Appalachian Regional Commission in Ashland
Kathy Clayton
The Ashland Beacon
A contingent of influential leaders from around the 13-state Appalachian region gathered in Ashland September 11-12 for the Appalachian Regional Commission’s 2023 Annual Conference, drawing hundreds of participants to the city. Monday’s events were held at the Paramount Arts Center, with the event concluding Tuesday at the Delta Mariott Hotel.
Included in the many highlights of the conference were a sit-down talk between University of Kentucky basketball Coach John Calipari and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, the awarding of $14 million in grants to organizations fighting Substance Abuse Disorder, and a surprise concert by nationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated and a favorite with many Appalachians, Tyler Childers.
“There is a new dawn rising in Appalachia,” Marshall University President Brad Smith told the crowd. “We are dreamers and doers,” he said, noting that Appalachians have “blazed trails instead of following paths,” citing such notable Appalachians as Mohammed Ali, Susan B. Anthony, and Mr. Rogers.
The theme of this year’s conference is Appalachia Rises: Strength, Reformation, and Transformation, with an emphasis on Substance Abuse Disorder. The co-chairs for the event were Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, state co-chair, and Gayle Manchin, federal co-chair.
“We want to bring generational change to Appalachia,” Governor Beshear said, “with infrastructure funding, high speed internet, and combatting opioid addiction,” which he said, “arose in our lifetime and it’s our obligation to end it.” He said focusing on ending the opioid crisis would provide healthy workers and reunite families, part of ARC’s Ready Appalachia program.
Gov. Beshear also told the group, “It is a privilege to serve as state co-chair. ARC has been a great partner to Kentucky over the years,” listing several state projects that have received ARC funding. “Being in Ashland solidifies how we feel about ARC.” He added that groups that are involved in substance abuse recovery are “doing God’s work.”
One of the afternoon’s speakers was Rep. Hal Rogers, the longest-serving member of the US House of Representatives, who explained that the Inspire awards that were announced during the conference would spur economic development. He said the $1.6 million in grants will benefit Eastern Kentucky by transforming the area “from an epicenter of addiction to an epicenter of recover and hope.”
“Ingenuity and determination is in our blood,” Rogers declared. “Look at the bigger picture and see how you fit into the tapestry of Appalachia.”
Later in the afternoon, Gov. Beshear and Coach Cal, seated in comfy chairs on the stage of the Paramount Arts Center, discussed the importance of public service. Beshear noted that Calipari has Appalachian roots – his grandfather was a coal miner, and his father was a steelworker.
“It’s an honor to be sitting here with you,” the coach told Beshear. “I’m blessed to have grown up the way I did.”
The governor acknowledged that Calipari and his teams have pitched in to raise money for Kentucky’s natural disasters.
“When you coach at Kentucky, it gives you the opportunity to do good,” Coach Cal said. “We’ve raised about $14 million. I coach young people and I teach them to give back.” He said that in traveling the state and meeting the victims of disasters, he’s learned that “People just want you to listen. They want to tell their story.”
He touched on the viral story of a coal miner who attended the UK Blue-White game in Eastern Kentucky. The game was held to raise money for flood victims and a working father came straight to the game from the mines, covered in coal dust, to share that moment with his young son. The image went viral, and Coach Calipari arranged for the family to attend a UK basketball game in Lexington. “I got too much credit for that,” he said. “I just saw the video and said we should bring them to a game. My staff heard me say that, and made it happen. I think as parents we all can identify with wanting so much to share an experience with our child that we would come straight from work.”
During the day Monday, murmurs could be heard from the attendees about the evening’s entertainment. “Is it true that Tyler Childers is here?” one woman wondered. And she was right – Childers’ appearance was a not-very well-kept secret in the area.
The popular singer, whose style is a hybrid of bluegrass, folk and more traditional country music, surprised the crowd with a rousing performance to a packed house. In between songs, Childers talked about his background in Louisa, KY, and recalled attending events at the Paramount with school groups as a child – “came to see the Christmas trees,” he said.
He said he was humbled to be back at the Paramount performing for the people of Appalachia and helping raise money for charities.
Ashland itself was the topic of conversation, as well. Many conference goers were heard discussing the Paramount, and the town itself. Once head of an agency from eastern West Virginia said she had lived near the Kentucky-West Virginia border at one point, and knew of Ashland, but said she had no idea how much the town has to offer.
Several of the noted speakers mentioned how welcoming and beautiful the city is, and said they were in awe of the Paramount, with Rep. Rogers calling it “this astounding, beautiful theater.”
