The SOAR Summit is returning to Corbin Oct. 7-9, but what is SOAR and what is the SOAR Summit.
SOAR Chief Operating Officer Joshua Ball answered these questions during Sept. 4 address to the Corbin Rotary Club.
“We do lots of things at SOAR. We do a little bit of everything,” Ball said.
Shaping our Appalachian Region (SOAR) is a nonprofit serving 54 Appalachian Regional Commission counties in Kentucky. SOAR was born from the economic fallout of the coal industry’s decline. It’s mission today is to solve deep-seated issues of population retention and growth in Eastern Kentucky, according to the SOAR website.
“We work to provide meaningful employment opportunities in all of Kentucky’s 54 Appalachian counties. This is roughly half the state,” Ball said.
The organization has a talent network, which helps companies find pre-vetted, qualified people in real time.
“We also work with individuals searching for a job or to find a better job. We help with training opportunities with our local community colleges, private training providers and so forth to do it that way,” Ball said.
“It is really just creating opportunities and addressing the population out migration, which may not be so prevalent here in Corbin, but where I am from in Martin County, Kentucky, we are projected to lose 24 to 49 percent of our population by 2050. There are a lot of coal counties that are in the far southwestern part of our region that are projected to lose the same.”
Ball said this is what both keeps him up at night and what motivates him every day.
SOAR has the EKY Runway Initiative, which Corbin is a part of, to help people ages 24 to 52 find job or a better job. It is funded through a $40 million grant from the Economic Development Association.
“What we found out was in the 12 counties we are in, one-third of the people, who were able bodied to work in that age group, were actively in the work force. This meant two-thirds of the people, who were able to work in that age group, were not working,” Ball said.
“If two-thirds of your able bodied people are not actively in the workforce that is a tough conversation to have with someone wanting to invest here,” Ball said. “We have to change that. It’s a cultural change. It is a shift. It is a mindset. We are playing the long game with that.”
SOAR Summit 26
SOAR Summit 26 is presented by the Appalachian Regional Commission and Appalachian Wireless. It will take place Oct. 7-9 in Corbin.
Ball noted this will be the third time Corbin has hosted the summit. This is the second consecutive year the SOAR Summit has been held in Corbin.
“It is not just an event. It is an event you need to be at because you get to experience what is happening across the region,” Ball said. “When you walk in that room, you will see over 100 exhibits.”
There will be remote control lawn mowers, robots, and satellites from Morehead State among other exhibits.
“You will see so many things across the Appalachian region that are happening. Tangible things you can experience. This is why we don’t call it an expo hall. We call it an experience because that is what it is,” Ball said. “It is really something you get to experience.”
The evening of Oct. 7, the SOAR Inspires Awards will be handed out.
“That is essentially a night to celebrate. We are going to hand out a dozen plus awards from student of the year to teacher of the year, community of the year, tourism group of the year,” Ball said. “The majority of the people we are going to recognize are the people I had no clue were doing great things in their community.”
On Oct. 8, the Eastern Kentucky Experience opens in the morning and there will be programming throughout the day. Among other things there will be an AI workshop to inform people about what AI is and isn’t. In addition, there will be a workshop on nuclear ready communities.
During the evening, attendees will be encouraged to check out the local sites around Corbin.
During the morning of Oct. 9, the co-principal officers of SOAR, who are the Fifth District Congressman, Hal Rogers, and the Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, are scheduled to be speak.
“I often say we want to equip you to go back to your respective communities and to start building upon those things,” Ball said.
Ball said this will be the ninth SOAR Summit he has planned, and this will be the 12th summit overall.
“I just love it here. It’s a great place to host an event,” Ball said about Corbin.
Ball added jokingly if Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus is reading this, he would like to be made an honorary citizen of Corbin.
This year’s SOAR Summit should have a significant economic impact on Corbin.
SOAR typically spends $50,000-$70,000 just for attendee food during the summit. This doesn’t include the number of attendees, who stayed at local hotels, or shopped at local stores or who purchased fuel at local gas stations.
Ball noted SOAR typically books 50-70 hotel rooms just for its staff noting this does not include the over 1,000 people, who will be coming to The Corbin Arena and The Corbin Center for the summit to take in three days of events.
SOAR has an office in Corbin. It is located on the second floor of the Whitaker Bank building on Main Street. Every day at least 10 of the organization’s 50 employees report to Corbin, Ball said.
Nuclear jobs available
In addition, Ball spoke about a work force opportunity with some nuclear jobs. SOAR is hosting the work force hiring event on Oct. 7 in Hazard for WECTEC, which is a subsidiary of Westing House Electrical. While the event is in Hazard, there will be some virtual interview options available.
Ball noted two 18-year-olds from eastern Kentucky were hired during the April event. They interviewed three weeks before they graduated high school. The pair are valve technicians for Westing House making $30 per hour.
“They are essentially going to work 20-25 weeks out of the year at nuclear plants in the fall and spring, and they are going to get to come home,” he said.
