1. “The Pikeville Area Family YMCA
has a commitment to addressing
the health concerns in our
community and developing
innovative solutions to solve
these issues.”
Commitment by:
Pikeville Area Family YMCA

2. “I am committed to my community to
help entrepreneurs, artisans and
craftsman to understand the power
and opportunities available for them
on the Internet. I am also committed
to help my community with the
substance abuse issue.”
Commitment by:
Discover Downtown Middlesboro

3. “To partner with other tourism attractions to
make Kentucky's Appalachian Region a
destination for people throughout the world.
We will get the Appalachian Horse Center up
and running, implement a robust marketing
plan, and work with other EKY Tourism
attractions to bring in tourists to expose the
natural scenery, the free-roaming horses, and
the unique culture. “
Commitment by:
Appalachian Horse Center

4. “Himler Project is committed to working with Hungary,
Kentucky Heritage Council, and the Project's supporting
helpers and partners to provide jobs and economic
growth in eastern KY via the restoration of Martin
Himler's home and the founding of a national landmark
site in Martin Co., KY. This national landmark will draw
visitors from both America and Europe to eastern KY and
will increase the number of tourists to eastern KY,
increase the number of entrepreneurial establishments in
eastern KY, and increase the amount of dollars spent by
tourists in eastern KY. “
Commitment by:
Himler Project

5. “Working with both recertifying Martin County
as a Work Ready Community in Progress and
serving on the steering committee for "Dream
Martin County." Also as a high school
principal, implementing more programs to
improve student's soft skills and leadership
abilities. “
Commitment by:
Dream Martin County

6. “My commitment is to work to improve the burden of
diabetes in the Big Sandy ADD by identifying the
approximately 15% of the adult population who do not
know they have diabetes, by developing a diabetes
registry so diabetics can be tracked, and by making
diabetes education available to all diabetics. This will be
through my work with the Big Sandy Diabetes Coalition. I
am also supportive of efforts to decrease substance
abuse and am working to set up treatment for prenatal
women who are addicted in order to decrease the burden
of neonatal abstinence syndrome.”
Commitment by:
J.D. Miller

7. “To dis-spell the perception that Appalachia is all
drug abuser, lazy, uneducated, government
dependents. To promote the beauty of our region.
To be a part of the change in our region that will
bring in business, educate our children and instill
in them, the desire to return to their communities
and implement change. To encourage
entrepreneurship and the arts. To preserve the
traditions and talents that have made Appalachia
and its people unique.”
Commitment by:
Helen Williams

8. “1. Mentoring for anyone who are interested in
starting business.
2. Helping an existing company or buiness with free
outside help.
3. Provide workshops for members of community.”
Commitment by:
SCORE KY

9. “While attending the SOAR conference in Pikeville, I learned from
representatives of the Christian Appalachian Project that faith can
serve as the impetus for outstanding work. The people of CAP serve
God by providing assistance to areas of Appalachia suffering from
major catastrophic events. This matters because there are a number of
areas in the region which suffer from disastrous natural events such as
floods, tornadoes, and winter storms. Combined with poverty,
isolation, and a lack of trained responders, these events can leave the
people who live in these areas without homes and without help. In
light of this learning, I plan to learn more about CAP, as well as about
how I can be of help. As a Christian, I am always searching for
opportunities to put my faith into action. I definitely support CAP and
all that they are doing--they really are making a difference.”
Commitment by:
Aaron Clark

10. “SOAR: Please relay our gratitude to all the SOAR staff. Everyone was
more than helpful. Your organization is instrumental in so many great
projects. By bring like minded people together to do great things You
do great things. We truly enjoyed our selfs and met several people. We
hope to form a relationship with these individuals and their
communities. We defiantly hope to continue a relationship with SOAR.
We would love attend the 2017 Summit. We would like to meet soon if
possible. We wish to seek advice. We hope you were pleased we the
SOAR app and found it beneficial. The people we spoke to had good
things to say. It turned out great and in a short time. We enjoy a
challenge. You may want to send an email to remind everyone to fill in
out the comment cards within the app. Thank you all. You are doing a
great job. “
Commitment by:
Open Box Apps

11. “…I plan to learn more about the obstacles that
stand in the way of broadband expansion in
Appalachia. I will do so through research, focusing
on current initiatives and success stories of
broadband expansion around the United States. I
will also begin to conduct research about the many
ways in which to approach broadband expansion-
such as municipal internet.“
Commitment by:
Manuela Hincapie

12. “…I plan to follow up with the
Appalachian Wildlife Foundation to
uncover more detailed info on their
plan so I can see more of what all
goes into the process of establishing
a self sustaining wildlife center.”
Commitment by:
Brandon Pollock

13. “…I plan to continue becoming informed on the
innovation happening in Appalachian Kentucky. I
hope by doing this I am able to become an asset to
the eastern Kentucky community in the future. In
addition I plan to become as knowledgeable as I
can on digital literacy so I can be able to provide
that knowledge to others within Appalachian
Kentucky.”
Commitment by:
Alberto Cepeda

14. “The Valued Advisor Fund and The Business
Valued Advisor Fund are equal opportunity
providers of gap funding solutions for
businesses and developments that are
aligned with community goals, create
significant and sustainable beneficial
outcomes and are located in areas of high
need, such as the areas outlined in the SOAR
Innovation initiative. “
Commitment by:
The Valued Advisor Fund and Businesses
Valued Advisor Fund

15. “…Dr. Frieden mentioned the high obesity rates in the youth
population and our event is a solution for that problem. By
Interapt bringing jobs into Eastern Kentucky, there could be room
for economic development in the area. Lastly, the young man
being aware and taking the initiative to learn a new technique was
impressive. He trained for a job and is working for one of the
biggest companies worldwide. You can be any age and still seek
room for improvement. In light of this learning I plan to apply for
an internship at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. I
am interested in learning more about the problems in various
areas and seeking solutions to those problems. Although I want
to be a doctor, I would like to be more open-minded and apply to
an internship I can learn from. “
Commitment by:
Tiana Moorer

16. “…I plan to encourage more
people to be in touch with the
concepts Interapt brings in our
community, as this venture
shapes the reality of social
entrepreneurship in KY.
#SOARinnovation ”
Commitment by:
Andreea Teban

17. “…I plan to identify major problems in
my community that can be solved
through the implementation of new
technologies. I also want to learn
more about the model used by
Interapt to convince its partners to
use technology as a complement to
their business strategy.”
Commitment by:
Kenny Louissaint Nelson