The Home Page Guide to Williamson County

WILLIAMSON COUNTY THE HOME PAGE GUIDE TO

Why companies are relocating to WillCo 10 Williamson County Social Media Accounts to Follow

INFLUENCERS

From a librarian to the folks at Franklin Pride to a meteorologist building a safer neighborhood, we look at more than a dozen people doing good work in the community

PUBLICATION SPONSOR

Tevis Denise

A positive influence on your most important life decisions.

I have a “Ready to Help” Attitude, and I’m always willing to assist others.

What people need is an incredibly important thing for me to consider.

Everyone holds their own unique qualities that are waiting to be utilized.

I help to shape and guide the client as we build a relationship that fosters a mutual understanding.

I’ve always looked for a little more out of life. I’m an engaging and honest person. Self-confidence and enthusiasm have been assets for me, and without them, nothing great could be accomplished. Looking at a real estate situation, I search for inspiration, innovative ideas, solutions to problems, and I acknowledge my expectation to deliver. This exercise brings a sense of peace and joy to me. Sometimes, I wonder, “Are these really my thoughts?” Then, I feel comfortable with the realization that they are coming from my heart and soul.

These wonderful, insightful moments have always been there waiting for me to give them the chance and instill hope in someone.

The very image of two parties coming from two different perspectives, who need to find a mutual solution to a problem, energizes me. In the overall scheme of things, it’s most important to have a satisfied client.

By clarifying every aspect of a transaction, every feature of the home, and every outline in the deal, a home is going to be bought or sold.

Preparation is the key.

Tevis Denise M: 615.496.0068 O: 615.790.7400 tevisdenise@parksathome.com 106 EAST MAIN STREET FRANKLIN TN 37064

CUSTOM WINDOW TREATMENTS Williamson County Influencers

CONTENTS

I N SPI R ED BY YO U Your Needs. Your Style.

Our Guidance.

Pg. 7

FALL 2021

8

Jen Vogus of AbleVoices

Opening the doors to selfexpression, empowerment and advocacy

10

Dana Juriew of the Spring Hill Public Library

How book lovers helped keep a community whole

12

Omkar Upadhye of Ravenwood High School

How one young man helped more than 1,000 students gain financial literacy

14 16

Tosha Robinson Baugh of Johnson Elementary School

Dan Thomas of WSMV Channel 4 A meteorologist takes charge to make his neighborhood safer

19

Erin McAtee of Narrow Gate Trading Co.

23

Grace Good of the circus world

The inspiration of a bedsheet hung in a garage and a virtual circus

ERIC ENGLAND

Michael Anthony Pappas of The Contract CFO Show

An entrepreneur looks to help others find success

24

Kevin Townsel Jr. of TikTok fame

When a social media account becomes a pulpit for positivity

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Leaving a legacy of pouring into others

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Sarah Gonzalez of Spring Hill Bakery

Using treats to bring community close during times of hardship

Franklin Pride

LGBTQ group measures progressivism in Williamson County

A great-great-greatgranddaughter is leaving her mark as the descendant of Harvey McLemore

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Local Social: 10 Williamson County Social Media Accounts to Follow Fact Checking 5 Williamson County Stereotypes Companies continue to flock to Williamson County. Here’s why five said they moved here.

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Williamson County Fall Family Calendar

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What you need to know about Williamson County

34

What you need to know about Brentwood

35

What you need to know about Nolensville

With so many options, the process of choosing the perfect treatments can seem overwhelming. From understanding your needs to helping you determine your design style, we’re here to guide you through every step of the process.

36

What you need to know about Franklin

CALL/TEXT TODAY FOR YOUR COMPLIMENTARY IN-HOME CONSULTATION

37

What you need to know about Fairview

DAN GROSSMAN 615.467.3640

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What you need to know about Spring Hill

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Williamson County

By The Numbers

WINDOW TREATMENTS ARE MUCH MORE THAN BLINDS.

dgrossman@gotchacovered.com

gotchacovered.com/cool-springs

BLINDS / SHADES / SHUTTERS DRAPERIES / SMART HOME COMMERCIAL

editorial

MANAGING EDITOR Amanda Haggard ASSISTANT EDITORS Rebekah Jones, Cory Woodroof STAFF WRITERS Cedric Dent Jr., Matt Masters, John McBryde, Kathryn Rickmeyer, Alexander Willis

art & production

ART DIRECTOR Christie Passarello PHOTOGRAPHERS Eric England, Matt Masters, Alexander Willis, Eric Wilson GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Mary Louise Meadors, Tracey Starck

publishing

PUBLISHER Kelly Gilfillan ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS CONSULTANTS Maggie Bond, Sue Falls, Michael Jezewski, Carla Mathis, Will Shutes, Niki Tyree, Keith Wright SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER Chelon Hill Hasty ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS ASSOCIATES Caroline Poole, Alissa Wetzel

events

EVENTS DIRECTOR Olivia Moye Britton PROMOTIONS AND MARKETING MANAGER Robin Fomusa

circulation

CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION DIRECTOR Gary Minnis

business

PRESIDENT Frank Daniels III CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Todd Patton PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Elizabeth Jones IT DIRECTOR John Schaeffer SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Susan Torregrossa

FW Publishing, LLC

The journalists with whom I’ve worked have been called to a job that is not easy.

The job involves late hours covering meetings and chasing down sources. I’ve lost count of how many reporters we’ve hired, but I do know that each of them brought ambition, drive and ethics to the table. And when they face criticism from an unhappy reader, they handle it with grace.

Being a journalist or being in the news business in any position can be a thankless job. I’d love to see that change. If you appreciate learning about your city or county meetings, charity events, court cases and law enforcement agencies, consider thanking a reporter next time you see them. They will probably be speechless!

I believe journalism is a noble profession and it’s taken a hit in the last 10 years.

Local journalism is different from the national media. We know our towns and cities. We take the time to learn about everyone in our community. We know the people for whom we report. And we care about them too.

We don’t always get to write positive stories like the ones we outline in these pages. I truly hope you enjoy these profiles about amazing people and the influence they’ve had on neighbors just like you.

OWNER Bill Freeman

Sincerely,

210 12th Ave. S., Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37203 williamsonhomepage.com

Kelly Gilfillan Publisher

The Home Page Guide to Williamson County is published by FW Publishing, LLC. For advertising information, email Kelly Gilfillan at kgilfillan@fwpublishing.com. For distribution information, call 615-844-9307. Copyright © 2021 FW Publishing, LLC.

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his edition of the Home Page Guide to Williamson County is special to my heart because it honors the influencers for good in our county. As I approach my retirement, I have been reflective on the place the Home Pages have played in our community. I want to pose the idea that our team at the Home Pages has had its own influence. In my 12 years as publisher, I’ve watched the readers we serve become better informed and as a result, more involved.

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

ON THE COVER Tosha Robinson Baugh Photo by Matt Masters

S PON S OR E D PROFIL E COMPA N Y PROFIL E

SEEK AND SHARE LOCAL EVENTS 24/7

WELCOME TO

Visit Lifeogeny.com and click on the Host button to learn more about how to setup your FREE profile today! For questions or help contact help@lifeogeny.com.

Jenny Haarbauer, Founder

EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. LIVE.

Lifeogeny At Lifeogeny, enhancing experiences to bring communities together is the goal. What started as a Franklinbased startup is now an app that fosters innovative marketing tactics among Greater Nashville-area business at a time when small businesses really need help reengaging customers. The app has a two-sided network designed to incentivize businesses to “host” experiences and customers to take part in them.

WELCOME TO

SCAN TO LEARN MORE OR VISIT LIFEOGENY.COM

When Jennifer Haarbauer founded the app in January of 2020, her aim was to help businesses capitalize on what is called the “experience economy” —a market climate in which memorable experiences naturally add value to the product or service in question and thereby retain customers for almost nostalgic reasons. First use of the term is typically attributed to a 1998 article by James Gilmore and Mass Customization author B. Joseph Pine II, both known for penning a book entitled by this term and the latter also known for the 2009 TED Talk, “What Consumers Want.”

Lifeogeny encourages businesses to involve customers directly in an occurrence or event that becomes a memorable experience for the customer that then draws that

customer back to that same brand over its competitors. Because it is a two-sided network, it also enhances customers’ experiences by providing them with a wide range of options that they may be interested in.

Whether it’s a football game, concert, or a weekly food truck event— Lifeogeny aims to give everyone a curated list of events hosted by a local business, performer, venue or individual they might love. It also provides small businesses with the opportunity to use their assets to curate experiences.

Haarbauer said, “[It’s about] helping businesses understand how they can take who they are, their brand, the products that they sell, their storefront, the assets that they’re already paying for… and use those assets to curate an experience to then engage their customer in a new way.”

Additionally, for businesses, Haarbauer said one of the best parts of Lifeogeny is that it gives them a place to do extensive customer outreach without having to worry about Instagram analytics, Facebook tags or online advertising. For customers, once they log into the image-driven app, they will be able to create a very personal and curated feed where they can see upcoming

events around them. “It’s powered by people,” she said.

Haarbauer, who previously worked as a financial controller in the music business, said that for her, supporting small businesses was the main motivation for creating the app.

“My passion is for people who take a chance, open their own business,” she said. For her, the most rewarding part of creating the app is getting to be able to help people and small businesses on a bigger scale than she ever could have before.

With Lifeogeny, you can see the connections being made one by one and the community start to grow.

Just in its beginning phase, Lifeogeny is working with several businesses to create the community that Haarbauer dreamed of when she started creating it years ago.

Many businesses never go as far as to create an engaging Instagram account or their own app, and Lifeogeny’s goal is to bridge the gap, connecting locals to businesses in the area that they may have not known of otherwise. With more businesses come more customers and the community can truly thrive.

The benefits that Lifeogeny provides are mutual.

The app is available in the Apple and Android app stores now.

SPONSORED PROFILE

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TN

COMPANY PROFILE 6 Cadillac Drive, Suite 310 Brentwood, TN 37027 Jeremy Rettich, President 615-340-0801 www.virtuecm.com or www.vcmnashville.com

Virtue Capital Management is a local independent SEC Registered Investment Advisory Firm in Williamson County managing over $980M in assets and growing.

Virtue Capital Management, LLC (VCM) has been recognized as one of the fastest growing firms nationwide during the last few years and specializes in wealth management in an independent fiduciary capacity using both traditional and non-traditional strategies and solutions. VCM helps clients in their efforts to achieve their financial goals including the following areas where we see investors being the most underserved by their current financial advisors.

Customized 401(k) Investment Advice VCM offers 401(k), 403(b), and 457 customized investment advice though Self-Directed Brokerage Account’s (SDBA) as well as non-SDBA’s. According to a report by Financial Engines and Aon Hewitt, 401(k) plan participants that enrolled in managed accounts or accessed online advice had median investment returns that were 332 basis points higher per year (net of fees) than workers who didn’t use one of those methods.

Sale of Highly Appreciated Stock VCM offers strategies designed to reduce taxes on highly appreciated stock both in and out of your 401(k) plan. Utilizing Net Unrealized Appreciation as well as options strategies to potentially bring taxes down from ordinary income tax rates to capital gains tax rates.

Strategic Asset Allocation Strategic Asset Allocation sets target allocations and then periodically re-balances the portfolio toward those target goals as investment returns skew the original asset allocation percentages.

Example: A strategic “Large-Cap” asset allocation would generally be invested in large-cap investments

even if the broad stock market or large-cap itself was underperforming.

Dynamic Asset Allocation Dynamic Asset Allocation adjusts the mix of asset classes to suit varying market conditions. Seeking to dynamically invest in the best performing asset classes capitalizes on momentum and provides ongoing returns as trends continue. Conversely, dynamic asset allocation reduces asset classes that are trending lower to attempt to minimize losses.

Example: A dynamic asset allocation may be invested in four sectors of the stock market in January but at another point during the year may have sold all four of those sectors and replaced them with other sectors or asset classes demonstrating more momentum.

Tactical Asset Allocation Tactical Asset Allocation allows active portfolio managers the flexibility to quickly buy or sell different asset classes depending on market conditions. The goal for this allocation is to participate in market appreciation during bull markets while mitigating the impact of major losses during sustained downward markets. Managers can invest in multiple asset classes and go “offensive” or “defensive” depending on the stock market environment.

Example: A tactical asset allocation may be invested 100% in Large Cap Growth stocks while in an offensive “risk-on” posture and then liquidate those stocks in order to be reinvested 100% in a high-quality bond fund during a defensive “risk-off ” period.

Call Virtue Capital Management today to schedule your complimentary appointment and investment analysis.

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VCM specializes in wealth management using both traditional and non-traditional investment and insurance strategies.

VCM utilizes strategic, dynamic and tactical money management as well as annuities, life insurance, and long-term care to help clients create a financial income plan.

RETIREMENT INCOME PLANNING

VCM provides custom retirement income planning for our clients, so each client can have a solid lifetime plan incorporating income-producing sources and assets like Social Security, Pensions, Real Estate, Annuities, Investment Earnings and more.

Each customized plan factors in earnings expectations, order of income among accounts and tax efficiencies, as applicable.

CONTACT INFO 615-340-0801 www.virtuecm.com or www.vcmnashville.com

Investment Advisory Services offered through Virtue Capital Management LLC (VCM), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Information provided is not intended as tax or legal advice and should not be relied on as such.

You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional. Please be advised that investing involves risk and that no particular investment strategy can guarantee against losses. Strategies do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or risk tolerance and may not be suitable for all investors. Investment advisory services are provided for a fee and are not complementary.

VCM Williamson Spread 2021.indd 2-3

FINANCIAL PLANNING

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INCOME PLANNING

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W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T

Its been said that never forgetting where you come from and staying in touch with your roots is an important life lesson.

And with the tremendous growth of Nashville and middle Tennessee, we have managed to embrace this unprecedented growth while remaining humble to our history and being prepared for the wonderful future ahead. We invite you on this journey with us.

Virtue Capital Management (VCM) is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm managing over $980M in assets and located in Williamson County. VCM specializes in wealth management using both traditional and non-traditional investment and insurance strategies. VCM utilizes strategic, dynamic and tactical money management as well as annuities, life insurance, and long-term care to help clients create a financial and income plan.

2020 the S&P 500 index experienced the fastest 30%their sell-off ever, exceeding the pace of declines during the 2008 VCMInuses multiples solutions to help investors achieve financial goals from Crisis and even the Great advice Depression.

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Portfolios equipped with both a “Stop Loss” and Automatic Buy Back” feature: • If the S&P 500 declines by a predetermined percentage from its peak value, the Stop Loss triggers a flight to safety – selling all equities in the portfolios and reinvesting them into bonds.

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6 Cadillac Drive, Suite 310 | Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 | www.virtuecm.com | 615.340.0801 Investment Advisory Services offered through Virtue Capital Management LLC (VCM), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Information provided is not intended as tax or legal advice and not Services be reliedoffered on as such.

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9/17/21 10:49 AM

S PON S OR E D PROFIL E

Carter House & Carnton

FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE NOVEMBER 30, 1864

COMPA N Y PROFIL E

Rippavilla

SPRING HILL, TENNESSEE NOVEMBER 29, 1864

The Battle of Franklin Trust manages Carter House, Carnton, and Rippavilla. Its mission is to preserve, understand and interpret the story of a people forever impacted by the American Civil War.

S PE C I A LT IE S Open Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Tours offered daily.

Battle of Franklin Trust Carnton, home of the McGavock family, was built around 1826 and was a large farm in Williamson County. Over 40 enslaved people lived at Carnton in 1860. The McGavock family was directly impacted by the Battle of Franklin when their home was used as a Confederate field hospital. The McGavock Confederate Cemetery is also on site.

Carter House was built around 1830. It was a substantial farm by 1860 and 28 enslaved people lived and worked there. The Carter family was caught up in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The home was used as a U.S. Army headquarters while the Carters, some slaves, and neighbors sheltered in the cellar while combat raged outside.

Rippavilla, built in the early 1850s, was a very large farm in Maury County. Over 70 enslaved people lived there in 1860. On November 29, 1864, the Cheairs family found themselves involved in one of the most dramatic events of the Civil War as the U. S. Army escaped from the Confederates and slipped away to Franklin.

Classic House Tours, which tell the stories of the families, the enslaved, and the Battles of Spring Hill and Franklin, are offered daily. A $40 Tennessee Campaign Ticket is available to visit all three homes.

Battlefield Tours offer guests a comprehensive walking tour of the battlefields at Spring Hill and Franklin. The tours lasts 90 minutes and are available at Carter House and Rippavilla.

A more detailed experience, called the Spring Hill to Franklin Battlefield Tour, is also available.

Extended Tours are offered to give a deeper understanding of the historic and societal impact of the Civil War. This 90-minute tour is available at Carter House, Carnton, and Rippavilla.

Slavery and the Enslaved Tours focus on slavery as an institution and the individuals who were enslaved at each site. Available at all three sites, this 90-minute tour examines one of America’s largest paradoxes: a nation where “all men are created equal,” but millions were denied basic freedom.

Schedule your visit: boft.org

Carter House Battlefield Tour: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.

Carter House Extended Tour: Monday – Saturday, 2 p.m.

Carter House Slavery and the Enslaved Tour: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m.

Carnton Extended Tour: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.

Carnton Behind the Scenes: Wednesday– Friday, 10 a.m.

Carnton Slavery and the Enslaved: Monday - Friday, 2 p.m.

Rippavilla Extended Tour: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. (Reservation only) Rippavilla Battlefield Tour: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m.

(Reservation only) Rippavilla Slavery and the Enslaved Tour: Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m.

(Reservation only) Spring Hill to Franklin Battlefield Tour: Tuesday & Friday, 9 a.m.

(Reservation only)

Williamson County

Inf luencers

Williamson County has a lot of influence. From the businesses clamoring to bring their headquarters to the area to the politicians and celebrities who call the area home to the booming real estate market. For our fall magazine, Williamson Home Page decided to look at influential people in the community. We wanted to take a sideways look at the word influencers: Who is working to make Williamson County a better place to live? Who are our young people learning from? What do folks have to do to improve the big and small things in Williamson County? What does it mean in 2021 to have influence in your community?

Read about several people here who helped us answer these questions.

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

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Eric Wilson is a young man with Down Syndrome who has a passion for photography. He has been part of our AbleVoices Photography Club for the past three years, since its inception. "When I asked Eric if he would take portraits of me we both agreed that Radnor Lake was the perfect backdrop," Jen Vogus says. "Not only do Eric and I both love photography, but Radnor Lake is one of our favorite places in Nashville. Eric especially loves nature photography and always comes away with some great shots!"

Jen Vogus of AbleVoices

Opening the doors to self-expression, empowerment and advocacy

BY JOHN MCBRYDE

W

hen her son was old enough to start kindergarten at Kenrose Elementary School, Jen Vogus was concerned about a disability he had developed not long after birth.

Aiden Vogus, now 19, was born a healthy baby boy but began to show signs of physical and intellectual disabilities due to a novel chromosomal deletion (STXBP1). Most telling was his inability to communicate verbally. He had a lot of interests, but had no way to share those with his teachers or classmates, and in turn couldn’t tell his parents about his day at school.

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GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

So Vogus came up with the idea to share her son’s stories through photographs. She had scores of pictures of Aiden doing what most kids his age were doing, and teachers made sure plenty of photos from his day at school were being shared at home.

“The idea just came to me,” Vogus says. “I told myself I’m going to take pictures of Aiden horseback riding, swimming, riding roller coasters, and I sent them to school with him.

That really opened up his world. It allowed him to communicate through the day and allowed other teachers to see what he’s capable of doing, and it also allowed his peers to see that he’s more like them than he is different.”

Vogus later reasoned that if photography helped open up her son’s world, it could do the same for other students with disabilities. Through her experience as a former high school science teacher, a newfound interest in photography and a good bit of research, Vogus started the program known as AbleVoices in January 2018.

“If you asked me 10 years ago if I would be a photographer or founder of a nonprofit organization, never in a million years would I have

guessed,” Vogus says. “But now it’s really neat to me to see how all of my interests have come together and have culminated in AbleVoices, which is what I absolutely love. It really has combined all my passions into one.”

AbleVoices provides photography programs for individuals with disabilities as a means for self-expression, empowerment and advocacy. The ultimate goal of a project is to provide the tools and training for individuals to create pictures that communicate their interests, strengths and goals for the future as well as foster the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in their communities.

Vogus works with special education programs in the high schools within the Williamson County Schools district, beginning with Centennial High in the spring 2018 semester.

She has also taken AbleVoices to Franklin, Ravenwood and Page high schools, and is at Brentwood High for the 2021 fall semester and will be at Summit High in spring 2022.

Vogus has also started a photography club for those students who have received a special-education diploma and are enrolled in a transitional program at their respective high school.

ERIC WILSON, ABLEVOICES

“If you asked me 10 years ago if I would be a photographer or founder of a nonprofit organization, never in a million years would I have guessed,” Jen Vogus says. “But now it’s really neat to me to see how all of my interests have come together and have culminated in AbleVoices, which is what I absolutely love. It really has combined all my passions into one.”

Regardless of whether they’re high school or transitional, Vogus’ students — and their parents — are appreciative of what she has done to elevate their self-confidence and to open up their creative side.

Take, for instance, Brock Bordeau, a transition student at Franklin High who has been a part of AbleVoices since the summer of 2020.

He spoke of how Vogus and the program have made such a difference over the course of a year or so.

“I really feel like it’s opened up new horizons for me and helped me learn about myself in a WillcoDirectory2021.qxp_Layout 1 9/20/21 8:12 AM me Page 1 better way,” Bordeau says. “It made realize

G ENTLEMAN

how passionate I was about photography.

“Ms. Jen is really special because she is always so kind to all the students with disabilities, and she really cares about each and everyone’s disability and tries to help them be as good a photographer as they can be.”

Her influence goes beyond the lens of a camera, however. The students’ photos are quite impressive, and they are regularly displayed in public buildings such as Franklin City Hall and the Williamson County Public Library, among others. But parents, particularly, are grateful for how Vogus has broadened the experience of their children.

“She is giving them skills they can carry through in life and they’re also building a network of friends,” says Susan Schrupp, mom of two children who have been a part of the program and is also an AbleVoices board member. “Jen helps them get engaged in the community.

“What it’s done for the group is to use photography for images, but also to learn about the area, their community, the resources that are around and are available to them. She’s resourceful on really absorbing what’s around us in the community and to open those doors for the students.”

S CHOLAR

ATHLETE

Montgomery Bell Academy is a school where boys are taught the value of leadership and character; are equipped with the fundamental tools to succeed in the classroom and beyond; develop an appreciation for the effort required to achieve excellence; and form friendships that last a lifetime.

• 9 National Merit Semifinalists, 154 AP Scholars or higher in 2021.

• More than 100 boys per year participate in school-funded international exchanges and programs on six continents.

• 16 varsity sports competing at the highest level, including recent champions in basketball, lacrosse, hockey, rifle, tennis, soccer, and football.

• 70 different clubs and activities.

• Nationally-recognized Art, Music, and Theater programs.

• 68% of faculty hold advanced degrees, including 24 doctorates.

• 22% of students receive $2.75 million in need-based financial aid.

• One of the nation’s top debate programs.

• 27 Advanced Placement Courses offered.

montgomery bell academy

4001 HARDING ROAD • NASHVILLE, TN 37205 • WWW.MONTGOMERYBELL.EDU Montgomery Bell Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, sex, or age, in its employment practices or in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid programs, athletic programs, or other school-administered programs.G U I D E T O W I L L I A M S O N C O U N T Y ®

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Dana Juriew

of the Spring Hill Public Library How book lovers helped keep a community whole

BY ALEXANDER WILLIS

T

here’s a laundry list of things the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to, but one entity that refused to lie down and close up shop was the Spring Hill Public Library — in large part due to Library Director Dana Juriew and her team.

While the library first closed to the public in early March of 2020, Juriew continued working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the core of the library’s offerings available to the public.

Whether it be through virtual library events or by expanding the library’s eBook offerings, Juriew and her team made it their mission to keep the library alive.

Early 2020 looked promising for the library.

The Public Library Association — a professional

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GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

association of public librarians and supporters — decided to hold its biennial conference in Nashville, a decision that offered a rare opportunity for her and her staff.

“That’s an every-other-year conference and we can never afford to go and it’s always far away. It came to Nashville so I was able to send a set number of staff members each day,” Juriew says.

“That was at the end of February, and I remember being nervous about it. I remember one person with a mask [being there] and I thought she was overreacting a little bit. Then 14 days later we ended up closing our library.”

While library services continued in a limited capacity after the initial closure, the library was forced to shut down completely on March 17 after fears of a staffer having contracted COVID-19.

With no custodian, Juriew herself spent the entire next day cleaning. Wiping every computer, glass surface, chair and bathroom down with Lysol, the entire process took about six hours, Juriew says, but it was necessary.

After just a matter of days, the library resumed its curbside pickup service, allowing for residents to continue checking out books at their leisure. Juriew and her team also attempted to resume library events such as its popular “story time” and live performers, though encountered many struggles with the transition.

“Because our programs are so dynamic, to lose all of that interaction and try to recreate that online is impossible,” Juriew says. “So what

[we] did was do the story — they did a new story every day — and then for each week they did a take-and-make, a craft you can take from the library and do at home. That was a budget hit because they’re extremely expensive.”

It was also during this period of limited operation that Juriew began having concerns for the library’s older patrons, many of whom would come in daily just to chat.

“During that time, we were very cognizant of our senior population; we would call them and make sure they were OK if we didn’t hear from them because a lot of them come in weekly, some daily, and we were just worried about their health,” Juriew says. “We missed our seniors and we missed our children... It’s hard to do a story time online when you don’t have an audience reaction.”

One older patron in particular, Juriew says, was a particularly hurtful regular to lose during this time.

“We have one patron who comes to the library probably four days a week, and it’s as much a social interaction as it is picking up books and movies for his wife,” Juriew says.

“The first time we called [him] as a group, maybe eight of us, we put him on speakerphone and just chatted with him; he loved it, he just wants to tell stories to an audience. The first day he came in when we were open, he pulled up a chair to the checkout desk and sat, didn’t care who was behind him, he sat and chatted for a good half hour.”

Juriew and her staff would make it a point to check in on their regulars with phone calls.

As Juriew explains, the library was often some of Spring Hill’s older resident’s main source of social interaction.

In the summer months of 2020, Juriew also says that Spring Hill residents did an unusually large amount of spring cleaning, and would drop off books at the library in unprecedented numbers. Despite Juriew describing the library’s storage space as “really quite large,” it soon ran out of room.

Books were then moved to the garage of Friends of the Spring Hill Library Treasurer Lisa Arnwine to help manage the ever-increasing supply. Ultimately, Juriew felt that it was vital to the Spring Hill community to continue offering the library’s services in any way possible. During a time of great isolation amid lockdowns and quarantines, Juriew argues that the library’s importance was perhaps greater then than it ever had been.

“In a time when you are feeling isolated, it’s great to know that you can reach out in some form or another and there’s somebody out there eager to help you and eager to talk to you,” Juriew says. “Even though you’re limited in what you can offer socially, we were still here. We were able to keep a sense of community going throughout the pandemic.”

MATT MASTERS

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Omkar Upadhye of Ravenwood High School

How one young man helped more than 1,000 students gain financial literacy

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

W

hen young people think about investing, 17-year-old Omkar Upadhye doesn’t want them to think of The Wolf of Wall Street.

“What I like to focus on is building wealth for common people,” Upadhye says. “Normal people need to get into investing because it’s a way to build wealth.

If you’re not making money off of your own money, you’re losing money.”

Upadhye, a senior at Ravenwood High School, first became interested in investing in middle school. He learned quickly that there weren’t many resources around for young kids trying to increase their knowledge around finances. He was doing research for his AP Research class at Ravenwood when he found that Tennesseeans had a 17 percent lower financial literacy score than the national average. He decided that he would use his knowledge to teach his peers about financial health.

Through a club at the school and clubs at the Brentwood Public Library and Nashville Public Library, Upadhye has shown around 1,150 students how best to keep and grow the money they earn. In these clubs, students engage in hands-on paper trading competitions, financial literacy lessons and learn from other business professionals.

MATT MASTERS

“What I like to focus on is building wealth for common people,” Upadhye says. “Normal people need to get into investing because it’s a way to build wealth. If you’re not making money off of your own money, you’re losing money.”

“What prompted me to start them at libraries was really the fact that we could get middle school aged kids there, kids I was aiming to reach,” Upadhye says.

“That’s when kids I worked with tended to learn the most and that’s when they’re most able to apply the knowledge into the future. I wanted to be able to take them from hearing about investing to understanding how to be financially literate.”

Upadhye has a passion for helping others in general: He took up tennis to help his little brother Dennis make the middle school team.

He is a soccer referee and loves to ride his bike. But often he says he’s thinking about the future and how to help more young people.

One tool Upadhye says he uses to gain fellow young folks’ attention is by utilizing buzzwords or current trends to get them interested initially.

“Sometimes the light bulb moments happen when you have, for example, a student who is really interested in real estate and had heard about how to use real estate for tax write-offs,” Upadhye says.

“Sometimes someone has a small shred of knowledge and I like to help them understand where that fits in overall with their finances.

One piece of information can be a stepping stool for anyone.”

Upadhye was selected as a Bank of America 2021 Student Leader and is among just 300 people in the country selected for their internship program. For the internship, he worked with the Nashville nonprofit The Oa-

sis Center where he learned a lot about scalability for his courses and about building a curriculum.

He hopes to build his clubs and expand into other communities in Tennessee and maybe nationally.

“I tend to focus on lessons that capture the interest of the middle schoolers, things like crypto, but this internship has helped me add more core investing elements into my course and now when I decide to expand into even more libraries in Tennessee, I know how to finalize a lesson plan before I go in and start teaching.”

Upadhye says the one thing he tries to get students to understand is that learning about financial literacy will help them in every aspect of their life.

“So it seems like common sense when you say you should earn more than you spend,” Upadhye says, laughing, “But it’s harder to do than it seems and once someone realizes how life changing knowing where their money goes can be, they get into it more.

They’re like ‘hey, I can really use this in my real life. I am capable of learning this and using it.’”

Even if students don’t continue to use investing in everyday life, he hopes students take their financial literacy skills forward. But more than that, he hopes to pass along this bit of wisdom.

“I just try to live my life in a way where I don’t waste an opportunity,” Upadhye says. “If you don’t apply yourself, you will never know what you’re capable of. Don’t be shy about the things you love and want to do.”

Franklin Pride

LGBTQ group measures progressivism in Williamson County

BY CEDRIC DENT JR.

A

local effort launched and driven by parents of gender-nonbinary kids, PFLAG Franklin, has significantly impacted Williamson County and surrounding areas through advocacy and support.

Its own members have been pleasantly surprised to see the community embrace them as much as it has.

Sharon Collins founded the Franklin chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in 2012 with regular monthly meetings beginning that same year at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on West Main Street in downtown Franklin, which is when its current Board President Ginny Bailey came onboard — both for similar reasons: “Parents have to come out of the closet as well,” as Bailey put it.

The organization, since renamed Franklin Pride, supports the social wellness of LGBTQ persons, their family and their friends who are enduring the challenge of an ill-informed and often unwelcoming society by fighting prejudicial treatment and advocating gender equity.

Robert McNamara, former Franklin Pride board president and current board member, told the Home Page he is surprised to see Williamson County’s progressivism fuel the chapter’s growth so far.

“For me, the big surprise is our new social groups popping up in Williamson County in Franklin, Spring Hill and even Columbia,” McNamara says. “Every month there is at least one new family unit reaching out for support or comfort. And the board members step up to the challenge every time. I have never seen a more dedicated group of women dig into the root of the problem in every situation that comforts them.”

The group has expanded and incorporated under its own name, Franklin Pride, as a 501(c) (3) separate from PFLAG, though PFLAG National still provides support. Even the pandemic has failed to stop the group’s growth as Zoom meetings, board members feel, have presented a unique opportunity, albeit a challenge, to expand those who are included in the meets,

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GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

Ginny Bailey, Robert McNamara and Marjorie Halbert

reaching people from surrounding rural areas in Maury County and Columbia, for example, and many attendees have also been inviting friends and family from out of state as well.

Approaching its 10-year anniversary, Franklin Pride’s monthly meetings have grown from about eight attendees to between 30 and 35 prior to introducing the Zoom component, which has sustained about 20 attendees on average throughout the pandemic.

The organization’s evolution comes a long way from when Collins and founding member Marjorie Halbert — a former board president — first created the organization and discovered PFLAG as a viable means by which to do so.

“The first milestone was getting a viable chapter up and running in Franklin,” Halbert says. “I also think reaching out to local therapists was a way we let the community know that a support group existed. Almost no one knew we were here, so talking to school counselors, therapists and doctors’ offices was a way for us to reach out to family and friends who needed support.”

Franklin Pride’s maturation has pushed through a period of significant growing pains

for Franklin apropos of diversity and inclusion as the city has weathered the storm of both municipal and state policy in a court of public opinion. Bailey says she feels the city of Franklin was more ready to think outside the box on matters of diversity of inclusion, after endeavoring to complete the Fuller Story project. She explained that Mayor Ken Moore and others were exceedingly helpful to facilitate the Franklin Pride Festival.

“I think City Hall was ready for us because of the work they’ve done on [the Fuller Story project], and I’m just so proud of the city of Franklin for doing that, for working with community leaders,” Bailey says. “Seeing that was happening, we thought, here’s another place where the city of Franklin can get it right.”

The community strained under the weight of its decision to provide context around its 1899 Public Square Civil War monument with plaques providing more information on the African-American experience — all of this much to the chagrin of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and others. Franklin continues to battle over critical race theory in Williamson County Public School curriculum with facilita-

ERIC ENGLAND

tion from diversity-inclusion consulting firm, Fostering Healthy Solutions, and opposition from community groups like Moms for Liberty.

Bailey added that there are always more areas in need of improvement in any community.

“I just would like to kind of keep in people’s minds that we need to remove the Confederate flag from the Williamson County seal,” Bailey says. “I think there are many ways to represent our county that are positive for everyone, and we need to acknowledge that the Confederate flag is just a symbol of divisiveness and that we don’t need to promote it anymore.”

Tennessee is also suspended in limbo on the General Assembly’s so-called business bathroom bill against which the Nashville LGBT Chamber galvanized over 130 Tennessee companies of all sizes with a call to arms in the form of an open letter that saw a robust response of corporate signatures. Signatories included Dell, Mars Petcare, Nashville International Airport and D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe, the latter a winner of one of the Chamber’s flagship awards: Small Business Diversity.

The food industry is expected to be one of the major points of economic impact from the business bathroom bill as downtown Nashville restaurants like D’Andrews, as well as hotels, stand to gain the most from sporting events that pundits claim are at risk if and when Gov. Bill Lee signs the bill into law.

“If the sports world reacts as expected, we could expect to see significant economic fallout for the hospitality industry in Nashville,” Jennifer Robinson, an employment attorney at Littler Mendelson P.C., says. “Here in Nashville, the 2019 NFL Draft generated an economic impact of $224 [million] for the city in terms of spending on food, retail, transportation, lodging and local attractions. The Music City Bowl has produced more than $350 [million] in direct economic impact since its inception. The consequences of signing the ‘business bathroom bill’ into law, coupled with the devastating effects of COVID-19, could plunge the local and statewide hospitality industries into a hole too deep to crawl out of.”

Losing opportunities to host major sporting events in the near future would not be without precedent, Robinson notes. North Carolina is another state to sign a similar bathroom bill into law, and the NBA relocated its 2017 All-Star Weekend elsewhere in immediate retaliation.

That same year, the Tar Heel State also lost seven NCAA championship events with the threat of losing more if action was not taken.

Both dealt an ongoing, estimated $3.76 billion blow to the Carolinian economy to be realized by year-end 2028.

Franklin Pride has provided an oasis for local members of the LGBTQ+ community who endure the fallout from what can seem like an incessant barrage of policies against them. For example, when Independence High School’s homecoming parade on Sept. 17 featured a pride float, it was met with indignation from

“It can be lonely and isolating thinking you’re the only one at your office who’s gay, and if you can come to an event like we had and see it packed with other gay people, other trans people, other gender-fluid people — it was a very colorful event,” Ginny Bailey says.

the county chapter of Moms for Liberty. Local Moms for Liberty leaders invited Independence parents to voice their outrage at the Williamson County Board of Education meeting that following Monday night, and PFLAG-Franklin promptly came out in support of the pride float in opposition to Moms for Liberty.

“Through our Franklin Pride connection, we got alerted to an Instagram post that went up, and we were really concerned about it because, not only was it misrepresenting what happened, we happened to be good friends with the president of [Indy Club],” Bailey says.

“We wanted to support them and their world there and support that club being in existence,” Bailey explains. “We didn’t want Independence High School to feel like they’d made a mistake in allowing that club to happen.”

The K-8 homecoming parade was said by many parents to local Moms for Liberty Chair Robin Steenman that the pride float involved students “kissing” and “groping” one another with at least one account of breasts having been exposed, which galvanized the organization to action. Franklin Pride refuted the claims, but Williamson County Schools announced it was investigating the incident. McNamara speculated that someone merely made a “hyper comment” for the sake of rabble-rousing among those less tolerant.

This comes as schools are already compelled to comply with an ostensibly anti-transgender sports bill, mandating that middle and high school students prove their congenital sexes before participating on junior varsity and varsity, academic teams, also addressed by the aforementioned open letter and corresponding press conference. Exactly a week after Gov. Lee ratified it, the world’s first transgender billionaire, Jennifer Pritzker, penned an op-ed in The Tennessean, threatening to withdraw her business dealings from Tennessee companies due to these “discriminatory bills” that Pritzker claimed “do not reflect conservative values.”

On May 6, the American Society of Association Executives sent Lee a letter, appealing for his veto of the business bathroom bill. The letter threatened to withdraw the already scheduled 2022 ASAE Annual Meeting from Nashville along with its millions of revenue dollars otherwise by

claiming “laws like [the business bathroom bill] put that type of economic gain in peril.”

Additionally, a Los Angeles-based LGBT-focused media watchdog, GLAAD, published its Pathfinder Opinion Poll on April 23, reporting that 31 percent of LGBTQ adults claim they will not spend tourism dollars in states that pass legislation like the business bathroom bill or the transgender sports bill. Moreover, 24 percent say they would not spend money on national brands headquartered in such states.

Franklin Pride board members consider current affairs to reflect reasons why their optimism makes sense because, despite less than conservative elements having a sonorous voice in the community and the state as a whole on many issues, the group has seen a level of growth and acceptance that gives them hope, and the recent pride celebration demonstrates that.

“I feel that having a pride celebration in downtown Franklin was a massive step for Williamson County,” McNamara told Home Page.

“In organizing the event, we had zero pushback from the city. We had a much larger than expected turnout. ... We have heard from so many people that grew up here that we’re completely overwhelmed that Franklin finally had a pride celebration. Several parents told us that their child lit up when they drove down the long driveway and saw all the rainbow flags; they felt like they could be themselves.”

The pride festival, Bailey adds, accomplished two key objectives. It proved to the community how large its own LGBTQ support network actually is.

“Maybe the more important thing was that the LGBTQ+ people found each other,” Bailey says. “It can be lonely and isolating thinking you’re the only one at your office who’s gay, and if you can come to an event like we had and see it packed with other gay people, other trans people, other gender-fluid people — it was a very colorful event.”

President Elect Heather Bottoms will begin her tenure in January, and she has helped foster growth for Franklin Pride with a book club to read literature from LGBTQ authors or focused on LGBTQ issues, which presents a new opportunity for further expansion. At present, she represents the immediate future for Franklin Pride.

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

15

Tosha Robinson Baugh of Johnson Elementary School

A great-great-great-granddaughter is leaving her mark as the descendant of Harvey McLemore

BY MATT MASTERS

T

osha Robinson Baugh has served as the principal of Franklin’s Johnson Elementary School since 2011 and has spent the last 24 years of her life in education, a path that has allowed her to share her love and passions with the next generation.

Baugh says that she has always been inspired by the many educators in her life, and as she played teacher as a child it was no surprise that she would end up in her current role.

“I grew up in a church with a lot of educators, they were my teachers, they were my church-family, my Sunday school teachers and I just watched them growing up and I played around being a teacher and everything like that, so just remembering how those educators before me were well-respected in the community and found these ways to help children, so I just remember that,” Baugh says.

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GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

Baugh attended Johnson Elementary as a third and fourth grade student. She later returned to the school as a student teacher and then become a full-time teacher, then became an assistant principal for five years. She now leads the school in her current role as principal.

That history has served Baugh well as she says that the personal connection to the community has helped her and the Johnson Elementary staff to continue to foster an environment that believes in building relationships and ultimately partnerships between educators, students and parents.

“It’s fascinating because I get to see some of these kids coming in who I either went to school with their parents or I know someone who they are related to, so I can build a relationship with the students,” Baugh says. “I love that when I can say, ‘Oh, I went to school with

your mom and dad and we used to do this,’ and the kids, they love that.”

“We’re still a close-knit family in Franklin,” Baugh adds..

Baugh is only the fifth principal in the school’s history, which dates back to 1958 when it served Franklin’s African American children in first grade through eight grade until the school was fully integrated in 1971.

That history is even more personal and relevant for Baugh, who is a descendant of Harvey McLemore, a formerly enslaved man who started the historic Hard Bargain neighborhood that it serves.

The McLemore House, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, sits just across the street from Johnson Elementary School, and was the home of Baugh’s great-great-aunt Maggie Matthews where she remembers playing with her two best childhood friends, who lived in the neighborhood along with her grandmother.

The McLemore House has since transitioned from a living home to a staple of living history, becoming the The McLemore House Museum following its first renovation.

And just as Harvey McLemore shaped generations with his settlement and creation of a family and community in Franklin, his greatgreat-great-granddaughter is now helping to shape the lives of the children of Franklin.

“I love being a leader, I love being the biggest cheerleader for the students at my school, and I hope that a child can see that they can do great things,” Baugh says. “I didn’t have everything growing up, but I hope that they see that I work hard and have achieved a lot to get to this position.”

That support does not just apply for students, with Baugh explaining that the community within Johnson Elementary is one that aims to help everyone be their best version and to rally around each other in times of need.

She hopes this attitude will continue long past her tenure.

“I pray and hope that I’m encouraging the ones that come up after me that they too can be an inspiration to others,” Baugh says.

“Mrs. Baugh’s quiet leadership style has helped lead the school to tremendous academic achievement,” FSSD Director of Schools Dr. David Snowden says of Baugh on the school’s website.

“Education is important, and we know that, and we want to make sure that our students are rising to their ability, but we want to make sure that everyone is taken care of and has their basic needs met,” Baugh says. “It goes beyond the education part, our love and support of our community, and our staff goes beyond in all directions for everyone.”

MATT MASTERS

Dan Thomas

of WSMV Channel 4 A meteorologist takes charge to make his neighborhood safer

BY MATT MASTERS

F

ranklin resident Dan Thomas is known around the region as a meteorologist with WSMV News 4, Nashville’s NBC News affiliate, but in his own community of Franklin, he’s also known as one of the people responsible for helping to bring sidewalks to a large number of Franklin residents.

Franklin’s Fieldstone Farms neighborhood is home to around 7 percent of the city’s population, and while sidewalks have been present on many residential streets, the community’s main thoroughfare which connects homes with a school and walking trail has, until recently, been without sidewalks.

“I was often seeing people — pedestrians, kids on skateboards, bikers — going along down the main thoroughfare where people [in motor vehicles] would go 40, 45 mph,” Thomas says.

MATT MASTERS

“Now you can see people just enjoying the sidewalks,” Dan Thomas says.

“Children are safer, drivers are safer because they’re not driving down the street and looking into the sun and wondering if someone is on the street beside them as they go 40 mph down the street.”

This concern over safety for his family and those of his neighbors sparked Thomas to work with his Home Owners Association to see what they could do to improve their neighborhood.

The group’s efforts then led to an agreement that was formed with the city of Franklin to take on the project, splitting the roughly $600,000 cost between the two groups for the approximately 2 miles of sidewalk.

“One of the big concerns is not just that you have straight-aways that people speed on, but you’ve got Amazon drivers like you’ve never had before,” Thomas says.

Thomas said he was just one of many people in the HOA and the city who worked together in the name of safety, and that willingness to work together, Thomas says, is one of the great things about the Franklin community.

“It underscores why we came to Franklin,” Thomas says. “It’s welcoming; it’s supportive — We’re all on the same page on wanting to make our community better. The residents are part of the team with the leadership that runs the city, so it’s just fantastic — it couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Thomas says that since the project was completed, he’s been approached by numerous neighbors, including Dena Divito, who has lived in Fieldstone Farms since 1999.

Divito said that the sidewalks have “empowered” her 16-year-old special needs son who has made his trips between his home and the local park safer.

“His bike and that park are a big part of his life, and now with the sidewalk he’s just made a racetrack and he’s able to go to the park safely and kind of take the long route, and he really feels like he’s the king of Fieldstone now,” Divito says.

The project took about 18 months to complete, and Thomas credits his past experience working with HOAs coupled with his experience serving eight years in the U.S. Air Force with giving him the attitude and responsibility to help his community in every way he can.

“In the military I learned that if you see something that can be improved, don’t talk about it, just get it done,” Thomas says.

“Now you can see people just enjoying the sidewalks,” Thomas adds. “Children are safer, drivers are safer because they’re not driving down the street and looking into the sun and wondering if someone is on the street beside them as they go 40 mph down the street.”

“I’ve been here a long time,” Divito says. “And I’ve seen more people out on those sidewalks over the past four months than I have in the last 20 years, so people are really enjoying them and they’re really adding to the activity level of the residents here in Fieldstone.”

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

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Erin McAtee of Narrow Gate Trading Co.

Leaving a legacy of pouring into others

BY JOHN MCBRYDE

A

s he has grown in his career over the past couple of decades, Erin McAtee can point to one or two mentors who have made a lasting impact on both his professional and personal life.

Now the director of operations for the Franklin-based Narrow Gate Trading Co., the business side of Narrow Gate Ministries located in Hickman County, McAtee still recalls the valuable lessons he has learned from those influential leaders — lessons not so much of profit but of people.

They’re part of his DNA. “I’ve had one or two notable leaders in my life who truly poured into me and helped grow me and care for me, and they just impacted me very deeply,” McAtee says. “And that desire has grown in me to do that for others and to pass that along, and to develop a culture where that’s as important — really, more important — than the bottom line.

“I’ve had to make the decision that I’m going to care more for that than just driving the bottom line. At some point, caring for people and spending time in leadership development with your team costs you something. It will cost you time that you could be spending pushing marketing, doing tactics, being strategic. It does cost you something to invest in people, and I guess I’m saying that it’s worth it.”

McAtee came to Narrow Gate in October 2020 with the idea to add coffee roasting to the operation’s lineup that included woodworks and leather goods. He and his wife, Bethany, had met with Narrow Gate founders Bill and Stacy Spencer, and eventually convinced them to absorb their E&B Coffee Roasters business they had started in Nolensville.

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GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

In time, McAtee was asked to go beyond coffee beans and also become leader of Narrow Gate’s leather and wood interests. This would include leading and helping to inspire those served by Narrow Gate Ministries, troubled young men in their late teens to early 20s who go through the program as a way to seek a new direction in their lives.

“Erin didn’t realize it, but he was an answer to prayers that we had,” says Don Lawrence, chair of the company’s board of directors. “We quickly transformed that from just moving a coffee company into Narrow Gate to us having an influential leader.

“He’s tasked with managing those three areas with three different product lines and three different operational structures, all while meeting the needs of these young men who are coming [out of the program] and ready to get out into the world.

“If you look at what he pours into them on a daily basis, not only professionally but personally, serving them and being there for them on so many other levels than just business, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody else in Williamson County that has more influence.

These young men are better husbands, better fathers, better workers, better contributors, and we’ve seen that over and over again.”

McAtee has an entrepreneurial spirit that

dates to his childhood, when at age 6 he made and sold bracelets to friends and classmates and later “made a living” selling candy bars in junior high school. But if his motivation for running a business as a youngster was simply to make some spending money, he realized a higher calling as his career got on track after college.

He learned how to balance the goal of making a profit with the importance of being an inspiration to his employees.

“I care about quality a lot, and I care about being very good at a craft,” McAtee explains. “But there’s more to life than that, a lot more. The thought of being part of an organization that’s transforming lives of young men and still be excellent at craft got me very excited. I thought that’s something I could do for a long time and be very content. It’s a lot more than just growing a business.”

When he and Bethany opened their coffee shop in Nolensville, one of the first employees he hired was someone he met over the phone.

Ben Lyons moved to Tennessee from Orange County in California, where he was a barista.

McAtee taught him how to roast coffee, and Lyons now oversees operations for Narrow Gate Coffee.

“I think Erin is an exceptional leader,” Lyons says. “We interact very well together. A lot of how I lead has come from Erin’s influence.”

ERIC ENGLAND

HEAL HUMPREYS COUNTY HOSTED BY TAYLA LYNN

DAVID NAIL

THE WEIGHT BAND

Oct. 15

Oct. 16

CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

RODNEY CROWELL

Oct. 11

WE BANJO

Oct. 17

Oct. 30 | Downtown Franklin www.FranklinPumpkinFest.com

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CIRQUE - TACULAR ’ S SPOOKTACULAR

LOUIS YORK

Oct. 29-30

JIM CARUSO ’ S CAST PARTY WITH BILLY STRITCH

Oct. 27-28

Oct. 22

&

THE SHINDELLAS

Nov. 12

GARY PUCKETT

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EDWIN MCCAIN

Nov. 14

THE UNION GAP

LEE ROY PARNELL

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Nov. 18-19

Nov. 20

RHYTHMIC CIRCUS: HOLIDAY SHUFFLE

JIM BRICKMAN

Nov. 16

DAILEY & VINCENT : THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Dec. 3

Dec. 5

Nov. 30

ALSO PERFORMING 10/12 11/23 11/28 12/6 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/14 12/17-18 12/20

Morning Pointe Seniors Got Talent Gary Morris Christmas in America 2000 Patrick Thomas Emily West & The Whiskey Wolves Studio Tenn’s A Christmas Carol Jars of Clay Family Christmas Show Steve Wariner: Feels Like Christmas The Gatlin Brothers: Country & Christmas Tommy Howell’s Cowboy Christmas

2022 1/21 2/5-6 2/11-12 2/26 3/12-13 3/18-19 4/8-9 5/6-7

Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea Black Violin Giordano Dance Company Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live Eireann: A Taste of Ireland Los Angeles Guitar Quartet SNAP: Contemporary Mystery Performance

Dec. 11-12 | Downtown Franklin www.FranklinDickensChristmas.com

You can help save the historic places and stories that matter in Williamson County.

Learn more at www.WilliamsonHeritage.org.

Grace Good

of the circus world The inspiration of a bedsheet hung in a garage and a virtual circus

BY JOHN MCBRYDE

W

hen his college-age daughter decided she wanted to take her passion for the hula hoop and turn it into a career, Paul Good thought she was simply going through a phase.

Grace Good, a 2011 graduate of Centennial High School who is now in her late 20s, picked up the old-fashioned children’s toy when she was enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University. Hula-hooping began as a hobby and then as therapy for anxiety and panic attacks Good was having at the time.

Before long, she was developing a repertoire and thought this was something she could do as a professional performer.

Dad wasn’t convinced at first.

“I thought it was a little fad, something to do on the side while she went to school,” says Good, a former pastor who now runs Rooster Call Ministries. “And then she kept going. I was really impressed with her fortitude to master what she started out to do. She pushes the limits on a lot of things.”

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ERIC ENGLAND

“I want to be an inspiration for people who want to do something with what they love in their lives,” says Grace Good.

As she continued to hone her hula-hoop skills and began adding elements such as fire and aerial acrobatics, Good was also developing her business sense and learning how to build her brand. She launched her “circus career” as a street performer in downtown Nashville, and later expanded to traveling with Cirque Dreams, making regular appearances in Las Vegas, and performing at local venues such Plaza Mariachi in Nashville.

Then in March 2020, it all came to a sudden halt. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant no travel for Good, no public appearances, no in-person hula hoops afire.

Good stayed at her parents’ Franklin home as the lockdown persisted. But through what her dad calls a “fiery approach,” Good turned to social media to keep the act going.

“When the pandemic hit,” Good recalls, “my main thing was I wanted to perform, and I didn’t want to stop doing what I usually do.”

So her parents’ backyard became something between a studio and a circus stage. Good took her act to Facebook and Instagram with a weekly 20-minute show in front of a bedsheet hung from a garage, and even though interaction was virtual, she was inspired by the countless comments from viewers.

“It got popular,” she says. “People started watching it every week. It got on national news. The videos went viral.

“I wasn’t getting hired, but I was still fiery and passionate about what I wanted to do. The thing that

kept me going was all the comments I would get, people saying they look forward to this every week, ‘you put a smile on my face,’ ‘seeing you going keeps me going’ — and that has kept me going.”

With the general return of in-person performances, Good is again traveling. She has appeared on a couple of national TV shows, and is so busy with her act in Las Vegas she has an apartment there.

Good still stays busy with her virtual shows, especially in settings such as corporate conventions.

And along the way, Good has had a chance to inspire others to follow their dreams, whether they involve a fiery hula hoop or not.

“I want to be an inspiration for people who want to do something with what they love in their lives,” says Good, who taught classes at the Nashville Circus Center in Cool Springs for about five years.

“I mean, how crazy it is that I’ve made a career with what I’m doing? So anybody who may have a crazy dream, I’m living proof that you can make it a reality.”

Paul Good can attest to that. It didn’t take him long to realize his daughter’s passion went beyond just being a fad.

“We’ve encouraged her and supported her all along,” he says.

“We like for her to bring joy to people. We always like to say, keep it good and full of light and joy and faith and hope, and let that come across.

“And you can see that in her spirit. Being a pastor, I always guided the kids, ‘God first.’ And I think that’s how she expresses that.”

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Sarah Gonzalez

of Spring Hill Bakery Using treats to bring community close during times of hardship

BY ALEXANDER WILLIS

D

uring the Great Depression between 1932 and 1933, around 300,000 American companies were forced to permanently close their doors due to financial hardships. The California-based candy manufacturer See’s Candies, however, was not only able to weather the decade-long economic storm, but flourish in the 1930s, expanding its footprint on the West Coast and opening a $100,000 candy factory.

Spring Hill Bakery owner Sarah Gonzalez, perhaps better known in Spring Hill as “The Bread Lady” explains this anomaly with one simple phrase: “Cookies make people happy.”

It’s those words that Gonzalez has lived by since finding her passion in baking at a young age, and even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic that saw families experience isolation through quarantines and lockdowns.

Opened in March 2018, the Spring Hill Bakery instantly became a Spring Hill community staple, attracting thousands of customers every week. After a health scare in late 2019, however, Gonzalez was forced to close its storefront, though the Spring Hill Bakery and its owner were by no means done serving the community.

Not long after the closure, Gonzalez launched a series of efforts to continue the bakery’s legacy: in-person cooking classes, a cookie delivery service, and a new book titled Baking with the Bread Lady.

The in-person classes, Gonzalez explained, had been a goal of hers for years, but due to the high demands of running the bakery, had been put on the backburner. Beyond just sharing her insights on baking, Gonzalez explains, the classes were planned to often feature older family members as a sort of historical record for their families.

“I wanted to do this big legacy piece for all of these families because I had inherited a book with my great-grandmother’s recipes,” Gonzalez says. “She passed away in 1951, but if I could have seen her animated and answer questions about [things] like who her childhood best

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friend was... we wanted to give that content to each of the families.”

Then, in March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

“When COVID shut everything down, my concept for the show was out the window because it involves a lot of the older generations,” Gonzalez says. “Everyone canceled because nobody wanted to be around each other.”

Rather than throw in the towel, Gonzalez soldiered on and moved her classes to an online format. Sales for her online cookie delivery service exploded, and at times were difficult to meet demand.

“At the beginning, we were selling out of cookies within an hour, and we’re talking thousands of cookies,” Gonzalez says. “The first week it took us more than eight hours to deliver everything, so at some point we needed to split up; I did the outskirts and then [my husband Cory] did everything in Spring Hill proper.”

Over the summer of 2020, Gonzalez and her husband personally delivered tens of thousands of cookies to Spring Hill residents, something she hoped would bring at least a sense of familiarity and joy to people in the new postCOVID world.

As Thanksgiving approached, Gonzalez says she really wanted to hammer home a sense of warmth and consistency to her community through offering a Spring Hill Bakery autumn favorite: cinnamon rolls.

“The bigger the cinnamon roll, the more you feel like a kid if you think about it,” Gonzalez says. “I think all baking kind of speaks to your inner child; your responsible adult person is like ‘I probably don’t need these many calories,’ but your inside’s like ‘yay, cinnamon roll.’ Baking is for your inner kid. That’s how I see it.”

Minutes before the cinnamon rolls were available for order, more than 100 people were waiting in an online queue to make their purchase. Once the cinnamon rolls became available, the orders flooded in by the thousands.

“We baked for 18 hours straight... It was between 2,500-3,000 cinnamon rolls,” Gonzalez says.

“It was less than half an hour and they sold out and I’m like ‘we have to put another 1,000 on.’ Cory’s like, ‘are you sure you can do that?’

I’m like, ‘we’re going to try.’ They wanted it, and I don’t know how to say no to these people because I want to be there for them.”

The bakery would go on to fulfill online orders by thousands throughout the duration of 2020 and into 2021, and while the logistics of how people received their treats might have changed, Gonzalez’ mission has never changed.

“When I first started the bakery, I was noticing that a lot of people are not from here, so when they moved here, they started to have that home-sickness,” Gonzalez says. “If they can’t be around their family, then why don’t we create a new kind of family here?”

ALEXANDER WILLIS

Michael Anthony Pappas

of The Contract CFO Show An entrepreneur looks to help others find success

BY CEDRIC DENT JR.

M

ichael Anthony Pappas casts a broad net as an influencer that extends well beyond Williamson County, whose entrepreneurial spirit originally drew him to the area.

Pappas serves as his wife Sarah Pappas’s vice president of Pappas Family Life, a firm in the Ashton Park community of Cool Springs within the Symmetry Financial Group franchise providing life insurance as well as retirement and college solutions.

Known to followers as the personality Michael Anthony, the Franklin resident has a second life as a multimedia finance and business coach with increasing recognition among cusping entrepreneurs in Williamson County. The growing attention he’s seen locally concentrates on his dual-platform show, The Contract CFO Show, which releases both podcast and video episodes in the Apple store, Spotify and YouTube. His YouTube channel shows steady growth for its first year with 1,580 subscribers since launching on his birthday, Aug. 28, 2020, as a proof of concept for posting consistency’s effects on YouTube metrics even through daily use of YouTube Shorts — the platform’s answer to TikTok. At first glance, Williamson County is an obvious choice for someone to hang his hat if he wants to coach other entrepreneurs, but his passion and his past tell a different story.

“I don’t come from a Williamson County,” Pappas says. “I grew up in the poorest neighborhood of Minneapolis. Where George Floyd was killed, my wife almost got mugged outside of that. That was my neighborhood. The precinct that they burned down — I have an ironing board still 20 some years later from the Target that was across the street there. That’s my hood.”

Before the age of 18, Pappas had been both stabbed and shot. His experience was one of poverty and crime that taught him first through the lack of street credit that debt was never worthwhile. Hard knocks education taught him this and other financial principles preached by

ERIC ENGLAND

Franklin radio personality and finance guru Dave Ramsey of The Dave Ramsey Show for whom he worked in Brentwood as an event coordinator at the Lampo Group and climbed the ladder to become vice president.

“Through that and just through the poverty, what I connected was: ‘Look, if I’m in debt, I have to pay money to someone, [...] and that by default limits my options.’”

He came to Ramsey already having internalized many of the concepts that Ramsey taught, yet what he learned from working in that circle was the business savvy behind the scenes, which has informed his entrepreneurial efforts since then. The financial security he had from his six-figure salary with the Lampo Group allowed his wife to launch Pappas Family Life, which became stable enough for him to comfortably leave Lampo to go into business for himself.

“We help protect people’s homes,” he says of their family business.

Pappas now offers group coaching, online training, private mentorships and live events, the latter having been significantly curtailed yet not eliminated by pandemic effects. He calls it “helping people to think like a boss.” In late August, for example, he organized and spoke at a conference of some 200 people in Las Vegas, originally scheduled for a venue in Nashville, but relocated for cheaper cost.

The Contract CFO Show is named after and based on a program he operates via website in which he guides applicants to success in their own entrepreneurial efforts. He mentors them while freelancing as the chief financial officer

for their company, collaborating with their accounting personnel to provide strategy, cash flow analyses and working budgets. Speaking to Home Page, Pappas took the opportunity to announce that he will be shuttering the Contract CFO Program, however, despite the considerable profit it generated.

“I shut down the Contract CFO Program,” he says. “I off-boarded my clients because I realized, as much as it’s a gift and I can help people, it doesn’t at the end of the day seed my life, and so even though I was making decent money on it, I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this for impact.”

Pappas says his mission statement “in life is I help entrepreneurs discover their true selves in order to create their ideal futures.” The pandemic, he believes, has been a blessing and a curse in that remote work and the loss of certain dead-end jobs has led some to question those jobs and aspire to more. This logic served as the basis for Michael Anthony starting The Kick Ass Crew, a membership-based community Pappas is developing clientele entrepreneurs aiming to build their businesses and lives to the next level.

“The gifts, if you could say, of this pandemic are that people are being woken up to the habits and just the mundane life they were living, and they’re asking themselves: ‘what else could be?’” Pappas says.

As people leave their mid-pandemic jobs for completely unrelated opportunities and even new businesses, Pappas has decided to guide them all to victory for a living.

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

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Kevin Townsel Jr. of TikTok fame

When a social media account becomes a pulpit for positivity

BY CORY WOODROOF

T

ikTok is a funky little app that’s grown massive, the heir apparent to Vine and the clever evolution of Instagram and Snapchat.

It rewards the brisk and entertains the busy; videos are condensed down into easily digestible morsels, usually consisting of the latest trendy dances, bite-sized clips of comedy and ever-popular pet adoration.

You can swipe through 100 TikToks from the time it takes to sit down and eat your breakfast before your morning commute. The content is quick; the inspiration is limitless.

For Franklin native Kevin Townsel Jr., the platform is a pulpit.

Townsel Jr., who graduated from Centennial High School in 2020 and now plays soccer at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn., wanted to use TikTok at first as a way to get his name out and get attention, a common goal for those who flock to social media.

Now, he hopes to reach a flock of a different kind, using his TikTok account as a ministerial center and source of positivity to go along with the fun ways people use the website. As of now, Townsel Jr. has nearly 39,000 followers on his account and about 360,800 likes on his videos.

Townsel Jr. found the app while he was dating a girl his senior year of high school. The two would post things about relationship advice and saw their messages take off like wildfire for the TikTok audience. The profound reach he found in such a short time really spoke to the young content creator.

“It really put my name out there,” he recalls, “and I really started realizing that a lot of people were looking up to me.”

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From there, Townsel Jr., inspired by the passing of a childhood friend, started sharing messages centered on his Christian faith.

“It took off really quick,” Townsel Jr. said.

“Ever since then, I’ve just been trying to spread my voice, spread my opinion.”

TikTok has taken over as one of the dominant social media apps that young people use.

Townsel Jr., 20, feels that those in his generation respond to how quickly you can post a video and how quickly it can be seen.

“On TikTok, you can post a video in five minutes, and over 20,000 people can see that,” he says. “It’s such a reliable social media outlet for so many people to connect with others very quickly, and you can see what’s going on around the world at a very fast rate.”

Indeed, TikTok is popular for socializing, laughing and entertaining, but Townsel Jr. said he wanted to push the boundaries for what was typically being done for folks his age.

“I wanted to be that person that was different,” he says. “I wanted to be someone who could voice their opinion or someone who could really try influencing or helping people who might need that extra step. ... I really went to TikTok because...that’s where all the kids were at, and your video can blow up so quick and you can reach so many people so fast and influence people you’ve never even met before.”

Townsel Jr. is something of a TikTok scientist. He’s got a content strategy down pat that’s helped him time exactly when people are checking the app and know what they want to hear.

“I might wait until maybe two or three o’clock, right when they get out of school,” Townsel Jr. says of when he might post a video. “One thing that goes through my head is, ‘OK, what have I been going through lately? What is one thing that I’ve been dealing with lately, or one thing that’s on the news that I know everyone’s talking about or one thing in particular that I know almost every kid is dealing with right now.’

“I take that into consideration,” he explains.

“I think of, ‘OK...I might bring faith into it, I might bring a little bit of God into it, or I might even do a little 50-50, bring some faith into it and then bring some views and points just from, kind of, the world’s point of view, or my point of view.”

Whether it’s just what’s on his heart at that time or if it’s something that’s helped him grow, Townsel Jr. wants anyone to be able to relate with his videos, no matter of age or life experience. He said he wants a graspable message that can reach a wide audience.

After graduation, the Bethel student wants to go to nursing school in order to become a physical therapist. He also says he hopes to continue using any platform he can to share his faith and promote positivity.

He says he wants to still be “connected with TikTok and all the social medias I go on and still spread God’s love, God’s word and still spread my opinions and influence as much people as I can, people that look up to me.”

You can find Townsel Jr. at his TikTok account: @kevintownseljr

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Local Social

10 Williamson County Social Media Accounts to Follow

Melissa Schleicher (@melissaschleicher) 53.2k Instagram followers

Melissa Schleicher is a celebrity hair and makeup artist, and owner of Parlour 3, Barbour 3 and Hunter Paige. She is also the mother of Nashville social media influencer, Hunter Premo.

Brooke of KBStyled (@kbstyled) 179k Instagram followers

Brooke of KBStyled is a style blogger and businesswoman based in Franklin.

She focuses on sharing style tips and trends with her followers and offers curated jewelry, accessories and clothing through her company kristenBROOKE.

Jenny Reimold (@jennyreimold) 72k Instagram followers

Jenny Reimold is a style expert, writer and adoption/foster advocate who lives in Franklin. She shares not only skincare tips, gift ideas, décor advice and product recommendations, but also many aspects of her personal life.

Angel Noble (@angel_noble615) 1,905 Instagram followers

Angel Noble is a fitness and health influencer and was crowned Mrs. Franklin of 2019. She is also co-founder of the organization Mission of Truth which works with children living in Haitian orphanages.

Sophie Grace Rovenstine (@sophie_rovenstine)

110k Instagram followers

Sophie Grace Rovenstine is a model and brand partner from Williamson County.

Kristin Cavallari (@kristincavallari) 4.2M Instagram followers

Kristin Cavallari is a business woman, actress, author and television personality living in Franklin. The flagship store of her business Uncommon James is located in The Gulch in Nashville.

Kevin Townsel Jr. (@kevintownseljr) 54.4k Instagram followers, 38.7k TikTok followers

Kevin Townsel Jr. is a student and athlete from Franklin. On his social media platforms, he discusses his faith in God and other Christian topics. (Read his full profile on Pg. 24.)

Emily Woods (@emilyunscripted) 12.6k Instagram followers

Emily Woods is a travel, fashion and lifestyle blogger exploring Franklin and Nashville with her family. She focuses her content on local adventures, sharing the latest shopping deals, casual wear and family fun.

Thomas Day (@thomasdaymusic) 247k Instagram followers, 5.4M TikTok followers

Thomas Day is an 18-year-old singer from Brentwood. He competed on America’s Got Talent and has quickly amassed a large, dedicated fanbase.

Ashlie (@southernmadeblog) 44.9k Instagram followers

Ashlie is a digital creator and blogger based in Franklin. Her blog focuses on beauty, fashion, faith, motherhood and of course, southern living.

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

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Fact Checking 5 Williamson County Stereotypes

BY KATHRYN RICKMEYER

W

illiamson County has made a name for itself — sometimes for the better with business relocations and a booming real estate market and sometimes in not-so-great ways like viral videos of adults screaming threats at school board meetings.

These moments have shaped the way people view Williamson County, and while some perceptions bear out with data, some are oneoff anecdotal exceptions and are not representative of the community as a whole.

Here’s a fact check of a few of the most common stereotypes:

Stereotype 1: The people of Williamson County are anti-vaxxers.

False.

President Joe Biden, John Oliver and a horde of national and local news outlets shared the Home Page’s viral video of the heated board meeting featuring angry parents protesting the reinstatement of masks for elementary schools.

In one of the many videos posted on social media, several parents who were opposed to the mandate started threatening those in support of it. Yet, Williamson County has the highest vaccination rate of all Tennessee’s 95 counties including people vaccinated with at least one dose and people fully vaccinated. More than 67 percent of Williamson County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine — that’s 7 percent higher than in Davidson County, which has the second highest vaccination rate out of any county.

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Stereotype 4: Williamson County has more chain restaurants than any other county in Tennessee.

Stereotype 2: Politicians in Williamson County don’t care about the environment or green initiatives.

At least one politician says he does.

Rep. Mark Green is the founder of Green Interchange, a nonprofit that has partnered with TDOT to plant trees in highway interchanges and medians to offset CO2 emissions.

Stereotype 3: Williamson County is mostly wealthy, white people.

Fact.

Eighty-five percent of Williamson County’s population is white, according to U.S. Census data. Households in Williamson County have a median annual income of $112,962, which is more than the median annual income of $65,712 across the entire United States.

False.

Unfortunately, Williamson County cannot claim the gold for this title — that honor goes to Rutherford County. However, Williamson County did medal. Williamson County has the second most chain restaurants out of Tennessee’s 95 counties, according to data from Business Insider.

Stereotype 5: Williamson County has the best public school system in the state.

Fact.

Williamson County public schools are without a doubt the best in the state according to multiple metrics from the Tennessee Department of Education including: the highest average ACT/SAT score, most advanced course offerings, and best financial health. The average ACT score of public high school students in the state is a 20, according to TDOE. The average ACT score for William County High School students is a 28. The average public high school offers 14 advanced placement programs while the average high school in Williamson County offers 19 advanced placement courses.

Companies continue to flock to Williamson County. Here’s why five said they moved here.

BY KATHRYN RICKMEYER

S

ince January of 2020, five companies have announced the relocation of their headquarters to Williamson County including: Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Landmark Recovery, Integrated Biometric Technology, Educational Media Foundation and Kaiser Aluminum.

Alone these relocations represent 980 jobs and more than $11 million in area investments, according to Williamson Inc. No local incentives were offered to any of the five companies that announced relocations to Williamson County, says Williamson Inc. President Matt Largen.

Data outlined in the National Association of Realtors Migration Report concludes that businesses are moving to metro areas with low costs of living and a corporate-friendly tax structure that could help them save money post-pandemic. In the report, Nashville Metro, which includes Williamson County, tied as the fourth most-popular destination for business migration in the first half of 2021.

Executives from all five headquarters agreed with the report’s rationale.

Matt Boyle, CEO of Landmark Recovery, an addiction treatment company with 13 facilities across the country, said Middle Tennessee’s growing population makes for plenty of available labor, and its quality of living is a draw for new talent. Landmark Recovery’s decision to relocate from Phoenix, Ariz., to Cool Springs will bring at least 350 jobs to the area over the next five years.

Williamson County more than doubled its new households from migration in 2020 from the prior year, according to U.S. Census data.

Education was also a lure, according to Largen. Williamson County is one of the most educated counties in the country — more than 60 percent of its residents have a bachelor’s degree. Each of the headquarters that announced relocations migrated from counties where the percentage of degreed individuals is lower than in Williamson County.

Several of the executives who made the decision to relocate to Williamson County share more conservative political views and, at times, took issue with what they regard as liberal politics in the states where their companies were formerly based.

“When COVID-19 hit Illinois, our businesses were shut down, our schools were shut down and our police were defunded,” says Jessica Young, president and CEO of Advanced Correctional Healthcare. “The Johnsons aren’t known for backing down. Instead, we decided we had to figure out how to pick everything up and relocate where our values were more in line with Tennessee.”

Bill Reeves, CEO of Education Media Foundation, the parent company of K-Love and Air1, the nation’s largest contemporary Christian music radio networks, also cited what he sees as political leanings as reasons to relocate from Rocklin, Calif., to Franklin. EMF also considered a site in Texas, but Williamson County’s prox-

imity to the Nashville music industry better suited the company. Largen said the Christian company will usher in a minimum of 350 jobs, but that number could jump to as high as 500.

More than a year of global supply chain disruptions have motivated manufacturers like Kaiser Aluminium, a publicly traded company and leading producer of semi-fabricated aluminium products, to relocate to Williamson County and other areas that have been relatively insulated from pandemic shutdowns and restrictions — and where job growth is expected to continue.

Kaiser Aluminium CFO Neal West announced the relocation of its Lake Forest, Calif., headquarters to Franklin three weeks ago. He said the company’s existing presence in Jackson, Tenn., directed them to Tennessee rather than another southern state. The facility in Jackson is one of its 14 North American operations. Kaiser is primed to escort 80 jobs and $3 million in investment into the county.

Integrated Biometric Technology already had a presence in Williamson County prior to establishing its headquarters in Franklin this summer.

However, company executives did not make its decision based on default. Its executives considered other markets outside of Tennessee, but a strategic analysis evaluating tax structures, talent pools and general cost-of-doing-business made Franklin the obvious choice.

Unlike some burgeoning boomtowns, Williamson County isn’t attracting solely one sector, such as technology or health care.

“The diversity represented in these headquarters proves that executives across all sectors use the same indicators to determine which location will best position their companies and employees for success,” says Williamson Inc.’s Director of Business Development Nathan Zipper.

While there isn’t a hard and fast formula, Zipper says the companies he and Williamson Inc. have assisted predominantly looked at four factors: the size and education level of the labor pool, cost of living, state and local tax structures and the ease of doing business within the community.

“Our industry diversity is important because it means Williamson County is not reliant on one industry or one employer,” Largen says. “From automotive to consumer products to retail, we have a wide variety of companies that call Williamson County home. Our economic cluster is corporate headquarters, which makes us unique in the American economic landscape.”

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

29

Williamson County Fall Family Calendar OCTOBER Oct. 9 Apple and All Things Fall Festival 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Morning Glory Orchard in Nolensville If you’re into all things autumn, Oct. 9 isn’t early at all to get going with your fall celebrations.

This year, Morning Glory Orchard will host its first Apple and All Things Fall festival on the grounds with help from Nashville Craft BevCo. This family-friendly day will include orchard fresh apples, cider slushies, pumpkins, mums and all sorts of fall goodies including amazing local finds in the orchard store.

Oct. 23 Music Country Grand Prix 12:30 p.m.-6 p.m.

Brownland Farm in Franklin This event benefits Saddle Up!, which serves Middle Tennessee children and youth with disabilities. The Music Country Grand Prix is an equestrian jumping competition featuring top riders and horses from across the nation that has been going since 1988. The fundraiser has collected more than $2 million since its inception. The day includes tailgating to the side of the show arena and attendees can sponsor VIP cabanas for up to eight guests on the other side.

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Oct. 30 36th Annual Pumpkinfest 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Main Street in Franklin In 2021, the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County will host the 36th Annual Pumpkinfest, a family fall festival returning this year after a hiatus in 2020. In 2019, more than 65,000 people attended the festival, which stretches along Main Street and its side avenues in downtown Franklin. All of the day’s events are autumn-inspired, including food and drink, children’s activities, live music, costume contests for pets and families, arts and crafts and seasonal gift items. Each year, the Pumpkinfest is hosted by the Downtown Franklin Association, which is a division of the Heritage Foundation.

NOVEMBER Nov. 6 Franklin Parks’ Family Day 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Harlinsdale Park in Franklin Family Day at Harlinsdale Park’s historical farm is free fun for folks of all ages. The festival offers activities like miniature train rides, hay rides, pony rides, a petting zoo and cane pole fishing in the pond. A big hit each year with kids is the touch-a-tractor area, where kids can sit on tractors and operate small excavators. The event will also feature horse-related events this year as well as live music and food for purchase from local vendors.

20th Anniversary Wine Down Main Street 7 p.m.-10 p.m.

Main Street in Franklin After taking the kids to Family Day, you can head over to the 20th Anniversary Wine Down Main Street. Attendees will taste wines, shop, listen to live music and sample food from area restaurants from 7-10 p.m. This year Lipman Brothers, Nashville’s oldest and largest distributor of wine and spirits is the official wine sponsor. Proceeds from sponsorships and ticket sales for this event will benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee.

Nov. 12-14 Pickin’ Leiper’s Fork Various hours Props Antiques in Leiper’s Fork This free outdoor event is in the village of Leiper’s Fork. At and around Props Antiques, folks can find a selection of vintage items, artisan crafts and antiques as well as live music, food for purchase and more. The event takes place Nov. 12 from noon to 6 p.m., Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Don’t miss the small batch candies and chocolates at Props Antiques.)

Nov. 20 Franklin Makers Market: Holiday Market 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Westhaven Lakefront in Franklin Just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, check out this free, family-friendly holiday market at Westhaven Lakefront. This winter market includes more than 50 craft and artisans vendors, tasty treats, kids activities, a photo booth, a cocktail bar and more. Franklin Makers Market bills itself as the best place to find unique holiday treasures for your family and friends while supporting local makers and small businesses from all of the Middle Tennessee area.

DECEMBER Dec. 4 Morning with Santa 9 a.m.-noon John P. Holt Brentwood Library in Brentwood Gather the kids, make sure their wish lists are updated and head over to the Brentwood Library to meet with the big man himself. For this 30th edition of Morning with Santa, he’ll be at the library from 9 a.m. to noon. The library will also have a few games and more. It’s the perfect thing to do before hitting up the Christmas parade in Franklin. Ask him for the gifts and then go see if he makes it to the parade with his reindeer on time.

Franklin Kiwanis Christmas Parade 2 p.m.

Historic Downtown Franklin The Kiwanis Club of Historic Downtown Franklin is making its return following its cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

Registration to participate in the parade is open on Eventbrite: Search for 2021 Franklin Kiwanis Christmas Parade. The theme of this year’s parade is Songs of the Season. The Franklin Kiwanis Christmas Parade is the primary fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club of Historic Downtown Franklin. Through sponsorships by businesses and individuals, dollars are raised which are then used to grant $1,000 scholarships to local graduating seniors. A number of social service agencies that serve children have also received monetary donations from the club, which supports the mission of Kiwanis — “to serve the needs of children.” Those who would like to become a sponsor of the parade can contact the club at Franklintnkiwanis@ gmail.com or call (309)261-3500.

Dec. 10 Flashlight Candy Cane Hunt Evening Eastern Flank Battlefield Park in Franklin The grounds of Eastern Flank Battlefield Park will be sprinkled with candy canes ready to be eaten and then attendees will grab their flashlight to help hunt for the holiday treats. Kids will decorate treat bags for candy canes before the hunt. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served. Participants must bring a flashlight, and all other supplies will be provided. Festive outfits are encouraged. This event is limited to 100 participants and pre-registration is required.

The event fee is $5 per person, including adults, and begins Nov. 8.

Dec. 11-12 36th Annual Dickens of a Christmas 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Historic Downtown Franklin The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s 36th Annual Dickens of a Christmas is Middle Tennessee’s largest outdoor Christmas festival, returning this year after a pause in 2020.

The festival recreates the time of Charles Dickens using historic downtown Franklin’s charming architecture as the backdrop. A variety of musicians, dancers and Dickens characters will fill the streets. Expect to see and interact with the nefarious Fagin from Oliver Twist; Jacob Marley, Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the rest of the Cratchit family from A Christmas Carol; and of course, a Victorian Father and Mother Christmas with treats for children.

Date To Be Announced Spring Hill Santa Ride The Well in Spring Hill Nonprofit The Well’s executive director, Shelly Sassen, and her husband, Tim, started a new annual tradition in 2019 in Spring Hill: Participants decorate their bicycles with antlers, wreaths, and any other holiday-themed decorations they could get their hands on for a Spring Hill Santa Ride. Last year, more than a dozen riders took to the streets heading west on Duplex Road before heading north on Miles Johnson Parkway, making a quick stop at the Morning Pointe assisted living home to sing a few Christmas carols, singing such classics as “Jingle Bells,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.” Then they departed northbound and riders then linked up with Main Street where the occasional supportive car honk could be heard. Riders made their final stop at Grecian Family Restaurant off of Main Street for a mid-ride lunch before ultimately heading back to their point of origin.

What fun it is to ride.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Williamson County Williamson County 1320 W. Main Street Franklin, TN 37064 www.Williamsoncounty-tn.gov

History

Williamson County, established in 1779, is named for Dr. Hugh Williamson. Williamson (17351819) was surgeon general of the North Carolina militia, a Continental Congress member and signer of the Constitution. Franklin, its county seat, is named for his good friend, who also never lived here, Benjamin Franklin.

The county originally had been inhabited by at least five Native American cultures, including tribes of Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Shawnee.

Early settlers came from Virginia and North Carolina as part of the western migration following the American Revolutionary War. Three Civil War battles were fought in the county. The Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin saw some of the highest fatalities of the war, including the deaths of six Confederate generals. Two years later, 1,481 Confederate soldiers who died in battle were re-interred on the grounds of Carnton plantation. The McGavock Confederate Cemetery is the largest private Confederate cemetery in America. The war had a significant effect on the county’s population, which did not surpass that of 1880 until 1970.

In 2017 the county’s population was 226,257. Today the county and its individual cities are ranked among the nation’s best in the areas of education, recreation, health and cost of living. Twelve of the 25 largest publicly traded companies in the Middle Tennessee area are based here and 40 corporate headquarters call Williamson County home.

MATT MASTERS

Government

The Williamson County Board of Commissioners, the county’s legislative body, consists of 24 members, two from each of the county’s 12 districts. Commissioners serve four-year terms. While the Williamson County Schools’ Board of Education sets school policy, the county commission is the schools’ funding body. The county mayor is elected by popular vote every four years and may serve unlimited terms. Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson.

Departments and Services

Williamson County Public Library: Beyond its extensive book collection, the county library offers genealogy workshops, art displays, book clubs, story time, computer classes and more. 1314 Columbia Ave., Franklin, has branches in Bethesda, College Grove, Fairview, Leiper’s Fork and Nolensville. 615-595-1243. http:// lib.williamson-tn.org/ Williamson County Parks & Recreation: Offers extensive facilities and parks covering everything from aquatics programs, fitness and wellness, therapeutic recreation, senior programs, newsletter, planning, arts and crafts, special events, and summer activities. Its Athletic Division sponsors leagues and programs in a variety of sports throughout the county. 1120 Hillsboro Road, Franklin, 37064; 615-790-5719; www.wcparksandrec.com.

Williamson County Schools: The county commission funds the county’s distinguished K-12 school system, guided by its own elected board and director of schools. 1320 West Main St., Franklin, 37064. 615472-4000; www.wcs.edu. The county is also home to the self-funded Franklin Special School District and several private schools.

Williamson County Animal Center: The county’s Animal Control Officers enforce state laws and local ordinances concerning animals, which include dogs running at large and stray animals.

Though ACOs cannot remove nuisance wildlife from private property, humane traps are available to rent. The center also serves as the county’s animal shelter where dogs and cats can be adopted. 160 Claude Yates Drive, Franklin, 37064; (615)790-5590; www.adoptwcac.org.

Williamson County Highway Department: This department constructs and maintains roads and bridges in unincorporated areas. This is the place to call to report hazardous road conditions. 302 Beasley Drive, Franklin, 37064; (615)790-5596.

Law enforcement: The Williamson County Sheriff’s department is responsible for law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of the county. The department also oversees the Williamson County Jail. 408 Century Court, Franklin, 37064; (615)7905560.

Solid Waste and Recycling: The Williamson County Solid Waste Department manages 10 convenience centers located throughout Williamson County and two additional recycling drop-off centers. No commercial recycling or waste will be accepted at any convenience center location.

Commercial waste must be taken to the county landfill. Proof of residency is required. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

5750 Pinewood Road, Franklin, 37064; (615)790-0742. Visit www. williamsoncounty-tn.gov/159/ Convenience-Centers for a list of centers.

County Clerk: The county clerk’s

office, located in the Administration Complex, is the place to head for vehicle title and registration services, business permits, marriage licenses and beer permits.

1320 W. Main St., Suite 135, Franklin, 37064; (615)790-5712; open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Election Commission: Your go-to spot for county and local election and voting information, voter registration and more. 1320 West Main St., Suite 140, Franklin, 37064; (615)790-5711; http://www. williamsoncounty-tn.gov/40/ Election-Commission.

Driver Services Center: Services include written and road driving tests and issuing new and renewal driver’s licenses and identification cards. Hours are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; Appointments available. 3830 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, 37067; (615)790-5515. www.tn.gov/safety/driver-services/locations/williamson.html.

Williamson Medical Center: This county-owned hospital, established in 1958, offers medical care at its Franklin medical center and walk-in clinics. 4321 Carothers Pkwy. Franklin, 37067; (615)435-5000; www.williamsonmedicalcenter.org.

Health Department: Medical and dental services; immunizations and help with immunization records; public health education programs. Hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays. 1324 W Main Street, Franklin, 37064; (615)794-1542; https://www. williamsoncounty-tn.gov/120/ Health-Department.

Top employers

• Williamson County Schools • Community Health Systems • Williamson County Government • HCA Healthcare Inc. • Williamson Medical Center

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

33

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Brentwood City of Brentwood 5211 Maryland Way Brentwood, TN 37027 (615) 371-0060; www.brentwood-tn.gov

History

The city of Brentwood was incorporated on April 15, 1969, but its history goes back much farther.

The first known residents of Brentwood were prehistoric Native Americans from the Mississippian-period who built mounds with ceremonial buildings. Such early villages have been found in the Meadowlake subdivision, at the library site on Concord Road, and at Primm Historic Park where the largest of the mounds is still visible today.

Brentwood’s first European settlers – planters and farmers – arrived in the late 1700s. Situated halfway between Nashville and Franklin, the area prospered and by the Civil War, the area was one of the richest in the state. During the war, many of the large plantation homes served as hospitals for Confederate and Union forces.

The war, however, left its scar on the economy, and many homes and plantations fell to ruin.

In the 1920s, Brentwood rebounded. With the construction of Interstate 65 in the 1960s, Brentwood grew and prospered, and by the 1990s the area was prospering again. Today, more than 42,000 people call the city home.

Government

The city operates under a council/manager form of government. The seven-member Board of Commissioners enacts laws known as ordinances and sets policies and takes other formal actions through resolutions. The Commission adopts the Capital Improvements Program and Annual Budget each year. Non-partisan city elections are held in May every two years, with the at-large commissioners serving staggered four-year-terms. The May 7, 2021, election will see four members seated.

34

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

After each city election, the commission elects one of its members to serve a two-year term as mayor and another to serve as vice mayor. The board also nominates and elects citizen members of volunteer boards and commissions.

City Manager Kirk Bednar oversees the city’s day-to-day operations and ensures that the policies and programs approved by the Board of Commissioners are implemented.

Most Brentwood residents live in Williamson County government’s Districts 6 and 8, with each district electing two county commissioners and one Williamson County School board representative. The city falls in State Legislative Districts 61 and 63, State Senate District 23, and U.S. Congressional District 7.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R) is a Brentwood resident.

Departments and services

Garbage: Solid waste collection is handled by private collectors.

Brentwood residents can contact companies directly for information about rates and scheduling.

A list of local providers can be found on the city’s website.

Crime prevention and public safety: The Brentwood Police Department, led by Chief Jeff Hughes and Assistant Chief Tommy Walsh, is internationally accredited.

Fire and rescue: The internationally accredited Brentwood Fire & Rescue Department employs more than 65 personnel, led

by Chief Brian Goss and Asst. Chief David Windrow. Its four stations, staffed 24/7, are geographically located to service the entire city.

Public Works: The city’s Public Works Department provides brush removal, pothole, curb and gutter repairs, pavement markings, right-of-way mowing, small drainage repairs and snow and ice removal among other services on a year-round basis. It conducts an annual streets inspection for

resurfacing needs. During the last three Saturdays in April and October of each year, the department places dumpsters in city parks for citizens to drop off large, unwanted items for free.

Brentwood Library: Every Brentwood resident or property-owner has free borrowing privileges at the city’s nationally recognized John P. Holt Brentwood Library, which also serves as a de facto community center. A library card gives residents access to more than 165,000 books and other materials, including audiobooks, DVDs, music CDs and online resources, as well as newspapers, magazines and free WiFi. Trails and greenways: East of I-65, the city has miles of paved multi-purpose trails that connect many of the city’s parks, schools and amenities, including Crockett Park, Tower Park, Smith Park, Primm Park, the Brentwood YMCA, the John P. Holt Brentwood Library, the FiftyForward Martin Center and the county’s Indoor Sports Complex and Joe Reagan Soccer Complex. West of I-65, multi-purpose trails can be found in Granny White Park, Powell Park, Wikle Park, Deerwood Arboretum, and Maryland Way Park.

City Parks: The city’s 14 parks and greenways comprise almost 1,000 acres of property dedicated to social, cultural, historic, athlet-

ic and nature-oriented activities for all ages. The 164-acre Crockett Park is home to the city’s free Summer Concert Series, a community playground, baseball, softball, football and soccer fields, tennis courts, a Frisbee golf course and Williamson County’s Joe Reagan Indoor Soccer Complex. The 400-acre Marcella Vivrette Smith Park, 1825 Wilson Pike, opened in 2014 and is home to historic Ravenswood Mansion and six miles of rugged hiking. Brentwood Bark Park, the city’s dog park, is located in Tower Park. The Williamson County Indoor Sports Complex has indoor swimming pools, indoor tennis courts, a fitness center and group fitness classes.

Education: Williamson County Schools provides public K-12 education at multiple Brentwood campuses: Brentwood and Ravenwood high schools; Brentwood, Woodland and Sunset middle schools, and Scales, Lipscomb, Edmondson, Jordan, Kenrose, Crockett and Sunset elementary schools. Private Brentwood Academy serves students in grades 6-12.

Top employers

• HCA • United Health Group • COMDATA • Tractor Supply Co. • Brookdale Senior Living

MATT MASTERS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Nolensville Town of Nolensville 7218 Nolensville Road Nolensville, TN 37135 (615)776-3633; www.Nolensvilletn.gov

History

Nolensville’s story begins with a broken wheel.

Revolutionary War veteran William Nolen brought his family to the region in 1797 and settled here after his wagon broke a wheel and he decided to stay where it fell. He purchased part of a land grant and the town was later named after him. Many families followed and the town was first incorporated in 1839, though it later lost its charter after a solid local government failed to be established. The area remained largely agricultural in nature with local businesses, like the Nolensville Mill Company and the Nolensville Co-Op Creamery, created to support local farmers.

In the 1990s, the small community began to grow and in 1996 residents voted to re-incorporate.

From the late 1990s to present, it has seen phenomenal residential and commercial growth as farms have given way to new subdi-

MATT MASTERS

visions with homes purchased by those desiring a Williamson County address and Williamson County schools in an area, for now, more affordable than nearby Brentwood and Franklin.

In 1990, just over 1,500 people lived in Nolensville. The estimated 2016 population was just over 7,500, but the city is fast growing.

Government

Nolensville changed its style of government in 2020. It is now run by a Board of Commissioners and has a town manager, Victor Lay. Derek Adams is now the town mayor and was elected in the fall of 2020 right on the heels of the town’s new charter.

Nolensville is located in Williamson County Government’s District 5 and represented by county commissioners Beth Lothers and Tommy Little. Its Williamson County School board representative is Jen Aprea. It is in State Legislative District 63, State Senate District 23, and U.S. Congressional District 7.

For more information: www.nolensvilletn.gov; www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov

Departments and services

Trash pickup: The town does not provide trash pickup; residential service is contracted privately.

The county-operated Nolensville Convenience Center, 1525 Owen Road, operates 7 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends except holidays. It accepts trash (daily limits) and recyclable materials. www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov; (615) 776-2717.

Public safety and crime prevention: The Nolensville Police Department operates 24/7 out of Nolensville Town Hall. www.nolensvilletn.gov/police; 615-776-3640.

Education: Williamson County Schools serving Nolensville students include Nolensville high school; Sunset and Nolensville middle schools, and Nolensville, Mill Creek, Sunset elementary schools. www.wcs.edu; (615) 4724000.

Fire Department: Nolensville established the Nolensville Fire Department in 2020 after having a robust volunteer department in the past. It was established through a new town charter. www.williamsonready.org; 615-776-5050.

Library: The Nolensville branch of Williamson County Public Library, 915 Oldham Dr., offers traditional library services in addition to children’s programming, meeting room, computers, test proctoring, book clubs and more. wcpl.ss9. sharpschool.com; (615) 776-5490.

Parks & Recreation: The WCPR Recreation Complex at Nolensville, 7250 Nolensville Rd., has a wellness center, outdoor pool, arts & crafts rooms, game room, dance room and sitting service. www.wcparksandrec.com; (615) 786-0200. Nolensville Park and Bark Park has ball fields, a playground, dog park and walking trails. Soccer is played at Osborne Park Soccer Complex and the Nolensville Soccer Club’s Gregory Park Soccer Fields. The town has a growing multi-use trail system connecting commercial and residential areas.

Sports: Nolensville has youth sports leagues in addition to middle and high school sports programs. The nonprofit Nolensville Running Club is one of the area’s most active and sponsors regular group runs several times a week. www.nolensvillerunningclub.com.

Business: The Nolensville Business Council is part of Williamson Inc., the county chamber of commerce. The council addresses the specific needs of northeast Williamson County’s business community and meets quarterly. www.williamsonchamber.com; (615) 771-1912.

Top employers

• Town of Nolensville • Williamson County Schools • Blue Bell Creameries

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

35

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Franklin Franklin City Hall City of Franklin 109 3rd Avenue South Franklin, TN 37064 (615)791-3217 www.franklintn.gov

History

The city was founded Oct. 26, 1799, by Abram Maury Jr., who named it after Benjamin Franklin, a close friend of Dr. Hugh Williamson, a Continental Congress member and Williamson County’s namesake. It is the county seat.

Prior to the Civil War, Williamson County was one of the state’s wealthiest counties The Civil War devastated the city’s mostly agrarian economy.

The Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin, one of the war’s bloodiest, saw 8,000 casualties and the deaths of five Confederate generals. Several of the homes and buildings used as hospitals still stand.

The Cool Springs area began to develop in the late 1980s. Cool Springs Galleria opened in 1991.

Since then, commercial, residential and corporate development has continued nonstop. The area is now home to several national headquarters, including Nissan North America and Schneider Electric.

Just over 1,500 people lived here in 1870 and the population remained under 10,000 through 1970. It more than doubled between 1990 and 2000, from 20,098 to 41,842.

Government

The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen, composed of an elected mayor, four aldermen elected to represent the city’s four political wards and four elected at large, governs the city. Aldermen serve staggered four-year terms, with the mayor and at-large aldermen elected together and ward aldermen elected two years later.

Franklin’s mayor is Dr. Ken Moore. City Administrator Eric Stuckey oversees the city’s 14 professional departments.

Seven of Williamson County’s 12 voting districts — Districts 2,

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GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

4, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 — touch the City of Franklin and each district is represented by two county commissioners. The city falls in State Legislative Districts 63 and 65, State Senate District 23, and U.S. Congressional District 7. To learn which city ward you live in, visit www.franklintn.gov/ home. To learn what Williamson County voting district you live in, visit www.williamsoncounty-tn. gov/40/Election-Commission or call (615)790-5711.

Departments and services

Franklin Transit Authority: Provides ADA-accessible public transportation trolley service in and around Franklin and Cool Springs; Transit on DemanD service; VanStar service which helps initiate vanpool service, and the Franklin Express, a coach bus service between Franklin and downtown Nashville through the Transportation Management Association. www.tmagroup/franklin-transit; (615) 628-0260.

Trash and recycling: The city’s Sanitation and Environmental Services Department provides residential trash pickup, ‘blue bin’ curbside recycling, and yard and bulk waste within Franklin city limits. www.franklintn.gov/government; (615)794-1516 Leaf pickup: Leaves are picked up every week between October and early January by the city’s Street Department on designated days by subdivision according to color-coded zones. Compost is also available to purchase from the department at the compost facility, 1116 Incinerator Road.

Vouchers must be purchased in advance at the Utility Billing Office, 109 3rd Ave. S. www.franlintn. gov/government; (615)794-4572 Crime prevention and public safety: The Franklin Police Department provides public safety services within the city limits, while the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department does the same for nearby unincorporated areas. The FPD also oversees the city’s Neighborhood Watch

Programs, Citizens’ Police Academy, Franklin Police Explores and offers Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training for women among other community services. www. franklintn.gov/government; (615)794-2513.

Fire and rescue: The Franklin Police Department has eight strategically located stations which cover the city when fire or other emergencies occur. Community Programs include car seat checks, Citizens’ Fire Academy, CPR classes, fire prevention programs and a speaker’s bureau. www.franklintn. gov/government; (615)791-3270.

Parks & Recreation: Franklin has more than 700 acres of park land divided into 16 parks including passive, active and historical parks, each with its own character and amenities. Walking and fitness trails, playgrounds, picnic tables and shelter areas, sports fields, skateboarding, disc golf, tennis, and basketball courts are available. City parks are open daily dawn to dusk. The city maintains several access points for those who enjoy canoeing/kayaking, fishing or swimming on the Harpeth River. The city is also home to several Williamson County Parks & Recreation Department recreation centers, sports complexes and programs. www.franklintn.gov/ government; (615)794-2103; www. wcparksandrec.com.

Library: The main Williamson County Public Library, 1314 Columbia Ave., offers a host of traditional and non-traditional library services including books, reading programs, exercise and wellness programs, art and literary events, book clubs and computer classes for all ages. www.lib.williamson-tn.org; (615)595-1245.

Newcomer’s Information: The city website provides a one-

stop link to information new city residents may need. Visit www. franklintn.gov/our-city/information-for-new-residents. The Franklin Visitor Center, which provides a wealth of information for residents and visitors alike, is located at 400 Main St., Suite 130; www.visitfranklin.com; (615)591-8514.

Downtown Parking: On-street parking in downtown Franklin is limited to 2 hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, excluding city recognized holidays. Two free parking garages, one on Second Avenue, one on Fourth Avenue, offer unlimited free parking. There are also several privately owned paid lots. www.franklintn.gov/our-city/ parking-in-franklin; (615)791-3217.

Education: The Franklin Special School District (FSSD) serves children in grades pre-K-8 that live within the public school district’s boundary, which covers much, but not all, of the city of Franklin. Williamson County Schools provides public pre-K-12 education. WCS high schools serving Franklin are Centennial, Franklin, Independence, Page and Renaissance. Franklin is home to several private schools, including Battle Ground Academy (K-12 at two campuses), New Hope Academy (PreK-6); Franklin Classical School (K-12). Columbia State Community College has a Franklin campus and Belmont and Lipscomb universities both have a Franklin presence. www. fssd.org, (615) 794-6624; www. wcs.edu, (615)472-4000.

Top employers

• Williamson County Schools • Community Health Systems • Nissan North America • Williamson Medical Center • Mars Petcare

MATT MASTERS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Fairview City of Fairview 7100 City Center Way Fairview, TN 37062 (615) 799-2484; www.fairview-tn.org

History

The area where the city of Fairview sits is on land first inhabited

by Native Americans, who traveled the ancient Natchez Trace trail, which runs just a few miles from the city’s heart.

Due to the remote nature of western Williamson County, early residents were independent and self-reliant as compared to Franklin and communities to the east. The opening of Hwys. 100, 96 and 96 West and Interstate 40 all led to the area’s steady growth.

Farming, timber and, during Prohibition, moonshine, were important to the local economy.

Tomatoes, in particular, were a good cash crop for many given Fairview’s soil.

The area went by several names but in 1880, the Christina post office was renamed Jingo.

Jingo became Fairview in 1937.

The city incorporated in 1959.

A 2015 special census reported Fairview’s population at close to 10,000.

Government

The city operates under a City Manager-Commission form of government, composed of an elected mayor and four commissioners elected at-large with staggered, four-year terms of office.

The Board approves the annual municipal budget and decides on taxing and fee levels to fund municipal services. Deb Rainey is the city’s mayor. The board meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Thursdays at City Hall, 7100 City Center Way. City Manager Scott Collins

STEVE HARMAN

oversees the city’s professional departments.

Fairview is in Williamson County’s District 1 and is represented

by County Commissioners Dwight Jones and Ricky D. Jones. The city is in State Legislative District 65, State Senate District 23 and U.S. Congressional District 7. For more information: www.fairview-tn. org; 615-799-2484. www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/

Departments and services

Education: Williamson County Schools provides public K-12 education at multiple Fairview campuses: Fairview High School, Fairview Middle School and Fairview and Westwood elementary schools. www.wcs.edu; (615) 472-4000.

Public safety and crime prevention: The Fairview Police Department serves within the city limits and is charged with crime prevention and law enforcement.

Services include a drug enforcement department, Drug Take Back program, and works with the Williamson County Crime Stoppers program. www.fairview-tn. org/depts-services/police-department/; (615) 799-2435.

Fire Department: The Fairview Fire Department, located at 7131 Bowie Lake Road, has 14 professional firefighters providing 24/7 coverage of the city. www. fairview-tn.org/depts-services/ fire-department; (615) 799-3473.

Parks & Recreation: The 700acre Bowie Nature Park is the city’s crown jewel and home to walking, biking and horseback riding trails, lakes, picnic shelters, a nature center and a large community-built playground. It hosts summer camps and nature programming. www.bowiepark.org; (615) 799-5544. Veterans Memori-

al Park, with trails and picnic areas, hosts the annual Fish Rodeo, www.fairview-tn.org/depts-services/parks-department ; (615) 799-5544. The county-owned Fairview Recreation Center features a gym, outdoor pool, fitness center, classes, senior activities and more. www.wcparksandrec. com; (615) 799-9331.

Leaf removal and chipper service: Public Works’ street department provides residential leaf pickup and chipping services operating under a zone system with routes on the first four Tuesdays of the month. Leaf service runs December-March; chipper service April-November. Guidelines at www.fairview-tn.org/ depts-services/public-works/; (615) 387-6084.

Library: The Fairview Library, 2240 Fairview Blvd., is a branch of the Williamson County Public Library. It provides a host of

traditional and non-traditional services, including children’s programming, free wireless Internet and community events. Lib.williamson-tn.org/Fairview_public_library; (615) 224-6087.

Health services: The Fairview Clinic of the Williamson County Health Department, 2629 Fairview Blvd., provides a variety of health and wellness services. It accepts TNCare insurance and has a private pay sliding scale based on family size and income.

Economic Development: The Fairview Chamber of Commerce is an independent business and economic development organization. www.fairviewchamber.org; (615) 799-9290.

Top employers

• Williamson County Schools • Publix • Wal-Mart

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

37

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Spring Hill City of Spring Hill 199 Town Center Parkway Spring Hill, TN 37174 www.springhilltn.org; (931) 486-2252

History

Spring Hill’s first settlers arrived with land grants and until the Civil War, the south county community grew with farms and plantations and the local businesses and tradesmen to support them.

On Nov. 29, 1864, the Battle of Spring Hill was a prelude to the larger Battle of Franklin.

Following the war, the community rebounded, yet remained primarily centered on agriculture for more than a century. That changed in the 1980s, when General Motors announced Spring Hill would be home to its new Saturn manufacturing plant.

The town, which is split between Maury and Williamson counties, had 986 residents in 1980. By 2000, that number had grown to 7,115. Today more than 40,000 people call Spring Hill home.

38

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

Government

A nine-member Board of Mayor and Aldermen is the policy-making body. It comprises eight atlarge aldermen from four wards elected for four-year staggered terms. The elected mayor serves a four-year term. The board meets at 7 p.m. the third Monday of every month in the courtroom at City Hall. The next municipal election is April 11, 2019.

The Williamson County side of the city is split between three county voting districts, 1, 2 and 3, with each district electing two county commissioners and one Williamson County School board representative. The city falls in State Legislative Districts 63 and 65, State Senate District 23, and U.S. Congressional District 7. For more information: www.springhilltn.org; www.maurycounty-tn.gov/; www. williamsoncounty-tn.gov/

Departments and services

Law enforcement and crime prevention: The Spring Hill Police

Department, located in the lower level of City Hall, provides law enforcement and crime prevention and investigation services. It leads the Citizens’ Police Academy, and manages the local Nixle community alert system. www.springhilltn.org; (931) 486-2252.

Fire Department: The Spring Hill Fire Department has three fire stations and provides firefighting, fire prevention, medical and rescue services. Community programs include fire engine visits and station tours, fire extinguisher training, and free smoke detector battery checks and batter replacement. www.springhilltn.org; (931) 486-3270.

Library: The Spring Hill Public Library is an independent library system that serves as a community resource, gathering place and programming for all ages. For now, it is located at 144 Kedron Pky., but plans are in the works to move it to the Northfield Building near the GM campus. www.springhilltn.org; (931) 486-2932.

Parks & Recreation: A combination of city- and county-owned parks and recreation center provide abundant opportunities for residents. Port Royal Park, the city’s largest, has a splash pad,

playground, fields, bike trail, pavilions, amphitheater and is ADA accessible. Evans Park has picnic pavilions, playground and multiuse athletic fields and dog park.

Harvey Park has picnic pavilions, a playground and restrooms.

The Walnut St. Skate Park welcomes skateboards, inline skates, BMX and freestyle bicycles and non-motorized scooters. www. springhilltn.org; (931) 487-0027.

The Longview Recreation Center, 2909 Commonwealth Dr., offers a full range of amenities including indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a gymnasium, wellness center, racquetball and tennis courts. www.wcparksandrec.com; (615) 302-0971.

Trash and recycling: The city contracts with Waste Management to provide weekly curbside trash pickup, with recyclables collected every other week. Visit www.springhilltn.org/483/solid-waste-removal for details on pickup schedules and details.

Top employers • General Motors • Wal-Mart

ALEXANDER WILLIS

Thank You

Kelly Gilfillan for 12 years of passionate leadership of Home Page Media Group.

We won’t be the same without you.

— The staff at Williamson Home Page

WILLIAMSON COUNTY BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DATA New U.S. Census data showed that Williamson County’s population increased by 35.23% in the past decade, rising from 183,182 in 2010 to 247,726 in 2020. The county’s Williamson 2040 plan predicts population growth could hit 530,000 residents in Williamson County by 2040.

More than 80% of Williamson County residents are white, but census data showed an almost 25 percent increase in Black residents. Hispanic or Latinx went up by nearly 75 percent. Residents who identify as two or more races grew as a category by 464.5%.

$115,507

EDUCATION LEVEL

95.4% high school grad or higher

about 10 percent higher than the rate in Tennessee: 88% about 10 percent higher than the rate in United States: 88.6% 61.8% Bachelor’s degree or higher more than double the rate in Tennessee: 28.7% nearly double the rate in United States: 33.1% Post-grad: 23% more than double the rate in Tennessee: 11% more than 1.5 times the rate in United States: 13%

5%

No degree

20%

Some college

14%

is the median household income

High school

more than double the amount in Tennessee: $56,071 more than 1.5 times the amount in United States: $65,712 Only 4.5 percent of the population lives below the poverty line about one-third of the rate in Tennessee: 13.9% about one-third of the rate in United States: 12.3%

TRANSPORTATION

28.4

minutes is the mean travel time to work

39%

about 10 percent higher than the state mean: 25.9 a little higher than the United States mean: 27.6 Worked at home: 13% more than double the rate in Tennessee: 6% more than double the rate in United States: 6%

40

GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY

23%

Post-grad

Bachelor’s

3.3%

Williamson County regularly has one of the lowest unemployment rates, typically hovering around 3.3 percent and even remaining mostly consistent throughout the pandemic.

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