teachers will get to learn how to infuse entrepreneurship into all classrooms using their existing curriculum.

Teachers will get to participate in engaging activities with firsthand entrepreneurship experiences that they can then use in any classroom.

They will leave with an action plan and prepare for the follow-up pitch competition to win money for their classroom!

The event will take place on September 18, 2023, from 9 am – 3:30 pm at the KEDC building in Ashland: 904 Rose Road, Ashland, KY, 41102.

The cost to attend the program is $25.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

There will be a follow-up pitch competition on December 6th where students will get to compete for prize money! Who doesn’t want to see their students compete?

Silent Auction for the Country Music Highway

We’re proud to launch the Country Music Highway Tribute Show Silent Auction. 

The online auction has a variety of items and more are expected to be added in the coming days and weeks. 

The auction will end on October 6. Proceeds will benefit the arts along the Country Music Highway. 

The auction has a variety of items, ranging from autographed memorabilia and other fan favorites donated by the stars of the Highway and performing arts venues.

We are adding items every day. Some of the items online now include:

• Autographed Dwight Yoakum Fender Guitar
• Autographed Trace Adkins Fender Guitar
• Autographed Travis Tritt Fender Guitar
• Three Vince Gill gift sets (including autographed items)
• Ricky Skaggs gift set
• Alex Miller gift set

There are other items, such as Cincinnati Reds and Dollywood tickets. We’ll be adding more items throughout August, so be sure to visit the site often.

SOAR Summit Information!

This next announcement is perhaps one that has been highly anticipated … our SOAR Summit!

We will be back in Corbin this fall, October 3-4 at the Corbin Arena. 

Exhibit Hall Registration

Registration for the 2023 SOAR Summit Exhibit Hall is open! The Summit, Appalachia’s premier event, is presented by Appalachian Wireless and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). 

The application is open through September 7. 

There will also be space available for High School students to display their school projects, club information, etc. at the 2023 SOAR Summit! If you know of a high school group who would be interested in signing up, HERE.

Students also get to attend the SOAR Summit for FREE!

Early Bird Registration

Early Bird registration is now open through Sept 1. It is $55 and all-inclusive, including:

• Two days of programming.
• Breakfast and lunch each day.
• Access to the Exhibit Hall.
• The SOAR Summit Reception, presented by Whitaker Bank, is on October 3 in downtown Corbin.

After Sept. 1, registration will be $75.

Pre-Summit Programming

There will also be optional Pre-Summit programming on Monday, October 2. This includes:

• Community and Regional Disaster Preparedness Workshop, presented by the Kentucky League of Cities. 
• A SOAR Summit Opening Reception at the Cumberland Mint.

Speed Pitch Competition

Thanks to the Forcht Group, high school and college students can attend the SOAR Summit for free. 

We are hosting a Speed Pitch Competition for high school and college students on Tuesday, October 3 as part of the SOAR Summit.

At the Speed Pitch Competition, it is simple: a podium, a microphone, your idea, and two minutes to make your pitch. The competition will be held inside the Corbin Arena on the main stage.

We’ll be awarding $500 to the first-place pitch in two categories: high school and college/university. 

Want to Submit to our Roundup?

Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Weekly Roundup.

Know of a program that needs applicants from our region?

Do you know of a grant opportunity that one of our Eastern Kentucky non-profits could benefit from?

or just have good news from your town?

Email us at: roundup@soar-ky.org

Future events to add to your calendar:

September 

• 2nd Annual Gitt Recovery Celebration, London, Sept. 9

Live music, food, games, vendors, resource tables, and a lantern lighting ceremony to celebrate all who are in recovery. You are not going to want to miss supporting this heartfelt event!

You can find a flyer for the event HERE.

• Appalachian Regional Commission Annual Conference, Ashland, Sept. 11-12

Save the date for the annual ARC Conference, “Appalachia Rises©: Resilience, Strength & Transformation“!

• Miguel’s Pizzeria is Celebrating its 40th Birthday, on Sept 23rd

You can find a flyer for this event HERE.

• Beyond ’23: KYSTATS Data Summit, Sept 28

Come hear from KYSTATS, partners, & leaders from multiple sectors about our data and the potential for it to shape the future of Kentucky.

You can register HERE.

October

• SOAR Pre-Summit, Monday, Oct. 2

• SOAR Summit, Tuesday – Wednesday, Oct 3-4

You can learn more about these events HERE.

• Ally Fest, Oct. 6 & 7

Ally Fest will be returning in downtown Prestonsburg on October 6 & 7 with two major headlining artists!

Brought to you by, Paintsville Tourism, AOM Booking & Management, and Alley on Main.

Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will be playing Friday night and Billy Ray Cyrus and FIREROSE will be playing Saturday.

Want to know the best part?? ITS FREE!!!

Keep an eye out for the rest of the festival and the Official Alley Fest 2023 poster!

You can learn more information HERE.

• Ashland hosts the 8th annual Firkin Fest, on Oct. 14, Saturday

Beer Heaven Awaits!

Hold on to your beer mugs as Ashland unlocks the gates to craft beer paradise! 

Prepare to embark on a journey through the wild and wonderful world of craft beer brewing, with hundreds of distinctive craft beers ready to dazzle your taste buds. 

There will also be food trucks available!

You can learn more about the event HERE.

November

• Brushy Forks Leadership Summit, Nov. 2 & 3

Brushy Fork Institute is excited to invite everyone to attend their 2023 Brushy Fork Leadership Summit: Leading Through Resilience: Imagining the Future, in Berea, Kentucky, on November 2 and 3. The two-day gathering will feature intensive workshop tracks, taught by regional leaders and will have prime content for non-profit development! Attendees choose one intensive, eight-hour track to attend over two days, plus full group keynote and other sessions.

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Apollo’s Corner 🐈

* SIGH * 

What a bore today’s been. All my mother does is type, type, type, sip her coffee, and type some more. She should honestly make an Instagram account featuring me and only me, that way, I can be her one and only job. I am obviously much more important. 

I heard it’s going to get warm this next week, cannot wait, I love being all sleepy by the window all warmed up. Are there any other cats out there that love to do this? Send me a pic, would love to see my fellow feline friends!

Until then … meow,

Apollo