Reelfoot Forward

Get ready to be inspired by this episode with segments recorded at the third annual Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Discovery Awards. At this special annual event, we honored four amazing individuals who, like Discovery Park, believe in the power of leading others to explore and discover.

In this episode, 2023 honorees Amy L. Bondurant, Keith Carver, James Ross and John S. Tanner share thoughts on their impressive careers and the importance of inspiring children and adults to see beyond.

Honoree James Ross summed up the spirit of the evening when he stated, “A lot has been said here tonight about thanking us, but I'm here to tell you, what an incredible environment this is for kids as well as adults to be able to expose themselves to not only the sciences but to the arts and to our history. To that, we owe this institution a huge, huge round of applause.”

To give to Discovery Park, visit: https://discoveryparkofamerica.com/give/

Are you ready to dive into the fascinating world of baseball history and heritage?

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Guyman, the owner of the Fulton Railroaders, as he explores the intersection of baseball, legacy and culture.

The Fulton Railroaders is a small-town league that invites players from across the country to play a 40-game schedule during the summer, all with a wooden bat. Guymon outlines the important role that baseball has played in shaping our West Tennessee communities and the history of the Fulton Railroaders. He takes us on a journey through the history of baseball as he shares his deep knowledge of the game and his experience running a successful minor league team.

This episode is sponsored by Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge.

In this episode, we welcome Powerhouse Athletics owner, Jacob Dublin. We hear about Dublin’s affinity for being a new business owner and a mentor to the young people of West Tennessee. 

Dublin shares his transition from student to coach and the values he learned from his own experiences as an athlete at Bryan College. He discusses how his belief in humility, hard work and a practical outlook has led him to a leadership role and how these practices guide and inspire him in his work with high school athletes. 

This episode is sponsored by Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge. 

This podcast episode is available online on Soundcloud, Castbox, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms and apps.

Museum curator Katie Burke was a key member in the development and design of the Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center located in Bass Pro Shops' superstore in the Memphis Pyramid. Today, she is director of the interactive museum that raises awareness of wetlands and waterfowl conservation, emphasizes the importance of rivers and wetlands to society and illustrates the role that hunters play in conserving wildlife habitat and the waterfowl resource. In this episode, Burke discusses the career path that led her to Ducks Unlimited, the importance of wildlife conservation and her involvement in the upcoming Discovery Park exhibit “Duck, Duck, Goose: Waterfowl of the Mississippi Flyway.” 

This episode is sponsored by Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge.

This podcast episode is available online on Soundcloud, Castbox, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms and apps.

Lane Walker is an award-winning educator, writer and outdoorsman. For 25 years, he has dedicated his life to inspiring children to get out of the house and explore the world around them. This devotion, paired with a passion for storytelling, resulted in him becoming the author of award-winning chapter books on topics including hunting, fishing and sports. In this episode, Walker shares more about his books and reminds listeners of the importance of connecting with children by asking three questions: Am I seeing them? Am I hearing them? Do they know that they matter? For more about Lane’s books, visit lanewalkerbooks.com/.

This episode is sponsored by Final Flight Outfitters Inc.

This podcast episode is available online on Soundcloud, Castbox, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms and apps.

After his wife’s diagnosis with schizophrenia, Jason Pate began learning to process his own grief through the lens of history by diving into the forgotten stories of those who have already passed.

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In this episode, Pate details his discovery of what it takes to write a biography, his passion for sharing history with his community and the impact and freedom of self-publishing his own book, “The Journey of a Plow Boy: The C.W. Hubert Story,” which can be found on Amazon.

Zac Elliott is the founder of Mad Cow Defenses, a firearm customization shop in Union City, Tennessee. In this episode, Elliott discusses his unconventional journey of joining the military and ultimately finding himself inspired to return from California to his hometown and beginning a new venture. He also provides listeners a unique insight into the role that word of mouth advertising can have on a business’s success.

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This podcast episode is available online on Soundcloud, Castbox, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms and apps.

Timothy and Terri Jenkins-Brady and Randy Stark met as three students in the same first-grade classroom in Albuquerque, N.M. Today, they are accomplished professionals who came together to form an organization called Write up the Road Media. In between is a fascinating story of love, friendship and an inspirational journey worthy of a Hallmark movie. The three storytellers have woven articles, flash fiction, short stories, poetry and books into lives rich with words and imagery. Timothy and Terri now live in Kenton, Tennessee and also grow a variety of fruits and vegetables on their farm, Dixie Chile Ranch.

Kevin Adelsberger is the founder and managing partner of Adelsberger Marketing in Jackson Tennessee. In 2019, Adelsberger Marketing sold partial ownership of Alexander, Thompson, and Arnold, CPAs. Kevin lives in Jackson with his wife and business partner Renae and their three children. They are involved members of First Baptist Church, Jackson. They are also some of the few to cheer on the Minnesota Vikings from below the Mason-Dixon line.

The Freedom Forum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a mission of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all, will be at Discovery Park on Sept. 23 and 24, 2022, for a festival celebrating the First Amendment rights that make our country unique. In this episode, the Freedom Forum’s Cathy Trost, chief engagement officer and senior vice president, and Patty Rhule, chief content officer and vice president, share more about some of what the Freedom Forum has found in their annual First Amendment survey and what they heard from recent focus groups with residents of Union City, Tenn. While they’ve found Americans see the First Amendment – which protects our essential freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition – as vital to our democracy, many worry there is a lack of understanding about those five freedoms. That’s one of the reasons the Freedom Forum is headed to Discovery Park for their inaugural First Amendment Festival.

Admission to the park on the day of the festival is FREE with registration. Fox News anchor Bret Baier will speak about his career and the First Amendment, and country music legends The Gatlin Brothers will perform. For more information or to reserve your ticket, visit discoveryparkofamerica.com/1afestival.

This podcast episode is available online on Soundcloud, Castbox, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms and apps.

This episode is sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.