Reelfoot Forward

Ann Martin is a leader of one of the most unique attractions in the nation, Patti’s 1880’s Settlement in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. A cancer survivor, businesswomen, entrepreneur, and recent TikTok star, she led the organization through a devastating fire, the many negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and now, unprecedented growth. In this episode, she shares the inspirational story of how their attraction’s restaurant— now serving over one million dollars in pork chops every year—began when one courageous woman, the late Patti Tullar, transformed her love for cooking and family into an award-winning business in a tiny town of 350 located between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Today, with its beautifully landscaped gardens, wedding chapel, water wheels, gift shops and boutique stores, Patti’s 1880’s Settlement, just an hour from Discovery Park, draws more than 300,000 visitors each year.

You can discover more about Patti’s 1880’s Settlement on their website and follow Ann Martin on TikTok.

This episode is sponsored by Leaders Credit Union.

Jeremy Powell, a pastor and teacher in Union City, Tennessee, was born with an autoimmune deficiency that rendered his body incapable of defeating bacterial and fungal infections. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, Powell contracted fungal meningitis. Given only an 18% chance of surviving the infection, his doctors at the National Institutes of Health recommended a bone marrow transplant as a last-ditch effort to clear the meningitis and save his life. Powell survived the transplant, and his rehabbed immune system even fought back the infection in his spine and brain. He was healed of his autoimmune deficiency and the fungal meningitis it caused. However, it left him completely paralyzed from the neck down, an he found himself dangerously close to having his breathing permanently compromised.

After a stint at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Spain Rehabilitation Hospital, another operation and an inpatient rehab stay at Vanderbilt’s Stallworth Hospital, Powell slowly began feeling again. As he has grown stronger, his mobility has dramatically improved, and Powell continues to amaze medical doctors, nurses and physical therapists nationwide with his miraculous recovery.

In this episode, Powell shares his inspirational story and that in the midst of some of the darkest days he has ever experienced, it became clear that God could use his suffering to cultivate hope in his life and in the lives of others. Today, he has returned to the pulpit of Crosswind Church where his message of hope touches hundreds each week. You can discover more about Powell at JeremyPowell.com and find episodes of his messages on Crosswind Church’s Youtube channel.

This episode is sponsored by Leader Credit Union. Leaders is insured by NCUA.

In this second two-part episode about road and mountain biking in Tennessee, we welcome Rodney McConnell, founder of the popular Ride the Fault Line bike ride. Participants on this ride explore attractions and experiences along the New Madrid Fault Line in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee in just seven days.

This episode is sponsored by Obion County Tourism.

We kick off a new year of podcast episodes from Discovery Park with a special two-part look at road and mountain biking in Tennessee. Jenny Veal, rural destination development manager with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, shares more about Bike Tennessee. The initiative will feature four to six curated routes in each of the nine regions of the state. Each route will be named, rated for difficulty, and will include mileage, climb, scenic information and points of interests. All Bike Tennessee cycling routes will be mapped and downloadable in the Ride with GPS app.

This episode is sponsored by Reelfoot Lake.

As chairperson of the Arts Council of Crockett County, Tennessee Sarah Conley champions fine arts in the rural community named in honor of David Crockett. In this episode, she shares details from her journey so far including a childhood in Bells, Tennessee and early theatrical training with nationally acclaimed teacher of high school speech and drama, Freda Kenner. Today, Conley enthusiastically works to make certain people of all ages have access to arts of all kinds.

This episode is sponsored by Parker’s Outfitting.

Tosha and Chris Gurley’s love story began with their “first child” Jack, a pet black-capped capuchin monkey. After Chris sold his cattle and goats, he decided to buy five buffalo. Next came the zebra, kangaroos and giraffes. It quickly grew from there into what is now Southland Safari in Clarksburg, Tennessee. Along for the ride with Tosha and Chris from the beginning, was their friend and legendary tour guide, Michael Avery. In this episode, Tosha and Michael share more about their story and the big commitment they made to leave their full-time jobs to run a zoo and luxury destination.

Get a sneak peek of Michael at work with the animals from their Instagram or TikTok accounts, @southlandsafaritn. Better yet, plan your visit on their website for an up close and personal tour or luxury lodging experience.

Originally from Memphis, Dr. Yancy Freeman is the new chancellor at the University of Tennessee at Martin. In this episode, we discuss his path back to West Tennessee and the guidance he provides for today’s students.

After completing his undergraduate, masters and doctorate from UT Chattanooga, Dr. Freeman served at the university for the past 25 years in various admissions, recruitment and enrollment roles.

“West Tennessee has always been near and dear to my heart,” Dr. Freeman expresses as he reflects on being back in the part of the state that feels like home.

This episode is sponsored by Leaders Credit Union. Leaders is insured by the NCUA.

“You do not have to be defined by your circumstances, but you’re defined by the choices that you make every single day.” These are words that Miss Volunteer America 2024, Hannah Perrigin, lives by.

In this episode, we go back to her beginning where Ms. Perrigin decided she was not going to be another statistic of at-risk youth. You may be surprised to learn that time competing in pageants didn’t start until she was in college. In 2019, she was crowned Ole Miss Most Beautiful. This is when she was encouraged to continue.

We also discuss the good and bad of social media and why she chooses to share both as a way to inspire her followers. Learn more about how pageants have changed over the years and the platform it’s given her.

Obion County resident Kimberly Green Bugg is an award-winning artist and member of the Oneida Nation on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada. She began dancing and competing in Powwows in 1994 as a Southern Traditional Buckskin dancer, a traditional dance among the southern nations, and in 1997, she was selected as the Memphis Powwow Princess. In this episode, Bugg shares more about exploring her Native American culture, the importance of powwow celebrations and her work keeping Native American traditions alive today.

Kim and her husband, David, lead the planning team responsible for the inaugural Northwest Tennessee Native American Educational Powwow at Discovery Park of America on October 27-29, 2023, so she also provides behind-the-scenes details about the unique event.

This episode is sponsored by Parker’s Outfitting.

The Denver Nuggets won the NBA Championship on June 12, 2023. The cameras caught Assistant Coach Popeye Jones hugging Finals MVP Nikola Jokic afterward and saying, “Hey! Thank you! Thank you!”

In this episode, we sit down with Popeye to not only discuss what he was thinking at that moment but also take a trip down memory lane to where it all started in Dresden, Tennessee. He discusses fatherhood, what it’s like to raise sons with a passion for a different sport, and how he sat them up for success as professional athletes. In 2007, Ronald “Popeye” Jones was inducted into the Murray State University Hall of Fame. His jersey No. 54 is retired at MSU and hangs in the CFSB Center's rafters.