November 9 was graduation day for the East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association Class of 2020-2021 at Hunter Valley Farms in West Knoxville.
The keynote speaker was Art Bohanan, who is known for his work with the UT Body Farm, the World Trade Center and the Knoxville Police Department as a forensic specialist.
Union County was well represented by Robbie and Gail Corum, who are known for their business, Corum Bookkeeping, as well as their community involvement with Leadership Union County and Union County Business & Professional Association.
Normally the ETRLA class does not span two years. However, the pandemic interrupted the normal flow. Classes for Gail and Robbie began in February of 2020 with a two-day session in Sevier County at the Park Vista Hotel and included tours of many of the businesses that make the county so prosperous.
When March 2020 brought the pandemic, classes switched to a virtual platform. But soon even Zoom could not enable the respective counties to adequately cover the subjects since many of the various businesses, government buildings, historic sites, etc., were closed.
As 2020 dragged into 2021, Monty Ross, ETRLA chairperson and the board attempted a second round of virtual classes.
In-person classes finally resumed in the early summer of 2021 at Hunter Valley Farms where Knox County's leadership team covered the subject of health and human services.
Speakers from East Tennessee Children's Hospital, The Legacy Park Foundation, an addiction recovery center, and the Pat Summit Foundation filled out the day's curriculum.
In July approximately 40 students traveled to Claiborne County for Industry Day. There, students toured the Giles/Clayton facility as well as the England Manufacturing Plant. The highlight of the day was an inside tour of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.
August gave Robbie and Gail a chance to showcase Union County on Agriculture Day. The class toured Tater Valley Farm with Dale and Debbie Corum, Agriculture Classes at UCHS with John Fugate, and the Union County Farmers Market with Jody Smith and Donna Riddle.
County Mayor Jason Bailey reviewed various grants that helped Union County provide the farmers market, the professional stage, the commercial kitchen, and the Luttrell sports complex. Other speakers from the Soil Conservation Office of the US Agriculture and UT Agriculture Extension Union County rounded out the program.
In September, the class traveled to Cocke County for Tourism Day. The planned safari at a local park was canceled due to thunderstorms. So students had an extended lunch with Mark Ramsey's mother and wife from the show “Moonshiners” and took an ATV tour of some of the scenic back country.
Gail and Robbie Corum agreed that the new friends and connections plus the memorable experiences were well worth the time and effort to be a graduate of ETRLA.
Sonja Saylor will be the Union County representative as a member of the ETRLA Class of 2022. Anyone interested in joining an ETRLA class should contact Monty Ross: etrl.ross@gmail.com.