Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable (February 28th)
- Todd McKinley
- Jan 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 18
Folks,
I would like to humbly invite everyone to the second Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable. Repeating my message from January, my plan is to hold these meetings, the last Saturday of every month. That said, I hope to have a sleight of speakers lined up throughout the 2026 election season.
Since I'll be in Washington, DC advocating for the American Legion's legislative agenda and more, I've invited a special guest host. Sullivan Heights Middle School 8th grader Ellie Carpenter will be my fill in guest host. Ellie is excited to become mroe active in community civic projects and this is a perfect opportunity for her to play a role in her communtiy. We all should be proud of our younger generations, encouraging them insted of writing them off.
Who: Me (Todd A. McKinley) inviting you
What: Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable
When: 9am-10:30am, Saturday, February, 28th
Where: Evelyns Kitchen Table
1141 N Eastman Rd,
Kingsport, TN 37664
Why: Civic life in this country is abysmal!
Speaker: Mr. Craig Ramey
About the Speaker:
Craig Ramey is a candidate for Sullivan County Highway Commissioner.
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.
Todd A. McKinley, BA, MSL
SFC, USA-Ret.
