Mindy Beth Miller
“With the start of this new year, I’ve given myself permission to dream big – not only for my own life, but also for our entire region.” That’s how Hazard Herald reporter Mindy Beth Miller starts her most recent column for the Hazard, Ky., newspaper.
She’s choosing to stay optimistic about eastern Kentucky’s future this year, joining the chorus of folks throughout the region who are a part of the larger just economic transition movement in Central Appalachia. According to Miller:
As an Appalachian writer, I believe I have a responsibility to these mountains and to my hometown and county. My job is to bear witness and to tell the truth, even if that truth is hard. So, now, as our way of life is changing and must change, I want to look toward a bright future and share what I see.
And so, she’s urging her community to see the best of itself and to use those best parts to help build a brighter future.
Hazard’s Main Street could one day be full of shops promoting traditional Appalachian arts. These shops could be made specific to our area, sporting handmade quilts, pull candy, hand-woven baskets, and all sorts of things produced right here in Perry County. Perhaps we could have factories making these kinds of things. Perhaps we could have a moonshine distillery, a nice restaurant offering modern spins on traditional Appalachian cuisine, a bookstore and coffeehouse, a fancy Appalachian bed & breakfast, a playhouse where Appalachian-produced works are staged, a museum dedicated to all things Appalachian (coal mining, the spirit of protest, art, music, literature, and basketball), and a large Appalachian music festival.
Like so many Appalachians, Miller has some big and ambitious ideas, and that’s just what it will take to help propel the region forward. We have so many assets in this region from which to build a brighter tomorrow. We should be capitalizing on those aspects of who we are as a culture because it is those difference from the rest of the nation that will sustain us. Or, in Miller’s words: “This world, I think, has too often seen the worst of us. That’s why it’s high time for us to show everyone our best.”
"When we talk about what holds Appalachian Kentucky back we often talk about things like infrastructure or education. When you get to know the region’s individuals who are at the brink of 'breaking out' and seizing new opportunities, however, others’ health problems often take on determinative role." #TransitionInAction
Transition in Action: Evan Smith, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
appalachiantransition.org
Who are you, and what’s your role at your organization? I’m Evan Barret Smith a staff attorney at Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. How does your organization contribute to improving health in the …
"I think we all understand genetics plays a factor in our health, but so do our eating habits and activity levels. When we recognize this, each of us can be real change agents of community health across rural Kentucky." #TransitionInAction
Transition in Action: Ernie Scott at the Kentucky Office of Rural Health
appalachiantransition.org
1- Who are you, and what’s your role at your organization? My name is Ernie Scott and I am the Director of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH) at the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health …
"Healthier communities will make us more attractive to employers. West Virginia used to have a reputation for a hardworking, healthy workforce. We now have a reputation for an unhealthy work force, which profoundly affects our economic development prospects." #TransitionInAction
Try This WV Highlights Health Transition in Action
appalachiantransition.org
Our guest blog today comes from Kate Long of Try This West Virginia, an innovative and community-driven health movement taking hold across the state. 1. Who are you, and what’s your role at…