The Camp House

From the legacy of the Big Nine to the creation of one of the earliest music festivals, Chattanooga has always had a rich music heritage. But recently there has been increasing focus to expand on that heritage for the 21st century. Today's conversation involves three people involved in just such an endeavor: Chattanooga Visitors Bureau's Mary Howard Ade & Candace Davis and SoundCorp's Stratton...

Jazzanooga is dedicated to promoting jazz in Chattanooga through education and performance. In this episode we talk with Shane Morrow, the director and co-founder of Jazzanooga, to talk about Chattanooga's music legacy and preview their April festival. Referenced in the episode: Jazzanooga's website: https://www.jazzanooga.org/

The electric guitar isn't just any ordinary musical instrument. It was the catalyst for an entire shift in music and culture. Since Leo Fender's invention hit the stage in the 1950s music has never been the same. Johnny Smith is the President & CEO of the new Songbirds Guitar Museum, the most exclusive collection of rare guitars in the world. The museum's mission is to tell the story of the gu...

Over that past few years Chattanooga has been recognized worldwide as the city with the fastest internet. Indeed, we have reinvented ourselves as the Gig City. But we all know that not everyone is able to take advantage of this new reality. Tech Goes Home Chattanooga is one organization seeking to address this digital divide in our community. Kelly McCarthy is the program director and in today’s e...

Robert Winslow's dive into documentary filmmaking began with the polarization he saw sweeping the country a few years ago. In 2014 he returned to his native southern roots to explore the stories in southern communities and he began here in Chattanooga with "The Chattanooga Story" as part of his Southern Dialogues series. The success and interest in that film has spurred the creation of a...

The second half of our live event, The Legacy of the Big Nine, picks up right where the first half left off. In this episode we focus on the impact of the urban renewal projects of the 1950s on the African American community. We also spend a good amount of time digging into the rich musical heritage of the Big Nine. Finally, the conversation finishes up with an audience Q & A. My guests for th...

The Legacy of the Big 9 is one of the historical treasures of Chattanooga. Beginning in the late 19th century, 9th Street, known today as Martin Luther King Blvd., was the heart of our city’s African American culture. On February 20th we recorded our first live podcast event to discuss this legacy and here in this first half of our conversation we focus on the establishment and growth of the area...

Blake Canterbury is the founder of Purposity, a new organization that seeks to connect people as directly as possible to real needs in their community. The name itself is a reflection of their mission, a combination of the words "purposeful generosity". In this interview we are joined by Whiteboard co-founder Eric Brown, whose local Chattanooga company was instrumental in developing Purp...

Our premier LIVE EVENT is tonight, February 20th, at 6:30pm at The Camp House! We are going to be talking about the Legacy of the Big Nine, the historic African American business and cultural district that we know today as Martin Luther King Blvd. The event will be in a panel discussion format and joining me will be City Councilman Moses Freeman, Dionne Jennings of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center...

Andrew Kean has spent time in both the private and public sectors of Chattanooga. As a result, he has a unique and timely perspective on what it means to invest in a local community, to steward our city and our local economy well in order to make Chattanooga a great place for everyone and for those who come after us. In this episode Andrew shares his story of coming to Chattanooga and eventually s...

Ted Alling has become an important figure in the startup economy of Chattanooga. In this episode we discuss his story from entrepreneur starting a business with his friends to those same partners creating startup incubator Lamp Post Group. In the midst of the story our conversation moves on to leadership, education, and what makes Chattanooga such a great place to live, work, and give back. Refere...

What a great week to talk about soccer in the Scenic City! In this episode we sit down with Chattanooga FC General Manager Sean McDaniel to discuss the history of the club, this Friday's match featuring the US Men's National Team taking on Jamaica at Finely Stadium, plus a whole slew of other announcements that promise to make this a great year for soccer in Chattanooga. Links for this episode: Ch...

Innovation isn't just for "brainiacs, dot comers, & techy hipsters", it is for all of us and it holds the power to transform our city and our community. That is the message in this special episode of the podcast featuring Stephen Culp's keynote address from the 2016 Spirit of Innovation Awards hosted by the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. Special thank you to Stephen Culp, Bill Kilb...

In December Congress passed the End Modern Slavery Initiative, an enormous step in the fight to end modern slavery around the world. The initiative's author and primary champion was our very own U.S. Senator Bob Corker. In this brief interview we discuss a bit about his time in Chattanooga serving as mayor, time in the Senate, and then spend the rest of the conversation talking about his passion f...

A short message of Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and what to look forward to in 2017! We would love to hear from you! Please take a moment for this short 10 question survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGGWCB5

PART 2 OF 2 Coffee shop... Cafe... Venue... Third Space... Gathering Space... Now, apparently, a media platform... Exactly what is The Camp House? That is our driving question as we turn the tables on regular host Matt Busby and put him in the seat of the interviewee. Abby Garrison of Causeway is our guest host for this episode as we explore the vision of The Camp House, its relationship with the...

PART 1 OF 2 Coffee shop... Cafe... Venue... Third Space... Gathering Space... Now, apparently, a media platform... Exactly what is The Camp House? That is our driving question as we turn the tables on regular host Matt Busby and put him in the seat of the interviewee. Abby Garrison of Causeway is our guest host for this episode as we explore the vision of The Camp House, its relationship with the...

A new collective is giving voice to a growing population in Chattanooga: immigrants and refugees. Coming To America has been around for a few months now, bringing people together around storytelling. In this episode three of the founders - Sasa Hasanbegovic, Daniela Peterson, & Felipe Lara - share the story of finding each other and coming together to share their experiences. Beginning around...

If I were to ask you to describe the YMCA, my guess is you would either sing a pop song or imagine a really nice gym. Odds are you would describe a place with a physical building that had something to do with workout machines or a pool. But in Chattanooga we have a very unique branch of our local YMCA, the J.A. Henry Community YMCA. It doesn't have a brick-and-mortar location. It doesn't have elit...

The second half of our conversation with Bridgett Massengill on THRIVE 2055 focuses on the four initiatives that came out of their community surveys: Economic Development, Education, Transportation, & Natural Treasures. Learn more how these four initiatives can help make this region known as a place where people are educated, with good jobs, living in a great place. http://thrive2055.com/ http...

Our city doesn't stand alone, we are connected. The success of one nearby community benefits the entire region. Luckily there is an organization thinking about this, meet THRIVE 2055! THRIVE 2055 is a citizen-led, public-private endeavor to engage people from across the 16-county, tri-state Chattanooga region of Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama to make the most of our e...

The River City Company is an advocate for a healthy and vibrant downtown Chattanooga. In many ways, the River City Company is the embodiment of what is known as "the Chattanooga way" - the coming together of various public and private sectors of our city to push forward a common vision for our city. And that is just what the River City Company was created to do, bring together the public...

Our Innovation District is attracting national attention. This episode is the second half of our conversation with ID leaders Ken Hays & Ann Coulter. This half of the conversation focuses on the unique assets of Chattanooga, the importance of diversity for innovation, and digital equity. Referenced in this episode: "The City That Was Saved by the Internet" by Motherboard - http://bit...

Our city has a new district that is attracting national attention, the Innovation District. Today's episode is the first half of our conversation with two leaders in our city, Ken Hays and Ann Coulter. Ken and Ann share the story of how the district was created in the wake of the gigabit infrastructure developed by Chattanooga's EPB as well as the vision for the way this district can shape our cit...

Drive or walk around Chattanooga and you are bound to do a double take as you see something that is both odd and capitivating... Blue Trees. For the past two weeks our downtown trees have been colored blue in a new art installation created by artist Konstantin Dimopoulos. Kon is a world renown artist, known for his ability to highlight social and environmental issues through art. In this episode w...