On Aug. 26-29, the Annual Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Summit will once again be taking place right here in Whitley County at the Corbin Arena. Corbin has played host to this mega-conference twice in the past, in 2021 and 2023, and based on those previous events, it is safe to say that unique opportunities will abound for folks throughout the local area during the last week of this month.
My hope is to provide a more in-depth preview inside next week’s edition, and we will, of course, be on the scene to provide coverage over the course of the four-day event, but for now I’d like to highlight some of what SOAR has planned for its 2025 summit. The organization’s website, www.soar-ky.org, shows several guest speakers slated to appear, including Governor Andy Beshear, U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, President Elect of the University of the Cumberlands Dr. Quentin Young, and Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Jeff Noel, among others.
Attendees of this year’s summit will have the opportunity to listen, learn and network during special sessions focusing on several different areas. Those areas, or tracks, include workforce, innovation, tourism, capacity and artificial intelligence. If you are someone who is looking to advance your career in any of these areas, then I strongly suggest you head on over to the website and learn more about how you can get involved.
While on the website, you can also download a copy of the event schedule, learn more about the many sponsors for this year’s summit, read up on some of the individuals who will be receiving special recognition during this year’s event, and find out about other career advancement opportunities that will be available. Of course, you can also go ahead and purchase tickets for the event as well.
The 2025 SOAR Summit will no doubt be bringing a lot of people into this area. Those people will need places to stay, they will need good food to eat, and while they will certainly be busy during their time here, they may also be looking for some local entertainment options as well. This event should be great for the local economy, and will be another chance to showcase what all we have to offer here. So, everyone get ready for when SOAR comes back to town Aug. 26-29!
Before I conclude this week’s column, I’d like to say a few words about the upcoming fall sports season. Next week’s edition will include a complete look at the 2025 high school football season, which will kick off on Friday, Aug. 22. I hope you’ll pick that up, and I wish our coverage area teams the best of luck on their 2025 campaigns.
Of course, fall also means it’s time for volleyball, soccer and cross country, as well as golf, which I plan on continuing to write about in the weekly Par for the Course column that began running in our paper back in January.
Very soon, you will begin seeing weekly results and lists of upcoming competitions for those sports that I just mentioned. I am looking forward to once again making the rounds to our local high schools to check out each squad, but for now I’d just like to offer a few general thoughts and observations…
• I had a chance to speak with both varsity soccer coaches at Whitley County High School prior to last Thursday’s Meet the Colonels fall sports introduction event. I think that the Colonel boys have a great chance of being a top contender in the region this year, and I am looking forward to seeing how the new girls coach, Nick Shearer, takes to leading the Lady Colonels into the future. Of course, I’m sure that the Corbin Redhounds and Lady Hounds will also be capable of making a push for district and regional titles again this season, so I expect that things will be very interesting on the soccer pitch in the weeks and months ahead.
• Just after the conclusion of the Meet the Colonels program, I made my way into Charles M. Lawson Gymnasium to check out the early stages of the Whitley County volleyball team’s black versus gray intersquad scrimmage. The team looks like they are once again loaded with talent, and will definitely be in the conversation about who will come out on top of the 13th Region this season. If the Lady Colonels do manage to win it all again this year, it will be their fourth consecutive regional title victory. The Corbin Lady Hounds will no doubt be looking to knock the defending champs off the mountaintop, though, as one of the most heated rivalries across ALL sports in our region is poised to continue this fall.
• Finally, best of luck to all of our cross country runners this season. While looking over a couple of schedules, I noticed that the Whitley County Fairgrounds will host at least two meets this fall – the Trading Days Invitational on Sept. 6 and the Fog River Invitational on Oct. 4. I had a great time shooting photos at the Inaugural Fog River Invitational last year, and I will definitely be making plans to return to the fairgrounds to check out more competition this season. Of course, I will also hope to make the trip to Wayne County in late-October to shoot photos at what has become one of my very favorite sporting events to cover – the regional championships at Cave Lake Park in Monticello.
