The Volunteer Roadmap

For 78 years, Rendezvous has served ribs from a spot you can only reach by walking down an alley in downtown Memphis, right across from the Peabody Hotel. 

It’s fed presidents, princes, rock stars, and movie stars… many of whom keep coming back. But John Vergos will tell you the real reason the place has lasted nearly 8 decades isn’t the famous patrons. It’s because of the people who work there (some of them for 40-50 years).

In this episode, I’m talking with John Vergos about how his family built a Memphis institution one rack of ribs at a time. You’ll hear:

This is the first of five conversations I had with the people that make Memphis… well, Memphis. And there’s no better place to start than a 78-year-old institution that’s never forgotten who it’s for.

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Ask Colonel Littleton how he built one of Tennessee's most iconic brands, and he won't talk about leather. Instead, he'll point to a banner hanging in his workshop that reads: "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." 

He keeps a $100 bill on him for anyone who finds an exception to that rule, but it’s been 40 years and he hasn't had to pay up once yet.

In this episode, Colonel Littleton shares how treating people right and never cutting corners on quality has turned a leather goods company in a town of about 300 into a brand people all over the world are proud to carry.

You'll hear:

Anybody can talk about customer service, but Colonel Littleton has built an entire company on it, and never wrote down a single exception.

Do you have a Tennessee story worth mapping out? Reach out to me at https://bit.ly/archabouttn-ep19 

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Bristol Motor Speedway seats 150,000 people, and the town it sits in is a fraction of that. On paper, that could be a huge problem. But the Speedway sees it the other way around, and they’ve locked arms with Bristol instead of towering over it.

In this episode, I'm talking with Bristol Motor Speedway’s President, Jerry Caldwell, about how they became one of the most important community partners in East Tennessee. You'll hear:

This racetrack drives more than $400 million into this region every year, but the real story isn't the money. It's a place that decided its success and its community's success are the same thing.

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For 20 years as mayor of Bledsoe County, Gregg Ridley focused on the unglamorous work that keeps a rural community running: Water lines. Sewer plants. Ambulance service.

It’s the kind of infrastructure that doesn't make headlines or win elections, and that most people never think about until it stops working.

In this episode, I'm talking with outgoing Bledsoe County Mayor Gregg Ridley about why the least flashy work is often the most important, and what it takes to build a rural county people don't want to leave. 

You'll hear:

Flashy projects get the ribbon cuttings. But what keeps a community alive is the work everyone takes for granted.

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Is success easier in a county with a population under 30,000? For Livingston, the answer is yes. 

Because a small, tight-knit community can move on an idea before a bigger county has finished scheduling the first meeting.

Zach Stephens is the CEO of the Livingston - Overton County Chamber of Commerce, and while he’s only been in the role for a year and a half, he's already been able to accomplish a lot just from being “impatient.”

In this episode, Zach shares how he's turning a once-distressed county into one that companies and families actually want to be in. You'll hear: 

Sometimes the advantage isn't size or money. It's being small enough that everyone actually works together. 

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Turtleson makes golf apparel sold by more than a thousand courses and stores across the world. They even make the private-label shirts for St. Andrews, the home of golf, right here in Bristol, Tennessee.

A brand with that kind of reach could set up anywhere, but Turtleson chooses to stay in Bristol, and they've built the company to support the community without depending on it to survive. That balance (global reach with local roots) is the whole reason it works.

In this episode, I'm talking with Greg Oakley, Co-Founder and CEO of Turtleson, about:

You don't have to leave home to build something great. Sometimes believing in your community is the whole strategy.

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How do you know when to focus on one thing vs. diversifying your revenue streams? Especially when the stakes are high and you usually don't see ROI for several years.

To answer that question, we're heading to Sweetwater Valley Farm.

This is NOT your grandpa's dairy farm. They were the first in Tennessee to milk with robots, and they've just started milking on a 60-cow rotary that's the first of its kind in the state.

In this episode, I'm joined by Max Waibel (General Manager) to talk about how a family dairy farm has become one of Tennessee's most recognizable brands. They're deliberate about which ideas they pursue, because most decisions are a five-year commitment. He shares:

Coming up with ideas is the easy part. Success comes from sticking with them long after the excitement wears off.

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A few years ago I was in the Leadership Tennessee NEXT program, and David Golden said something that changed the course of my life:

"I can tell you've long-range planned for someone else's success, but I don't think you've made a plan for your own life."

That conversation is a big part of why I started Arch About TN and The Volunteer Roadmap. So for this episode, we're going to Johnson City to talk to the man who set this whole thing in motion.

David spent 25 years at Eastman before helping build the ETSU Research Corporation, an economic development engine for the Appalachian Highlands. Between the two, he's spent a career thinking about innovation, talent, and how regions actually build prosperity.

In this episode, David shares:

Success on paper and a life well lived aren't the same thing. This episode is about closing the gap between them.

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When Steam was exploding with growth, they could have set up anywhere. Instead, they took a downtown building that had sat vacant for decades and turned it into a four-story hub, bringing more foot traffic to the local businesses around them. They strengthened the community and tapped into Chattanooga's biggest hidden asset at the same time: its location.

In this episode I'm sitting down with Joe Saggio, COO of Steam Logistics, to talk about how a Chattanooga company became a global player in third-party logistics and why this city's spot on the map is one of Tennessee's most underrated advantages. Joe shares:

Logistics isn’t just about efficiently moving freight. It's about economic development, and Chattanooga's location makes Tennessee a better place to live and do business.

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The greatest predictor of poor health in America isn't genetics or lifestyle… It's poverty.

And what causes poverty? Two things: lack of jobs and lack of education. Which means the conversation we should be having about healthcare in Tennessee isn't just about doctors and hospitals - it's about how we create good jobs, especially in our rural communities.

In this episode I'm sitting down with Dr. Randy Wykoff, Founding Dean of ETSU's College of Public Health, to talk about how economic development and public health are inseparable. After 20 years serving Central Appalachia, Randy has a clear view of what Tennessee gets right, what we're missing, and what it would take to actually move the needle.

In this episode, Dr. Wykoff shares:

Tennessee has both some of the richest and poorest counties in America. We have the resources - we just have to get them to the people who need them.

Have a Tennessee story worth mapping out? Reach out at archabouttn.com