Biography Page

M. Ray Allen,, born in Martin, Ky., holds three college degrees, two from Morehead State University, an A.B. degree with a double major in English and physical education (1963), an MA degree in secondary education (1965), and the third, an MFA degree in theater arts from UCLA (1980).

  Having taught on the secondary level, two years in Kentucky, two years in Michigan, and 11 years in California during which he coached baseball, basketball, football, cross country, and YPF physical fitness at one time or another, he was hired as varsity basketball coach at Alleghany County High School on Aug. 28, 1977.  At ACHS, he also served as the varsity golf coach. In 1981, his Colts won what turned out to be the only varsity basketball championship in the school’s 20-year history.

  In 1986, Ray founded Appalfolks of America Association (AAA), a nonprofit corporation, to promote the literary and performing arts while preserving Appalachian heritage and advocating for drug-free creativity.

   In 1990, he was inducted as the 80th member of the Morehead State University Alumni Hall of Fame for his literary achievements, his career in education, and his community service work with AAA.

  The author of five books of poems and winner of 16 poetry contests, Ray marred Cherie Suzanne Davis of Clifton Forge in 1973, and the couple have four grown children. Cherie, who served as Miss Virginia in 1968, became the first chairman of AAA’s Board of Directors.

  The Allens purchased the Buckhorne Country Store and Campground near Douthat State Park in 2000, and both have built the business that has now hosted visitors from all 50 states and 11 foreign countries. Ray retired after 41 years during which he taught 11 subjects and held  head coaching positions in five sports.

  He is featured in Encyclopedia of Appalachia, a 2006 publication by the University of Tennessee Press, as a post-World War II poet, and Appalfolks of America was cited in the publication for the organization’s good work with Appalachian youth.