Reelfoot Forward

From paramedic to law school to launching a successful soap empire, Brad Kellum, founder of Buff City Soap, shares his journey of finding a need and filling it. This West Tennessee entrepreneur opened his first brick and mortar store in his hometown of Bartlett, created a one-of-a-kind retail experience and then franchised the business nationally to great success. This episode is full of life less...

Few projects have offered as many opportunities or as much controversy as the still under-construction I-69 that can be seen unfinished just behind Discovery Park. This episode’s guest, Matt Dellinger, literally wrote the book about it 10 years ago. Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Great American Highway took readers behind the scenes to experience the complex political, social and eco...

Known to her students as “Mrs. B,” Lynn Brasfield is a cornerstone in the foundation of Dresden Middle School. In this episode, Lynn shares her passion for teaching and how her classroom is a safe space for students to freely discuss concerns about current issues. Lynn’s story is one of remarkable circumstances. She grew up in Rutherford, Tennessee, and started high school when educational institu...

As tourist attractions and museums like Discovery Park of America reopen their doors incorporating new health and safety guidelines, it’s a good time for a conversation with Marty Marbry, the West Tennessee Division Manager for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. In this episode, she shares a bit of her personal history in Memphis, how she got into the tourism business and her first e...

Growing up on a century farm in Rutherford, Tenn., Curt McDaniel knows well the responsibilities that come when working on a family farm. Today, as a conservationist for the USDA and the Natural Resources Conservationist Services, he provides farmers and ranchers with assistance to voluntarily incorporate conservation practices on their land. He explains his job as “saving the earth one dirt clod...

According to Micah Seavers, owner and operator of Southern Reds BBQ in Water Valley, Ky., the secret ingredient to a great successful restaurant business is family. At 12 years old, Micah started working in his family-run restaurant and hasn’t looked back in over 20 years. In this episode, you will learn that when it comes to BBQ, simple is better, and giving back to the supportive community is so...

At Core10, a world-class technology company with offices in West Tennessee, Lee Farabaugh has figured out how to engage talented workers living in rural communities while creating the financial technology of the future. In this episode, Farabaugh shares how her passion as a graphic designer and interest in computers led to success at the intersection of creativity and technology. A longtime advoca...

Dr. Keith Carver’s path took him from his childhood living with his single mother in the back of the family’s small Crockett County country store to his position as the 11th chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Martin. In this episode, Dr. Carver shares how one person made a big impact on his relationship with education and how that inspired his desire to do the same for the many students...

Introducing kids and adults to the wild outdoors is exhilarating for Tara Dowdy, who is a Refuge Ranger for the National Wildlife Refuge on Reelfoot Lake. As you listen to this episode, you will hear the passion in her voice and she describes the amazing migratory waterfowl that come through on the Mississippi Flyway, as well as the stories she shares about taking visitors on a Bald eagle tour and...

Lisa Garner has learned a thing or two about being an entrepreneur and small business owner while running her company, Garner Blue, where she makes and sells hand-dyed indigo textiles and accessories. She applies much of that knowledge to her role as executive director of theCo in Jackson, Tenn. Now considered the front door for innovation in West Tennessee, theCo provides a resource, collaborativ...

If you were to ask Matt Crosson how his journey in life led him to be the worship leader in a rural community church, you would hear an incredible story. Matt’s journey took him from social worker to business manager, to planting a church then following God’s call from Gainesville, Florida to Union City, Tennessee where he now serves as the full-time worship leader at Crosswind Church. In this epi...

Melanie Hollis has a passion for theater arts. Born and raised in Union City, Tenn., she left her small town to chase dreams of theater, performing and costume design around the country before returning to West Tennessee to raise her three children. Her desire to bring the arts to Northwest Tennessee is evident from her seat in the director’s chair at Union City's Masquerade Theatre. Additionally,...

In 2009, Lori Collins experienced an unexpected family crisis that left her with no option but to rescue a number of horses being cared for by her father. This was the beginning of Redemption Road Rescue, a non-profit equine rescue located in Jackson, Tenn. The organization’s philosophy of helping good people out of bad situations has led to the rescue of hundreds of horses. Redemption Road accept...

With a passion to uplift, engage and encourage individuals to live faithfully and triumphantly, Dr. Cynthia A. Bond Hopson inspires individuals to slow down, seize the day and refocus on who and whose they are. In this episode, Dr. Hopson shares her personal story and how she went from her first career as a secretary to teaching journalism, becoming a country music DJ, earning a doctorate and beco...

Big ideas sometimes come from small places. Those living and working in rural communities may find life is lonely when trying to make a big idea happen. That’s where Ben Harris comes in. As one of the co-founders of Driving Innovation, a mobile program that supports economic and workforce development in Tennessee’s rural communities, he works to make sure good ideas and those who get them find the...

Having grown up in West Tennessee, Mark Laderman and his family capitalized on a combination of their natural southern hospitality and a unique blend of creativity and quality to create not one, but two award-winning dining experiences in Northwest Tennessee. If you are headed this way, no doubt someone will recommend you eat at Sammies or The Grind. In this episode, Mark and his son Alan share wh...

If you haven’t crossed paths with Union City socialite, regional-theater performer and business woman, Zoe Ramage, then it’s about time we introduce you. Zoe loves small town life and the sense of community that comes with it. In this episode, Zoe shares her passion for tourism and how it led her to become next door neighbors with Discovery Park as the director of sales for the hotels at Houser Cr...

While attending space camp as a young boy, South Fulton, Tenn. native, Jason Kelley, became inspired to dream of a career in aeronautics. His dream became a reality, and today he is an operations support manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In this episode Jason, who was back home to explore Discovery Park’s “Astronaut” exhibit with his son, shares how he turned his childhood dream to w...

It’s not every day you get to hear firsthand what it’s like to buckle up and blast into space. In this episode, Dr. Larry DeLucas, a biochemist, principal scientist at the Aerospace Corporation and former NASA astronaut shares how he earned the nickname “Which Way” and how a spirit of exploration helped him make it at NASA even though he says he was made of “the wrong stuff.” DeLucas was a member...

If you live in West Tennessee and have even a passing interest in ducks, there’s no doubt you’re aware of—and possibly best friends with— the tornado of inspired creativity that is Seth Dortch. Part Ansel Adams, part Ernest Hemmingway and part Davy Crockett, he’s a photographer, videographer, copywriter, hunting guide, retailer and master of all social media. The scope and breadth of the impact Do...

The continuation of this special, two-part live episode, from the Tennessee Farm Bureau annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn. features the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the Tennessee Soybean Council, the Tennessee Pork Producers and Tennessee Sheep Producers Association. With all the misinformation and controversy around areas like agriculture today, it was great to have an opportunity to hear...

In the first part of this two-part, live episode, the Discovery Park team went to the Tennessee Farm Bureau annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., to get to know some of the professionals working in agriculture today. With most people being three or more generations removed from a family farm, first-hand information is getting harder to come by, so this was a great information to hear about farming f...

By 2050, the global population is expected to reach more than 10 billion. This is going to present a major challenge in providing food, fuel and fiber for farmers around the world. Lee Maddox, director of communications for Tennessee Farm Bureau took a few moments out of his busy schedule at the organization’s annual meeting in Nashville to talk about this and other challenges facing those working...

Here’s an episode that will inspire anyone who hopes to march to the beat of their own drum while living in a rural community. While his friends were out duck hunting and fishing on Reelfoot Lake, Micah Barnes was teaching himself to play a number of instruments and perfecting his musical talents. He eventually studied bass at the famed Interlochen Center for the Arts, started the world fusion jam...

Today, most of us are three or more generations removed from life on a farm—therefore, we don't know how our food, fuel and fiber gets from the farm to our families. In this special episode, recorded live during Tennessee Ag Literacy Day at Discovery Park, listeners will meet and get to know farmers and others working in the agriculture field. By the year 2050, the production of food, fuel and fib...