Matthew Evans – President of the Board
Originally from Chattanooga, Matt Evans graduated with an M.A. in English from the University of Mississippi. He is currently a lecturer in English at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga where he teaches courses in rhetoric, composition, and Western Humanities. Evans has preserved home recordings of traditional music and is a talented oldtime musician, adept in traditional styles on banjo, fiddle, and guitar. In 2009, along with Christie Burns, he founded the Folk School of Chattanooga, where he serves as co-director and teaches individual lessons and group classes. In 2010 he begins a term as President of the Friends of the Cumberland Trail.
Del Truitt – Vice President of the Board
Born in Jellico and raised in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Friends of the Cumberland Trail Vice President Del Truitt is a lifelong Tennessean. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Management from UT-Knoxville in 1967, and later, in 1990, the MBA from Belmont University. As part of the work toward his Master’s degree, Truitt embarked on a special study that considered the potential for privatization of America’s public parks.
In 1970, Truitt joined the the National Life & Accident Insurance Company, at the time the corporate parent of WSM radio and TV in Nashville. There he worked with WSM and National Life on the initial planning and eventual opening of the massive Opryland Theme Park in suburban Nashville. Later in the decade he was named Personnel Director for Opryland Park, the Grand Ole Opry, and the yet-to-open Opryland Hotel.
In addition to his work with WSM and National Life, Truitt was also instrumental in developing the Natural Resource Management curriculum at UT-Martin. Launched in the mid-70s, the program helped educate many of Tennessee’s current park rangers and park managers. In the 1980s, he worked as a Business and Inn Manager and later, in the 1990s, for the UT Institute for Public Service.
Truitt eventually worked for two and half years as Director for State Parks and Assistant Commissioner. In this position, he helped promote the development of the Cumberland Trail, as well as other influential programming and educational projects. Most recently, Truitt has worked with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to develop rural planning organization across the state.
Deb Shaver – Secretary of the Board
Deb has lived in Dayton for over 25 years. She is a 3rd generation member of the Dayton Garden Club and past president of Master Gardener’s in Rhea County. She worked as an artist in her father’s company before developing a business in desk top publishing. Deb is interested in historic preservation and environmental protection within the Cumberland Trail corridor. Her current project with her husband, traces his great grandfather’s steps through the Civil War.
Robert Dickinson – Treasurer of the Board
Robert was born in Chattanooga, TN, and currently lives in Nashville, where he works in the fiscal office of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. A former lecturer of English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and high school English teacher, Robert holds masters degrees in English and Public Administration. In his spare time, Robert enjoys writing, distance running, and playing oldtime banjo. He joined the board in 2010 and begins serving as Treasurer in 2011.
Joseph Decosimo – Board Member
Signal Mountain, a quaint town just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is home not only to the southern terminus of the Cumberland Trail but also to Joseph Decosimo. While earning a B.A. in English from UNC Chapel Hill, Joseph spent two summers on the trail working as a Seasonal Interpretive Ranger and helping with the Cumberland Trail Music Heritage Project. Working as a seasonal ranger along the Cumberland Trail fostered in Joseph a deep appreciation for the beauty of the trail, its music, and its people.
Joseph, also an award-winning oldtime fiddle and banjo player himself, has developed a keen interest in the preservation of the rich musical heritage of the Cumberland Trail. As such, he has dedicated many years to learning the tunes and styles of local musicians along the trail. Joseph is working to unite the physical trail with its vast musical and cultural heritage in order to provide a richer experience for all who love the Cumberland Trail.
Michael Toomey – Board Member
Michael Toomey lives in Anderson County, Tennessee and works in Claiborne, County as an Associate Professor at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate. Toomey earned the PhD in History from the University of Tennessee where his work focused on Tennessee’s post-revolutionary, pre-statehood frontier history. He worked for many years as the staff historian at the East Tennessee Historical Society and as the managing editor of the Journal of East Tennessee History.
Toomey has also written several essays, many on John Sevier and the State of Franklin. He has made contributions on these topics to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, the History of Washington County, Tennessee, and the North Carolina Project. Toomey’s converstation with Scott Simon, “The State of Franklin,” aired on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition.
Andrew Saftel – Board Member
Andrew Saftel was raised in R.I. and did extensive hiking in the White Mountains with his father, who was an early advocate for the Appalachian Trail. Those experiences in the mountains as a youth still bear a considerable influence on his outlook on life. A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Saftel has spent much time in Yosemite National Park and the Mountains around Bozeman, Mt. , where he lived for several years. An avid fly -fisherman and gardener, as well as hiker, he enjoys the outdoors immensely. He has been a Tennessee resident for 25 years ,first in Knoxville and for the past 15 years in the Sequatchie Valley., where he lives with his wife, Susan Knowles and maintains an art studio in which he works full-time.
Andrew Saftel’s official website
Sally Wencel – Board Member
Sally is a “recovering lawyer” who moved to the Chattanooga area 13 years ago to take the reins of a nascent healthcare credentials verification company. Needing an additional challenge, she sought and received her MBA from the University of Chattanooga in 2007 and joined the College of Business faculty as an adjunct professor in 2008 where she teaches management in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. She became a Master Gardener in 2009 in part to hone her plant skills but also as an opportunity to provide community service. That year, she helped to revamp its website, www.mghc.org and currently serves as its webmaster and MGHC Communications Chair. In 2010, she and two master gardener colleagues launched the Chattanooga Native Plant and Wildflower Group through which she met CT Park Manager Bobby Fulcher, Ranger Andy Wright and Seasonal Interpretive Ranger Terri Ballinger at a Kew Millennium – Seeds of Success training program. So entranced with the idea of helping to restore newly acquired property on the Cumberland Trail, she obtained Master Gardeners of Hamilton County approval to start a volunteer project to help the CTSST with the Reseeding the Cumberlands Project (http://mghc.org/native-plant-and-wildflower-group/seed-collection-update/) in 2010. Since commencing that project in fall 2010, Sally has spent many hours on the Cumberland Trail collecting seeds and developing a deep appreciation of the biological diversity of this area and the need to preserve and protect this valuable natural asset. The Friends of the Cumberland Trail field work fits in with Sally’s life-long commitment to environmental preservation. It also harkens back to a road not taken – becoming a biologist – and is affording her a great opportunity to use her advocacy, project planning, development and management skills.
Sally received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), her law degree from the University of Wisconsin and MBA from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.”
Bob Walls – Board Member
Bob is a native of Morgan County and now resides Roane County,Tennessee. Bob is a 30 year veteran of the Tennessee Department of Correction. His present assignment is Deputy Warden at Morgan County Correctional Complex. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama with a major in Criminal Justice. Bob also serves in the Tennessee Air National Guard at McGhee Tyson Air Base. Since 9-11, he has been on several deployments that have included Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bob is an avid hiker and enjoys outdoor activities. Bob believes the continued development and preservation of the Cumberland Trail is important to our regions past heritage and future. He is married with three children and six grandchildren.
Chad Wykle – Board Member
Chad Wykle has been involved in protecting the outdoors for public for much of his professional life. He has worked within the Outdoor Industry for eight years, the last five have been as a representative for Chaco. During that time he worked closely with Chaco and regional outdoor retailers to allocate monies to support several non-profit organizations that are dedicated to gaining, maintaining and preserving responsible access to natural resources throughout the southeast. He has directed significant dollars toward the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition, the Southeastern Climber’s Coalition, the Access Fund, Lula Lake Land Trust, the Cumberland Trail Conference, the New River Alliance of Climbers’, and most recently to the Friends of the Cumberland Trail.
Chad is also the co-founder and co-organizer of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series-a collection of three outdoor bouldering competitions that occur each year to raise money for rock climbing access. This climbing series has raised over $75,000 during its seven year history. The event also raises funds each year for local rescue squads. This event has also donated over $6,000 dollars for Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, the series donated $1,500 to the Friends of the Cumberland Trail, and encouraged more than 60 new members to join this non-profit organization in 2008.
Chad has been instrumental in raising both money and awareness for the acquisition of Laurel Knob for the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition. This beautiful granite dome in Western NC was once slated for development, but is now owned by the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition. In addition, the Triple Crown also pays a yearly lease on a wonderful greenspace and boulderfield in eastern NC called Asheboro Boulders….a resource the entire NC climbing community. Through the Triple Crown, Chad also spearheaded the final push to acquire a granite boulderfield and greenspace in Atlanta Ga known as Boat Rock-paying the final $11k to close the note on that property for the Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition (SCC). This area is not only a fantastic resource for climbers and hikers, but it is also frequently used by local school systems for geology and biology seminars.
In 2008, the Triple Crown was once again key, in raising large funds and awareness for the land acquisition by the SCC for an area near Huntsville, AL known as Yellow Bluff. This area is now secure and open to rock climbing and hiking. The Steele Crag is the latest land acquisition project. This beautiful area is located just outside the city of Steele Al., and access to this cliff has been a long-time goal of the southeastern climbing community. Through Chaco and Rock/Creek, Chad recently donated $5,000 earmarked for this effort to the SCC. Though still working in the Outdoor Industry, Chad recently changed his career path-he began working for Rock/Creek Outfitters in May of this year. One of his roles with this company will be to continue developing the strong philanthropic position of Rock/Creek. Each year, Rock/Creek gives generously to many regional non-profit organizations that are dedicated to developing sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities.
Paul Archambault – Board Member
As the Historic Preservation Planner, I prepare National Register Nominations, write historic preservation grants, conduct historic survey work, assist with federal historic tax credit applications, assist local governments with historic zoning technical assistance, conduct the Section 106 Review process for federally funded projects mostly relating to the region’s infrastructure, and educate the public about historic preservation in local communities (e.g. preservation methods, historic sites, heritage based planning). Other duties in the Community Development department include preparing Local Parks and Recreation and Recreation Trails Program Grants, TDOT Transportation Enhancement and Roadscapes Grants, USDA Rural Dev. Grants, Appalachian Regional Commission Grants, and Community Development Block Grants.I am originally from Reading, Pennsylvania. I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA. I worked on several archaeological digs in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee from 1998-2001. In 2005, I received my M.A. in Public History from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I am married to my beautiful wife, Katie, and have three wonderful children, Riley, Jack, and Bryce. I presently reside in Hixson, TN. My hobbies include running, music (all kinds), camping, various sport activities, hiking, and family time.
Kelly Stewart – Board Member
Award winning new media marketing consultant Kelly Michael Stewart has sixteen years’ experience developing, refining, and evangelizing technology-enhanced communication. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he has managed projects for companies such as Apple, MCI WorldCom, Johnson & Johnson, Glaxo Wellcome, Merck, Searle Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, HCA, BellSouth, Sprint PCS, Cingular, the NBA, Madison Square Garden, Nissan, Deloitte & Touche, and Maybelline. He was also a member of the Saturn training and development team when the historic first car rolled off the production line. Stewart’s experience includes database marketing, project management, sales & sales engineering, interface design, classroom software training, consulting, script writing, and programming.
Stewart is currently an independent Web strategist/developer and runs the hiking and eco-volunteer club Nashville Hiking Meetup. He is on the board of Digital Nashville, organizes the un-conference series PodCamp and BarCamp Nashville, and non-profit committees and task forces include Richland Creek Run for Greenways, Nashville Earth Day, Nashville Clean Water Project, and Friends of the Cumberland Trail.
Recent work experience includes east coast account manager for leading email service provider Responsys. Prior to that he was a project manager for e-learning developer Duthie Associates and client relationship manager with DigiScript. Stewart acted as Senior Vice President and Product Manager for SmartDM (acquired by Acxiom) and there led the internal team that Forrester Research called a “Strong Performer” in 2004’s The Best Email Marketing Service Providers. In 2002, Stewart founded Element E Communications, a marketing agency specializing in email programs. As Senior Sales Engineer with Kana Software, he specialized in the company’s marketing and customer service software and was instrumental in landing contracts with BellSouth, Sprint PCS, Cingular, LEGO, and Citigroup.
With HealthStream, he directed the company’s pharmaceutical and medical equipment relationships, developed marketing communications programs, launched the Webevents product, authored learning content, and evaluated technology and communication trends.
Stewart is a frequent speaker at worldwide industry events including the Macromedia International User Conference, MACWORLD, American Society for Training and Development, Softbank’s Interactive, and Society for Applied Learning Technology.
He has been a contributor to several books including sections on marketing technology in Electronic Marketing and hands-on tips in Macromedia Shockwave for Director – The Complete Resource. He has been interviewed for The New York Times, Wired, Web Developer magazine, San Jose Mercury News, Computer User, and Nashville Business Journal, and his articles have appeared in industry publications such as Brandon Hall’s Multimedia & Internet Training Newsletter and The Journal for Instructional Delivery Systems. Stewart’s projects have earned NewMedia INVISION and American Advertising Federation ADDY awards and have been featured on CNN, USA Today, and in Print and Graphis magazines.
Joni Lovegrove – Board Member
Joni is a former employee of ORNL and has worked with various organizations promoting land and water conservation efforts. She also gives lectures and workshops throughout East Tennessee combining Native American stories with artwork and historical and cultural information. Being a native of East Tennessee with Cherokee ancestry, her enthusiasm for nature and the Cherokee culture is apparent within her artwork, photography, storytelling and teaching.
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