Shopper Blog: Low-profile Design Center has high impact on Knoxville area

NORTH KNOXVILLE

Low-profile Design Center has high impact on Knoxville area

Jack Coker, Shopper News

A Christian maxim tells us not to “let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” while engaging in charitable causes. In a similar spirit, one of the most influential charities in East Tennessee operates right under our noses.

They have completed more than 1,300 projects and logged more than 120,000 volunteer hours (over 13 years) across the 16 counties they operate in, touching the lives of roughly 1.2 million people. And yet, you probably have never heard of them.

Headquartered in the old carriage house of the Greystone Mansion on Broadway, the East Tennessee Community Design Center (ETCDC) is easy to miss.

It was incorporated April 15, 1970, for one purpose, to bring professional design and planning services to nonprofit groups and agencies that lack the resources to obtain these services through the private sector.

“A group of architects led by Bruce McCarty went to Philadelphia to learn about the design center there,” explained Executive Director L. Duane Grieve, a Fellow of American Institute of Architects. “After returning and talking to the American Institute of Architects, they formed the East Tennessee Community Design Center.”

Grieve has been involved with ETCDC in some capacity since near its inception. His family moved from Pennsylvania for his father to work for the TVA.

“My father was a forester, and also a retired Navy commander,” Grieve said. Studying at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Grieve was in the first graduating class of the architecture program in 1969. During Grieve’s time at UT, Bruce McCarty became his mentor as he worked for the McCarty firm during the summers. After working in Detroit for a season, Grieve was offered a job back in Knoxville.

“I told my wife ‘someday we are going to move back to East Tennessee.’ I said ‘I really want to go back to the mountains, the lakes, and it’s a great place to raise children.’ It was only a year after we got married that we moved back.”

Through his close association with Bruce McCarty, founding member of the ETCDC, Grieve worked early on with the design center before starting his own firm in Knoxville. About five years ago, Grieve returned to the ETCDC as the executive director, and has overseen some incredible projects.

Some of the high-profile ones are Lakeshore Park, Knoxville Museum of Art addition, Everly Brothers Park, YWCA downtown renovation, Sunsphere renovations, Ijams Visitors Center, and Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness.

They also played a huge role in the current iteration of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center.

Rev. Reneé Kesler, the current president of Beck, feels strongly about the importance of the ETCDC.

“For me the ETCDC means the world. I need them to be here,” Kesler said. “I need them to be doing great work, because I love this community and the things that they’re doing is making an impact. That’s the kind of legacy that we want to have in our neighborhood and community, so that the world can come to this little place called Knoxville Tennessee, and say ‘How did they figure out all of this stuff? How did they get it right? How did they become the beloved community?’ I believe the ETCDC plays a role in that.”

The ETCDC does not solicit work or compete with for-profit architecture firms. They focus on nonprofits and community groups, doing projects that will be for the benefit of the entire community.

While the ETCDC doesn’t build, focusing on design has opened many doors for different organizations.

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is a strong supporter of the design center, saying, “I can’t emphasize this enough. They go about their work in a way where people can look at a project and go, ‘OK, I understand what you’re talking about now.’ A picture is worth a thousand words, and the design center provides that picture.”

Organizations will use those pictures to apply for grants or fundraise.

While they may not have widespread familiarity with the public, the East Tennessee Community Design Center has had a significant impact on our region. There is hardly a nonprofit that hasn’t received aid from their volunteers or completed a project without one of their studies.

Information about them, and ways to support them through donations, can be found at www.communitydc.org.

POWELL

Church of God UA Claxton has a small congregation but big givers

Al Lesar, Shopper News

While in a line of cars at the Church of God UA Claxton grocery giveaway, one person got more than food.

“When our team of volunteers talked to the person, he said he could really use some prayers for what he was going through in his life,” said Rev. Brandon Cookston, senior pastor at the church. “Our volunteers said, ‘Let’s pray right now.’ They did it, right on the spot.

“That told that person that ‘someone at the church on (226) Mehaffey Road cares about me.’ That was our chance to make a connection. There are people who need more than groceries.”

Cookston has been senior pastor at the church since 2017. He arrived in 2005 as assistant pastor when he married the previous pastor’s (Rev. Jerry Cassell) stepdaughter.

“We had a food ministry in the early 2000s,” Cookston said. “Then, it just went away.”

Last year, Chris and Amy Pratt, two members of the congregation, felt the need was significant again. Just before last Thanksgiving, the church had its first giveaway. Since then, there have been two others, with one more set for late September.

Congregation really steps up

Each of the giveaways allows for 100 boxes of food that should feed a family of four for three or four days. Food, mostly nonperishable, is purchased from Second Harvest Food Bank.

A team of about 30 volunteers mans stations where the food is situated in a 60-foot by 100-foot building behind the church. Each box visits a station until it is loaded. Cars drive through the building − which has two garage-style doors − and a box is loaded in each car.

“It was like a Chick-fil-A line for a while,” Cookston said of the June giveaway. “Boxes take about an hour and a half to load and in two hours they’re all gone.”

On a good Sunday, attendance at the Claxton church will be between 70 and 80. But that small group isn’t the least bit intimidated by the monumental challenge of giving.

“You have to know these people to understand how they can do it,” Cookston said. “They give because it’s our commission to do so. It’s our duty. It’s what God calls us to do.”

God found Cookston

A benefit golf tournament in May is the primary fundraiser. Between that and the Sunday collection plate, funds are generated for the giveaways as well as a back-to-school giveaway, Vacation Bible School and projects in North Carolina and Kentucky.

“We find our budget and then make it work,” Cookston said. “Claxton is a unique community that has some amazing people. This is a great place to be.”

Cookston, who spent most of his formative years in northern Alabama, was the son of a preacher. He said he tried to avoid the responsibility that goes with the calling, but God found him. He met his future wife at church functions when they were young, then they reunited late in their high school years. They married and he came to learn under her stepfather.

“Working with him was one of the greatest joys of my life,” Cookston said.

Cookston took over as senior pastor when Rev. Cassell died in 2017.

“They talk about stepping into someone’s shoes,” Cookston said. “There’s no way I could do that. All I can do is be my best person.”

BEARDEN

As Methodists celebrate milestone, a bishop who broke barriers is remembered

John Shearer, Shopper News

In 1968, when integration was still in the early stages in many aspects of life in Knoxville and even more in the deeper South, the Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ) of Methodist conferences had a Black bishop needing to be assigned to lead a conference.

The Rev. L. Scott Allen had been elected bishop in the formerly all-Black Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church in 1967 and had been administering the Black churches in Alabama and Florida. However, after the merger of the general Methodist Church with the United Evangelical Brethren Church in 1968 to create the United Methodist Church, the Black jurisdiction was also eliminated as those churches were incorporated into SEJ.

As a result, the Southeastern Jurisdiction found itself in the unusual position of needing to assign Allen to lead a conference of predominantly white churches. This was at a time when Black athletes were just starting to appear at the University of Tennessee in minuscule numbers, George Wallace was running for president after trying to halt integration at Alabama, and Rebel flags were popular cultural backdrops.

According to 90-year-old retired bishop the Rev. Richard Looney, a former senior pastor at Church Street UMC in downtown Knoxville, a story was passed down for years that Holston Conference during the 1968 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference took an unusual step. They asked to have Allen lead them.

“I was a young pastor then, but my recollection was that the Holston delegation said they would be happy to receive him,” Looney recently recalled.

It was a stepping-out example of the Biblical message of loving your neighbor shown at a time when it was not clear whether the other conferences in the deeper South would have accepted him. However, Holston, which covers East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, did, and a positive experience on both sides evidently resulted.

Although the pioneering Allen would enjoy his own mountaintop experience for eight years leading this conference that covers the Great Smoky Mountains, he came from the lowland area around the Mississippi town of Meridian.

Born in 1918, Lineunt Scott Allen was evidently inspired by his parents to pursue knowledge and Christian service, his obituary in 2004 said. After attending what is now Clark Atlanta University, where he met his wife, Sarah, and Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, he continued his ministry that had already begun with several church appointments.

From 1949-67, he served as editor of the Central Christian Advocate newspaper in his jurisdiction before being elected as a bishop. After his Holston appointment, he moved to a still-standing home at 1011 S. Chilhowee Drive between Asheville Highway and the Holston Hills Country Club in East Knoxville.

Looney said Allen, who was a short man, had a lot of skills that made the transition as the first Black bishop easier. He was a great parliamentarian who could smoothly run a gathering of numerous Methodists, and he tried to handle efficiently the appointment of pastors to churches, he said.

He also knew how to smooth over awkward situations regarding his race. “I was particularly impressed with how he handled the racial tension at the time. He could laugh about it,” recalled Looney, who served as the senior pastor at Church Street in 1987-88 before being elected bishop and later returned on an interim capacity in 2016-17.

As an example, Looney said that Allen had a big black car he would drive around to meet with churches and pastors and their families. One person once mistook him for being a chauffeur, which he diplomatically handled well, Looney said.

He was also figuratively in the driver’s seat with the way he could lead the conference, including behind the pulpit. “He had an interesting style,” Looney recalled. “He would start off very measured and very scholarly” before breaking into the traditional Black preaching manner of using emotion and being cheered on by those listening.

Allen served Holston until 1976, and then was appointed as bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference. While there, he encouraged the appointment of American Indian ministers in areas populated by them. He was also an advocate of women bishops.

Since his tenure, Holston has had two women bishops and another Black episcopal leader. The church at large has also been debating other inclusivity issues in recent months regarding the acceptance of LGBTQ ministers and same-sex weddings.

But the diversity at the top began in an unusual way with this man of short stature who stood tall with his diplomacy and ministering skills.

“The way Holston welcomed him, and the way he laughed about the indignities helped tremendously,” Looney recalled.

POWELL

Mom pays it forward, collects toys for a Christmas giveaway

Al Lesar, Shopper News

About 10 years ago, Chandra (Hurst) Mayton was a struggling single mom with a 6-year-old who had big dreams for his Christmas haul from Santa.

“My son (Caden) loved LEGOs,” Mayton remembered. “He wanted to build the ship from (the) Skylanders (video game).”

That particular set of LEGOs was $80 at the time − well beyond what Mayton, who was working two jobs but was receiving no child support, could afford.

“On Black Friday, it went down to $50, so I was able to get it,” she said. “(Caden) was ecstatic. It wasn’t the value or the price tag, it was the feeling that he wasn’t forgotten at Christmas.

“Once he got the LEGOs, it took him an hour to put the ship together. To this day, we still have the pieces to the ship.”

Mayton’s memories are still vivid. For eight years following her divorce, she was a single mom having trouble making ends meet. Christmas was just another reminder of how hard it was just to get by.

Helping young mothers

Over the years, Mayton’s situation has improved. She is remarried with four grown stepchildren; she has a good job at a credit union, and Caden is a 16-year-old who appreciates the tough time she endured to get to this point.

It’s finally time for her to be able to give back.

The 2001 Powell High School graduate has gotten on the other side of her husband’s serious health issues. This now gives her the time and opportunity to exercise the giving soul she has within.

“A neighbor (in Powell) asked me if I had any use for some old toys (suited for a toddler’s age),” Mayton said. “That got me to thinking. I’ve always been a giving person. I’d give you my last dollar if you really needed it.

“I’ve always wanted to put in motion something that would benefit young mothers who were struggling.”

Social media post takes off

In mid-May, Mayton made a social media post that outlined the formation of a group that would secure new or gently used toys or sporting goods that could bring a smile to the face of a youngster whose parent(s) might be having trouble getting anything special for Christmas.

She had no idea what could come of it.

“I thought it would be something that a few of my friends and I might get together and brighten some lives,” Mayton said. “I never dreamed I’d get responses from a lot of people who want to make sure something like this happens.”

Mayton has plans to collect toys and sporting goods for youngsters from baby to teen. She has been overwhelmed by the offers of involvement.

She already has new skateboards from her sister and toys for a variety of ages from other people. She has had plenty of responses from people who haven’t gotten around to getting her the toys just yet.

“It’s not about me, it’s about God,” Mayton said. “He finally gave me the opportunity to do something like this.

“When I was struggling, I was afraid to ask for help. I don’t want someone else to be afraid. I want to see happy families at Christmas, which is what it’s supposed to be.”

In order to reach out to Mayton, contact her on Facebook.

BEARDEN

Lakeshore Park users level up their fitness on new outdoor exercise equipment

John Shearer, Shopper News

Are you looking for an exercise center where you can get a good workout, but it will not cost you any membership dues – other than literally some sweat equity?

Well, the McCamy Family Fitness Center, featuring several pieces of outdoor exercise equipment, opened June 25 at Lakeshore Park in a ceremony attended by Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon.

The shiny new exercise equipment by the soccer fields is getting plenty of use by all types of exercisers, one park official says.

“As part of the broader mission of promoting overall health and wellness at Lakeshore Park, the Fitness Center provides an opportunity for everyone from casual park users to fitness enthusiasts,” said Julieanne Foy, executive director of the Lakeshore Park Conservancy.

The outdoor facility is also getting great reviews so far from park users, in part due to changing times, she added. “Outdoor fitness centers really gained attention during the pandemic and have seen a rise in use since then.”

She said that the center, which is situated along a long, padded strip near some trees, features individual fitness stations ranging from those focusing on specific muscle groups to those that will help with suspension training and high-intensity workouts. The equipment is also designed to be comparable to High-Intensity Interval Training and CrossFit workouts, she said.

For those unfamiliar with working out on the latest gym equipment, the pieces are encouraged to be both fun and beneficial, although they might make you feel temporarily a little like a human Stretch Armstrong while pulling or pushing with your arms or legs. One or two might also give a user a feel for what it is like to be training for the Olympics.

A sign stands along the equipment with such advisements as that people should be 14 years old or accompanied by an adult, that the machines are to be used as instructed and checked before use, and that other general safety and health tips should be followed.

The center is not all that is new or new-like at the 185-acre Lakeshore Park, which is managed jointly by the city of Knoxville and the Conservancy. Just a few weeks after the outdoor playground opened in the northeast section of the park, the remodeled Central Pavilion has also reopened.

The restroom facility, which also has a place to sell or serve goods or concessions, has a slightly new and updated look with picnic tables and bottle-filling stations. It had formerly been used by walkers and those involved in the soccer and baseball programs before the two baseball fields were removed.

A completely remodeled new playground also in the same area as the old one has also reopened with a multi-unit apparatus, a swing set, and a spinner. The two play sections are surrounded by boulders and separated by a sidewalk.

Several redeveloped trails have also reopened in that area. “The opening of new trail sections and repaved sections has made trail users very happy,” said Foy. “The trail around the perimeter of the great lawn and mound opened, and the trail around the top of the mound will be opening soon. We know park visitors will love the views from the top of the mound.”

The under-construction Riverview Meadow is another place trail walkers or runners can now see, she added.

And stay tuned, as more is on the way, according to Foy. “The baseball fields will open in August,” she said. “The trail, pickleball courts, and garden pavilion will open this fall.”

Recent flower plantings, from daylilies to coneflowers, enhance the landscaping around the redeveloped areas, officials added.

HALLS

Need for foster parents prompts Lana Hughes to answer the call

Al Lesar, Shopper News

When Lana Hughes became a born-again Christian, she knew the calling came with a mandate.

“People are three- and four-dimensional humans,” the Halls resident said. “It’s our calling to take care of people when we can. As a mother of four, I know what it’s like to see kids go through some tough things.”

That’s why, when Hughes had an opportunity to be involved with the Department of Children’s Services foster parent program, she didn’t hesitate.

For the last six years, Hughes has worked in an administrative role for Evergreen Life Skills in Knoxville, near the south end of Clinton Highway. Evergreen is a national company that deals with clients who have a developmental mental disadvantage. Evergreen places clients in situations that fit their capacity.

Recently, Evergreen, a nonprofit, has partnered with DCS to try to relieve the agency’s crowding problem. With the partnership, Hughes went through the training to become a recruiter/trainer for foster parents.

“We have a desperate need for foster parents locally,” Hughes said. “A lot of children have gone into the system, and DCS can’t handle them all. This is our attempt to help.”

Safety, understanding critical

Becoming a foster parent for a child − infant to teen − doesn’t just happen. An eight-week training program gives them an idea of what to expect.

“The two main things we stress (in the training) is safety and understanding,” Hughes said. “We always want to put children in a safe environment. We want to provide a feeling of safety and comfort.

“A child may be resentful of being in a new home. They may reject a hug. We want the foster parents to understand behavioral issues. Don’t take anything personally. It’s not the child. It’s the child’s background. Patience is important because a lot of them don’t have the vocabulary to explain themselves.”

Hughes said the program is a very fluid one. It’s not unusual for children to be moved from one foster situation to another for a variety of reasons.

Foster families receive a stipend. It’s not enough to get rich, but it is tax-free.

Sleep not a priority

Taking on a new challenge like this is special for Hughes. It has to be for her to juggle it with everything else she’s into.

In addition to her work with Evergreen, Hughes is part-owner (with her brother, John Dycus) of Amber Restaurant in Halls. She also runs “Painting with Friends” art studio on weekends.

“Sometimes, I’m only sleeping three hours a night,” she said. “I had one painting I wanted to get done for the studio. I couldn’t sit at the easel any longer. I went to finish it on the bed. I fell asleep and had acrylic paint all over the sheets.”

She’s also doing some redesign with the restaurant. Plans are to add an ice cream counter that will also serve snacks like loaded fries and onion rings.

“When people consider being foster parents, it’s a pretty big decision,” Hughes said. “The ones who are committed are the ones who say, ‘How could I not do this?’”

For more information, call (865) 689-4022 or email lana.hughes@evergreenls.org.

NORTH KNOXVILLE

Say hello to Kumi, zoo's newest gorilla

Jack Coker, Shopper News

Kumi, a 25-year-old female Western lowland gorilla, has made her public debut at Zoo Knoxville’s Gorilla Valley habitat. Her arrival is a new chapter in the zoo’s ongoing conservation work with this critically endangered species.

"If we are going to protect the species, we need to ensure we have a genetically sustainable population of gorillas that are thriving in the care of AZA-accredited zoos,” said KateLyn Miller, great apes keeper.

“Kumi is genetically important and we hope to successfully introduce her to Bantu. Her well-being is our top priority, and our first steps are to make sure Kumi’s transition to our group here in Knoxville is a positive one done at her own pace."

Kumi will join the family group of six other gorillas that include silverback male Bantu, females Hope, Machi, and Kowali and juveniles Obi and Andi. She is undergoing a careful acclimatization process to her new environment, and her care team is closely monitoring introductions.

Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. Their wild populations are decreasing because of habitat destruction caused by deforestation, energy production and mining, the building of roads and railroads, and alteration from climate change. Zoo Knoxville works as part of a collaboration with other zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to care for and maintain a genetically healthy population of gorillas in human care.

OPINION

For working moms, it's hard to find balance

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

A regular reader of mine used to compliment my work by telling me I was just like June Cleaver. I hated the comparison. Not that there was anything wrong with Beaver Cleaver’s mom; she just wasn’t my role model. She wasn’t the type of person I aspired to be.

She seemed too sweet and too eager to please. Too dressed up for the messy business of raising a family. I know she came from a different time and place, but she never seemed like a real person to me. She was a myth, the Hollywood version of an idealized stay-home mom.

But maybe I was wrong to bristle at the comparison. After all, I was mostly a stay-home mom myself. I found jobs to do, writing and working in radio, but my family was my primary focus. I was the fixer of problems and the healer of boo-boos. I was the sounding board and the punching bag, the mediator and the peacekeeper. I understood my role and I was happy with it, even when I struggled to find an identity for myself that wasn’t tied to my children.

By the time Jordan had Simon, my first grandchild, I’d made peace with my decision to keep my career on the back burner. I was content with my life and my choices and supported Jordan in her decision to work full time as a nurse practitioner. But eight years and two grandchildren later, I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for modern working mothers to “have it all.”

Jordan can never be singularly focused. She’s constantly divided by her commitments to her family, her patients, and her co-workers. Her life is chaotic and frenetic. She’s always running. She’s always tired, even when she’s joking and smiling about her crazy life. Everyone wants a piece of her. Everyone wants her attention, but she can never give enough to satisfy everyone, including herself. So, while it’s a perfectly fine choice to have both a career and a family, it’s unquestionably hard.

Lately, I’ve heard Jordan second-guessing her decision to work full time. She tells me day care is so expensive that working doesn’t make great financial sense for her. The kids are exhausted at the end of the day. The house is messy. Everyone is stressed. Plus, she has great memories from her childhood that tug at her, memories of sitting at the kitchen counter while I made her a snack, of hanging out with her friends after school, of telling me every emotion she felt every hour of the day, of recounting her nightly dreams.

My daughter is at an inflection point. She has difficult decisions to make about her life. She considers herself a feminist, but she doesn’t know if she still wants to work. She wants to be a good mother, but she’s nervous to be a stay-home mom. She wants to be a good role model for her daughter, but she’s not sure what that means anymore.

It’s a tough place for a woman to be and there are no easy answers. Affordable day care doesn’t exist. The woman who can bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan without breaking a sweat is a television trope. There is no easy way to “have it all” and keep everyone happy. Jordan needs balance in her life, but she doesn’t know how to achieve it.

It’s hard to navigate the path forward. It’s hard to find equilibrium. But somewhere between Gloria Steinem and June Cleaver, there has to be a happy medium.

Leslie Snow may be reached at snowcolumn@aol.com.