Tag: Health

Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Family, Health, Hugs, Love, Sports

Anchored to Home

Written by Trevor Jolley

Adam and Jessica Moore lock arms as the Love on the Diamond wedding ceremony takes place. The Moores renewed their vows at the Chattanooga Lookouts’ home plate as one of the couples selected by Sunny 92.3 to participate in the ceremony. Saturday, February 17, 2024. (Photo by Bethany Cothran)

Drawn onto the arms of Jessica and Adam Moore is a dark anchor tattoo, keeping them together no matter what. The tattoo is a result of the couple’s appreciation of tattoos, meaning much more than what is on the skin. It is not only a symbol of love, but of commitment and dedication to their relationship and their family; a reminder of what is truly important when hard times may come. They are each other’s home plate and with each other, they are safe. 

“We are each other’s anchor, you know? It means multiple things,” Adam Moore said. “We keep each other tied down, we keep each other stable.”

Adam and Jessica met on an online dating service in 2009. Adam messaged Jessica after coming across her profile and the two made plans for a first date.

“I went to his house and we just watched a movie,” Jessica Moore said. “I didn’t get off work until two hours after I was supposed to, and I felt really bad because he had to be up for work in [like] six hours.”

After a late albeit successful movie night, the pair knew they wanted to see each other again. Being around Halloween, the pair decided to get in the holiday spirit, so they made a visit to see Jessica’s father at Ruby Falls’ Haunted Cavern, an annual Chattanooga Halloween favorite that converts the beautiful Ruby Falls cave into a spooky haunted tour. 

“After that, I remember he took the drive to me. Then I took him with me and brought him to go meet my dad. We met on the side of the mountain, and it was good,” Jessica Moore said. “You know, it’s your dad. You always want to make a good first impression.” 

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Chattanooga, community

Fermentation Masters

Written by Taylor Carmody

Founder of Chattanooga Culture Matt Cone discusses how he came to start making kombucha and how that impacts his business.

Between the growing bacteria, yeast combination and sweetened tea, kombucha possesses a unique flavor that can sometimes defer potential customers. But according to Matt Cone, founder of Chattanooga Culture, after enough time, kombucha can turn into not only something that benefits consumers, but also something they can enjoy.

“My buddy out in Colorado brewed a lot of kombucha for himself personally, and I always thought it was a very interesting drink. I was turned off by it at first, like everybody is. It’s kind of an acquired taste,” Cone said.

After tasting some of his friend’s kombucha, Cone began doing research on health and wellness. This led him to pursuing further education within that field; Cone ended up getting his degree in Health and Wellness at Life University in Georgia.

“I learned as much as I could in that realm and just kind of figured out how to pull all of these pieces together and build a business out of it, so that’s what Chattanooga Culture is,” Cone said. “It’s not just kombucha. It’s not just fermentation. It’s all of the years of experience.” 

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Chattanooga, community, Food, women

BUILDING BROADS

Written by William Chen

Bailey Cole and Kristiana Mallo, two female entrepreneurs, are set to open the doors of their new lounge, BROADS. BROADS will be the first and only female-focused bar in Chattanooga, serving food and beverages obtained from female-owned and female-led businesses. BROADS will be located in the heart of Downtown Chattanooga to be an inclusive space for all.

After over ten years serving the Chattanooga area with their vegan restaurant endeavor Cashew, Bailey Cole, and Kristiana Mallo are set to open their doors for a new project in the heart of downtown called “BROADS.” Cole and Mallo have dedicated BROADS to being a “Female-Forward” bar. 

“I think everybody kind of agrees [broads] had a negative connotation,” Cole said. “To us, [broads] is an empowering word. We’re trying to make it fun; it’s more about a strong woman.”

The inspiration for the name “BROADS” came from one of their friends who frequently uses it in her vocabulary. Overtime, they grew fond of the term in that usage.

“[BROADS] is just something pretty different. I think it’s different even in the country,” Mallo said. “….it’s more of an old-school term, so we want to totally bring it back.”

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art, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, donate, Health

Face Value

Written by Taylor McKinley

President of FACES, Kim Fox teaches a sculpting class to the greater Chattanooga community at Bud’s Creative Art Center. Fox’s passion for art is one thing that fueled her drive when Bud’s Creative Art Center was built. November 18, 2023 (Photo by Taylor McKinley)

A person’s facial appearance significantly influences their daily interactions, impacting everything from grocery store visits to the formation of friendships. FACES, a Chattanooga based craniofacial nonprofit, brings comfort and acceptance to those in this community. 

“We help children and adults get desperately needed craniofacial surgeries,” said Kim Fox, President of FACES. “Not only do these people have to deal with numerous surgeries, but they also have to deal with peer pressure and people being mean to them, and calling them names.”

Class attendee Ean Danon works on a sculpture with the help from president Kim Fox. Danon attended the class at Bud’s Creative Art Center with his mother. November 18, 2023 (Photo by Taylor McKinley)

The work of FACES and Bud’s Creative Art Center go beyond Jewelry Making or Paint classes. Children and adults undergo life changing surgeries that will impact how they carry themselves for the rest of their lives. The community plays a significant role in getting those who suffer from craniofacial anomalies surgeries, while also benefiting their artistic abilities as well.

“Every time you take a class at Bud’s you are helping the children and adults of FACES,” Fox said. “So you’re doing a really good thing for yourself and you’re doing something really good for FACES.” 

FACES distinguishes itself by actively raising awareness about laws that protect individuals with facial differences and advocating for face equality as an essential human right. 

“Sadly so many people that have a facial difference actually do get discriminated against, “ Fox said. “Sometimes they either don’t get the job they want or they keep them back in the warehouse.”

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Healing, outdoors, Sports

From Fracture to Finish

Written by Noah Keur

Drew Fisher set off on the Sportsbarn Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. This race was his first official competition following his IRONMAN on September 24, 2023. Thursday, November 23, 2023.
(Photo by Noah Keur)

With the wound not fully healed from the surgery that put two screws in his ankle four months prior, Drew Fisher pulls himself off a bike and prepares for the final stretch of the Chattanooga IRONMAN triathlon. 

Only a 26.2-mile footrace to go… as if the 120 miles already covered wasn’t enough.

For some, the commitment to this grueling race stems from an unwavering drive to be in tip-top physical condition. Or maybe, they sign up for this race to give themselves something to work towards every day—a reason to get out of bed in the morning. There is a percentage of racers, though, who have another, seemingly more trivial reason to travel the distance it would take to get to Birmingham, Alabama in one day. 

“I was reading Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins before a football game in high school, and a coach asked me why I was reading that,” Fisher said. “I told him I wanted to run an IRONMAN. With no hesitation, he responded you’ll never do that. From then on, I just had to run one.” 

Those four words stuck in Fisher’s head for what seemed to him like an eternity. He was just 17 years old at the time—which meant it would be at least another year until he could prove his coach wrong, as you must be an adult to participate. Nevertheless, Fisher got to work. 

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Healing, Health, Nurses, women

Sight & Hope Restored

By Anna Truss

Kathleen Stephens stands on a hill in front of the dock in the Chickamauga Dam Day Use Area. Wednesday, November 23, 2022. (Photo by Anna Truss).

While many people plan to retire fully by 65, that dream is not always a reality for everyone. Kathleen Stephens, a resident of Hamilton County, TN, is still a full time certified nursing assistant at the age of 79.

“I still work full time and I thank God for that because I can see what I’m doing, because before I wouldn’t have been able to see,” Stephens said.

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Chattanooga, community, Family, Health, women

Gender Equality in Tennessee: The Fight Continues

Written By Madison Van Horn

Elizabeth Sparks looks on at her newborn son, Conan, as her husband holds his hand. Sunday, October 2, 2022. (Photo by Allie English).

Last December, Elizabeth Watts found out that she was pregnant at the age of 19 and was immediately burdened with a heavy decision; to have her child or to have an abortion.

“I’ve always been pro-choice, but I thought to myself, ‘There’s no way I could go through with an abortion,’” Elizabeth said. “I don’t think I could handle that emotionally, but having got pregnant, it made me consider, ‘Does this kid have a future? Will I be able to take care of it? Will I be able to work?’”

This narrative is all too familiar for women across the country, but specifically here in the 45th state for women, Tennessee.

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Anxiety, community, Daily Life, Healing, Health, Sports, UTC

Overcoming: Lauren’s Eating Disorder Recovery

Written by Niah Davis

Lauren Baker indulges in eggs, a bagel and coffee she made for breakfast. Thursday, March 10, 2022. (Photo by Niah Davis)

Practice, weights, conditioning, traveling and on top of it all attending classes and maintaining a good grade point average. Unfortunately, college athletes also have to contend with a higher likelihood of developing an eating disorder.

Lauren Baker is a determined, music-loving dance-like-no-one’s-watching freshman on the women’s volleyball team at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. However, it was much earlier on during her freshman year of high school in South Bend, Indiana when she began to struggle with her eating disorder.   

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Chattanooga, community, Family, Healing, Health, Hugs, Love

Pandemic Pains

By Seth Carpenter

Marianna Cooper gets her youngest daughter, Katie James, an afterschool snack. Friday, November 19, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)

For nearly two years, Marianna Cooper has worried about bringing her work home with her. 

As a nurse in the float pool, Cooper has been working around patients with COVID-19 since the pandemic originally began in the U.S. Already, that would be more than enough to gnaw at anyone, but like countless others in her position, she has had more than just herself to worry about. 

From the beginning, Cooper’s three children turned her 12-hour night shifts at Parkridge into 24-hour ones as she was faced with the possibility of bringing home the deadly disease every time she walked through her door.

“It’s always in the back of your mind,” she said. “You worry about doing simple things like giving your child a kiss on the cheek because… what if you’d had an exposure and you didn’t realize it, and now I’ve exposed my child.”

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