The 2011 Brushy Fork Annual Institute will be held September 20-23 in Berea, Kentucky on the campus of Berea College. The preliminary agenda has been posted, along with information about the keynote speaker Jeff Yost and this year's workshop tracks. For a sense of the kinds of conversations that take place at this great event, proceedings from previous years' Institutes are available on the Brushy Fork website.
The goals of the Annual Institute support participants ability to get hands-on training through workshops; hear new ideas and explore regional issues; and connect with other people and organizations working to improve life in Appalachian communities.
Since 1988, Brushy Fork Institute has worked to develop strong leadership in Appalachian communities throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. An outreach program of Berea College, the Institute offers leadership training, organizational development workshops and technical assistance to communities working for a better tomorrow.
Each September, Brushy Fork offers an Annual Institute, which includes a variety of intensive workshop tracks as well as plenary sessions on regional issues. The Annual Institute is designed for community leaders, volunteers and organizations and agencies that serve communities. Learn more here.
Press Release Announcing 2011 Institute:
Brushy Fork is excited to offer its 2011 Annual Institute, which will explore how rural communities can create ways to capture local resources and head off the impacts of an expected transfer of wealth to younger generations who have left the region. Our keynote address will feature Jeff Yost whose Nebraska Community Foundation has been a national model for creating prosperity in rural communities. We will also feature a special track on community foundations and other avenues for creating a basket to capture wealth.
We will still offer fourteen tracks, information about which can be viewed on the Annual Institute website. Come learn to create and maintain your own web site, keep the books for your organization, troubleshoot issues faced by executive level staff, or create strategies for community development. Make sure you also take advantage of the Early Bird Sessions and casual cook-out on Tuesday, September 20th.
We strongly encourage you to register online by going to www.brushyfork.org today!
Kentucky ARC Community Teams Scholarships are available again this year for the distressed counties in eastern Kentucky. Contact Jane Higgins by email (jane_higgins@berea.edu) or phone (859-985-3436) for more information.