Rance Garrison

Born and raised in Southwest Virginia, Rance grew up in Pennington Gap in Lee County. He joined the Appalachian Voices communications team in March of 2023 after earning an MBA from Milligan University and a Master of Arts in Ministry from Milligan’s Emmanuel Christian Seminary.

Prior to joining the Appalachian Voices staff, Rance worked in a variety of public relations, marketing, data analysis, customer service and technical support roles. He also served two terms as an Americorps VISTA at WMMT-FM, the community radio station owned by Appalshop in Kentucky where he was also the host of the weekly late-night alternative rock radio program “The Basement.”

Rance is very passionate about helping to build and promote Southwest Virginia’s new economy, and is grateful to be a part of the Southwest Virginia team, where he gets an incredible front-row view of the amazing and sustainable ways the regional economy is growing.

Rance currently resides in the City of Norton with his wife, dog and cats. When he isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his friends and family, playing video games, lifting weights and writing and recording songs. A prolific songwriter, he has recorded and independently released several albums of original music.