Scholarship program sparks Briceville’s renaissance

January 1, 2025 by Ken Leinart Special to The Courier News

The Renaissance was a period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries.

It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and surpass the ideas and achievements of classical antiquity.

Now is a time of renaissance in Briceville.

In the beginning, 23 years ago, it didn’t seem like the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation was ushering in a new era, a new mindset, to this small Appalachian town.

It was a way to instill change — to let the students who graduated from elementary school there see that they had as much value as children from anywhere else and that they could have a future beyond the Briceville town limits.

And then a funny thing happened, as it often does when good things take hold.

The Coal Creek Watershed Foundation Scholarship Program flourished — not because of the number of students receiving scholarships, although there are many, but because it has generated a new wave of Briceville residents and given them the tools to take on the world.

“You gotta start somewhere,” Barry Thacker, P.E., said of the beginning of the scholarship program.

“If one generation goes to college, that takes care of the problem,” he said. “From that point on, they will be equipped to make sure their kids are ready.

“And what better way of motivating students than to see people that used to sit in their seats to show them they can go to college?”

Part of being a Coal Creek Scholar is a commitment to return to Briceville Elementary School and talk to fourth- and fifth-graders — not just about becoming a scholar, but about how much being one can impact their lives.

The commitment to return lasts as long as a scholar has a scholarship.

“We have six under scholarship, so they had to be here,” Thacker said last Thursday, Dec. 19, during the annual Coal Creek Scholarship Day at Briceville Elementary.

“And we had 11 more, and they’re done; they didn’t have to be here,” he said.

“They do it because they love these kids. They love this community.”

There are more stories than stars in heaven about the positive impact of the scholarship program.

One of the prevailing themes with the 17 speakers last Thursday was “choice.”

Not all graduating high school seniors know what they want to get from college or trade school. They’re 17 or 18 years old and just aren’t sure.

There are exceptions. Kyle Leinart was a computer geek in elementary school, high school, college, and at work.

As a team leader with Microsoft, he knew what he wanted. Now he has returned to his “home” to share what he knows and what he can do. He’ll be bringing Minecraft Education to Briceville Elementary.

Minecraft Education includes the popular game, but more importantly, it has teaching programs for students to take advantage of.

Jonathan Sharp, a 2008 recipient, wasn’t sure what he wanted to major in when he went to Eastern Kentucky University.

Now he builds houses for families.

Francis-Lee Braden Dougherty used her scholarship to major in one area, then branched out. Now she and her husband own four businesses and employ 15 people.

There were similar stories shared.

“An education gives you choices,” scholar Ricky Bailey said. Bailey is a copywriter and a successful marketer, and he brings his work home — back to Briceville.

“I live about two miles from here,” he told the students.

During its 23 years, the scholarship program has grown, not just in the number of scholars, but also in the impact on Briceville and the network of people standing by to help.

“It can be hard, but I was able to reach out to Barry and Carol and some of the other (scholars) for advice, and that makes a difference,” Sharp said of his college days.

The renaissance in Briceville is real. It’s happening.

But it takes work.

“If you do well in school, if you apply yourself, then you can apply for a scholarship,” Thacker said.