A Powerful Moment: CEDAR Transitioning from Coal to the Future

This is such a powerful moment as recognized by the Appalachian News-Express in today's editorial on the transition of CEDAR from a coal-based program to a future based program aligned with SOAR's blueprint. I remember days 10 years ago when it felt like the layoffs would never end; when the coal rallies seemed to lead from one to the next. I remember the day I stood in the back of the room in Hazard in the fall of 2013 listening to Governor Steve Beshear and Congressman Rogers announce the SOAR initiative. I remember them standing in agreement on the stage in Pikeville on December 9, 2013, saying that coal would never be the same and we must do something different. I remember walking into my interview for the Executive Director Position, that I really had no interest in. I remember the day this crazy challenge shifted in my mind to an incredible opportunity to make a difference.

I remember one of my first days in the office sitting on the floor working on my personal laptop from a hotspot on my phone feeling the heaviness of what I was about to undertake. I remember my wife, Bethany, asking, what exactly are you going to be doing? And with all my economic development training, saying simply "changing attitudes". I remember knowing if we could build a small group of people who believed there was hope for a future in our region it would turn into a movement. If we could help people see that even before the layoffs started we had 38 counties in the bottom 10% of the country economically.

That we needed to dream big. That we were absolutely going to have to do things that had never been done. That we absolutely could not do it without leveraging technology and connectivity.

We're not finished yet, but I believe with all my heart we're on the right trajectory. People believe, people are bought-in. It's not anti-coal, it's pro-Appalachia. This is the type of leadership (John Justice and the CEDAR board) that transformation requires, and I thank God he's filled our region full of people willing to take courageous steps into a brighter future for our people.