Helen McPeak: Bicentennial celebration of 1986 ignited decades of service
ALTHOUGH TENNESSEE didn’t officially join the United States until 1796, Lamar Alexander, the state’s 45th governor, proposed a bicentennial celebration in 1986 to mark 200 years since the first...
W.P. Bone: Three generations in the automotive industry
WINSTEAD PAINE “W.P.” Bone III began his career in the automobile business by washing cars at Wilson County Motors, his father’s dealership. “I was paid in nickels and dimes out of the Coke...
Letter From the Editor
“FRANKENSTEIN,” PUBLISHED in 1818, is considered the first science fiction novel. The Gothic story cracked open an entire genre of literature that has endless new entries today. It inspired...
Cindy Woody: Just give of yourself
MOST PEOPLE slow down at 70. Cindy Woody is just getting started. By the time the Volunteer Network named her Volunteer of the Year, she had already logged nearly 100 volunteer hours, much of it...
Brooke Stewart and Steven Burritt: Impaired driving ends here
ON A quiet morning in Tennessee, Brooke Stewart’s world shattered. Her husband, Shawn Stewart, a steel mill worker and devoted father of four, kissed his family goodbye, told them he loved them the...
Durći Chocolate: Every bite is a sweet surprise
GOOD NEWS IS COMING TO DINNER! We will feature a local food critic’s thoughts as they dine in Lebanon. This month, Krys Midgett visited Durći Chocolate. AS FORREST Gump’s mom said, “Life is like a...
Kason Lester: Hometown roots, Hollywood lights, and vintage dreams
KASON LESTER doesn’t have to go far to remember who he is. He’s a hometown guy, born and raised in Lebanon, whose heart beats for Middle Tennessee, where red dirt roads lead to family farms and...
Stosh Morency: Where imagination lives and community gathers
LOCATED JUST off Highway 109 North at 41 Business Park Dr. in Lebanon, Tennessee — far from the towering skyscrapers of Lego headquarters — sits a colorful universe of imagination known as Music...
Brystol Kilpatrick: Building business, character, and community
A CLUSTER OF quail pecked eagerly at the feed while Ellie carefully checked their water. Inside their home, Kensley lined up freshly baked sourdough loaves on the counter to cool. The vibration of a...
Andy White: Spreading hope, one act at a time
“DO THINGS that can make a difference, and create hope in someone else’s life.” Those words are the driving force behind Andy White’s life, and his work in and for the community reflects that goal....
Letter From the Editor
THE SCENT of warm butter-covered popcorn and the huge roar of the crowd… does anything bring you back faster than a Friday night under the stadium lights? For me, it’s a flood of memories: the...
Corey and Misty Shadd: Faith fuels family dreams
WHEN LIFE threw everything it had at Corey and Misty Shadd – job loss, medical emergencies, financial hurdles, and a devastating car accident — they refused to let it derail their dreams. Instead,...
Rural 1st continues their long-standing support of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
For nearly 86 years, the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has been deeply woven into the fabric of the Shelbyville, Tennessee community. To Bedford County and surrounding areas, this...
John McNeal: Leading with heart
COACH JOHN McNeal scanned the hallway at Friendship Christian School — not for hall passes or horseplay, but for instincts. One boy’s shove and a quick twist out of a headlock might’ve looked like a...
Jonathan Barfield: From no to inspired yes
IN A Lebanon gym, the squeak of sneakers and the thud of basketballs bounce off the empty bleachers. A group of young athletes navigates through cone drills, focusing intently on their footwork and...
Frankie, Morgan, and Kristin Price: Bound by balance
BEFORE THEY were All-Americans, before the college commitments and championship routines, the Price sisters were three girls growing up in Lebanon. They were raised by a mom who never missed a...
Letter From the Editor
IF YOU’VE ever seen a fighter jet cut across the sky, you know what powerful looks like. You know what freedom sounds like. That roar overhead reminds us that we live in a country where people put...
James Briggs: Leadership in action
LIGHTS FLASH across the stage, lighting up three guitarists as they bring to life the energy of ’90s rock. Behind them, at the drum set, sits James Briggs, providing the rhythm and drive that helps...
Sheriff Terry Ashe: A lifetime of grit, justice, and service
THE FLOWERS weren’t just dead — they were a message. Wilting in a hospital vase after his third lightning strike, Sheriff Terry Ashe stared at the bouquet, sent anonymously by enemies who knew he...
ZaBrina Seay: On both sides of the desk
ON ONE side of the desk, there could be a veteran, their spouse, their widow, or their children. ZaBrina Seay cares for them all. As director of the Wilson County Veterans Service Office, Seay works...
Bob Jantz: Healing hearts across continents
SOMETIMES, KEEPING one promise plants the seed for another to bloom. In a small Romanian village around 1999, a young boy didn’t expect much from the visiting missionaries. He had cut his arm on a...
Dr. Paul Nawiesniak: A mission renewed
THERE ARE no limits to what you can achieve, especially when your purpose is bigger than yourself. For Paul Nawiesniak, that purpose — his “why” — has always been veterans. The people who raised...
Letter From the Editor
A FAMILY LOADS up their navy blue Jeep in Tennessee and takes a cross-country road trip. It’ll take several days to get to the Sequoia National Park in California. There may be hours when the Jeep...
Vicie and Tim Edwards: Feeding generations
IN 1935, with a dream and $1,200, which she used to purchase her first two incubators, Vicie Mae Brown Edwards started the Edwards Hatchery. Vicie and her husband started out grinding grain and...
Michelle Swart: Helping children find their village with Wilson County CASA
MOST OF us know the saying, “It takes a village.” A well-known African proverb, it’s often used when discussing the care of children. The concept of the phrase is that no individual succeeds or...
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