It’s around 3 a.m. on a weekday in Bowling Green, KY. Although some of the city’s residents have just reached the halfway mark in their night shifts at businesses like Walmart, Kroger, Waffle House and Denny’s, most of the people in the city are lying comfortably in their beds, lost in their slumbers. However, there is one man who lies in bed, antsy, fighting the urge to get up. He isn’t working per se but he’s not quite resting either. He’s somewhere in between, eyes opened, swimming in a flood of thoughts, stimulated by a mind that just won’t stop moving, plotting his next chess move.
The man in question is Eric Logan, the ambitious and community-minded Founder and Executive Director of Light of Chance, Inc., a young nonprofit organization that specializes in empowering communities and changing lives. Though he never imagined he’d be doing the kind of work he’s doing today, through Light of Chance, Logan has found his purpose and is realizing his dreams of making the world a better place, one person at a time, one community at a time, one city at a time.
Light of Chance offers a variety of special events geared toward educating, empowering, entertaining and uplifting the community, such as debt management workshops, health and fitness camps and sports tournaments. However, the organization is more widely known for its signature event, Aspire: A Weekend of Revitalization.
Light of Chance’s annual Aspire Weekend consists of a teen summit, where youth between the ages of 12 and 18 engage in a series of informative and interactive workshops; a concert with performances from local and regional artists from various genres; and a praise-filled nondenominational gospel explosion.
After four successful years in his hometown of Madisonville, KY, last year, Logan decided to extend the Aspire experience to Bowling Green. Though introducing something new to a city can pose its own set of challenges, the endeavor resulted in what Logan referred to as “the best one [Aspire] in terms of quality.”
“It was what we had been striving for since the concept began,” he adds.
After yielding such great results, it’s no surprise that Logan is bringing Aspire Weekend back to Bowling Green July 23-24, and he’s expecting it to be bigger and better than ever.
“We’re fresh off our fifth annual Aspire Weekend in Madisonville, which topped the great weekend we had in Bowling Green last year,” he says. “With our great team of volunteers and mentors, I expect this year’s Bowling Green Aspire to outdo the awesome weekend we just had in Madisonville. As a whole, we will entertain, empower and inspire more people than ever and I’m extremely excited about that.”
Sharing Logan’s sentiments is Greg Moore, an educator and youth mentor currently residing in Cincinnati, OH. Moore, who has played an integral role in Aspire Weekend since its inception, has volunteered his time toward the event in various capacities, including workshop facilitator, mentor and master of ceremony of the gospel explosion.
“When Eric called me about his plans for this program over five years ago, I knew it was something I had to be a part of,” he explains. “Other than having a heart for the success of youth, I saw this as another opportunity to directly impact their lives outside of their comfort zone, in a positive manner.”
Moore describes Aspire as “an ideal program tailored toward reinforcing hope, passion for success and encouraging youth to map out a plan to reach and exceed their dreams.”
This year’s teen summit will be held Saturday, July 23rd, at Western Kentucky University’s Mass Media Technology Hall and Downing University Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with workshops ranging from “Sex & Healthy Relationships” to “Influence of Media & Pop Culture.” Teens will also have a choice of a number of performing arts-related sessions such as music, spoken word, acting, dancing and stepping. The summit is free and open to all middle and high school students. Registration for the summit will begin at 9 a.m.
The concert will be held Saturday evening at WKU’s Van Meter Auditorium. It will be hosted by Nashville-based comedian, Brian “B Cov” Covington and will feature performances by a talented roster of pop, hip hop, soul, R&B and jazz artists, including Noizejoi, Damien Horne, Darnell Levine, Shaun Melody, Asia Bryant, Ms. Chifvon Quick, ESQ, Hura Season and American Idol’s own, Kendra Chantell. The show will start at 7:30 p.m., and tickets can be purchased for $7 in advance and $10 at the door.
The gospel explosion will be held Sunday, July 24th, at 3 p.m., at State Street Baptist Church, located at 340 State Street. The service will feature the Youth Choir and the Princes of Praise, of Stoney Point Baptist Church, Teen Skits of Deliverance from 11th Street Baptist Church and the Alpha Knights step team from Alpha Baptist Church. Allataye Russ, of Friendship Baptist Church and Guildfield Baptist Church, will serve as the guest speaker.
Of the work he’s done through Light of Chance and Aspire, Logan says, “In the midst of empowering and inspiring people within the community, they have also empowered and inspired me.”
“Aspire has helped me elevate my dreams, goals and overall life to a whole new level,” he concludes.
Speaking of dreams, let’s hope Logan is getting a little more sleep these days!
Story By: Shawn Whitsell