On September 7, Appalachian Connection board members John Cornett and George Fitz appeared on the WYMT-TV evening news, along with our 2016 Scholar Lauren Little, to talk about the launch of Appalachian Connection. Lauren Osborne, a reporter with WYMT-TV did a fantastic job describing our mission. A huge thank you to all the staff at WYMT for helping spread the word. You can see the entire interview here.

Here is a transcript:

PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT)- Earlier this year, the first ever Appalachian Connection Scholarship was given to a Hazard High School student.

The scholarship was created by folks who grew up here that have since left the area, but say their mission is to help Appalachia in the years ahead.

John Cornett and George Fitz, who are from Hazard, are part of the effort.

“We’re seeking to connect students from Appalachia to higher educational opportunities,” said Cornett.

Cornett says two years ago he sat down with a classmate from the Air Force Academy, Patrick Farrell.

They started planning a way to give back to their home. So they created the Appalachian Connection, a $10,000 dollar scholarship for high school students in Appalachia.

“We hope that they further their education and bring the skills they learned back to Eastern Kentucky,” said Cornett.

The scholarship was presented back in April to Hazard High School student Lauren Little.
Little says she has big dreams for herself and Eastern Kentucky.

“This scholarship is going to help me be able to go to Alice Lloyd and get a pre-med and biology degree to go into the medical field so I can come back here and do great things for the people here,” said Little.