Kelly Kitchens

Kelly Kitchens: Home is where the heart is

* Story by Brittnee Nave Photos by Brittnee Nave & Contributed *

They say home is where the heart is…

For Kelly Kitchens, she found her heart in Elizabethton.

Kitchens has called multiple places home in her lifetime, from Bluff City to Atlanta, but she ultimately chose the small town of Elizabethton to rest her head. Her fondness and time in the area comes from visiting family members, including her grandparents, as she grew up.

Kitchens began serving her city at the age of 20 when she became employed in the Water Billing Department at City Hall. This was her niche for seven years before a promotion to work as an administrative assistant at Parks and Recreation was offered to her.

“Going into the year 2021, it will be my 20th year with the city,” said Kitchens.

Three years ago a new position was created at Parks and Rec that would later show to have been made for Kitchens.

“It was the Program and Special Events Coordinator,” she explained. “That’s really where my heart was, like through doing all of the administrative assistant work, that just entails so much administrative work. So, when this position was created, it’s really where my heart was.”

Kitchens describes her work as “the fun job.” She notes that she never has to get up and dread her job. Instead, she gets to wake up every day and do work to better her city, her home.

Kitchens goes beyond just serving events for Parks and Rec, but also coordinating all special events for the city itself.

“I’m the one stop shop,” said Kitchens. “My job is to coordinate all city departments, permitting, city council approval, etc. for anyone looking to have an event in Elizabethton.”

Besides the fun atmosphere of the events, Kitchens loves working with people. She says this is a perk she has gotten from this job as opposed to her previous duties as administrative assistant.

“This really gives me the opportunity to work alongside somebody from the beginning to the end of an event,” she said. “It’s just so exciting. I have to pinch myself sometimes.”

Kitchens is not alone in her work. Her work comes with a set of lenses. Four to be exact.

Kitchens is a mother of four children, ranging from two adults, one teenager and an 8-year-old.

“I think of everything we offer, and I think where would this fit in with them, is this something they would enjoy,” explained Kitchens.

Kitchens said she often turns to her children, asking them about things they would like to see and what interests them. Her reasoning? While mothers usually know best, times change and kids know what they would like to see more than what an adult could guess they want to see.

Among her favorite events she has coordinated, which is a difficult choice to say the least, Kitchens mentioned one in which her son inspired a popular gathering. Her 8-year-old son looked at his mother one day and told her he would like to see an event about Legos. This made the lightbulb in Kitchens’s head burn bright as she put it together earlier this year, with a turnout that was fantastic.

While some events have a great turnout, others go a bit under expecta-

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Kitchens describes herself as having “the fun job.”

Kitchens said one of the best aspects of her job is being able to work with people. Among some of the events Kitchens calls her favorite, one is the Lego event, inspired by her youngest child. tions. Nonetheless, they are not considered a failure in Kitchens’s book. To her, and Parks and Rec, it’s a lesson on what to do better on next time.

Another project close to her heart is the PEAK Mentorship Program, which aims to help guide at-risk youth and break the cycle surrounding societal issues like substance abuse. This project works alongside the Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition.

As Kitchens sat and reflected on her work, nearing 20 years for Elizabethton, she said there is no place she would rather raise her kids or rest her head.

Kitchens recalled when she first started working for the city. She lived in the Milligan area in between Elizabethton and Johnson City. This in-limbo location gave her a Johnson City address and work in Elizabethton. When the time came to buy a house, Kitchens felt Elizabethton tugging on her heart.

“I knew this was where I wanted to be, and really that appreciation has continued to grow over the years,” she said.

As her children reach college age, three now are, and prepare to leave the nest, Kitchens said she reminds her children that you really learn to value home that much more when you leave it.

“I know that eventually, they will come back home and really appreciate their upbringing here,” she said.

For Kitchens, her heart integrated alongside her into the Elizabethton community.

“This is home,” she said. “I could never be anywhere else. I love it here.”