If you ask H.D. “Breezy” Wynn II, Appalachia’s greatest resource isn’t coal, timber, or industry. He will tell you it’s young people.¶
Wynn, an entrepreneur, founded the Genesis Generation Foundation to bridge the gap between East Tennessee students facing economic disadvantages and other hardships and the information and resources needed to obtain a postsecondary education. Specifically, Wynn emphasized the concept of “disconnected youth,” young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who lack connections to career paths or earning potential beyond minimum-wage jobs. He hopes to provide them with agency, belief, and opportunities for growth.¶
“From the financial aspect of it, and from raising a family, and from being a parent, and from being a good spouse, if my pinnacle (and) the highest I can ever achieve in my mind is only going to be (making) minimum wage… That's not very inspirational,” Wynn said.¶
Appalachia Sessions
The Measure of America project claims that about 10.9 percent of young Americans, roughly 4.3 million, experience disconnection, with rates being higher among young men than young women. Early risks for disconnection include school suspensions, mental health issues, economic disadvantages, and housing instability; the latter two, Wynn says, affect many young men in West Tennessee.¶
“They're deeply poor,” Wynn said. “They’ve got everything going against them.”¶
That is where the idea for Appalachia Sessions Live was born. In 2023, while Wynn was working with the East Tennessee Historical Society, he was asked to create it to increase their mission visibility.¶
“I thought, ‘We have this huge population of children that have no hope, that have no future, that are disconnected, and we have this museum, and we have these incredible resources here,’” Wynn said. “And so I thought, ‘What's our greatest capital?’”¶
The answer was music.¶
“East Tennessee is the birthplace of multiple different types of music,” Wynn said. “Look at all of the music that came from this region and continues to pour out of this region that inspires the world, and the world taps its toes too.”¶
It started out as a simple field trip, and over the years the program has evolved into a day split into multiple parts that focuses on identity, job preparation, access to opportunity, and more. The program even includes a concert broadcast live for those who can't attend. Wynn said many of the children who attend have never seen a concert before.¶
“The first couple shows we did, the kids would just sit there and look around,” Wynn said. “They wouldn't move. They're like little statues, and I thought there was something wrong… Then it dawned on me. I was like, ‘These kids have never been to a concert before. How do they know how to respond?’”¶
There are six Appalachia Sessions Live events this year across the region, and Wynn hopes to expand the program even further.¶
Genesis Generation
From the success of Appalachia Live, Wynn formed the Genesis Generation Foundation in 2024, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the core mission of building young leaders and addressing disconnected youth in East Tennessee through new approaches. “GenGen,” as it is colloquially called, operates Appalachia Sessions Live and has also created the Bridge Scholarship program to provide direct financial support to promising young students in Appalachia. The scholarships range from $500 to $5,000 and can be used for tuition, professional training, equipment and tools for a career path, and other career and educational needs.¶
GenGen has also launched a Startup Accelerator to support middle- and high-school students interested in launching startups, nonprofits, research projects, and inventions before graduating high school.¶
More information on the nonprofit and its programs is available on its website.¶
