Reelfoot Forward

Paige Burcham Dennis, a fashion entrepreneur based in Union City, Tenn., welcomes entertainers, celebrities, pageant contestants and others from around the world to Joann’s, her shop where “glitter runs through their veins.” She helps dress and style customers, most who become close friends, for their appearances in everything from music videos and movies to pageants and proms, and anywhere else making a fashion statement can make a difference.

She talks about her own first beauty pageant that launched her mother, the shop’s founder Joann, on the path to eventual success in the gown business, growing up in a small town and why, after finding success in fashion-forward cities around the world, she returned home to Union City to work and raise her young children.

Later, DPA docent Travis Crum takes listeners back to 1908 when a dispute over the title to Reelfoot Lake and the surrounding land led to a period of murder and mayhem by a vigilante group known as the Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake.

Lee Wilson’s path through life has led him through jobs in construction, photography, higher education, junk hauling, and college ministry. After developing an appetite for adventure and escape, this West Tennessean found himself on the CBS reality show “Hunted” where he and close friend Hilmar Skagfield ran from former CIA agents, FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security, the NSA and others. They eventually won the $250,000 first prize.

In addition to sharing his tips on winning a reality show, Wilson gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at how he and his partners are finding success in the world of escape rooms with his latest passion, Jackson Escape Rooms.

Also, do you know what the moon is actually made of? If you answered “cheese,” you’ll want to listen as Andrew Gibson discovers more about the moon from education specialist Russell Orr.

Kelly Powers turned early success as a much-celebrated professional goose caller into a popular retail and mail-order catalog business. Final Flight Outfitters Inc, in Union City, Tenn. was founded with his brothers, Jon Ed and Tripp, and grew from a storage trailer in 1998 to a 25,000-square-foot showroom that contains a large selection of outdoor gear and hunting supplies.

Powers talks about how, in spite of phenomenal growth, the brothers and their close-knit staff maintain their goal of growing a relationship with each customer. Powers also explains the importance of the Reelfoot Lake region to their business and the role of philanthropy in his life and career.

Also, assistant director of education, Andrew Gibson, takes us behind-the-scenes with DPA docent Nate Newlin as they talk about the paleontological heritage of West Tennessee and remarkable discoveries around the Coon Creek Formation, a geologic formation located in western Tennessee and extreme northeast Mississippi.