Shopper Blog: Tennessee Children’s Home fair introduces kids to first responders
Tennessee Children’s Home fair introduces kids to first responders
Nancy Anderson, Shopper News
It wasn’t quite the day Executive Director Richard Johnston imagined when he opened the east campus of Tennessee Children’s Home to visitors for a First Responder Fair on Oct. 8.
Attendance was light, some say due to the Tennessee vs. LSU ball game. Many of the first responders left for emergencies but came back later in the day to thrill the residents.
“I just wanted to show people what we do here and showcase the first responders,” said Johnston. My vision of the day was similar to something I saw when I was in the military. They held a health care fair for the community, for the younger kids. There were doctors, dentists, fire trucks, and ambulances. The kids went to each booth to see what they had to offer.
“Today I want our kids to see that first responders are nothing to fear. We also have several foster care agencies here today. Some of our residents come from foster care and had terrible home lives.
“We have state certified teachers to help catch them up in school, counseling, stability, and structure. I thought it would be nice to open up the campus and let people take tours inside the different houses. The kids are giving the tours and they’re very proud.
"I also want the kids to see the first responders in a positive light and give them the opportunity to talk with the professionals and see what a day in the life is like. You never know what might ignite their interest and show them a path to success.”
Sheriff’s Officer Glenn Simerly brought his duty motorcycle, allowing visitors and residents a turn sitting in the saddle.
“If I can convince just one of these kids that we’re here to help, we’re nothing to be afraid of, then I’ve done my job well,” said Simerly. “I love being a motorcycle cop; it’s more comfortable to me now than a car.”
Adding to the excitement was the sheriff’s helicopter circling overhead. Almost everyone stopped to watch it fly a few circles around campus then off into the distance. Several residents were overheard exclaiming “Wow!” and “Cool!”
Tyler Haines, an EMT with American Medical Response Inc., was on hand to give tours of his ambulance. He explained the equipment then what it was like to be an EMT.
“You have to be an adrenaline junkie, you have to care about people, and you have to study … a lot. It’s almost constant studying when you’re not on a call," Haines said.
G-tro, a bomb sniffing Belgian Malinois with Search on Site, was a popular attraction. He’s retired but still gave exciting demonstrations of finding the “bomb” and some of his many obedience tricks.
He wasn’t the only dog to get attention. Weeping Willow Miniature American Shepherds had several puppies on site, along with Wish, the miniature horse, who comes from sister farm Weeping Willow Miniatures. Wish was the star of the show, prancing around campus and saying a horsey “hello” to all.
Info: https://www.tennesseechildrenshome.org
WORDS OF FAITH
Pray and don't lose heart; run your route with faith
John Tirro, Shopper News
As a kid, I lived in a neighborhood with 11 kids, so we had excellent backyard football. I wasn’t the fastest, but I had a good arm, and I could make up some plays.
“OK, you three, when he snaps the ball, take a step back, waggle your arms over your head and gobble like a turkey. While they’re trying to figure out what’s going on, you run to the side. I’ll lateral to you. Meanwhile, you run three circles around that dogwood, then jump across the ditch, and you, as soon as you get the ball, pass it, so when she gets across the ditch, the ball is right there to catch."
Mostly we ran normal patterns, but now and again you need that turkey-gobble dogwood-circle ditch-hopper play. Put a pin in that.
When I was a young adult in Nashville, a recording engineer in our church had a last-minute problem. He was recording a tribute album to Andraé Crouch, writer of “Soon and Very Soon,” who also led the gospel choir on Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and taught yacht rock band, Ambrosia, how to make records. David Pack, lead singer of Ambrosia, was producing the tribute. They had a 70-person choir, various Christian stars of the time. They needed a rehearsal pianist, to teach them their parts, and I got the gig!
Part of the job was to to work with session singers a day ahead, to record guide vocals. I’m at the studio, and Crouch sweeps in saying, “On my way over, God told me somebody here needs to hear this. God wants to bless you, and it’s like a football play. God sends the blessing like a pass, arcing through the air, and tells you where to go to receive it. If you go, you’re there when it lands. If you’re not, it bounces on the ground. And God sends another blessing, and tells you where to go.”
Over and over, blessings arcing through the air like footballs, and instructions, what pattern to run. Things like, “Love your neighbor,” “Bear with one another in love,” “Put away the pointing of the finger,” "Satisfy the needs of the afflicted,” “Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable.”
In my experience, a lot of times there’s a temptation to give up, just before the blessing lands. Second circle around the dogwood, you get distracted or discouraged. Twenty-third mile of the marathon. Last bench press in a set. One more time playing the musical passage slowly, learning the fingering.
Hanging in there with someone you love — spouse, pastor, parishioner, parent or kid — getting past the irritation that something’s not the way you want it to be, getting through to loving and supporting, helping them heal and grow, experiencing your own healing and growth as you do.
We need to pray and not lose heart, to help us get across the ditch, to where the blessing is about to land.
John Tirro is pastor of music at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Info:sjlcknox.org.
HALLS
Crime drama shot in Knoxville hits Soho film festival
Ali James, Shopper News
A locally shot and produced movie, “Devil’s Hollow,” was screened at the Soho International Film Festival last weekend.
Chris Easterly wrote the script for “Devil’s Hollow” back in 2014 and shot a proof-of-concept trailer.
“Folks were attached and money committed, but like so many projects the money fell through and it didn’t get produced,” said Knoxville-based actor and producer Kelly Shipe. “Chris was back in Kentucky during the pandemic and said we should probably make this movie ourselves.”
Shipe and a longtime friend, actor and producer Leigh Ann Jernigan, had a socially distant meeting outside with Easterly and actors Shuler and Skyler Hensley.
“We started the ball rolling with Seed and Spark, a crowd fundraising site for creative projects and raised the initial amount to get started.”
They set a goal of finishing the movie in bite-sized pieces as “weekend warriors” over a period of one year.
“When you make something on such a low budget, you have to learn how to be craft services, script supervisors, line producers and AV. You learn to be the best you can be, and we had a goal to have it finished in a year and we did it,” Shipe said.“Devil’s Hollow” is a crime drama with a theme of redemption, according to Shipe. “It is a story about Bobby Hawkins, played by Tony award-winning Shuler Hensley, who was in an Appalachian crime ring. The rest of his crew got off the hook for a robbery because he took the fall and was in prison for 13 years.”
After his release, Hawkins wears an ankle monitor and is restricted to his family’s farm, “Devil’s Hollow.” He discovers that the crime ringleader has custody of his daughter, Shipe said.
“As things start heating up, there is an issue of missing money from the robbery,” she said. “A chain of events transpired as he cuts off his ankle monitor and sets out to save his daughter before the cops get him.”
The production team did as much as they could in-house. “There is so much talent in East Tennessee,” said Shipe. “People have been completely blown away that we didn’t fly out a cinematographer or send the film to LA for post-production.”
In September, the movie was shown to a packed house at the Knoxville Film Festival. On Oct. 9, Shipe and Jernigan attended the world premiere at the Soho film festival.
“The Louisville International Festival of Film was at the same time, and now that the festival run is over, we are in talks with some distributors about where it will be streaming so people can watch it,” said Shipe.
“Hugh Jackman saw one of the early screenings and has been publicly supportive, too,” Shipe continued. “Folks have expressed that it is a simple story well told, well written and well acted. Even with the smallest of crews we were committed to an excellent movie.”
Fountain City resident Shipe has worked in national commercials, film, theatre and prints since she graduated from the University of Tennessee theater program at 22 and packed up her car and followed her dream to Hollywood.
“I went out with an acting focus and met my best friend, Octavia Spencer, in classes with renowned acting coach Anita Jesse,” said Shipe. “It was all serendipitous that I was connected with these super talented people.”
Working at 21st Century Fox gave Shipe a foothold in film production. “I worked at the commissary for health insurance and it allowed time for auditions. I made friends and ended up working with Kiki Morris, the head of post-production services at 21st Century Fox. She had been in several Oliver Stone movies, and she was an absolutely encouraging boss.”
After Shipe had her first child she felt drawn back to East Tennessee. “I longed to be home; I wanted my son to be around family in a more settled space,” she said.
In the intervening years, Shipe co-produced and acted in a short film, “The Unforgiving Minute,” in 2012. The film was narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis and directed by Academy Award winner Spencer. “I always said that was like the learning annex for producing,” said Shipe.
In 2014, Shipe wrote, produced and starred in the award-winning “Candee.” Then in 2018, Shipe had the lead role of Rabi Xaler in the rock opera film “Flirting with Azrael.” In the fall of that year, Shipe also played the role of Adena Barnett in the Civil War-era feature “Into the Wilderness.”
In 2020, Shipe and Jernigan created CamperSky Creative, a production house focused on film and TV development and production as well as corporate team-building education.
She is a contributing writer to the music news outlets Highway 81 Revisited and No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music.
Shipe and Jernigan are wrapping up a pilot for a comedy series they wrote.
“We just love a good narrative story; it could be any genre if it touches us, it is well told and we can do right by it,” she said.
POWELL
'Home is the best place' for marketing mom
Al Lesar, Shopper News
When Shana Maples’ first child arrived this summer, the Powell resident’s life took some significant turns.
Not only did sleep become precious and free time become limited, but her career path went through an upheaval.Maples is trained and certified as a marketing specialist, and established herself for a decade. A native of northern Indiana, Maples worked for seven years after her graduation from Ball State University. She met her husband and moved to Powell, getting the feel for the Knoxville business community.
“I was making my company a lot of money,” Maples said. “My husband said, ‘Why don’t you do that on your own?’”Mark Maples owns Maples & Family Construction, a company that is booked three months out and has yet to spend $1 on marketing.
For those small- to mid-sized companies not so fortunate, Shana Maples is offering her services.
“There are companies that would rather pay me a monthly fee, rather than pay $80,000 for a marketing director,” Maples said. “I can give them everything a marketing director can.”
Digital advertising a focus
Logistically, the move to be an independent contractor made a lot of sense for Maples.Infants are difficult to place in child care. Having a nanny at her house would chew up most of a salary she would make.
“I love working remotely,” she said. “So many companies are going back to the office now. Being home is the best place for me to be.”
Over the years, Maples has become an expert with digital advertising. Placing and tracking ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms has become a proven route to success.
The tactics of search engine optimization, “stalker ads” and pinpointing an audience are all ways to get the biggest bang for the buck.
“If I wanted to sell boat maintenance, I could target the people who live on the lake with specific advertising,” Maples said. “There’s a way to target those who need what you have. By the use of our phones, I can tell how many click on the ad actually walk in the (brick and mortar) store.”
How 'bout a T-shirt?
Maples is taking somewhat of a big-picture approach to this new endeavor.
“This is the movement of the working mom,” she said. “I’m a little scared, but I’m convinced I can make it work.”
While Maples’ portfolio is loaded with her digital creativity, there’s still a place in that world for an old-fashioned approach.
“I’ve talked to the companies I’ve worked about either handing out T-shirts as gifts, or selling them,” Maples said.
“People will wear them. It’s surprising to see how often those T-shirts will be worn. There’s no way to replace that sort of billboard for your company. It doesn’t cost very much.”
Maples is familiar and comfortable with e-commerce on a global and local environment. But her approach is something she borrows from her husband’s company.
“When I take over an account, I’m going to have a long-range plan after I learn about the company,” she said. “But, after that first bit of advertising, I’ll check back to make sure the person in charge is happy with it. I’ll do that all along to make sure they’re getting what they want.”
Maples can be contacted at: maplesandfamily@gmail.com.
SOUTH KNOXVILLE
Young school leaders take oaths at Blount Mansion
Ali James, Shopper News
Historic Blount Mansion was the setting once again for this year’s South Knoxville Elementary Student Council inauguration.
“We had six applications for Student Council our first year,” said principal Tanna Nicely. “This year we had a huge stack of competitive entries. They were all really excited.”
It was a beautiful, sunny day for this happy event as Student Council members, proud families, elected officials and community leaders gathered on the lawn of Blount Mansion, home of William Blount, signer of the United States Constitution, former U.S. senator, and former governor of the Southwest Territory.
City Councilman Tommy Smith read out the proclamation from Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon commemorating the inauguration. “This is developing future leaders who will positively contribute to the South Knoxville community,” said Smith. “We declare this Student Council Inauguration Day.”
Margaret Held, founding partner of Held Law Firm, and her staff sponsor this annual event for South Knoxville Elementary.
“Jill McCook, the United States magistrate judge, deals with issues to do with the Constitution,” said Margaret Held. “This is full circle, guys, you’re right in the middle of it, how cool is that? You’ve demonstrated good grades, strong character and citizenship.”
Student Council members were administered the oath of office by McCook, and the students pledged to “proudly lead their peers, openly listen to their concerns, and be a role model for everyone to see.”
“I brought you goodie bags with a few things you can use as you carry out your duties – and some candy to celebrate,” said McCook.
Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson attended on behalf of District 15’s Sam McKenzie. “I brought the Tennessee flag that we fly over the State Capitol,” said Johnson. “This is the first event like this that I have been to.”
Students then gathered in the East Parlor of Blount Mansion to play games, while their fellow Student Council members took turns signing their names on a piece of parchment paper using a quill pen. Their oath will be displayed at South Knoxville Elementary School.
“I’m so interested in what they want to do,” Johnson said as she looked on. “It’s fascinating the topics they bring up. They want to help the environment or prevent animal cruelty. I encouraged them to let their legislator know what they care about, and I expect them to run for the legislature one day – and I love seeing so many girls (getting involved).”
Johnson said sometimes the focus on testing in schools takes away from the everyday experience gained from these sorts of field trips.
“It’s got to be about more than the law,” said Held. “It’s got to be about civic duty. Lawyers should be involved in our communities. Especially when it comes to teaching our young people the importance of civics, governmental action, and public service.”
At the Held law firm, staff are encouraged to have a project. The inauguration event was originally office manager Charis Kraski’s idea. Held said her daughter Faith Held created a library for kids being held at the Juvenile Detention Center.
“Blount Mansion is one of 12 Constitution signers’ homes which are still standing and open for people to see and tour,” said David Hearnes, executive director of Blount Mansion. “William Blount helped secure statehood for Tennessee. He made and broke laws. He never gets boring.” Blount was appointed by President George Washington to be governor of the territory south of the Ohio in 1790. He also became the first person to be expelled from the Senate and the only senator ever impeached by the House of Representatives.NORTH KNOXVILLE
BathLab – the sweet smell of small-business success
Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News
“This whole thing started out with just me and a friend in October of 2017. I had just passed the GED and it was a big thing. I said, ‘you know what? Let’s make bath bombs.’
“We got on Pinterest and we thought they were the coolest thing ever. We used recipes we found online. Later, we said, ‘I can’t believe we soaked in that!’ It was before I learned about what all the ingredients do, before I worked up my own recipe.”
That’s Josh Ray, who runs BathLab – a very successful bath-bomb-and-much-more business – out of his back yard in Lincoln Park.
Ray is trained as a manicurist. A native Knoxvillian, he put himself through beauty school in Kentucky and went on to work in the spa and resort scene, notching several prestigious names on his resume.
By the time he moved back to East Tennessee four years ago, he was in luxury spa management for several local entities. During his off-hours, he was still tinkering with his bath products.
“Hours were spent online,” he says. “I purchased different books on skin care, watched a lot of seminars, just to know what it was that I was even interested in!”
At the age of 26, Ray has had his share of struggles, and has been through some very low times. Eventually, he decided to earn his GED as a way of moving forward. That was the beginning of a life change that is, as it turns out, very inspiring to others he’s met along the way.
“People would say, ‘You’re so positive; I never would have known you’d gone through all that.’” He saw his skill in making bath products as a way to share his joy.
So he began to sell his specialty soaps, candles, scented wax melts and more, and got a good response. Gifted at marketing, he expanded his customer base and added wholesalers.
Last February, things were going so well that he decided to go full time. “It was definitely quite terrifying. When I finally made the decision, I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach. But the day I turned in my notice I got all these huge wholesale orders.” BathLab was off and running.
Along with offering his customers a dose of his trademark positivity, he also supports other small makers.
“I work very long days, and I source all of my stuff through small business. I try not to buy corporate if I can help it. It goes along with my idea of self care. There are days when I think, ‘I don’t know if I’m going get sales today’ – and I know they think that too.”
BathLab is now found in 35 locations nationwide, including Jacks of Knoxville. Ray’s newest line, “HallowSkreamz,” gives a nod to this time of year with products like “Zombie Brains” bubble bath, “Basic Witch” whipped body scrub and “Killer Clown” candles.
“I love coming in here and just getting to sit down and find a fragrance and I close my eyes: ‘What color is this fragrance? What kind of product is this fragrance?’
“I like to bring back memories; people will try a scent and say, ‘Oh, I remember that as a child.’ I want to do that fun stuff that is going to put a smile on your face.”
Visit thebathlab.net and instagram.com/thebathlab.
OPINION
When Nature attacks
Leslie Snow, Shopper News
Dear Mother Nature,
It’s me, Leslie Snow. I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of your busy season, but I wondered if I could talk to you about a couple things that have been bothering me.
I don’t mean to complain. I know you’re dealing with climate change, hurricane season, and whatever Niña is coming our way this winter, but I wanted to talk about something that hits a little closer to home. I want to talk about our relationship.
I’m wondering if you might have me confused with somebody else. I’m the Leslie Snow that saves the worms drying on the sidewalk after a heavy rain. The same Leslie Snow that carries stink bugs outside when I find them in the house. I stop my car to move box turtles off the road. I live in peace with the spiders and snakes and never knowingly kill any insect besides cockroaches. That’s why I’m so confused by what happened today when I was watering those thirsty shrubs I planted last spring.
I walked out the back door to turn on the hose and was immediately hit by a falling acorn. Then another. And when I walked down the stairs, I rolled my foot over even more acorns and fell to the ground. Hard.
What’s with you this season? Why all the acorns? I’ve lived in this house for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. There are thousands and thousands of acorns scattered around my backyard. The squirrels are loving it, but I am not. I get it already. Gravity is real. And it hurts. A lot.
But I probably wouldn’t even have mentioned the acorns if you hadn’t decided to attack me when I was taking Buttercup for a walk this morning. What gives? Are we in a fight that I don’t know about?
The two of us were minding our own business when Buttercup stopped to sniff some roots at the bottom of a tree. That’s when I heard the buzzing. I looked up and saw a huge hornet’s nest that had been disturbed by either a hungry animal or an ill-advised human. The nest was in shreds and the hornets were looking for revenge. They found me and Buttercup.
I felt the stings on my arm and yelped. They got Buttercup next, and I called out “Run, Buttercup, run!” We took off running but the angry hornets flew after us and I was stung several more times. When we finally stopped running, Buttercup looked up at me with wild eyes. Or maybe it was me looking down at her with wild eyes. Either way, we were both scared and wounded.
That’s why I’m writing to you today from the safety of my living room. The wind is blowing hard, and acorns are pummeling the house. It sounds like I’m under attack and I’m starting to wonder if I am.
I have a Band-Aid above one eye where an especially large nut crashed into my brow, and I have an ice bag on my elbow where I was stung multiple times by angry hornets. And while I’ve never been allergic to bee stings before, the golf ball sized lump on my elbow says that might be changing.
It’s time for us to clear the air, Mother Nature. I give up. This is me crying “uncle.” You are more powerful than I will ever be and I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you angry.
And now that we’re friends again, how about a little rain…
Leslie Snow may be reached at snow column@aol.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Shopper News brings you the latest happenings in your community
