Leadership Kentucky announces 2022 BRIGHT Kentucky Class

Leadership Kentucky is proud to announce members of the BRIGHT Kentucky Class of 2022, including several residents from Whitley and Laurel counties.

BRIGHT Kentucky, which began in 2019, engages bright, entrepreneurial minds from various occupational sectors to offer non-partisan, ethical leadership training, expanded networks, and mentors designed especially for residents of the 54 Kentucky counties of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

The program is made possible by a $500,000 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant and private funding from Whitaker Bank Foundation, AEP Foundation/Kentucky Power, and other generous donors.

BRIGHT Kentucky is made up of five, three-day sessions where the primary goal is to help participants fully understand the local economic context and to build robust skill sets in communication, collaboration, consensus building, visioning, and community engagement.

The program, which runs July through November, will take participants across Eastern Kentucky: Ashland in July, Cumberland County in August, Pineville/Bell County in September, Pikeville in October, and Berea and Frankfort in November. The program start date is July 13.

This year’s class includes 43 participants from 22 different ARC counties representing a variety of public and private sectors. Local residents named to the class include:

• Sydney Holcombe – Whitley County, The Holler Creative, LLC
• Tori Mouser – Whitley County, City of Corbin
• Aaron Sturgill – Whitley  County, Home Helpers Home Care
• R.J. Conroy – Laurel County, University of the Cumberlands
• Jeremiah Banks – Laurel County, First Baptist Church of Corbin
• Adam Larkin – Laurel County, Gitt Apparel

 About Leadership Kentucky

Leadership Kentucky, created in 1984 as a non-profit educational organization, brings together a selected group of people who possess a broad variety of leadership abilities, career accomplishments, and volunteer activities to gain insight into complex issues facing the state. Its goal is to prepare participants to take an active role in advancing the state for the common good.

By fostering understanding of how the state’s issues are interconnected, and by forging new relationships among community and regional leaders, Leadership Kentucky graduates bring a fresh and informed perspective to their communities and companies, serving as important participants in the unified effort to shape Kentucky’s future.