TTA Annual Meeting 2026

The TTA Annual Meeting was held at the Crossville Sportsman Club this year hosted by the Plateau chapter.  There were over 130 participants from all 11 chapters across the state. Friday evening's buffet was followed by music and the opportunity to bid on silent auction items.

Saturday evening's buffet was following by the General Board meeting and presentation of the Bill Stutz Award received by Patty Deen (Highland Rim), and Bob Obohoski (Plateau). The Bob Brown Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Libby Francis (Nashville). Following the close of the Silent Auction, participants enjoyed music and dancing. 

Friday-Sunday hikes were offered in the surrounding area and included sections of the Cumberland Trail, various hikes at Fairfield Glade, Cumberland Mountain State Park, and the Big South Fork. The fall colors were spectacular and the weather was perfect. Four chapter members attended: Lora McBride, Craig McBride, Sara Pollard and Cheryl Smith.

Pictures:

 

Center Hill Paddle

 

We had kayakers from 3 TTA chapters to paddle Center Hill Lake. We put in at Boat Ramp #2 in the Edgar Evins State Park. We explored a couple of inlets and enjoyed lunch on the rocky shoreline. It was a beautiful and clear day to be on the lake. Appreciate Joan organizing it and Jim for being our navigator. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Judith Fries, Joan Hartvigsen, Lacee Lanier, Sara Pollard, Paula Ponath, Todd S. And Jeff Townsend.

Pictures:

Sewanee Perimeter Trail

 

Sara Pollard led hikers on the Perimeter Trail in Sewanee. It was a cool and beautiful morning to start the hike at the Memorial Cross to Bridal Veil Falls. There was only a trickle of water at the falls. We returned to the cross on the Proctor Hall trail. It was a fun challenge climbing through the boulder in the middle of the trail. Everyone agreed this was a more scenic route back. We enjoyed lunch afterwards at the Mountain Goat Market in Monteagle. Hikers were Jay Brain, Stacey Hbshire, Lacee Lanier, Cynthia Meinerding, and Sara Pollard. 

Pictures:

Tims Ford Kayaking and Camping

We had a wonderful weekend camping on Big Island in Tims Ford Lake. We arrived Friday evening, had dinner and paddled around Little Island to see the sunset. Saturday morning, we explored Pennington Cave and enjoyed lunch at Ray Branch. There were menacing clouds all day and it rained a little after we got back to camp but not for long. We went to Twin Creeks Marina for dinner and paddled back to camp in the dark. Sunday morning, we packed up and Joan, Jim and Wendy went on to the Tims Ford Marina and to see Leatherwood Island. Campers/kayakers were Jim Barritt, Wendy Fish, Cyn Hartlieb, Joan Hartvigsen, Sara Pollard and Georganne Ross.

Pictures:

Normandy Lake Paddle

We had 9 paddlers to spend the day on Normandy Lake in Manchester led by Joan. Cynthia caught up with us after we had already paddled at least a mile. She caught up by having a guy pull her from the back of his Seadoo. We were surprised since we didn't know she was coming! We started at the Ward's Chapel boat ramp (AKA Firelake) and paddled to the left toward lake marker #7. We enjoyed lunch in a picnic area, saw osprey and river otters. We paddled almost 9 miles and it was a beautiful day to be on the lake. Paddlers were Wendy Fish, Joan Hartvigsen, Lacee Lanier, Cynthia Meinerding, Lora and Craig McBride, Sara Pollard, Brian Wofford and Ruth Wofford.

Pictures:

Barren Fork and Collins River Kayak

 

We had 13 paddlers to kayak 6 miles from the Pepper Branch Park in McMinnville to the take out on Highway 70 in the old VFW parking lot. Due to all the rain lately we had a nice flow on the Barren Fork with some fun ripples to paddle through. We stopped for lunch before meeting the Collins River to continue our journey to the takeout. It was a hot day with temperatures in the 90's but the water felt great. Paddlers were Jim Barritt, Ron Dunn, Wendy Fish, Nancy Franz, Joan Hartvigsen, Nancy Juodenas, Craig McBride, Lora McBride, Cynthia Meinerding, Sara Pollard, Kathy Stutts, Brian and Ruth Wolford. 

Pictures:

Bledsoe Creek State Park

Katy Ginanni of the Murfreesboro chapter led a hike at Bledsoe Creek State Park. John Gizelar and John Ruth of the Sumner chapter joined. We got a break from the previous days’ heat and enjoyed hiking up the High Ridge trail and back on the Shoreline trail. We saw pawpaws!

Pictures: