Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 6.11 Tourism and Development
Presentation #1 Title
Porch Sitting Politics: The Life of Tommy Walsh
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Community Development initiatives require integrating differing values of a group and the achievement of mutually decided goals. Often there is an individual who takes on the role of facilitator and organizer. These individuals tend to be rooted in the community and are often referred to as “Organic Intellectuals.” Tommy Walsh is a vanguard of community organization and has been facilitating sustainable development in the Southern Appalachian Region for the over forty years. His work has many foci from activism, entrepreneurship, tourism, management of political campaigns, and the creation of community based non-profit organizations. Through his work, Walsh has facilitated the creation of the Doc & Merle Watson Folk Art Museum, Elk Knob State Park, and the Virginia Creeper Trail. Walsh’s oral history will be paired with an analysis of participatory development, place based identity formation, and structural literacy. The goal of this project is to show Walsh as an example of an organic intellectual who has facilitated sustainable community formation in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Willard C. Watson III is a pursuing a Masters of Arts in Appalachian Studies with a concentration on Sustainability, from Appalachian State University's Center for Appalachian Studies. He is the great-grandson of folk-dancer and toy maker Willard C. Watson from Deep Gap, NC.
Porch Sitting Politics: The Life of Tommy Walsh
Harris Hall 236
Community Development initiatives require integrating differing values of a group and the achievement of mutually decided goals. Often there is an individual who takes on the role of facilitator and organizer. These individuals tend to be rooted in the community and are often referred to as “Organic Intellectuals.” Tommy Walsh is a vanguard of community organization and has been facilitating sustainable development in the Southern Appalachian Region for the over forty years. His work has many foci from activism, entrepreneurship, tourism, management of political campaigns, and the creation of community based non-profit organizations. Through his work, Walsh has facilitated the creation of the Doc & Merle Watson Folk Art Museum, Elk Knob State Park, and the Virginia Creeper Trail. Walsh’s oral history will be paired with an analysis of participatory development, place based identity formation, and structural literacy. The goal of this project is to show Walsh as an example of an organic intellectual who has facilitated sustainable community formation in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
