Speakers announced for Tedx Corbin event

Organizers of the upcoming Tedx Corbin have announced the list of speakers and artists for the event, which will take place March 9.

Four local residents are among the 17 speakers chosen, including Kristen Smith, Alicia Tremaine, Melissa Bond and Sandi Curd.

Curd serves as the Promise Zone Coordinator.

Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation’s Promise Zone serves eight area counties including: Whitley, Knox, Clay, Bell, Harlan, Letcher, Leslie and Perry with the goal to aid the residents through job creation, improving career and education opportunities, reducing crime and increasing broadband internet access.

Curd said unlike traditional efforts to help improve residents’ lives, the Promise Zone takes on a multi-faceted approach of bringing multiple groups working on different aspects that effect quality of life together to work together for the benefit of more people and the region as a whole.

“It goes back to the old analogy that a rising tide raises all ships. “If the quality of life raises for all of us in the area, then the whole area benefits,” Curd said. “It is the idea that instead of saying, “Somebody should do something about that,” saying, “I should do something about this because it affects me.’”

Each speaker will have up to 18 minutes to present their ideas and experiences in overcoming personal hardship, and their vision for a more vibrant, economically-viable Eastern Kentucky.

The complete list of speakers includes:

• Logan Bechanan, Student, Farmer
• Melissa Bond, Community Development Expert
• Tina Brouwer, Photographer, Educator
• Sandi Curd, Farmer, Civic Advocate
• Lily Gardner, Student, Activist
• Dreama Gentry, Education Advocate
• Robert Gipe, Storyteller
• Nathan Hall, Agricultural Entrepreneur
• Drew Hubbard, Podcast Host
• Ryan Johns, Financial Expert
• Roger May, Photographer, Writer
• Jonathan Piercy, Physician, Musician
• Kristin M Smith, Farmer, Chef
• Mae Suramek, Social Entrepreneur
• Alice Tremaine, Chaplain
• Kristen Wiley and James Harrison, Scientists, Educators
• Xiao-Yin Chen, Academic

“We’ll hear from a diversity of voices exploring what it means to move ourselves forward together,” officials stated on the tedxcorbin.com website. “We’ll ground ourselves in the bonds we share and together we’ll examine how we got here and where we go next.”

Corbin was selected to host the event as downtown Corbin and the revitalization of Main Street, has become a model for other small downtown communities.

The site for the Tedx Corbin is Second and Main, an event space in the former JC Penney building in downtown Corbin.

The building, which sat empty for a number of years, is a prime example of the revitalization that downtown Corbin has undergone with multiple new restaurants and shops, leading to a vibrant nightlife.

Tickets for the Tedx Corbin event will go on sale today.

In addition to the live event, the event will be live-streamed. Organizers are looking for additional locations willing to host a community watch party.

More information is available at the TedxCorbin Facebook page and online at www.tedxcorbin.com.