BRIGHT 2026: Building the Pikeville Legacy
Written by Alycia Johnson, Foster Family Liaison, All God's Children Kentucky
Building a lasting legacy. The theme of October’s BRIGHT experience in Pikeville and Prestonsburg. From the moment we entered the Pikeville Cut - Through Overlook to our final session at the Pikeville Medical Center, we were reminded that Kentucky always treasures the old while building for the future.
This carried through, for me, with a conversation in the Daniel Boone Forest while traveling to the Overlook. Sitting on a bench waiting for a cup of coffee, I met an older man in overalls with a legendary beard. He sat beside me and started telling his stories of the mountain. A retired coal miner who talked about how his journey of coal mining was something important to him about Kentucky - one that included both Pikeville and Prestonsburg. Pikeville, as a community, continued to express the importance of the rich history of coal mining in this region.
There was the mural at the Mountain Arts Center (MAC) of Loretta Lynn - known for her song “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. We spent a day exploring Floyd County, proudly directed byJeni Meyer - a student of BRIGHT with a deep family history in the mountains dating back to the 1800s, on a local school bus and were shown towns that had started as coal mining communities. While exploring Wayland, Kentucky - a town in recovery from floods - BRIGHT students were shown the deep history of coal mining in the region.
Perhaps the highlight of this region’s history was hearing our own Chris Caldwell speak of his love for the community and work at StoneCrest Golf. We learned that StoneCrest Golf was a reclaimed strip mine site that became a golf course in 2001. Chris and the community make sure to celebrate the land’s history while looking towards how to build for the future. That future is bright with the beautiful golf course and terrain that draws people from everywhere to come celebrate the region and golf.
We continued to find more celebration of legacy, through family and music, in the mountains. First, with another BRIGHT student, Eli Matthews and his mother. Missy Matthews, President of Double Kwik, spoke about her father’s decision to turn down multiple promotions to continue to build a legacy in the Appalachian region. His legacy continues to leave a positive impact - with incredible gas stations continuing to be preserved by his own family.
As we left this trip and the incredible people building , some of us circled right back through the mountains - by the MAC center. A place we were told continues to build a legacy of music beyond Loretta Lynn’s story. Just recently, a family shared they had experienced a Randy Travis concert. His legacy continued - with modern technology. He can no longer sing - but held a concert where he used AI to generate his voice and play music while he and his wife sat there on the stage. Of all the places in the world, he chose the MAC center to spend his wedding anniversary sharing brand new music. This is what eastern Kentucky is all about. Building a legacy created in the past and utilizing the tools of the future.
