FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office of the Governor
November 9, 2001
Contact:  Rusty Cheuvront or Terri Giltner (502) 564-2611 

Governor Shows Off His “New Appalachia”

Prestonsburg, Ky. – Governor Patton “pulled out all of the stops” during the annual conference of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) that begin Wednesday with a rousing performance of the Kentucky Opry at the Mountain Arts Center. 

“Hosting this conference in Eastern Kentucky means a great deal because this is the area Judi and I both call home, and where our roots are strongly embedded.,” stated the Governor.  “It is always a pleasure to show it off to visitors from other states.”

Over 400 people representing the thirteen state area that makes up the Appalachian region of the United States attended the two-day conference.  The theme “The New Appalachia,” was in evidence everywhere beginning with Dr. Stephen Covey’s keynote address that focused on adapting his well-known “7 Habits” principles to developing strong communities.

“This is a new Appalachia and a region that is open for business,” said Governor Patton, Co-Chair of the ARC.  “We are a region with a dedicated, skilled workforce where a sense of place and family remain key principles.”

The conference primarily featured “best practices” from across the entire region including three projects from Kentucky.  The primary purpose of the meeting was for attendees to share and learn from one another.  The phenomenal progress the region has made in the past 40 years stems primarily from this type of cooperative effort.

“When we think parochially or limit our visions, Appalachia stagnates and sometimes declines,” said Jesse White, Co-Chair of the ARC.  “Our real progress arises out of our sense of belonging and community, one of our historic strengths and today more important than ever before.”

The Kentucky Appalachian Commission (KAC), a unit of the Office of the Governor, was one of the featured presentations during the conference.  The KAC is a mixture of state and regional leaders that coordinate the state and local efforts in the Appalachian region.  This group of 48 individuals, divided equally between members of the Administration and the leaders of the region, meets several times a year to make sure that all resources are focused on a common goals in the region to ensure that maximum results are achieve.

The Appalachia Development Alliance was another Kentucky “best practice” representative during the conference.  The Alliance is a private, nonprofit company made up of eight different non-traditional lenders in the region.  Through collaboration, sharing risk, and leveraging their pooled resources, they are able to assist businesses that would find it difficult to quality for bank loans.

The Challenger Learning Center located in Hazard was another featured Kentucky project during the meeting.  The Challenger Learning Center for Space Science Education is an organization established as a living memorial by the families of the Challenger crew who were tragically killed. Thirty-four of the Centers have been established nationally, most being located in urban or suburban areas.  The Center in Hazard is the first rural location for the organization.

The Challenger Learning Center is a national non-profit organization that conducts space flight simulations primarily for middle school children.  The center makes math and science real for children in this age group.  Since the center’s opening in 1999 over 5,500 sixth-graders have already “flown” missions into space.

The Appalachian Regional Commission was created by Congress as unique partnership between the federal government and the governor of the 13 Appalachian states designed to improve health, education and economic opportunities throughout the region. 

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