I See UC TN

Helping hands helped shape Kyle Richardson, and the life he lives.

Random acts of kindness are a staple in his life, the way his family has been a staple of Jackson County for nine generations, and for the whole of his. The examples were set at home, and by a network of neighbors and loved ones. Food after church, meals for folks without visitors, cakewalks, benefits, and then the Angel Tree. He lives a life for the benefit of others, and will tell you the credit belongs with the people around him. 

He grew up in Gainesboro. He went into law, he served in the Army, and he came back home. He practices estate planning at Fry, Knight and Richardson in Cookeville, and he serves as a JAG with the Army Reserve. He also serves his community in many ways, with the help of many others.

If you want to be one of those hands, reach out to Kyle. Adopt a name on the Angel Tree, give what you can, or simply spread the word. You can find him at Fry, Knight and Richardson in Cookeville, at (931) 526-5594, or https://www.fryandknightlaw.com

I See UC TN is a conversation from Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland. Hosted by Brandon Korgan. An EverScene Studios production.

Habitat for Humanity is a name most of us already know. Fewer of us know what the work looks like after the group photo.

Amanda Selby, board president of Upper Cumberland Habitat for Humanity, walks through what the affiliate actually does. Homes sized to the family. A construction crew that is mostly volunteers. Sweat equity that reaches the neighbor’s house as well as your own. A repairs program that went quiet and came back. The work is in Putnam, Overton, White, and DeKalb, and they are still looking for land.

She got here the way a lot of people do. A friend asked her to co-chair Cooking on the Square. She said yes before she had ever been. Twelve years later it is the 30th annual: Friday, October 30, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the streets around the Putnam County Courthouse in Cookeville. Hand-thrown bowls. A golden ticket if you want to choose yours early. A square that keeps running out of room.

Tickets, the 30th-anniversary mug, and the shirt are at uchabitat.org. Paper tickets are also at most local banks. The ReStore is next to Big R, off Jefferson in Cookeville. They take furniture and house goods. They do not take clothing.

I See UC TN is a conversation from Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland. Hosted by Brandon Korgan. An EverScene Studios production.

Libraries are a cornerstone in a community — especially a small rural one. Jackson County is that kind of place. So are most of the fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland. Small roster. Tight budget. A library door that still opens.

This hour Brandon Korgan sits down with Nella Hensley of the Friends of the Charles Ralph Holland Memorial Library in Gainesboro. Nella is a Tennessee native and a long time Jackson County resident. She is a charter member and current President of the Friends.

They talk about what a Friends group actually is: a 501(c)(3), all volunteer, what Nella calls the arms and the legs of the library. Fundraising and programs — book sales, bake sales, grants, summer reading prizes, library-card sign-up. How local businesses get pulled in, and give back. How Nella got involved in 2019, right before COVID, when the group was still finding its feet. How they sold books from photos on Facebook and met people in the parking lot. How membership went under ten and is now over sixty.

On the tape: donated books that restock the shelves before they ever hit a sale table. Book-sale paperbacks for a dollar or two. Summer reading in June, built to keep kids in books without making it feel like school. The bookworm scavenger hunt around the that sent families into businesses they might have driven past. An Imagination Library graduation held at the library during library-card sign-up month. Interlibrary loan, and a librarian who knew a homeschool kid well enough to request the next three books in the series before he walked back in.

It is not a full-time job. They meet every other month, and are welcoming new members.

If you want the library, or you want the Friends, start here: https://www.crhmlibrary.org/

Good faith, including mine. Host-only. Brandon Korgan takes the standard from Episode 1 and applies it to himself: why he finally launched the show, what he gets from the work with a real life example (the Little Givers shop at Gainesboro Elementary PTO), and an honest word about real estate. The interviews start next. The work stays on the sidelines.

Gainesboro Elementary PTO — if you are local, they can use you. Little Givers is their student gift shop. School supplies for every child at GES have been part of what that fundraising makes possible.

Find the show at iseeuctn.com. (931) 310-7181. [email protected].

For more about Brandon and/or Real Estate:

Highlands Elite Real Estate (931) 400-8820

A starting place. Host-only. Brandon Korgan introduces I See UC TN from the Upper Cumberland: a phonetic wink, a real map, and a show for the people whose work holds this fourteen-county region together. For neighbors, for travelers who will go back home, and for anyone considering a life here. Interviews start next.

Tags: host-only, introduction, Upper Cumberland, I See UC TN, EverScene Studios