Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the first female Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and eldest daughter of Ethel and the late Robert Kennedy, will be the keynote speaker during the 10th annual Conference of the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE) and WV Access Center for Higher Education (WVACHE) to be held Oct. 2-4 at the Greenbrier Valley Campus of New River Community and Technical College.

Being held for the second time in the Greenbrier Valley, the Conference will also host Anne Pope, the federal co-chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission, who will be the keynote speaker for the Friday luncheon.

Other special guests expected on the Greenbrier Valley Campus for the conference are four of the five surviving Rocket Boys: Willie Rose, Roy Lee Cooke, Quentin Wilson and Jimmy O'Dell Carroll. The Rocket Boys were represented at the previous conference held on the GVC.

Townsend's visit to West Virginia continues an historic connection between the Kennedy family and Appalachia, especially the state of WV. Her uncle, the late President John F. Kennedy, visited the state and the Greenbrier Valley, several times during his campaign for the presidency in 1960 and his victory in WV's Democratic primary contributed greatly to his success in the November general election.

President Kennedy was assisted in his WV primary election campaign by his wife, Jacqueline, and siblings Robert, Eunice and Edward. While in the Greenbrier Valley, then Senator John Kennedy visited Ronceverte and White Sulphur Springs while Robert Kennedy visited Alderson and Lewisburg and Edward Kennedy covered other areas of the Valley.

President Kennedy also returned to WV to help celebrate the state's centennial, appearing in a driving rain storm in Charleston and saying on the steps of the state capitol, "The sun may not always shine in WV but the people do."

Pope, says her experience as a lawyer, businesswoman, and Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance are helping her meet challenges that include maximizing resources in a time of tight federal and state budgets. She says she now works "to ensure that ARC programs create opportunity and conditions for economic growth."

September 25, 2003

Submitted by Mike Williams