Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), Inc. — an innovation hub that serves the founders and startups in 54 counties in Eastern Kentucky — has recently named Sabrina McWhorter as its director of business and innovation.
She is leading SOAR’s four-person innovation team, with the recent hiring of Kacy Hicks as startup engagement coordinator.
For McWhorter, the appointment continues her climb at the organization that she first came across while working as small-business owner/founder of a women’s boutique clothing store that she ran in Morehead, Kentucky, by the name of Sage.
“I didn’t have any business background or ownership,” said McWhorter, who had worked as a veterinary technician for more than a decade before starting her business. “I just knew that I wanted to add something to our town.”
At the time, McWhorter was already helping fellow small business owners learn how to leverage technology, building sites and selling their products online.
“I thought, ‘Man, that’s literally listing everything that I’m already helping people with but it’s an actual, real position,'” said McWhorter about a posting for a “business and innovation champion” — similar to the job of the person who had introduced her to SOAR in the first place.
When she joined SOAR in December 2019, she was in charge of working with entrepreneurs in eight counties in Eastern Kentucky. That number expanded to 42 counties when she became the manager of business and innovation in Sept. 2021 — and later expanded to the current 54 county footprint.
“Just helping other small businesses became something I absolutely fell in love with,” McWhorter said. “I’m having more fun helping other people because I just love seeing small downtowns really explode.”
Headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky, SOAR served 749 startups in various capacities in 2022, while creating 64 new jobs and helping fund 26 startups. A little more than $3.4 million was awarded in 2022 to the Eastern Kentucky startups that the organization represents. McWhorter said as of Wednesday, she had 81 open projects with startup clients.
On the horizon
SOAR will be hosting its first EKY Gala from 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
“That is something that is really going to be used as a platform to highlight some of the amazing things that people and organizations are doing across Eastern Kentucky,” McWhorter said.
McWhorter also announced this year’s Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition will take place on June 15 on the campus of Morehead State University with Community Trust Bank as the main sponsor. Applications will open soon.
Finalists will receive support and training from the SOAR Innovation Team and other sponsors. During last year’s event, the winner received $10,000, with second place getting $3,500 and third place getting $1,500.
Later down the road will be the 2023 SOAR Summit, to be held at The Corbin Arena in Corbin, Kentucky, the same site of the 2021 event. The exact dates have not been released, but it is believed to be around the same time of the 2022 event, which brought more than 1,400 attendees from Oct. 19-20, 2022, to Pikesville to check out more than 100 exhibitors.
SOAR is one of KY Innovation's six innovation hubs whose mission is to serve as connectors among those in the startup/tech space within certain communities — including founders, business accelerators, incubator programs, universities, companies and industry leaders. The other five hubs are Awesome Inc. (Lexington), Amplify Louisville, GroWest (Paducah), CREATE (Bowling Green) and Blue North (Covington).
