HCTC one of five KCTCS college participating in SOAR summit

Versailles, Ky. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System s (KCTCS) five colleges from the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) will take part in the SOAR 2016 Innovation Summit, which will showcase solutions for issues facing the region. The five colleges are Ashland Community and Technical College, Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Hazard Community and Technical College, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and Somerset Community College.

The Summit, which is June 6 at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville, is broken into eight areas of innovation. As part of the 21st Century Skills and Leadership Development area, the colleges will showcase programs focused on community development, entrepreneurship, fiber optics, information technology and more.

The morning session will feature federal partners and other speakers along with a series of short presentations from innovators who have solved a problem. The afternoon session will focus entirely on these solutions and other innovative work being done in the region as well a networking session. Congressman Hal Rogers and Gov. Matt Bevin are expected to attend.

Since the first SOAR Summit in 2013, people from all walks of life have taken action to create new paths forward for the region. This year s Summit provides an opportunity to see what action has been taken and make connections to accelerate additional work.

Dates and times for the Summit are:
Sunday, June 5th
2 p.m. SOAR 5k run in downtown Pikeville
6 8 p.m. Reception at Hilton Garden Inn

Monday, June 6th
East Kentucky Expo Center
126 Main St., Pikeville
8 a.m. Registration and networking
9 a.m. Summit kickoff
5 p.m. Summit concludes

KCTCS is a founding partner of SOAR. KCTCS and SOAR share a mission of improving employability and quality of life for the people of eastern Kentucky. KCTCS does this by offering affordable, accessible education to train the workers needed for local jobs in SOAR communities.

For more information, and to register, visit soar-ky.org/.