Why I Love

Highlander BBQ

Bio: • Born in Elizabethton • Grades 1-12 in Carter County School System, graduating from Unaka High School in 1976 • Earned certification at Herman Robinson Vocational School in Drafting in 1978 • Worked at Elizabethton Electric System from 1980-1994 • Elected as Carter County Trustee in 1994 to present • Recognized as a Tennessee Certified Public Administrator • Son of Robert Lewis and Janice Gentry • Married my wife, Kim Davis Lewis, in 1982, and have two children: a son, Chad Lewis and wife, Brittany; a daughter, Andrea Lewis; and three grandchildren, Gracie, Carter and Millie

1. What makes Carter County unique by comparison to other places?

Carter County is the most beautiful place to live and raise a family. One of the biggest differences today is the people of Carter County. The folks around here are hardworking, dedicated people who help each other in times of need. Not only are the folks wonderful but we live in a community where we can be safe and take in all the natural beauty of the mountains and streams in our county. In addition, our TVA lake is the cleanest and most beautiful lake in the state. We can enjoy many outside activities including the Tweetie Trail and the local state parks. We are the only city in East Tennessee with a Covered Bridge to admire and it’s right here in town.

2. What is your favorite place to visit in Carter County?

I actually have two places I love to visit. First, Roan Mountain State Park has been a place where my family and I have visited many times. We’ve enjoy camping with my entire extended family over the years. It was always a treat when we camped in June so we could go to the top of the Roan Summit and see the rhododendrons in bloom. Second, we love to go to Watauga Lake and enjoy our time spent in the summer. Fishing and relaxing is what I like best.

3. Do you think living in Carter County changed you in any way?

No. I am not changed in any way because I have lived here all my life. I am, however, a person who is aware of the fact that by growing up in Carter County, things were instilled in me by my family, friends, neighbors, teachers and my church family that help me be the person I am today.

4. Favorite time of year? We are blessed to have all four seasons to enjoy in Carter County. Springtime is special because everything is coming back to life. The flowers are blooming and the trees are sprouting new growth. The summer is full of warm weather and nice evenings to enjoy at the lake with the family. The fall is so beautiful in the mountains with all the colors changing. In winter, we are sometimes blessed with a beautiful snowfall. I guess you can tell, I don’t have a favorite. I love them all.

5. First time visitors recommendation not to miss.

First if you go downtown, make sure to visit the local shops and eateries and walk to the Covered Bridge for a picture and the local Veterans War Memorial. Second, I would take a hike on the Appalachian Trail. You could go fishing or take a raft ride on the Watauga River. If you would like a more relaxing day, rent a boat at a local marina and enjoy your day. There is so much we can do in Carter County. The cost is very reasonable and the memories will last a lifetime.

Randal Lewis

Why Do You Love Carter County?

Is it the wonderful natural resources? How about the historic downtown district? Perhaps it’s the people who make up our community? Whatever the reason, we want to know why you love it here. Tell us why you love Carter County and you could be featured in an upcoming edition of Carter County Living. Just send us a message telling us why you love Carter County. You can reach us by email at news@elizabethton.com or you can mail it to 300 N. Sycamore St., Elizabethton, TN 37643.

Making memories...

Damen holds a lizard while Amanda lends an arm to a macaw during one of their stops on a sunny beach.

The Sorrells sit in front of a pack of elephants at an Elephant Rescue Park in Thailand. Sorrells travels opening the door to the world

The daily grind — it’s tiring, it’s boring, and for most, it becomes such a way of life that by the time retirement rolls around it’s too late to enjoy doing anything else as time has passed by like sands in the hourglass on life.

But imagine as a child being able to be awoken for school and instead of getting ready to spend the day inside a white, four-wall school classroom you find yourself sitting on the sands of a beach or awaken in another country that only others read about in their geography or social studies books.

For most that is only a dream as having such an opportunity takes some sacrifice of things that many don’t want to endure.

However, a Carter County family has made the ultimate decision to escape the ordinary and living with the philosophy that less is more as they sold their house to have the opportunity to travel the world and provide an unforgettable education to their homeschooled or should it be said world schooled children.

Donald Sorrell and Amanda Sorrell along with their children, 11-year-old Damen and eight-yearold Addox, have spent the time preparing to travel the world to provide an unimaginable education for their children and drawing closer as a family.

The family was inspired after they made their first trip abroad to Thailand and realized they absolutely loved the travel life.

Donald and Amanda decided to work hard to set up their business, Pioneer Tattoo Company, to run fully without requiring their presence full time so they could travel more.

They also made the decision to

* Story by Ivan Sanders & Photos by Larry N. Souders

The Sorrell family stands in front of the small cabin they now live in after selling off 80 percent of their possessions to enjoy traveling. Sailing the open waters offers many beautiful evenings like this one experienced by the Sorrell family.

downsize their belongings by 80 percent which for many would be very difficult to do.

Included in that decision was to sell their cabin and move into a small tiny home like one might see on television.

The process itself was something that occurred overnight as the Sorrells took almost two years from the time they decided they wanted to travel full time. During that time they fixed up their large cabin and added a small addition to their tiny cabin while splitting the properties and selling the larger cabin.

With the sale of the larger cabin, the Sorrells were able to pay off the rest of their debt which again would allow more time to travel and less time of having to be at their business to work and pay for things.

According to Amanda, her husband came up with the idea to sail so the family spent one week during the summer of 2020 with a super nice couple that they met on Air BnB.

The couple runs a charter business on their boat so the Sorrells spent time sailing with them where they fell in love with the idea.

As far as places visited so far, the family has made it to Thailand, Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica for their travel abroad.

They have also visited several places in the United States as well as several trips to Canada, where Amanda’s family is from. Canada was actually the first country that Donald and the boys had visited other than America.

When it comes to education, Amanda said, “I think our kids being able to see first hand how people live in other countries and cultures have really opened their eyes. We are very fortunate to be able to homeschool them and world school them to give them a new perspective of how others live.”

She further added that the experience is teaching their children to be grateful for the things that they have and how to be kind to everyone despite the differences in cultures.

Adaptability is one of the main things both kids have learned as they have been exposed to new foods, learning new cultures and new languages. Their mother felt that in the long run, it has taught them to appreciate the things they have and to appreciate having fewer things as they look forward to each new trip they take as a family.

When asked about their favorite experience to date, Amanda said that by far both boys truly enjoyed the day spent at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand.

The park is a nature reserve that rescues elephants in Thailand that have been used in begging for money on the streets, logging, or other tourism.

Elephants are rescued and given a life that they would have had in the wild.

While visiting the park, the Sorrells were able to feed the elephants, walk with them, and bathe them. In the overall experience, it was the family’s favorite trip to date.

In the family’s first experience in sailing, the before mentioned couple who had the charter business invited the Sorrells to join them on their sail from Marathon, Florida to Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

The couple was moving their three boats to Puerto Rico to start a new charter business there.

It was a no-brainer for the Sorrells who were wanting to gain more sailing experience as they wanted to sail full time.

The trip was an ocean crossing of 980 nautical miles and was supposed to take two weeks if the wind was in the Sorrells’ direction but the trip lasted a total of 21 days on the boat while the voyage actually wasn’t completed as an emergency stop had to be made in Manzanillo Bay, the Dominic Republic after they encountered a really bad storm where their sail ripped for the second time.

A plane trip was in store as the Sorrells flew out of the Dominican on day 21 to meet up with their friends in Costa Rica. The boats finally made it to Puerto Rico on day 28.

The question was posed to Amanda if that particular trip or any other had made the family step back and say is this really worth it to be on the water, facing storms, and possibly a case of homesickness thrown in.

Just so happened that not making it to Puerto Rico was just the start of the story previously shared.

“So on this particular trip, we had many, many things that happened,” Amanda shared. “If you’ve heard of Murphy’s Law, what could go wrong, did go wrong!

“Long story short, to give an idea of what went wrong was the engine stopped working, the steering

went out, almost ran out of diesel and water, headsail ripped, fridges stopped working, no radar to know if boats were coming to our direction at night, the wind was never in our favor and then we hit a really bad storm with 12 foot seas.”

Facing all of the difficulties was a test of the Sorrells limits beyond explanation.

It made them question many times as to whether they had made the right decision to take their family on the adventure. They learned very quickly that they needed to let go and just go with the flow as there was no getting out of it.

The family was pretty scared through the storm but finally made the safe passage to the nearest port in the Dominican on the border of Haiti.

During the ordeal, the children did amazing according to Amanda as neither she nor Donald allowed them to see their parents see their times of worry or despair so as not to worry them.

And even through these experiences, the family never felt so alive and in the moment as they did during those 21 days on the boat.

When asked if their experience so far has drawn the family together, Amanda said, “I think it drew us all closer in the fact that we had successfully pushed our fear limits. My husband and I both agreed this was the scariest thing we have both ever endured in our entire lives.

“It definitely brought us closer in the fact that we learned to rely on each other for emotional support in times of despair. We learned how truly adaptable our boys are in any situation we throw at them as well.”

While Donald and Amanda have not used their tattoo experience abroad, they have taken time to do some work in different states that they have visited in America including Microblading by Amanda.

The couple both got a traditional hand poke tattoo while they were in Thailand which they love.

Prior to their trip to Costa Rica, which was their longest to date, they typically have only traveled on trips for a couple of weeks. While the family enjoys traveling, they said there is nothing like coming home to the mountains after traveling.

There are some plans in the works for a possible longer trip abroad to Asia for about four to six months, but the family also wants to wait until everything calms down more from the pandemic.

Enough couldn’t be said about their family and a great crew at Pioneer Tattoo to whom the Sorrells are grateful for keeping the business running while they are traveling.

Amanda was asked if she and her family would recommend this type of adventure to others.

“We would absolutely recommend everyone try at least one travel abroad adventure,” she said. “It will change your life. It will broaden your horizons, open your mind and hearts to things you never knew.”

One of the main things that seem to come up when people ask the family about traveling to other countries is the preconceived notions that it isn’t safe.

But contrary to those beliefs, the Sorrells can honestly say that they have met some of the nicest people ever while on their travels. People in other countries absolutely love to see Americans or any other nationality who want to come to their country and learn about their culture as Amanda said that the people are so friendly and so helpful.

In closing, Amanda attempted to put into words what their adventures have meant to their family.

“I can’t explain in words how travel has changed our lives and the way we view things, Time is valuable and life is short. We want to not waste it on things and make memories with our kids while we can before it is too late.

“Our children won’t remember the things we bought them when they get older but traveling with them will give them the best memories for the rest of their lives”

The Sorrells have their photo taken with a stingray.

With a beautiful backdrop behind them, the Sorrell family continues to be blessed to take in such scenery during their travels.

Owner John Pee stands in front of his new business, W. Elk Nutrition, which is located in the Ingles Shopping Center.

W. Elk Nutrition providing a healthy alternative to fast food

* Story & Photos by Ivan Sanders

Living in a fast-paced society, times have changed from when a family got up early and had a big breakfast together before setting out for school or a new day’s work.

Many are lucky if they can swallow a bowl of cereal or perhaps even catch lunch as it seems to be run, run, run everywhere one turns.

Fortunately for these types of people, others are beginning to look out for the nutritional part of the day as doctors advise that everyone should start out their day with a good breakfast and to not miss any meals whether that entails smaller portions over several sittings during the day.

A business that recently opened in Carter County can provide a way that everyone has the opportunity to meet their day with a nutrition-based shake that will serve as a meal replacement ensuring that individuals will still get the calories, proteins, carbs, and vitamins they need all in one drink.

W. Elk Nutrition opened its doors to what has been an overwhelming response from the local community as customers have been discovering a new way to start their day or get them through the late afternoon dredge before getting off work.

Located in the Ingles Shopping Center, the business was something that owner John Pee wasn’t sure how it would be received but has been overwhelmed by its early success.

Pee, who hails from Mississippi, got into the business thanks to some

friends from his home state who had worked with Pee for 10 years decided to get away from the business they were involved in and started to open stores in the Knoxville area over a year and a half ago experiencing some great success in the market. Realizing it was time for a change, Pee did what many before him had done as he sold his house, quit his job, and moved to the Knoxville area to learn the ropes, and began scouting locations to open his own business. That’s when he found Elizabethton. Looking back over the short time he has been in Carter County, Pee acknowledged it was the perfect fit for both him and his business. He was in the health club business for about 15 years managing in some big-box settings. That is where he learned the side of the business that is hard to teach and that is customer service even sharing that learning the back stuff is easy but one can’t teach how to properly take care of a customer. Stepping into the new store, one will quickly find a large open room minus tables and chairs due to health department regulations that don’t allow for sit-down customers due to the restrooms being located where customers must walk through the back kitchen area. That doesn’t mean friends can’t share a shake or tea together as a couple of standing bars are present allowing time for a quick catch-up.

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Pee is trying to run the store solo for the time being until he can identify exactly how many employees he may need based on the traffic but waits behind the order counter eager to take care of each one that walks through the door as promptly and quickly as possible.

When asked to describe the nutrition shop, he said that most people, in a nutshell, will say it’s fast food with healthy choices.

The products include a meal-replacement shake with anywhere from 200 to 250 calories, 24 to 27 grams of protein that are low carb and low sugar.

Also on the menu are loaded teas that contain 200 milligrams of caffeine, no sugar, and contains only four carbs. The tea also has B-vitamins, Vitamin C, contains a thermogenic, and is energy focused.

A full blackboard filled with flavors of shakes, coffee, and loaded teas gives customers a wide range of selections that often makes it harder to choose which one to go with as they all sound divine.

Customers who were coming in in a constant stream were sharing they started with one flavor and try a different one each time they visit.

“It’s a good way for people to stop in for breakfast and lunch,” Pee said. “They will have a shake for lunch or breakfast and a tea to sip on for energy throughout the day.

“People have seen weight loss with it and it’s a healthy option instead of your typical fast food.”

Pee added that all the shakes have the different products the shop uses which include protein mixes and a meal-replacement mix that finds its way into all the different flavors offered.

Chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter are the bases and can be mixed or matched to make all the different flavors.

“Someone smarter than me came up with all these flavors to make everything taste as they do. They are delicious and all of them have the same exact calories, carbs, proteins, and everything,” Pee said with a chuckle.

The loaded teas have a few different flavors of ingredients so it is easy to mix and match to come up with different drinks for different flavors. Teas are sweetened with Stevia to eliminate sugar. It should be noted that the shakes are intended to be a meal replacement for breakfast or lunch with the anticipation that most people will have a real meal during the evening. Also, the loaded teas are intended to provide energy to help the consumer make it through the tough part of the day while probably not recommended for drinking in the evening with the amount of caffeine that comes in the drink — unless of course one is a graveyard worker who needs that extra oomph to make it through their shift. For that reason, the current hours of operation are from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday while being open until 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The response to the business in its infant stage has been phenomenal as Pee thought he would start out by testing the waters to eliminate the kinks that come with opening a new business but he has been too busy taking care of new customers. Lucky for Pee, he has some friends that have been able to lend a hand during the craziness of opening the store and working out those kinks. The main thing for Pee is that the first impression that is made on his customers will be a lasting

Mississippi native John Pee is the owner of the W. Elk Nutrition store and says that business has been great since his doors opened.

The blackboard on the wall of W. Elk Nutrition lists the key points of nutrition offered by the loaded teas and protein iced coffee sold by the business. one that will be an open invitation to continually open the door for more of his product.

As far as being a part of a new community, he has been totally been blown away by the reception he has received. Being from Mississippi, the people there are nice according to Pee but being in Carter County has been like elevating his former hometown to another level.

“I did some research before I came here, but until you get here you just don’t know,” Pee said. “This is such a community-based area. A lot of support for local business — it has that feel to it. Everybody seems like they are helping each other around here.”

His clientele so far has been everywhere from teenagers to seniors which broke the model that he saw while training in the Knoxville area. But that has been a good thing.

And even though the business is not a franchise, Pee is either looking to expand out in the Tri-Cities or even assist someone who would have an interest in following in his footsteps.

But for right now, Pee is just excited to be in Carter County and seeing his business meet the needs of a new market.

Owen Slagle and Kylee Evans stopped by to pick up a flavored tea at W. Elk Nutrition. The two Elizabethton High School students are also working as part of the EHS XQ business program to help store owner John Pee design business cards, flyers, and T-shirts. Chelsey Johnson is set to go after getting her Butterfinger milkshake at W. Elk Nutrition. The shakes and specialty teas sold by W. Elk Nutrition have many nutritional benefits.