Wilson County listings: What teachers do outside school: charity, sports, acting, singing

Teachers away from school, what do they do?

This edition of Wilson County Listings lists some extracurricular activities these teachers have outside the classroom. We may have to do a second round on this topic.

Andrew Hutton, theater teacher at Gladeville Middle: Hutton and his wife sing with the Tennessee Performing Arts Nashville Opera. The ensemble for Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” requires memorizing Italian lyrics and melodic content with a natural and organic atmosphere to support the storytelling of the production.

Hutton will also be part of the spring production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute." He studied theatre education at Trevecca Nazarene University, where he was also involved in the music department. He also has done musical theater at The Capitol Theatre in Lebanon.

Geoff Luckett, exceptional education teacher at Wilson Central High School: He teaches paddling and paddle sports fishing through the American Canoe Association. Luckett started a group named the Tennessee Kayak Anglers with about six people and it has grown into a Facebook community of more than 13,000 members.

“This came about through my love of kayak fishing," he said. "Over time it became apparent to me that instruction in paddling would improve my fishing and safety n the water. There were paddle classes, but not really paddle/fishing classes. That led me to the ACA.”

Luckett also paints and pressure washes during breaks and summers.

Katherine Ray, theater director and instructor at Wilson Central High School: She's worked as a professional actress outside of teaching and has also directed shows locally outside of school. Highlight characters include  Ursula in “The Little Mermaid” and Lily Craven in “The Secret Garden.”

Michael Teeter, physical education teacher and boys basketball coach at Wilson Central: He competes in Olympic level triathlons, which generally consist of a one-mile swim, 25-mile bike and 10-K (6.2 mile) run. Teeter also competes in Crossfit events and plans to run a 26.2 mile trail marathon in early October at Long Hunter State Park. Teeter hopes to eventually do a full Ironman Triathlon, which is generally a 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run.

Keith Heim, band director and fine arts chair at Gladeville Middle: He plays ice hockey for the 615 MERCS at Ford Ice Center in Bellevue, getting involved after she became a die-hard Nashville Predators fan in 1999 and took a Try Hockey for Free class. Heim began skating and took the leap to play in 2021. He also does community theater with Audience of One Productions at the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon and Springhouse Theatre Company in Smyrna.

Natalie Whited, World Language teacher at Green Hill: Whited and husband, Brad, own and operate a 91-acre USDA-certified family farm in Watertown that focuses on a "natural and sustainable approach to farming" for meats and produce.

Rotational grazing, breaking the land into seven different paddocks to ensure cattle have quality food through the winter and reusing waste to feed soil with necessary nutrients are all practices.

The Whiteds also hold farm to table events in the fall and spring that bring in executive chefs and instruction on what makes good food along with tasting and a dinner with musical entertainment. The events typically draw around 100 guests.

John McGee, history and film as literature teacher at Mt. Juliet High: He does longer bike rides through a club that has included century (100-mile) rides and has done triathlons. McGee also does “bicycle touring,” a solo and self-supported effort when McGee loads up all his supplies that can include a tent, food, sleeping bag and more on his bike for rides that last days.

Over fall break in October 2022, McGee rode 443 miles over eight days down the entire Natchez Trace Parkway.

Meredith Ashworth, kindergarten teacher at Elzie D. Patton Elementary: The 16-year Wilson County Schools veteran donates regularly to True Rescue in Mt. Juliet and is on call to be a dog foster parent.

Ashworth’s family has also adopted two dogs from True Rescue. Winnie is a registered support dog for Meredith’s daughter. Beau was rescued from a hoarding situation. The Ashworths have a third dog rescued from All About Rescue and Fixin’ (AARF) in Cookeville.

Jennifer Jenkins, fourth grade teacher at Carroll-Oakland: Jenkins has taught for 24 years in the district and is involved with Lebanon’s Evermean Evergreen Cloggers. Jenkins took an adult beginner class in 2017 after her daughter, Raeanne, got started in the folk dance discipline. Raeanne is now a teacher. Jenkins has participated with the Evermean Evergreen Cloggers at the Wilson County Fair – Tennessee State Fair annually.

She’s also competed individually in competitions with several high finishes that include a first place win in 2019 at the then Wilson County Fair and a second place win in Asheville, North Carolina the same year and still travels to events with Raeanne. Jenkins uses clogging in her classes to teach about culture, customs and traditions and teaches some basic steps on indoor recess days.

Rose Eichhorn, sixth-grade ELA teacher at Mt. Juliet Middle: A classical singer who has been singing since age 5, Eichhorn used to take lessons at Nashville Vocal Studio and, in the past several years, has performed in productions at the Hendersonville Performing Arts Company, where she plans to audition for another show in the coming months. She also plans to audition for a show at The Keeton Theatre in Donelson.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Prepare to be surprised: What some Wilson teachers do outside school