Case Study Magoffin County, Kentucky The Challenge: Magoffin County sits at the end of the Kentucky Mountain Parkway, bringing many visitors to the hills and valleys of Appalachia. Its boundaries are mindful of a key with the majority of citizens in a large area in the north, and a peninsula-like part that juts south with fewer residents. Given the geographic features of this part of the state, those folks in the southern end of the county are cut off from the others; they have no cable television, and their closest media outlet is from a station in West Virginia. All of the attention to county business emanates from the northern sections, and those on the south end are just out of luck. Link this reality with the Appalachian culture of poverty and, as one Sparkplug says, “diminished expectations”, and there is much to be done in the way of helping people help themselves. Current data shows the population of the county at 13,166, with, again, whites at 99.1% and African-Americans at .03%.1 The income report from Appalachian Regional Commission, 2010 indicates that the per capita personal income level is at $20,216, and the average wages and salaries are $26,452. Nearly 24% of citizens live with an annual income of under $10,000, another 14.9% are under $14,999, and yet 19.3% live under $25,000.2 National figures indicate that the median income in the U. S. is $51,425, estimated to be in 2009.3 Fully 28.3% of the families live under the poverty level.4 Substance abuse is rampant, health care is a life long problem, and by the time a fire department response team could get to the folks in the south end of the county, the house was burned to the ground. Outsiders are viewed with suspicion, and tradition says, “We can’t do that here”. The challenges are many. Where We Are: Magoffin County has come a long way. Looking around the county, one can observe the new Health Department building, open and serving the various needs of the community. The prevailing philosophy of that Department is that if the specific health outcomes affect the entire community. This clean, busy place offers information and assistance on a myriad number of issues. The disenfranchised and isolated southern part of the county is becoming a vital part in the sense of community of Magoffin. They have worked together, having auctions and bean soup suppers, in order to help fund the building of a new fire station in their neighborhood. They were able to get trucks and equipment from other places throughout the state, someone donated land for it, and today, there is fire protection for those south county citizens. A new health initiative is working to change the environment in the county, beginning with the teenagers. Called “screen and clean”, the program puts drug-testing materials in the hands of the parents, and THEY administer the tests at any time they feel necessary. This program has actually gotten the support of the students in the schools there, and they have not only embraced it and the philosophy of “being clean” but they have also made a video for YouTube singing/rapping the positives of the program. As a direct result of the progress made in Magoffin County toward living the quote “if the problem is in the community, the solution is in the community”, they have been asked by the University of Kentucky to participate in a proposal to the CDC. Entitled, Magoffin County CAN! this program aims to change the activities and nutrition of the children. Solely based on past successes, Magoffin County is the only county in the State of Kentucky to be a part of the proposal, and the University is writing it. Time will tell, but Magoffin county people believe they can, and they have the successes to show for it. The Sparkplug: Bertie K. Salyer is a dyed-in-the-wool native of the Eastern Kentucky hills. She has a passion about her place, and bringing improvements in the quality of life there. Never at a loss for words, this cheery Director of the Public Health Department is responsible for many of the changes that have already occurred, and though she will officially retire this summer, she knows that she is not resigning from being an active citizen. She came from “over the mountain” and had to wait to be accepted as a part of the culture. In addition, she has lived in the areas where poverty is prevalent, and a defeatist attitude is the norm. As a social work teacher she saw the results of the ills of poverty, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, unemployment, and lack of opportunities. She understands the folks who feel dependent, but that serves to make her more committed to changing these ideas for those that are more positive. Skills that serve her well were garnered over a lifetime of experience: chief among those she cites as giving her legitimacy is that of being a Department Chair of Social Sciences and Related Technologies at the Community College and teaching at UK. However, when she had the chance to come home and attack those social problems on the front end, she jumped at it. She uses her network like a fine musician uses her instrument…it becomes an extension of herself. Trust is another component that she exudes. As with other of our leaders, she understands what they are going through, and they know it. Getting the people in South Magoffin together with those in the north was not an easy task…but she did it. “Collaboration” is a key word in her “lessons from life”. Bringing people together is not an easy task, but one that breeds success once they learn to work together. But one of the most serious challenges to her as a leader is the political structure and culture in Kentucky. She stepped into a county where relatives often got jobs, whether they were qualified or not, and she refused to play the game. She wanted to hire the best-qualified person for that particular job. Her independence also set the stage for others to respect her. There is much to say about the accomplishments of Bertie K. Salyer, but everyone will agree that under her leadership, things got done, and attitudes began to change. Chief Characteristics of this Sprkplug: * Leaders believe in collaboration. * Leaders engender enthusiasm. * Leaders use their networks, and create others as they go along. * Leaders are a product of their own experiences. * Leaders are constantly searching for opportunities. * Leaders are patient, especially when waiting to be accepted as “one of us”. * Leaders have the fire in their belly about their own place. * Leaders never quit, they may seek other venues in which to lead, but they never quit. 1 Quick Facts from the U.S Census Bureau, 2009 estimate. 2 American Fact Sheet, Magoffin County, KY economic/income figures 2009 estimated 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid.