Scenic Roots

(safeboatingcampaign.com) With Memorial Day weekend around the corner, boat safety is top of mind. This year’s National Boat Safety Week began on Saturday and runs through Friday. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed, civilian volunteer branch of the Coast Guard. Sarah Canatsey is commander of the Auxiliary’s Division 16 in the Eighth District, Eastern Region - based here in Chattanooga...

Dr. Robert Dooley, UTC’s Interim Chancellor and Dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. (UTC) We begin with the latest in our monthly series “Chatting with Chancellor.” Last week, I sat down for a one-on-one conversation with Dr. Robert Dooley, Interim Chancellor here on our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - and the Dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. Our...

Sydney Guerrette (WTCI PBS) (Aired Mon 5/19/25) In 2017, Sydney Guerrette founded Be the Change Youth Initiative. With the help of children and teens across the country, the nonprofit has raised more than 100,000 dollars for organizations such as Make-A-Wish America. Sydney had just turned 15 when she founded Be the Change. Her early passion for giving back inspired her to encourage other young pe...

The Ed Johnson Memorial, at night, near the Walnut Street Bridge in Chattanooga. (Public Art Chattanooga) (Aired Mon 5/19/25) In 1906, a Black man was lynched on the Walnut Street Bridge here in Chattanooga His name was Ed Johnson. Today, a memorial to him and his lawyers stands at one end of the bridge - where each year, a remembrance is held on March 19th, the day that Johnson was lynched. Antwo...

(IBMA) (Aired Mon 5/19/25) In September, the World of Bluegrass - presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association - comes to Chattanooga for the first of three years in this city. Tristan Dean, a student in UTC’s Department of Communication and an intern here at WUTC, looks at the genre.

Dr. June Scobee Rodgers (Charles H. Coolidge Medal Of Honor Heritage Center) (Aired Mon 5/19/25) A few months ago, a new podcast launched in downtown Chattanooga. “Coffee with June” is hosted by Dr. June Scobee Rodgers, founding chair of the Challenger Center and widow of Dick Scobee, commander of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The podcast is recorded at the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Ho...

(Chattanooga Public Library) (Aired Weds 5/14/25) On the fourth floor of the downtown Chattanooga Public Library, the Makerspace is home to a fiber art studio, 3D printing, laser etching - and a zine library. This Saturday, the Makerspace hosts this year’s Zine Fest, from 10 AM to 4 PM - a chance for you to create your own publication. Local and regional creators of zines - or zinesters - will be...

(Bridgman|Packer Dance via UTC) (Aired Weds 5/14/25) This spring here at UTC, a performance told the story of vacant spaces through dance and film. “Ghost Factory” - presented by Bridgman|Packer Dance, led by Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer - was inspired by residents and deserted factories in Johnson City, a town in upstate New York, and Chattanooga. Dakota Robinson, a student in UTC’s Department o...

At Pleasant Garden Cemetery in Chattanooga. (Pleasant Garden Cemetery / Facebook) (Aired Weds 5/14/25) Here in Chattanooga, Pleasant Garden Cemetery is one of the oldest historically Black cemeteries in Tennessee. It is the final resting place for leading members of Chattanooga’s African-American community after Reconstruction and during Jim Crow segregation - as well as tragic figures, including...

(IBMA) (Aired Weds 5/14/25) This fall, Chattanooga hosts the World of Bluegrass, presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association - the IBMA - from September 16th through the 20th. Tristan Dean, a student in UTC’s Department of Communication and an intern here at WUTC, tells us more.

J. Schwanke with Alison Lebovitz (WTCI PBS) (Aired Weds 5/14/25) For seven seasons - on television, that is - J Schwanke has showcased his lifetime love of flowers as the host of “Life in Bloom” on PBS. Tune in and you’ll see him create unique arrangements, offer crafts and recipes - stirring ooh’s and ah’s from viewers through the artistry and pageantry of flowers. Whether on screen or on stage,...

Max Fuller (Angela Foster / UTC) (Aired Weds 5/14/25) Seven years ago, our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - established the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to “engage, equip and encourage” innovators and entrepreneurs. Last month, Max Fuller - UTC Class of 1975 and co-founder of the trucking company U.S. Xpress - donated five million dollars to the center, which now...

Caroline & Corbin Fawley (TEDxChattanooga) (Aired Tues 5/13/25) “Sessions” from TEDxChattanooga presents local musicians in a mix of music and storytelling with a listening room vibe. The 2025 version of “Sessions” was held at the end of March at Songbirds in downtown Chattanooga. Among the artists: Caroline and Corbin Fawley. _____ Coming this fall: The TEDxChattanooga Conference - on Wed...

Bindy (TEDxChattanooga) (Aired Mon 5/12/25) “Sessions” from TEDxChattanooga presents local musicians in a mix of music and storytelling with a listening room vibe. The 2025 version of “Sessions” was held at the end of March at Songbirds in downtown Chattanooga. One of the artists: Bindy. _____ Coming this fall: The TEDxChattanooga Conference - on Wednesday, November 19th at the Walker Theatre. Vis...

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly - live on WUTC. (Joseph Russo / WUTC) On Thursday, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly stopped by our studio here at WUTC for our latest conversation. Among the topics: the proposed City budget, the Alton Park connector, One Westside, National Park City, quantum - and celebrating WUTC’s Richard Winham. Ray Bassett interviews Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly live on WUTC's Scenic Roo...

Bob Culkeen and Danny Fell - at WUTC. (Ray Bassett / WUTC) The headlines from Washington on Federal funding for public media hit home here in Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley. This station, WUTC - a service of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - is the NPR member station for this area, while the local PBS member station is WTCI PBS. Both stations receive part of their funding from the...

(Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel / UTC) Each year, a select group of students on our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - is honored for their academic records and their contributions to our community. The Stophel scholars program - supported by the Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel law firm here in Chattanooga - is a partnership with UTC’s Gary W. Rollins College of Business th...

Ilya Ram - on “The A List with Alison Lebovitz” (WTCI PBS) Last summer, Ilya Ram was appointed Music Director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera - only the fourth person to fill that role since the CSO’s founding in 1933. Though born here in this country, Ilya has spent much of his musical career abroad - leading prestigious orchestras in Germany, Israel and beyond. A prize-winning conductor,...

Creative Discovery Museum in downtown Chattanooga. (Creative Discovery Museum) In the heart of downtown Chattanooga, celebration is in the air at Creative Discovery Museum. The nationally-ranked children’s museum opened its doors thirty years ago this month - on May 26th, 1995. Children at play inside Creative Discovery Museum. (Creative Discovery Museum) This Saturday, the Museum will host a Day...

Martha Park (Emily Frazier / Emily Frazier Weddings 2022) Martha Park is a writer and illustrator in Memphis whose latest work sketches a portrait of faith, motherhood and a climate crisis across the South - a touchstone on how we believe and the places that we love. Her collection of illustrated essays is titled, “World Without End: Essays on Apocalypse and After” by Hub City Press, an independen...

Martha Park, writer & illustrator, on “World Without End.” “Day Of Play” for thirty years of Creative Discovery Museum. Shaping tomorrow beyond UTC: The Stophel Scholars. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Chattanooga Film Festival) It’s known as “Summer Camp for Cinephiles.” Next month, the Chattanooga Film Festival returns for a twelfth year - with in person and virtual offerings - from Friday, June 20th through Saturday, June 28th. Chris Dortch is the festival’s director and lead film programmer. Dustin Kramer is the senior features programmer and the virtual events coordinator for the festival.

Glass bottles, made in Chattanooga, in the “Glass from the Past” exhibition. (Chattanooga Public Library) Coca-Cola’s first bottling operation in the world opened here in Chattanooga more than a century ago. For decades, a manufacturing plant in the Alton Park neighborhood made millions of glass bottles for Coca-Cola and other companies. “Glass from the Past” is an exhibit on this city’s glass his...

April Cameron, Chattanooga Airport’s President & CEO. (Chattanooga Airport) At Chattanooga Airport, boardings by air passengers recently hit another record and new nonstop routes are set to take off next month. April Cameron is the Airport’s president and CEO.

Outside the Gary W. Rollins College of Business in Chattanooga. (Angela Foster / UTC) Last month, President Trump announced his plan for tariffs on imports, with many twists and turns since - including a pause - for consumers, businesses, nations and markets. How will all of this shake out for the economy and jobs here in the Chattanooga area? Dr. Howard Wall is director of the Center for Regional...