Annual Meeting 2025

- Appalachia -

 
 

TFH Appalachia Annual Meeting 2025

Feb. 4 (Tuesday)
First Baptist Church, Corbin (401 N. Laurel Avenue, Corbin KY 40701)
or on Zoom

Registration opens in January
Gather around the table with us for TFH Appalachia's Annual Meeting in Corbin, KY! Join TFH Appalachia coalition members, partners, and friends at First Baptist Church on February 4th as we dig deep into economic inequality in Appalachia. Together, we can learn from each other about poverty allievation, and find new pathways of collaboration.

Hear from Food Pantry leaders-- what’s working, what's challenging, and what's inspiring them. Tour the FBC Corbin Food Pantry and Mustard Seed Community Garden. Share in the wisdom and experience of TFH Appalachian Coalition members who are hard at work in Appalachian communities. Join Dr. Kathryn Engle, Director of the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center for a presentation and dialogue around intersectionality and the challenges to overcoming economic insecurity. Learn from Mountain Assocation's Peter Hille about how small businesses and social enterprises are leading economic revival in the session, “Beyond Poverty: East Kentucky’s Economic Future.” Sit in the beautiful FBC Corbin Sanctuary for some closing reflections and a benediction led by pastor Alex Lockridge. View the award winning documentary, Rising Hope, featuring TFH president, Jason Coker, and some TFH partners and friends. All people, organizations, churches, and faith-based groups interested in alleviating poverty in rural counties of persistent poverty in Appalachia are invited to attend.

 

Schedule

February 4 (Tuesday)

9:30 – Mustard Seed Community Garden & FBC Corbin Food Pantry tour
10:15-11:00 – Food Pantries Roundtable
11:00-11:15 - Break

11:15-12:15 – Welcome & Introductions (Meet the Coalition)
12:15 – Lunch
1:00-1:15 - Meet the Coalition (continued)

1:15-2:00– Challenges to Overcoming Economic Insecurity: An Intersectional Approach -  Dr. Kathryn Engle, UK Appalachian Center
2:00-2:30 - Dialogue with Dr. Engle and coalition (what difference does this make in the work we do?)
2:30-2:45 - Break

2:45-3:30 – Beyond Poverty: East Kentucky’s Economic Future – Peter Hille, Mountain Association
3:30-4:00 – Dialogue with Peter Hille

4:05 -  Benediction with Rev. Alex Lockridge, pastor, First Baptist Church, Corbin
4:15 - Dismiss for Dinner at local restaurants

6:00 - Film Screening: Rising Hope
8:00 - Farewell Y'All till we meet again!


 

Dr. Kathryn Engle
Director, Appalachian Center
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology

Challenges to Overcoming Economic Insecurity

1:15-2:30 p.m.

Dr. Kathryn Engle is the Director of the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center. Dr. Engle received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Kentucky in 2018. Her dissertation explored relocalization of food systems and different (re)presentations of community narratives as part of a multifaceted agenda toward a just, sustainable future for eastern Kentucky and the region. Her research considered the agricultural heritage and current social landscape of the Stinking Creek community of Knox County, Kentucky. For over a decade Dr. Engle has worked with the nonprofit organization the Lend-A-Hand Center in Walker, Kentucky. She also is a founding board member of the Knox County Farmers' Market. Her research explores local food systems, nonprofit organizations, and community economies in central Appalachia. Since 2018, Dr. Engle has been actively involved with the Sunup Initiative, a racial justice organization in Corbin, Kentucky, working to promote constructive conversations about race in the area. In 2012 she edited the collection of local history articles Madison's Heritage Rediscovered: Stories from a Historic Kentucky County and created the online database Madison's Heritage Online. Her scholarship has been published in the Appalachian Journal, Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and Journal of Appalachian Studies. Dr. Engle is currently co-editing a volume with Dr. Shaunna Scott on just transition in Appalachia.

 

Peter Hille
Mountain Association, Chief Executive Officer

Beyond Poverty: East Kentucky’s Economic Future

2:45-4:00

About the Session:
Peter Hille will draw on his 35 years of experience in community economic development in Appalachia to lay out a path to a bright future for our communities. Using a systems-based approach, he will explain how the dynamics of a resource extraction economy in Eastern Kentucky led to the outmigration of our workforce over a 75-year period, leaving a legacy of persistent poverty and communities that have lost, in many cases, half of their population. Building on this analysis of our past, he will share a roadmap for communities to recreate themselves as livable places that can grow and thrive, and share examples of how we are already seeing positive outcomes in our communities.

Peter Hille
Peter Hille is Chief Executive Officer for the Mountain Association. After nine years as President, he became CEO in June 2024 to support the leadership transition prior to his retirement in April 2025. He joined Mountain Association’s board in 2003 and served as board treasurer and board chair before joining Mountain Association’s staff in 2012 as Executive Vice President, overseeing our programs in energy, forestry, lending and business support, as well as finance and operations. During his tenure, Peter has helped expand Mountain Association’s work in many ways,

Peter’s favorite activity in Eastern Kentucky is floating the Cumberland River.

Mountain Association
https://mtassociation.org/
The Mountain Association is a nonprofit, established in 1976, that invests in people and places in Eastern Kentucky to advance a just transition to a new economy that is more diverse, sustainable, equitable and resilient. We serve this mission in a number of ways. Our Lending team offers loans to existing and startup businesses and organizations. Because we are a Community Development Financial Institution and a nonprofit, we can offer greater flexibility and lend to those who may not otherwise qualify. Unlike most traditional lenders, we offer flexible payment schedules and a variety of other services.

Our Business Support program connects business owners and nonprofit leaders to consultants who can help them succeed – from website development to social media marketing, and more.

Our Energy experts help businesses, organizations and public agencies find much-needed energy savings. We do this through utility bill analysis, on-site energy efficiency and solar assessments, grant application support, and financing.

We also engage in research, communications and advocacy for policy and narrative change, and work with partners on a variety of projects to demonstrate what’s possible in Eastern Kentucky.

 

Tour FBC Corbin Food Pantry and Mustard Seed Garden

9:30
FBC Corbin Food Pantry

Since 1990, the Food Pantry at First Baptist Church has been supplying food to hungry and economically disadvantaged persons in the Corbin community. Our food pantry serves approximately 1100 families each year, providing food to approximately 2000 people. The Food Pantry is located in the FBC Family Life Center beside the church. It is open every Thursday from 12-2 PM.

Mustard Seed Garden

First Baptist Church is a community that celebrates the goodness of God’s creation and the Christian call to steward it properly. To that end, the Mustard Seed Garden at First Baptist Church was planted in the spring of 2016 to serve as a resource for educating our community about gardening, healthy eating, creation care, and human-land interconnectedness. Crops from our garden go directly to hungry persons from the Corbin community and to educating our congregation and community on food preparation and healthy lifestyles. Each week, partner families receive a box of freshly harvested vegetables, and in return those families help us in the garden and attend our food preparation classes. We have chosen to call our garden “The Mustard Seed Garden” because, though it begins with 12 beds and serves but a modest number of local families, our faithful prayer is that it will grow ten-fold, stretching across our church property and feeding more and more hungry members of the Corbin community

 

Food Pantries Roundtable

10:15
After a tour of FBC Corbin Mustard Seed Garden and Food Pantry, TFH Appalachia Coalition Members lead a Roundtable Dialogue on Food Pantries
  • Challenges?
  • What's working?
  • Questions?
  • Why we do this (what is your inspiration)?

Facilitated by:

Janie Adkins, First Baptist Church Corbin Food Pantry
Linda Witt, The Food Place & Emma Quire Mission Center, Owsley County, KY
Chelsy Pittman, Cooperative Christian Ministry, Middlesboro, KY

 

Meet the Coalition

11:15-12:15
Learn from the Wisdom and Experience of the TFH Appalachia Coalition Members:
The TFH Appalachia Coalition
Introductions
What's New
What are the Challenges
What are we Celebrating

The TFH Appalachia Coalition

 

Closing Reflections & Benediction
with Rev. Alex Lockridge, pastor of First Baptist Church, Corbin KY

4:05
Meet in the beautiful FBC Corbin Sanctuary for some closing reflections and Benediction with good friend of Together for Hope, Rev. Alex Lockridge.

First Baptist Church, Corbin, Kentucky

 

Film Screening: Rising Hope
An award winning documentary film that features TFH president, Jason Coker, and some TFH partners and friends.

6:00 p.m. at FBC Corbin

"An elegant tapestry of human experience, with beautiful cinematography, it is a moving exploration of what can be from the people who believe it will be."
--Oxford Film Festival

In this cinematic portrait of the forgotten Mississippi Delta, Rising Hope follows inspirational individuals who, despite challenging personal hardships, are determined to keep hope alive in their communities and turn the tables on the degrading narrative of rural poverty.

From coast to coast, Rising Hope starts conversations about race, class, and hope for a more equitable world – both inside and outside Mississippi. These types of meaningful conversations can ignite widespread change and have the opportunity to transform rural America and the lives of many.

Rising Hope Trailer

Rising Hope Facebook

instagram.com/risinghopefilm

risinghopefilm.com

 
 
 
Screenshot 2024-12-19 at 11.28.11 AM
 
 

Hotel Options

Hampton Inn Corbin KY

125 Adams Road, Corbin, Kentucky, 40701
606-523-5696

Website

3 miles from First Baptist Church, Corbin

  • Free Hot Breakfast
  • Fitness Center
  • Indoor Swimming Pool
  • Spa
  • Pets Allowed (conditions apply)
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Corbin

1973 Cumberland Falls Hwy, Corbin, Kentucky, 40701
877-859-5095

Website

4 miles from First Baptist Church, Corbin

  • Free Breakfast
  • Health/Fitness Center
  • Indoor Swimming Pool
  • No Pets Allowed
Baymont by Wyndham Corbin

174 Adams Rd, Corbin, Kentucky 40701
833-577-7787

Website

3 miles from First Baptist Church, Corbin

  • Free Continental Breakfast
  • Fitness Center
  • Spa
  • Indoor Swimming Pool

 

Local Attractions

Cumberland Falls State Park - 25 minutes
https://parks.ky.gov/explore/cumberland-falls-state-resort-park-7786
7351 Highway 90, Corbin, KY 40701

Known as the 'Niagara of the South,' the 125-foot curtain of water falling into a boulder-strewn gorge is dramatic day or n ight. But it is only during a full moon that you can see the moonbow, a phenomenon not found anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere!

Harlan Sanders Cafe and Museum - The Original Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant - Birthplace of KFC - 3 minutes
https://www.sanderscafe.com/
688 U.S. Highway 25 West, Corbin, Kentucky 40701

“IT ALL STARTED IN CORBIN”, Colonel Sanders’ original restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken®. Carefully restored and placed on the National Register of Historical Places, you will see it as it appeared in the 1940’s. Experience eating delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken® in the Colonel’s dining room and take in his innovative open-kitchen and model motel room. Also view the exhibits featuring the Colonel’s artifacts and memorabilia from the early days of KFC®.

The Pinball Museum of Corbin - .4 miles
https://pinballcorbin.com/
112 S Main Street, Corbin, KY 40701

The Pinball Museum of Corbin offers more than just the memories of days gone by; it allows you to experience them all over again. If you find yourself chasing nostalgia, then stopping by this excellent establishment will be the very thing you’re looking for. See historical information about the history of Pinball through actual working machines from 1969 to 2022. Read about the history of Pinball and see how machines look on the inside. A single entrance fee of $18 allows customers to play on any and all of the Pinball and video machines for as long as they want. A large arcade with redemption machines has also been added along with a nice eating area where food, drinks & snacks can be purchased.

Cinema Social - 4 miles
https://www.cinemasocial.com
1871 Cumberland Falls Hwy, Corbin, KY

Features family and group entertainment including movie theater, Omni Arena, Simulator Suite, Hyperbowl, arcade and full restaurant.

Tomahawks - .4 miles
https://www.facebook.com/TomahawksLLC
108 East 3rd street Suite 2, Corbin, KY

We feature nationally regulated axe throwing lanes, simulated golf, cornhole, billiards, and more!

Corbin Tourism & Convention Commission
https://corbinkytourism.com