Sarah Thomas is the Co-Founder of 42E3, a K-pop dance cover group dedicated to bringing K-pop choreography’s energy, precision, and artistry to life in Chattanooga.
K-pop has been a growing global phenomenon in the past ten years; even in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 42E3 is a K-pop dance cover group that semi-frequently releases dance covers on their YouTube and Instagram pages.
Many of these dancers have experienced the rise of K-pop firsthand, having been fans themselves for over ten years. They have watched the landscape of fan interactions and song promotions shift over the years due to the rise of social media and COVID-19.
“I became a fan of K-pop in 2013, but I didn’t start dancing to K-pop until 2015, because I was kind of embarrassed to be a K-pop fan at first.” said Sarah Thomas, one of the founders of 42E3.
Olympia Garcia Lopez talks about her experience as a Guatemalan immigrant in Chattanooga and how she came to find La Paz.
For those building new lives in Chattanooga, the journey often begins with an organization like La Paz. Even at a time of rapidly shifting policy and funding changes, this organization isn’t going anywhere, and remains firmly committed to the people they serve.
La Paz is a Latino services non-profit organization with a stated goal of “empowering and engaging Chattanooga’s Latino population through advocacy, education, and inclusion.”
“From the very beginning we’ve encountered many Hispanic men coming to Chattanooga for work opportunities, and they started coming in with their families. The needs start changing from job opportunities or like documentation to other processes, more programs, more resources that they need for the whole family instead of just an individual” said Daniela Durán, the communication coordinator for La Paz.
Elizabeth Olley, a VSCG Practice Manager, and Becky Howell, a VSCG Senior Nurse and Trainer, speak about their experience working for the Veterinary Care and Specialty Group in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
As a worried owner walks through the doors holding her trembling and sick dog, the receptionist is already calling the emergency team. ICU veterinarians begin their specialized care, blood work is rushed to the lab, and a surgeon is looking at scans planning the next steps for the pet; all services being done under the same roof in seamless coordination.
This process is something very familiar to the Veterinary Care and Specialty Group (VCSG) in Chattanooga. With services such as emergency care, internal medicine, radiation oncology, surgery, rehabilitation and more, the mission of VCSG is to be a one stop shop for all pet needs no matter the time or lengths required. The treatments and equipment VCSG offer have allowed it to become one of the most advanced offices in America and a leading hub in the South Eastern area seeing around 10,000 – 12,000 pets every year, almost double compared to other vet offices.
“What we’ve always tried to do with VCSG is give the convenience to owners so that people don’t have to take all that time off of work or so owners aren’t making thousands of appointments at 10 different hospitals trying to get the best care for their patient,” Liz Olley says.
76-year-old Ernest Harris speaks about playing pick-up basketball at his local YMCA and what being active and on his feet with friends means to him.
Elbow pads are strapped on, knee pads are adjusted and you can hear neck braces being velcroed. This is just a typical day at the Hamilton Family YMCA basketball court. Most young hoopers don’t even bother playing against the seasoned vets.. For these senior hoopers, this is their lifestyle.
John Hendrickson recently moved to Chattanooga from Illinois and the 78-year-old man is one of the many seniors actively playing basketball every Monday at the YMCA.
“Many of us have a good background in basketball, just a group of guys wanting to do something together,” Hendrickson said.
StreetWorks is an organization based in Chattanooga, Tennessee that helps the sexually exploited women of the city who are unhoused. They offer a home for the women to go to two days a week to rest, wash their clothes, shower, and eat.
A pair of thickly cushioned blue couches sit in the living room of a small house in Chattanooga. To the women who are familiar with the building and the organization it hosts, the couches are so much more than a comfy piece of furniture.
On the four cushions, they can rest with the knowledge that they are safe. They know, at least for the time being, that they are free of the dangers they face outside of the Streetworks property.
No men are allowed here, and no one enters the house without crossing paths with leadership team member Karen Brown.
Morgan Holl talks about Overlooked Materials, his glass recycling startup. He wants to make a difference in Chattanooga through recycling in the community.
The year is 1969, it has been 20 years since the All-Dixie Air Show, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was on the rise, Cedar Street Bridge just got finished. Businesses are being built, the city of Chattanooga is trending upward. It’s a crisp October day and Walter Cronkite, an anchorman for the CBS evening news known as the most trusted man in America, announces on national television that “Chattanooga, Tennessee is the dirtiest city in America.”
“It was so bad that people couldn’t stand it anymore, it was just gross,” says Karen Hundt, an urban designer who has been involved in the city’s turnaround since those dark days in the 1960s when headlights were sometimes required at noon.
Gage Bell poses for an environmental portrait with MMA gloves. Monday, Nov. 25, 2024 (Photo by Carter Graham)
As “Voodoo Child” blares from the arena speakers, Gage Bell’s mind isn’t on Jimi Hendrix’s famous guitar licks or the roaring crowd. Instead, he is mentally preparing for a fight against an opponent he’s never met or seen..
If someone had told Bell three years ago he would have been entering the cage of a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight, he would have called them crazy. His path to combat sports was different than most, he didn’t grow up wrestling or fighting, instead he focused on baseball and basketball.
It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that Bell had even considered a different sport.
Rising Rock is excited to showcase some of our best audio stories in a continued partnership with Scenic Roots.
Nature vs Nurture
Taryn Brooks sits with Taylor Reed, a member and volunteer of Forest Families of Chattanooga. Reed, along with her daughter, has grown alongside the organization and seen the benefits of nature firsthand.Continue reading “Rising Rock Radio Showcase”→
Katelin Hickman and Heather Elmore fight during the Guns ‘n Hoses charity boxing event. Friday, November 1, 2024 (Photo by Silas Pankratz).
A high-pitched beep cuts through the air, just as it does every three minutes during training sessions at the YMCA Y-CAP boxing gym in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This beep is soon followed by a clash of gloved fists and padded heads, as two opposing forces wish to refine their fighting skills in the ring.
For the past twenty-five years, this same beep has been heard by countless fighters, young and old, several of which would go on to become national and even international champions in their sport. Today, however, the gym hosts the final night of training before the 15th annual Guns and Hoses charity boxing night.
Mark Casson, Ministry Director, Mission to North America (PCA) at his office desk. Monday, November 20, 2024. (Photo by: Lexi Foley).
From the outside Walker State Prison looks like any other state penitentiary. Brick walls, wire fences, and a hidden location away from the public eye. When driving past it one would never expect it to have the lowest recidivism rate in the state of Georgia. This is the result of Walker State being a faith and character-based prison. By running this prison with values and beliefs rooted in love for one another Georgia has seen incredible results out of Walker State.
Back in 2004, the Georgia Department of Corrections implemented the Faith and Character Based initiative to provide Georgia with a model for positive change. This program runs on a holistic approach and allows inmates to partner with volunteers to strengthen their minds, body, and spirit in a positive way.
Walker State is the only prison in the state of Georgia that is partnered with a faith and character-based initiative and subsequently the only prison in Georgia with a recidivism rate of less than 2%.
