Guest speaker highlight: Wayne Winkler. Wayne Winkler, is an author and was a manager at public radio station WETS-FM in Johnson City, Tennessee (he is now since retired). He is former president of the Melungeon Heritage Association and is the author of Walk Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia (2004, Mercer University Press). His recent novel Beyond the Sunset: the Melungeon Outdoor Drama 1969-1976 was released in 2019. He tells the compelling story of the outdoor drama about the Melungeons staged in an attempt to attract tourists to Hancock County, Tennessee which was the eighth poorest county in the nation in 1968. Winkler will be sharing his extensive knowledge about the history and ancestry of the Melungeon people.
Wayne Winkler will be presenting on Friday, June 20th at the Langston Center in downtown Johnson City, Tennessee. Guest speaker schedule and line-up will be posted closer to the conference.
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