By Jordan Brooks

jordan.brooks@middlesboronews.com

The Bell County Chamber of Commerce along with Elevation Sports Performance held a Lunch and Learn for chamber members about its service.

Owner Jimmy Corum spoke about his decision to open a new business, from inception, through growth and his commitment to his local community.

Corum is a native of Bell County, and a graduate of Bell County High School and the University of Kentucky.

“I always had the dream that I wanted to open my own practice,” said Corum.

Elevation hosts educational events and visits other organizations to spread information about physical and occupational therapy.

According to Corum, Elevation hosts events with the senior citizen center, and is able to do activities with them that they may not otherwise be able to do such as yoga.

Elevation also offers treatment to teachers and staff at local schools, setting up a space to evaluate faculty members for issues such as neck pain or knee pain. Also with the local schools, Elevation occasionally does health fairs, where he not only talks about career options, but also nutrition, exercise and the importance of hydration. Corum says Elevation also provides fitness classes for a wide age range in schools, such as yoga classes for children as young as preschool age.

Corum said in 2019 he was speaking to his friend and sharing his vision of starting a new business, and reasons why he wanted to start a new business.

“I told him how I wanted to create this place, and he simply said, ‘why wait?’” Corum said.

“I began to think that if I wanted to live here, work here, and die here, raise my kids here, why wouldn’t I want to do it on my own.”

Corum said he wasn’t sure what he wanted Elevation to look like, but he knew what he didn’t want it to look like. In the beginning, Corum said he set out to create a business that was community centered.

For Elevation, this looked like partnering with Cumberland Gap and Claiborne high school in Claiborne County, Thomas Walker in Lee County and Middlesboro High school in Bell County for athletic trainings services

Corum said in the beginning Elevation focused on its mission, which is supporting the community and its employees.

Elevation opened in May 2021 with just four employees. Today, Elevation employs 36 people, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, PTAs, athletic trainers, sports performance instructors, fitness instructors and more.

A wide range of classes allows for continued and preventative care.

According to Makenzie Corum, Jimmy Corum’s spouse, after the beginning steps, things began to happen organically.

“Our community involvement is pretty much about serving kids, but also educating the community as a whole,” she said.

Elevation works with Southeast Community and Technical College, participating in one of Southeast’s camp days in their summer program, reaching out to a large youth audience.

“Community involvement isn’t something that you win, or you do for just a short time,” said Corum. “You have to keep at it and just not stop.”