Last month Signal Mountain experienced “Love Letters,” a play produced by a new theatre group born on Signal Mountain – the Mountain Arts Theatre.

Its founding member is Dennis Parker. Also the show’s star, he’s a long-time actor on the Signal Mountain Playhouse stage. He recently starred as Harry MacAfee in the recent “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Parker says the intersection of COVID-19 and the newly renovated Mountain Arts Community Center made the new group possible. “The name, Mountain Arts Theatre, was motivated by the need to keep it simple and tie to the space in which it mostly resides, the Mountain Arts Community Center, which, as you know, has a fantastic theatre,” he said.

“My goal with the Mountain Arts Theatre is to fill a different niche than the playhouse and produce stories that the Playhouse would not normally do, like ‘Love Letters,’ which is a very intimate show.”

“I directed ‘Love Letters,’ by A.R. Gurney which starred Shandra Burnett as Melissa and Dennis Parker as Andy,” said newcomer director Mary Eliza Hendricks, daughter of Signal Mountain residents Snoda and Paul Hendricks.

She says the company picked the perfect production out of the gate. “It was the best show for us not only to focus on our storytelling, but also for its meaningful story of human connection and vulnerability,” Headricks said.

The story features the plight of two physically distant but emotionally close people corresponding through letters, not email or texts - just letters. They met on the playground and grew closer and closer throughout their lives, seeing each other only occasionally and marrying different people.

“It was one of the best, if not the best, productions of this play I have ever seen,” said Sharon Cound, Signal Mountain resident. “And I should know: I actually played the part of Melissa on the stage, and I think these two did a much better job.”

“Mary Eliza was a thoughtful director with an acute sense of the balance between the comedy and the very deep drama of the story,” said Dennis. 

“We have received a great deal of positive feedback about the quality and impact of the production on our audiences. The show is simple in its production needs, meaning it doesn’t require a fancy set or complicated lights or sound,” said Mary Eliza.

Just the way Dennis wanted to start out - small. In fact, so small, the company is a company of one right now, consisting of, as Dennis says, “Myself, collaborating with the good folks at the MACC, especially Dick and Cheryl Graham. I wore many hats on this first production, including serving as production manager, casting, program design and also playing one of the two characters in ‘Love Letters.’  The goal is for me to wear less hats and bring in more partners as we grow.”

“Ultimately, I see the company as a collective of creative minds with ‘old souls,’ said Dennis. “And to serve as an incubator for new talent on the rise, like Mary Eliza Hendricks, our wonderful director of ‘Love Letters.’”
“While our audience sizes were not large, [because of] of COVID-19, they were very responsive and seemed very moved by the performance each night, and I heard several people remark that the characters felt genuinely authentic,” said Mary Eliza.

Dennis hopes to produce at least two or three shows per year, with one in the spring and one to two in the fall. He says slow deliberate growth is all he can handle with a full time job at UTC and a supportive family, Ann, Ryan and Olivia.

He says he looks forward to post pandemic theatre and a little more normalcy, where the drama stays on the stage. “Stay tuned!” he says.

If anyone is interested in contacting the new theatre to collaborate or volunteer for a production, email Dennis at mountainartstheatre@gmail.com or through Facebook @MountainArtsTheatre.

by Michelle Michaud

For many months during the pandemic, Stephanie Thompson Sawyer wasn’t sure her Signal Mountain gift shop Wildflowers would even make it to its one-year anniversary, but it did, and here we are celebrating its two-year anniversary with a grand opening, too!

“I opened my store in August 2019, then COVID hit and I was dead in the water, wondering what I was going to do to keep this business alive as the world shut down,” said Sawyer, owner of Wildflowers gift shop.
A call changed all of that. “I realized I was outgrowing this place. I got a call one day that Balanced Studio was moving, so I thought I’d take a look. It was a complete leap of faith, I’ll be honest. If I’m gonna survive, this is what I have to do - just step out of the box and move to something bigger.”

Last month, October 2, she opened the doors to a beautiful space five times larger than her previous location. “We had a food truck, Bea’s Sweets, door prizes, the Humane Society with kittens, guest artist demonstrations, activities for kids and adults. The weather was perfect, and folks came out to help me cut the ribbon on this beautiful new space for Wildflowers!” Stephanie said.

Stephanie also unveiled the annual Limited Edition Signal Mountain Holiday Ornament, with $5 of the proceeds from each ornament benefiting Signal Mountain Social Services. “Yes, every year I commission an ornament made by a local artist to be sold with monies benefiting our amazing SMSS. Get them while they last because they go quickly,” Stephanie said.

Stephanie says this new larger location has given her the space to host birthday parties, arts and crafts classes, workshops and ladies nights.

“We’ve got tie-dye, tapestry, jewelry, needle felting, painting classes … you name it! And now, with the help of Mary Eliza Hendricks, the Wildflowers website is easy to navigate, as well as sign up and pay for classes.” She presently employs three people, Heather Dungan, Gwen Plauche and Mary Eliza Hendricks.
“I think it’s beautiful,” said Signal Mountain resident Kim Carter about the new location. “The art for sale is quite pretty and interesting, and I can see a lot of it in my own home. What I love about this place is that you can walk around it several times and see something new every time.”

And she’s adding more artists monthly. “The artists are my people. Just to see what people come up with is so amazing,” Stephanie said. LeeAnn Williamson, a potter from Signal Mountain, and Carmen Joyce of Chattanooga are just two of the dozens of artists whose work is on display in Wildflowers.

For more information about classes at Wildflowers, find them on Facebook or visit https://www.wildflowersonsignal.com/.
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by Michelle Michaud

Established in 2021, La Maison Magnolia  sits high atop Signal Mountain. Its occupants hail from New York City and were very deliberate about where they settled during the pandemic, knowing they wanted out of the Big Apple. Able to work remotely at his job at Hearst Publishing, Michael Pjura, Melanie Conover and their three girls, Skyler, 14, Lily,  12 and Riley, 7,  headed South. The older girls attend SMMHS and Riley is a student at Thrasher. “To say that they love their schools and new house location is an understatement,” Melanie said.

Clearly thrilled to be in a spot where nature abounds and thrilled with their beautiful surroundings, the Conovers bought a house near Fall Creek Falls to use as a vacation rental. “In the off-market season in the middle of winter, I lucked out and found this amazing raised cottage right outside of the park,” Melanie said. Busy renovating their mid-century home in the Palisades on Signal, the family, along with their four big rescue dogs, plowed right in on the project, posting about it on Instagram.

No strangers to hard work, the couple also got to work on the newly dubbed Cane Creek Cottage that sits on two acres near the entrance of Fall Creek Falls. “It took us about six months to furnish, paint, fix and decorate, but since we opened, we have been almost fully booked every month,” Melanie said. There are lots of reasons for the success of this little cottage, and its incredible location at one of the state’s most-visited parks accounts for one of them. Another is the TLC that went into readying the home for guests, but still another is the fact that it’s pet-friendly. An advocate of rescue animals, the family knows how stressful it is to find suitable boarding for their pets and/or pay substantial fees to bring them along on vacation. “People seem to appreciate that, as our ‘pet guests’ are always the most polite and cleanest,” Melanie said.

She also keeps the rental cottage stocked with just about everything. “Families will hopefully just have to bring clothes, food and a toothbrush, with not much else to have to pack,” Melanie said, noting that the entire Conover family, dogs and all, stayed there to make sure Cane Creek Cottage was everything they dreamed of in a vacation home.

As much of an advocate about “supporting local” as they are about rescue animals, Melanie is proud to say that everything in the cottage was purchased locally, and she frequented small businesses and flea markets to decorate. As local folks got to know this family and the Cane Creek Cottage venture, word spread. And even though most folks think of the summer as being vacation season, this cottage is booked solid year round except for a few scattered days here and there. Melanie is not surprised, saying, “The property is really beautiful anytime of the year. You get the foliage in the fall, which is my favorite because being in a raised cottage, you get that tree house feel and literally see fiery colors in every window. Spring and summer bring the hummingbirds and the wildflower garden to full bloom, which people enjoy observing from our wrap-around deck, and in winter you can light a fire in the fireplace and wake up some mornings to a lovely dusting of snow.” Another year-round feature is the fire pit area, which families seem to enjoy no matter what season it is. 

Moving to the “Best Place to Raise Children,” according to Bloomberg Businessweek, was clearly a wonderful decision for this family. Another benefit that was completely unforeseen was the life-changing, literally, consequence for Melanie’s sister, Meaghan, who lives with them now. Meaghan, who has Down’s syndrome, became extremely ill at her residence in Florida with a severe lung infection that went from sepsis to MRCA. “By the time I got there she was on two forms of life support, and I wasn’t sure she was going to make it. Seeing her on a ventilator about killed me,” Melanie said, not trusting that her sister was getting the care she needed. Meaghan was medically transferred to a Chattanooga hospital, where she improved, but her outcome as far as the tracheotomy tube and mobility was uncertain. “Since coming to live with me, she is back to 100 percent,” Melanie said proudly.

Melanie offers all kinds of tips on running a vacation home rental. She loves it so much that they are planning on building a few tiny homes to rent on the acreage where the successful B&B sits. “I definitely recommend Airbnb to anyone who has interest. It’s really nice to have another place to escape to that literally pays for itself,” Melanie said, adding that the endeavor has allowed her to stay home with her kids. And clearly, family is of upmost importance.
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by Ferris Robinson

Following an unprecedented year, there is no better time for Tennessee’s upcoming leaders to come together for critical conversations of state importance and leadership development. Leadership Tennessee recently announced the third class of Leadership Tennessee NEXT, a program designed to offer personal and professional career development for Tennessee’s best and brightest early and mid-career professionals while fostering a greater understanding of Tennessee. 
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The third class of Leadership Tennessee NEXT is welcoming 29 up-and-coming professionals from every region of the state, representing a myriad of professional sectors and industries. The 2021 class includes Signal Mountain’s Brittany Fulmer Ennen, daughter of UT Coach Phillip Fulmer. Over the course of the program, participants will have opportunities to grow their professional skills and connect to a cross-generation network of state leaders, while participating in collaborative, non-partisan dialogues on issues of state importance. 

“One thing is evident, the future of the state is bright, with these upcoming leaders,” commented Cathy Cate, Leadership Tennessee executive director. “Leadership Tennessee has always been focused on building a network of problem solvers who are rooted across all regions of the state and who come together to build a stronger, better Tennessee; Leadership Tennessee NEXT adds a necessary layer to that network. By investing in these upcoming leaders now, Tennessee will be well prepared for the future.” 
In its eighth year, Leadership Tennessee has developed a network of over 300 members, which includes 55 Leadership Tennessee NEXT members. During the pandemic, the organization postponed in-person gatherings and quickly turned to a virtual setting, conducting more than 30 discussions on topics that included crisis leadership, racial inequality, mental health awareness, and industry-focused updates, along with sessions with special guests that included former governors Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam and John Meacham. 

Brittany is known as a business driver who is passionate about client service and building meaningful and long-term relationships.  For more than a decade, Brittany has focused her sales talents on providing in-depth market knowledge and powerful advocacy for her clients. “I am so proud to be a part of Leadership Tennessee NEXT. This program is such a wonderful opportunity to join hands with leaders from across the state and to continue the legacy of working to contribute to the quality of life in our community and in our great state of Tennessee,” Britttany said.

A realtor with Todd Henon Properties, Brittany is a former Lady Vol athlete with a master’s degree in business communication. 

“It’s no surprise that Brittany has been identified among ‘the best and brightest’ of Tennessee’s leaders. She daily demonstrates leadership, intelligence, and passionate devotion to our community and her clients. Her colleagues and clients at Todd Henon Properties are giving her - and all the 2021 Leadership Tennessee NEXT inductees - a standing ovation,” said Todd Henon.

As the middle daughter of Coach Phillip Fulmer, Brittany learned how impactful a strong leader can be for a community. She channels her commitment to her local community and her hometown of Maryville, Tenn., into board service across the state, including Make-A-Wish, Alzheimer’s Association, Rotaract and First Things First. Brittany lives on Signal Mountain with her two children, Noah and Natalie, and husband Joshua Ennen, PhD.  

To learn more about Leadership Tennessee, visit www.leadershiptennessee.org.