- Todd McKinley
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Folks,
I would like to humbly invite everyone to the first ever Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable. My plan is to hold these meetings, the last Saturday of every month, provided this first one goes well. That said, I hope to have a sleight of speakers lined up throughout the 2026 election season.
Who: Me (Todd A. McKinley) inviting you
What: Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable
When: 9am-10:30am, Saturday, January, 31st
Where: Evelyns Kitchen Table
1141 N Eastman Rd,
Kingsport, TN 37664
Why: Civic life in this country is abysmal!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/1DbCHSwuvW/
Speaker: Mr. Zane Vanover
About the Speaker:
Zane Vanover is a Christian, a family man, farmer, small businessman, Sullivan County Commissioner representing District 6 and a candidate for Sullivan County Mayor.
Format: Once everyone is settled, I'll introduce the speaker with a brief bio and give the reason for the remarks. (Example: Mr. Rodgers is here to tell us about his neighborhood and is going to discuss trolley safety.) The speaker will then have the floor for a lion's share of the hour, at which point, I'll pose a few questions, then I'll ask for questions from the floor. When asking a question, please be civil, playing gotcha or calling someone a name never swayed anyone.
Note: These events are informal and free to attend, but please patronize the establishment and tip.
Civic Life Matters
It's my honor to reestablish a civics roundtable in upper East Tennessee, after all, with a new year comes new projects. In September 2023, I launched the Veterans Coffee Roundtable and hosted every meeting until August 2025, all with the purpose of establishing a true civics speaker series in the Northeast Tennessee area, one that was open to everyone but tailored to Veterans. By calling it the Veterans Coffee Roundtable, my intent was to bring Veterans who are likely to attend an event or meeting held by a Veterans Service Organization, but will rarely if ever attend meetings held by civic and/or political groups, for whatever reasons, personal or otherwise.
By having a support network built in, it gave dozens of my fellow Veterans the opportunity to come into proximity with political figures and public officials alike. In most cases, my fellow Veterans would almost never cross paths with those I invited to speak, from city Mayors to State Senators and many more, all in a positive setting. It gave everyone the opportunity to hear from their Chief of Police, Sheriff and so many others and ask direct questions in a friendly environment. It also gave an opportunity for anyone who wanted to be involved to do so in an easy going, informal setting and of course bring meaning back to the word civics.
The reason I've decided to revamp the name was I feel many outside Veteran Service Organization circles didn't know the public was invited, not just Veterans. Also, I want to make this a true civics meeting with a simple format that will hopefully grow and one that doesn't trade on the name Veteran.
Since retiring the Veterans Coffee Roundtable name last year, I've had dozens of people ask me if I'm going to restart it, or do something else. Well, I'm doing something similar but I'm looking to expand the reach and make civic life important again, which necessitated the name change.
Veterans Coffee Roundtable
Thank you to Carrie Carpenter for creating such a fantastic logo, she also made the one above. That said, I'm officially retiring this logo, thank you to everyone who attended one of the two dozen events, feel free to attend any future Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable events.
Todd McKinley Commentary
Another retread project that I'm dusting off for a limited time is my happily mediocre podcast titled the Todd McKinley Commentary.
Todd A. McKinley, BA, MSL
SFC, USA-Ret.
