November 2025

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign Good morning and welcome to the Cannon County Chamber Connection. And of course, this show is made possible by DTC Communications with my. Thank you. And with the chambers. Thank you. Because it gives us an opportunity to highlight our many attributes that we have in Cannon county. And we do have many. And we've got a lot of events coming up. This is November, and it'll be like this until Santa's gone, probably. But today we've got some guests with us, and I do want to introduce Julie with us. She's with the Child Advocacy Center. And of course, we work closely with our nonprofits because they are a part of our community, and without them, there'd be a lot of things that couldn't get done in Cannon County. So, Julie, what do you want to talk to us about today? [00:01:20] Speaker B: Well, so I am with the Child Advocacy center, like you said, and we like to say that people don't know what the Child Advocacy center does. A lot of people think we're casa. We're not. [00:01:31] Speaker A: I know that those acronyms do the same. [00:01:34] Speaker B: Well, and those acronyms can get confusing. But what we are centered around is when children have been severely abused, they have to be interviewed in a way that's court admissible. So we see children on the worst day of their lives when they have been abused, and they have to talk about it. And so we offer Christmas to all the families who come into the Child Advocacy Center. Now, we know that child abuse does not escape different socioeconomic groups. However, sometimes we see grandparents who are suddenly raising grandkids they didn't expect to raise, or an aunt who is now raising grandchildren or children because they've been removed from a home. And those can incur unexpected expenses. Sometimes people have had to hire lawyers or they're going through divorces because of the abuse the children have experienced. And so we offer Christmas to all of the children who come in our doors. Typically, we see between 20 and 30 families. And so we're looking for Christmas sponsors today. It, you know, it could be a ladies group, a church group, really. [00:02:47] Speaker A: Anyway, it could be individual families, businesses, individuals. [00:02:49] Speaker B: Absolutely. Businesses, individuals, families, or a group of families, because we do include the entire family. We usually try to put something in there for the caregivers as well as the children, and we take that entire family into consideration. And so it's pretty simple. We will match you confidentially to a family that's coming to our doors, and we will give you a list of what, what they would like for Christmas. And so we. We do it confidentially, like, I've said you don't ever see the kids names but you will know their ages and what they like. You'll know if they want dinosaur toys. And it's, it's fun to get to shop for those. And so those are due the. About the, the second week in December, second and third week in December. And the best way to get a hold of us is to. Our phone number at the CAC is 615-563-9911. And we are often out in the community so if you don't get us, leave a message. You can also go to our Facebook page and reach us there. It's the Canon County Child Advocacy Center. That's, that's one of the easiest ways to get involved. We provide prevention for any youth serving organization to coaches and teachers and church leaders. And so we are always looking to do those prevention trainings as well. So there's a lot of ways to get involved with the Child Advocacy Center. [00:04:31] Speaker A: She was talking about the list they send out to you. And of course I always take a family because and I do it for them, but I also do it for me because I like it makes me feel good. Well, this year I've got a mom and four children and the information you get is their ages, whether they're a boy or girl, their sizes for shirts and pants and shoes, and also their special requests which really. Well, there's some of this I'm not really familiar with. One of them wants Minecraft. [00:05:12] Speaker B: I got you covered. I can help you with that one. [00:05:15] Speaker A: I have no idea what Minecraft is, but I'll find out. But then they have other things like any kind of toys that's popular at this time. Minnie Mouse, one of them is two one's four, one's six and one's eight. Now the mom that's in there, is she what she is requesting? Because like she said, we try to do the family members and a lot of times I think last year I had a grandmother and a grandfather that were raising their grandchildren. But what she really asked for was gift cards for household good and groceries, which that's easy. I mean it is that you can get them and we always try. [00:06:07] Speaker B: So if someone was to give us money, a lot of times organizations will give us money and say I don't have time to shop. Can you do it? We will pick up gift cards to local businesses as well. The Piggly Wiggly, I think we have run them out of gift certificates like the old fashioned gift certificates. We get them and so we're supporting our Local businesses with that as well. Because we know that going out of our community to Walmart or to Kroger, sometimes those are not feasible. [00:06:36] Speaker A: And so listen, we have. We have four grocery stores in Cannon County. We have five dollar stores, food stores you can find and you can shop at home. And that helps everybody. And I know that our businesses, their biggest competition right now is online. And when you go to Amazon or those online, these are the people that are paying taxes, your local businesses, to do business in this county. And when the schools need something or somebody else is raising money, these are the ones they go to. So I try to do that for this. And I will say that the chamber also does a toy drive in. A toy drive at their cruise inns in July. And those toys go to the child advocacy center. And I do have two bags of them ready for you. Thank you. But when you're saying you have families, there's a lot of them that the numbers. Like I took four, and I'll get some of my family members to help with them. But you have as little as two or three or one. [00:08:12] Speaker B: Absolutely. And so you might have one grandmother and one grandson, you know, and so if you have a big group, if your church is looking to sponsor someone, you know, we can give you a big group happily. But we also can find you a small one if that's what you want to do as well. We usually take a family as well. And I'm always looking for a smaller one because I've got five. And so we're trying. And so you have five children. I do. You didn't know this? [00:08:41] Speaker A: No. [00:08:41] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:42] Speaker A: Maybe I ought to get you. Maybe I ought to get your baby. No, I'm not one of our families. Well, I'm for you. Yes. [00:08:53] Speaker B: And so that's where I'm headed off to today. And so we've got some cross country high schoolers running state tomorrow. [00:09:00] Speaker A: You have more than one sport if you've got that. [00:09:02] Speaker B: I do, I do. But only one in high school. [00:09:05] Speaker A: Oh. [00:09:05] Speaker B: So I've got high, I've got. So far we've got Cannon county because I homeschool. So we've got Cannon county cross country and baseball. Okay, so we are. But we're headed to Memphis today for the state cross country meet. [00:09:20] Speaker A: All right. Well, that's great. [00:09:21] Speaker B: It's exciting. [00:09:22] Speaker A: And that's our Cannon county cross country team. All right. [00:09:27] Speaker B: Yes, ma'. [00:09:27] Speaker C: Am. [00:09:28] Speaker A: They do a good job. [00:09:29] Speaker B: They do. I'm excited. My son's a freshman, so it's his first time to go for High school. And so we're excited. [00:09:36] Speaker A: I'm sure you are. And I hope he runs fast. [00:09:40] Speaker B: He better. We're driving all the way to Memphis. He better run fast. [00:09:45] Speaker A: Well, you're right. Okay. Julie, is there anything else? And by all means, if you didn't get that number and you would like to take a family or a child or just give some toys or some money to this project, if you didn't get the number, give the chamber a call, and I'll be glad to get that information to you. You know, this year may be a little difficult for everybody, so if we all pitch in, we may make it through this year. [00:10:17] Speaker B: I'm not sure, but fingers crossed. [00:10:20] Speaker A: Yep. [00:10:21] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. [00:10:23] Speaker A: Well, thank you, Julie, and good luck. Tell your son good luck. I will. Thank you. All right. We have some interesting people, if you can see the display behind me. This was done by students at Cannon County High School because we're lucky enough to have different courses out there that people can. That the kids can get involved in from running their own businesses. The ag department has one. They have a coffee shop. They have a print shop, who we talked to last month. And this month it's going to be woodworking. Am I right? Come on up here. All of you. Come up here. And we're so proud to have these kids, because I think this is so good that we have things like this in our high school. And I'm. I'm really impressed with these. This is made out of pallets, right? Yes, these two. And actually, they look like little kids furniture. [00:11:30] Speaker D: Yes, ma'. [00:11:30] Speaker A: Am. But they're plant stands. You can use them as little kids furniture, but they're to put plants on. I love the Christmas trees. They made a corner shelf out of tobacco sticks. And we have this man who I think is in charge. If you'll all give them your names, I would appreciate it. [00:11:58] Speaker C: My name is Raylan McCavanaugh. [00:12:00] Speaker E: My name's Camden Pruitt, and I'm Ray Patrick. She said I'm in charge, but I question that. I think the kids are in charge most of the time. [00:12:10] Speaker A: You don't tell them that you're supposed to love them, make them think that you're in charge. Ray. [00:12:16] Speaker E: I try. [00:12:17] Speaker A: I try, Ray. This isn't the only class we have out there that's kind of off the beaten path, is it? But I think this is great. And you actually. These items are for sale, right? [00:12:30] Speaker E: They are. And most of what we build, a lot of times, the kids build things to take home, and they're welcome to do that, but a lot of times if they don't have anything in particular they want to build, I have a lot of. Lot of plans that I can give them. And they can build things just for the shop. And we sell those. We try to make about 20% over what it costs to build them. And we do that to put money back into the program. And eventually we would like to take on a larger project. And I'd love to do like a tiny home or something like that, but. [00:13:05] Speaker A: That would be great. [00:13:07] Speaker E: So you were talking about these little chairs and the table. Those are actually supposed to be to set on the porch to set plants on, but they'd be great for kids to set in. And I walked outside a while ago to tell these guys to bring this stuff in and they're strong enough. These guys were lounging on them. So. Yeah. [00:13:29] Speaker A: So they're gonna hold your plants. [00:13:30] Speaker E: They'll hold your plants. It doesn't matter. That big old fern, that big old Boston fern, it'll hold it. [00:13:35] Speaker A: Well, I just, I think they're really good. And I love the Christmas trees. [00:13:39] Speaker E: And we have quite a variety of the Christmas trees back at the shop. They started building those last year and actually those were probably built after Christmas, but they got in this kick of building the Christmas trees. And we've got all kinds of things. We've got a yard swing, a five foot yard swing on a stand. [00:13:58] Speaker C: We. [00:13:59] Speaker E: We've got gazebos that have benches in them. We've sold a lot of those. We have Adirondack chairs and Adirondack benches and just a wide array of things that we build. And the main thing is the kids come into the class and it's a construction class. And mainly what we focus on is skills that they can, when they leave the high school, they're prepared to go into a job of some type in the construction realm, whether it be woodworking, carpentry, actually a building type trade. [00:14:34] Speaker A: Electric. [00:14:35] Speaker E: Electric. And these guys can talk to the electric portion. We're training them right now. In January, we'll be competing with schools in Rutherford county at mtsu, at a competition that they host there at mtsu. And we'll be competing in rafter cutting and electrical and copper suedding or pipe feeding, also in conduit bending. And so these guys are electricians and they competed last year and they'll compete again this year. And I don't know if they want to talk about that any. [00:15:16] Speaker A: I'm gonna talk to them in a minute. [00:15:18] Speaker E: Okay. Hey, quiz them. Good. Quiz Them. Good. They're getting a grade for this. [00:15:22] Speaker A: Oh, well, good. [00:15:23] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:15:26] Speaker A: I guess what I'm. I'm needing to see on this is if someone wanted to purchase some of these things, can they come to the school and look at them? [00:15:37] Speaker E: Or you can by appointment. You have to set an appointment. And there's a process now with, you know, the homeland Security and everything. You have to come to the front desk and get a visitor pass and also have an appointment to come out. But yeah, I can show these things also. We try to post them on Facebook, Marketplace. I haven't put any on this semester. So I've got a porch full of stuff and things that we've built that need to go on there. We build cornhole boards. We build just a wide array of things, basically anything anyone wants. If I can find a set of plans, then I'll assign it to a group of kids and they'll take those plans and work off of those plans. That's what we like to do. Because not only are they learning to use the tools, they're learning how to decipher the plans. They're learning the math of figuring their materials and what the cost is going to be and what the markup's going to be. And so basically, in doing all of that this summer, cornhole boards, for instance, they build a set of cornhole boards in the shop. This summer, at home, in their garage, they can build cornhole boards. [00:16:42] Speaker A: That's right. [00:16:43] Speaker E: And they make money on them. [00:16:44] Speaker A: You know, I listen and everybody is excited right now, really pro and con about AI and how it's going to take the place of many people's jobs. And it's here. It's not something in the future. It's here. But I have yet to see one that could come out and plumb your toilet or even put electricity through your house. [00:17:15] Speaker E: You're absolutely right. [00:17:17] Speaker A: So there's going to be a need for these people and these are going to be good paying jobs. Maintenance jobs are good paying jobs. [00:17:25] Speaker E: There is a greater need for the trades right now than there ever has been. And there was a big push for a long time. I retired from Johnson in Murfreesboro. And a big push for a long time in hiring in folks with degrees, which I'm not knocking a degree. A degree is good, but it robbed away from the trades. It seems like it did. We're getting back into building the trades. I think Governor Lee has pumped a lot of money into the trades in Tennessee and our schools have benefited from that. Our school, Our school has Benefited from that. We have a lot of materials and a lot of opportunities and a lot of courses that we didn't have a few years ago. [00:18:10] Speaker A: You're right. When my kids went to school there, you didn't. [00:18:12] Speaker E: Absolutely. Absolutely. [00:18:14] Speaker A: I think you had the automotive part, because I let them take my car into changing oil, and they disconnected my speakers to my vehicle. [00:18:26] Speaker E: You're not supposed to say that. Supposed to say they did a really good job. [00:18:29] Speaker A: Well, they did change in the oil, but I don't know why they disconnected my speakers. But we did have that. And you've always had the farming part of it, because there's a lot of farming in our community. But I think what I seen at that little seminar that y' all had out there that showed robotics, showed the print shop, and we've. And the chamber has had the print shop do printing for them was great. [00:19:00] Speaker E: They do a really good job. [00:19:02] Speaker A: They do. And I think this is great because this is something. I mean, we don't have. Other than that, we don't have any business in Cannon county that prints. [00:19:14] Speaker E: I think you're right. [00:19:15] Speaker A: No, we don't. I know. [00:19:17] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:19:19] Speaker A: So I had to get a color printer. But anyway, I think this is great. I want to get yalls take on it. What grades are you in? [00:19:29] Speaker E: 11Th. [00:19:30] Speaker C: We're in 11th grade. [00:19:31] Speaker A: Okay. So you got another year to go. [00:19:33] Speaker D: Yes, ma'. [00:19:33] Speaker A: Am. [00:19:33] Speaker C: Yes, ma'. [00:19:34] Speaker D: Am. [00:19:34] Speaker A: And by the time you get out of there, you're going to be building houses and wiring houses and you're going to have a job before you ever leave high school, whether you want one or not. [00:19:43] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:19:44] Speaker A: Right. [00:19:45] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:19:45] Speaker A: But how do you feel about this? Is this something that you enjoy doing, or you think it was just gonna be a crash course and you could get through it? [00:19:58] Speaker C: No, no. We. We're actually in a due enrollment program for tcat. [00:20:06] Speaker A: Okay. [00:20:06] Speaker C: And so the. The hours that we're serving here in high school go into TCAT before you really get there. So. And some kids do just like a crash course, you know? [00:20:19] Speaker A: Right. There's always those. Mine probably. My boys probably did that, too. [00:20:23] Speaker C: Yeah. And. But we. We like to take it seriously because like you said earlier, a lot of AI and a lot of stuff is just taking over these jobs. And it's good to know this stuff. [00:20:34] Speaker A: So it is because there's some of this stuff AI is not going to be able to do. [00:20:39] Speaker C: I know. [00:20:40] Speaker A: You're still going to have to have a human to do it. [00:20:43] Speaker C: So. I do enjoy. And we love coming here every day. We get fourth and fifth period there, so. [00:20:50] Speaker A: Oh, well, that's good. [00:20:51] Speaker C: Two periods a day. And out there in the shop always doing something. [00:20:54] Speaker A: And you do get graded for this. [00:20:56] Speaker D: Yes, ma'. [00:20:57] Speaker E: Am. [00:20:58] Speaker A: He's the one who grades. [00:21:00] Speaker E: Yeah, that's my. [00:21:02] Speaker C: Yeah, we're. Right now we're practicing for Electric, the competition he was talking about. [00:21:07] Speaker A: See, I think that's great. [00:21:09] Speaker C: Yes. We got about a seven foot frame. Seven or eight foot frame and wiring. [00:21:14] Speaker D: Up four way, three way, switches, outlets, gfcis. [00:21:20] Speaker A: There you go. [00:21:20] Speaker D: So. [00:21:21] Speaker E: Yes, ma'. [00:21:21] Speaker A: Am. [00:21:22] Speaker D: And you were talking about earlier about the AI coming in and I think that's something that we've looked upon in the past few years is kill trades. Maybe look down on them as if working with your hands is bad. [00:21:37] Speaker A: Oh no, no, no. [00:21:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I completely disagree. I think it is great because like, like you said, your heat goes out. Who do you call? [00:21:45] Speaker A: That's right. [00:21:46] Speaker D: Certification. [00:21:46] Speaker A: It's not gonna be AI. It's not gonna come out and fix your unit. [00:21:49] Speaker D: You need to run a gas line from point A to point B. AI can't do that. [00:21:53] Speaker A: No. [00:21:54] Speaker D: Now you're getting into things that you have to have human hands and knowledgeability on. Granted, AI is going to be perfect. It's a robot. It can repeat repetitively. [00:22:04] Speaker A: For some jobs, yes it would. [00:22:06] Speaker D: But then the aspect of also human interaction with this actually having a conversation about what's going on with your heat and air, what's happening with it with your H Vac guy or your plumber, about just what's going on and breaking it down versus AI coming in there, fixing it and leaving. And you're paying this company. You're not having enter any human interaction with them. So I think it's great. I think it's fabulous to learn the skill trades and to be a part of it, work with your hands because it is, it's a dying, it is, it is dying off. And I think it is getting looked further upon. And then I also feel like it's being drawn back in. [00:22:52] Speaker A: At the same time I think future is going to find out that these are going to be high paying jobs and they're going to be the ones in refrigeration, air conditioning, electricity especially. I was in my basement the other day and we built. Our house. Was built. Well, a tornado hit our house so we tore it down and built another one. Put a basement in it because I wanted somewhere to go. Well, I was looking at the wiring in the basement and I thought my husband's come in and redone the whole box. The Whole fuse box. And I thought, I don't know if they had that inspected when they do that. He says the same thing, and I know nothing about it. But I do know when something's not right, you know, because there's wires running everywhere and everything. And I told him I was putting up some Christmas decorations, and I was. We had cable brought in, and they had to run it through our basement up next to the ceiling and upstairs. I told him, I says, I'm surprised this house hasn't burnt down. And he goes, no, that's why I redone everything. So he's pretty handy about that, you know, But a lot of people aren't. [00:24:23] Speaker E: Well, where did he learn that? [00:24:25] Speaker A: From his dad. [00:24:26] Speaker E: Right. In a lot of cases, these courses are these kids, dads teaching them how to do this stuff. [00:24:34] Speaker A: Because his dad wasn't an electrician, but he had done that way back when Terry was little, and he just watched him. [00:24:44] Speaker E: You know, it's not just a course. [00:24:47] Speaker A: Common sense is a lot of it. [00:24:49] Speaker E: But these courses are not just so that when you leave the high school, this is the pathway I'm going to take. These guys may go into a whole different pathway, but this is an option. These are skills they can use for their own benefit. I know the house that I'm living in now. When I had it built, I only had the downstairs finished and I finished the upstairs. I wired the upstairs. I wired my garage. I did the all the additional building things to finish it out, and it saved me a lot of money. Same thing with these guys. They've got skills that they can help themselves. I've got girls in the class. [00:25:31] Speaker A: That's all right. [00:25:32] Speaker E: No, it is good. That's why I said it. Because they're learning skills. They'll be able to change out an outlet. They'll be able to diagnose an electrical problem. [00:25:42] Speaker A: If anything happened to my husband, I'd have to hire it. [00:25:45] Speaker E: Then, yeah, yeah, you could come take my class. This is a scary thought, but yeah. And one thing that these kids love to do, these students love to get involved in, is the improvements at the high school. We've made a ton of improvements. We've poured sidewalks. If you've been to the gymnasium, and basketball season is about to kick off, come and support our basketball program. And while you're there at the gym, go in the bathrooms and the sinks in the bathroom are basinless sinks that we made in the construction shop and made an improvement there. It had the old iron square sinks, and we got rid of those and we Put in basinless wooden sinks, epoxied wooden sinks. We just built an addition onto the restrooms at the ball field, at the football field to house. I can't remember what it's called, but it's communication things to hook. Hook more cameras to. And so we built that. But they do. They enjoy. And we've got some projects when we get back that we've got to get on top of. [00:26:58] Speaker A: Well, I have really bragged about you ever since I went out there to that thing where it showed all the different avenues that they're taking, you know, from the fa. And of course they've always. Or they have for years had the greenhouse, which is good. And then now they have cattle. [00:27:16] Speaker E: They do, they do. And you know, when you're talking about ffa, they are beginning to produce meat products and they're setting up a storefront out in their ag building, the little addition that they made this last year. And so they've got chickens that they're raising now. They've got goats that they. They've got out there out back. So it's kind of like a mini farm that they've set up. [00:27:43] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Now, they're not butchering these, are they? [00:27:48] Speaker E: I don't. Themselves they're setting up to. [00:27:52] Speaker D: No, not yet. Not yet. [00:27:54] Speaker E: The chickens. They've got a plucker. [00:27:58] Speaker A: Now that I was little and raised on a farm by my grandparents, I can pluck a chicken. I did that many times. I gagged a lot while I was doing it, but I got it done. I wouldn't do that today for. I don't think they could pay me enough to do that today. What kind of a plucker? [00:28:22] Speaker E: I don't know. I was just told yesterday they've got a plucker now. [00:28:26] Speaker A: Okay, that's gotta be AI. [00:28:29] Speaker E: No, actually, I think the pluckers, the way that they're set up, because it sounds like you've not seen one. It's like a washing machine drum and it's got little rubber fingers in there. And you throw the chicken in there and it rolls around and plucks the feathers off. [00:28:43] Speaker A: Well, I remember the drum and hot water, but there was no little fingers were mine that was in there pulling that out. I thought, oh, I can't believe I ever did that. But I was little and I did what I was told. [00:28:56] Speaker E: So there you go. [00:28:58] Speaker A: Hey, this is really great. This is interesting. If you're not listening and you hear all of the negative things that happen. Our high school is not negative. There may be some things that we don't have available just yet. But these are common sense things that these kids are going to use. Whether they, you know, whether they want to be an electrician or a plumber or whatever, they're still going to need this information. I think every kid that comes out of the high school or any school should be able to change their own oil, change a battery, even though the batteries now are in your fender. Well, never understood that. But they should know all of that stuff and they should know things like this. Just think about it. If you were a parent or grandparent and you needed something done, a plug put in or something, and you could call your son or your grandchild and say, come over here and fix this and be confident that they can do it. So, you know, I think this is good. What do you have in mind for a future? [00:30:15] Speaker D: I hope we can open up tomorrow more than just the electrical conduit, bending, framing. I just hope that we can expand rapidly. I know Rutherford county is expanding very rapidly. Warren county is as well. Coffey. I've heard good things about them expanding. I just hope that we can expand as rapid and as quick as the other counties into not just electrical, plumbing, framing, open, expand into everything. Mechatronics, robotics. And yes, we have a STEM program at the high school that does that. But I would like to have like a more diluted down, kind of like this teacher for mechatronics, this teacher for stem. So I hope we can do that. [00:31:00] Speaker A: You know, the bottom line to that is on what your tax base is for your school. [00:31:08] Speaker D: Yes. [00:31:09] Speaker A: And that is from the state and federal on down because you've got federal money, state money and local money that goes into that. [00:31:18] Speaker D: Yes. [00:31:19] Speaker A: So that's where a lot of this begins. But like this class, if you raise enough money to keep enough product that you can continue doing it, I think that's good. [00:31:32] Speaker E: Absolutely. [00:31:33] Speaker A: I do. Building. [00:31:34] Speaker E: Go ahead. [00:31:35] Speaker A: I'm sorry. Go ahead. [00:31:36] Speaker E: No, I was just going to say building materials has gone out. The roof, it's came down a little bit, but it kind of limits us on what we're able to do if we're not able to sell these things and recoup some more money. [00:31:48] Speaker A: Well, I look at that. Made out of pallets, Right. Wood pallets. And that's tobacco sticks. [00:31:55] Speaker E: It is, yeah. Those we didn't have to pay for. [00:31:59] Speaker A: But see there. [00:32:01] Speaker E: But now our partnership with TCAT has been a huge benefit for us. And if you ever do get a chance to come by the shop and schedule a visit, we have got a shop that a lot of carpenters would be envious of. I mean, we've got some pyramatic equipment that's top of the line. And that came through our dual enrollment with the TCAT program. [00:32:25] Speaker A: Okay. [00:32:26] Speaker E: One thing that the dual enrollment with the TCAT program does, it not only connects us with TCAT and not only construction, building trades, but we take our kids out there and we tour tcat. And I've had some that even though they graduate high school and the pathway of construction, once they get out there and have this connection with tcat, some have gone into industrial maintenance. We've had some with, well, tool and die, of course, electrical. And there's a lot of different pathways. They've got a welding pathway down there, they've got a certification, they've got automotive. So it's not just about we've singled out this pathway and this is, this is all we're going to be able to do. That's not the case. It exposes you to a lot of different avenues. You know, when you talk about building trades, these guys are not going to graduate high school being certified contractors. But they're well on their way. [00:33:35] Speaker A: But that knowledge is there. [00:33:36] Speaker C: That's right. [00:33:37] Speaker E: That's right. So we start them out, we start them out every year covering the, the safety aspects of all the tools and we revisit that each year to make sure that each class has a fresh exposure to that and reminded this is how you handle a saw properly. But the very first year that they take the class, it's a course requirement that all students become OSHA 10 certified. So that OSHA 10 certification is in the pathway of construction and it's a four year certification that they can take with them. Now what that means is that they have a safety culture that they've learned in the class. So whether they follow construction pathway or not, being able to apply for a job and say I'm OSHA 10 certified even though it's in construction and they may be doing something different than construction, it's saying, I've got a safety culture built into me that I'm going to practice safety because I've got the knowledge, the basic knowledge of the groundwork for safety. And that's huge because if you've ever been an employer and had to pay for a lot of medical expenses because of workers, computers shut you down, they can shut you down too and they can charge you, they can find you a lot. So you know, that's the groundwork. And then from the groundwork we start teaching the different building Trades. Yeah. [00:35:11] Speaker A: Okay. Getting back to y', all. What do you see yourself doing after graduation? [00:35:19] Speaker D: You go ahead. [00:35:20] Speaker C: I plan on taking that dual Roman tcat. Going to TCAT and. And, you know, in the woodworking field and making these little projects or furniture or shelving or. [00:35:33] Speaker A: Well, Tea Cat's a good. That's a good start. [00:35:37] Speaker C: Yes, ma'. [00:35:37] Speaker A: Am. Well, you've got a good start. That's a good. Furthering the start. [00:35:41] Speaker C: Yes, ma'. [00:35:42] Speaker A: Am. How about you? [00:35:43] Speaker D: I want to go into electrical engineering. Electrical engineering. Tennessee tech, too. Yes. [00:35:50] Speaker A: So this is good. This may take a few more years of college. [00:35:55] Speaker D: Yes. [00:35:56] Speaker E: Yes. [00:35:56] Speaker D: Two to three more. Two to three more for me. I wish I could just go out and just start arching, but gotta have that. [00:36:03] Speaker A: I know, but that degree means a lot. It does. Just like a high school education anymore, you know, years ago it wasn't so important. You could still get a job and not have one. Not anymore. And that'd be just a meager job. They want you to have a high school graduation, and if you have all this knowledge, that's even better. Go out there and that's great. Ray, I'm going to talk to you about something else. Ray wears a lot of different hats. He is also a preacher of the Sunny Slope Independent Baptist Church. And every year we. When we have our country Christmas, which is coming up November 21st and 22nd, he has a live nativity scene that he puts up at the courthouse. Now, when I say live, not just the people, he actually has animals that he brings in. And I know it was last year because the chamber of sponsors that Friday night, and we have Santa there walking around the courthouse meeting the people, because our businesses stay open late and they have door prizes and food and everything. Well, Ray sits up and he has a camel. And at one time he had two camels. Well, this woman, I don't know, with four or five little children running along beside her. And she comes up and she could have cared less about Santa, but she wanted to know where the camel rides were. And I said, we don't have camel rides. And she goes, it was advertised. I says, no, we have a camel. It's with the live nativity scene. And it is a live camel. Camel, but we don't ride it and we don't give rides on it. Well, she left a little unhappy with me because I think she thought I was just telling her that. But you don't ride these animals. But they are real. [00:38:18] Speaker E: They are real. And our church does that. We enjoy setting up that live Nativity scene. And so we've got a little, little manger setting and got the fences and things. And we started out just with some local farm animals and everybody seemed to enjoy that. So we have party animals out of Morrison that supply the animals and we hire them to bring the animals each year. And so there is, there's Jerusalem, a Jerusalem donkey. I can't remember the breed of cattle, but it's a short, long haired. It's everything that would have been in Jerusalem at that time. And there are Jacob's sheep, the four horn sheep. She brings those. She brings a different camel each year because it's a young camel that she brings. She doesn't bring a full size camel. And so each year I get like, yeah, yeah, because they get big. So the camel that she brings, the one that we had last year was Willie Nelson. So if you came last year, you got to meet Willie Nelson. And so anyway, it's a different camel each year. One year she brought a. And I know this is not native to. [00:39:36] Speaker A: I know what you're gonna say, but. [00:39:37] Speaker E: She brought a kangaroo, but it was a baby kangaroo and the kids enjoyed the kangaroo. So kids love coming and petting the animals and it's a beautiful scene with the manger scene and the hay and everything. It's a nice time to interact with folks and fellowship with one another and we enjoy meeting people and so yeah, come out and be a part of that. And just. I think party animals also brings feed and so the kids can feed the animals. And we kind of have a divider between the animals and the people. There's a fence there, but you reach through the fence. But so don't worry about the kids getting in there and getting hurt because we have that divider there. Of course, you know, any kid can climb a fence, but we try to keep everybody safe. And animals aren't wild either, so. [00:40:26] Speaker A: No, they're real sweet. [00:40:28] Speaker E: Yeah, they are. They love being loved on. [00:40:32] Speaker A: That is one of the highlights of that Friday night. And Santa shows up about 5 o' clock on that Friday night. And then this year, this is the first year I've had this happen. We're going to have about 10 churches that are going to be set up. There will be nothing sold around the square because this event is for our merchants and we want people to go in and shop and eat at our restaurants and shop in our stores. They will stay open late, they'll have door prizes and this type of thing. But right there in front of the square we will have. There will be 10 different churches set up as of right now, but they will be giving away things as, as well as our nonprofits. And they give away. Last year, I think CASA set up and they had the kids decorate Christmas card cookies. And I don't know what all we did have the child advocacy doing s'. Mores. But this year they chose not to do s' mores because you have to have an open flame to do this. And I think last year kind of got to them because kids like s' mores and they like to make the s'. Mores. But who knows, somebody else might pop up that's willing to do this. But it's a fun time for our merchants. And I know it's early, but you got to start. I mean, everybody else has already started their Christmas events. So this has been this way for 30 some years. And yeah, we look forward to it. Now, on Saturday, the square is not closed off. And that night, on Friday night, the front part of the square will be closed off, but the back part will be for parking because it is for our merchants around the square and throughout the square. It's not just around the square. We have a lot of them. The flea market does this. A lot of our banks do this. But on Saturday, the thing that's going to be different is the Woodbury Lions Club is going to have their pancakes with Santa. And it's going to be on Saturday morning from 7 to 10. And then there will be a break in there. And then the Christmas parade. The Lions Club Christmas parade, which is big, is going to be at night. And if there are anybody out there that wants to be in the parade, there's no charge whatsoever. You just show up about 4 o' clock over at about 5 o'. Clock. I'm sorry, over at the Lions Club building and the fairgrounds. And there will be people there that will put you in the right division that you need to be in. The only thing that is different with our nighttime parade, this is the first year we've tried one at night. And so if you enter something, you need to have lights on it, some type of Christmas lights, and there will be nothing thrown from the floats and everything. No candy. You can have walkers that walk beside you and hand out candy, but the city has made it clear that there will be nothing thrown. Last year. I don't know who it was. I don't want to know who it was, but they were throwing softballs, so this is not a good thing. [00:44:31] Speaker E: We could throw wood products. [00:44:33] Speaker A: Yeah, don't give anybody any ideas now. Just telling you but we hope that it'll go over well. But we do encourage people to come out to the parade and everything, because there will be candy. It just won't be thrown. And you do. We do stress that everybody watch their children because when the fire trucks are in it and they're sitting up high, and I've seen this happen, the children run out there to get candy. The guys driving that fire truck can't see them. And last year I had older people that were doing that. They were sitting right beside where DTC was filming it. And, yeah, they were running out there. Well, not running. They were older, but they were going out there getting candy. And. And I guess you could probably see them. But little kids, I see them every year run right out there, just like they're going to stop, and they can't even see them, much less stop. So at night, I'm thinking this might be more of a problem. So, please, if you bring your children, we want everybody to enjoy it. A lot of surrounding counties do nighttime parades, and the people that I've talked to seem to enjoy the fact that it is going to be at night. So we'll try it and see what happens. But that will be on Saturday night, and then pancakes with Santa will be that morning from 7 to 10. And that will be here at the Lions Club because that's where we're filming today. And you guys need to have a float with your stuff on it. [00:46:24] Speaker E: Well, I can't do two. I'll have one with the church and then. [00:46:29] Speaker A: Well, that's true. You can only go so many ways, can't you? Okay, well, is there anything else you want to tell me about? [00:46:37] Speaker E: Well, we didn't mention that we do have some of our students that end up at MTSU with their. Also their concrete management course with Mr. John Huddleston. So we have a couple of students that's taking that pathway, but it's all building trades, right? [00:46:58] Speaker A: Well, there's not a thing wrong with that. [00:47:00] Speaker E: No, no, I'm saying it's great. [00:47:01] Speaker A: That's great, you know, because you're going to be. I mean, I don't know enough about AI, but I'm trying to think. I can't imagine them building a house. [00:47:11] Speaker E: No, no. But they do some amazing things with concrete. And we've been down there and toured that. And they have a. In the spring, they have an event that's Women in Concrete, I believe is what it's called. And so. Or Ladies in Concrete, something along that line. I'd have to look it back Up. But anyway, schools all around Middle Tennessee bring the ladies from their construction pathway. And it's a big event and we get to see a lot of innovated. [00:47:44] Speaker A: Concrete. [00:47:45] Speaker E: Concrete. That's right. That's right. Robotic concrete pouring. Right where they build structures out of. Out of concrete. Houses. Houses. It's almost like 3D printing with concrete. That's what it is. And so that's huge. And so that is another pathway that's connected with our pathway. [00:48:08] Speaker A: Building trades. [00:48:09] Speaker E: Yeah, that's right. [00:48:10] Speaker A: Well, yeah. Okay, guys, you're welcome to stay. This is great that y' all came. [00:48:17] Speaker E: Yes, ma'. [00:48:17] Speaker B: Am. [00:48:17] Speaker A: And got to talk about this and show off what you. What you're building out there. And this is just a little bit. [00:48:25] Speaker E: Yes, ma'. Am. [00:48:25] Speaker D: Yes, ma'. [00:48:26] Speaker A: Am. [00:48:26] Speaker D: Very little bit. There's much more we have built. [00:48:29] Speaker E: Built. [00:48:29] Speaker A: All right. Well, I'm proud for y' all and I'm so glad that we have this at our high school. [00:48:35] Speaker D: I am absolutely. [00:48:38] Speaker A: November, it starts out with the Historical Society is going to meet on the 18th at the Lions Club building. And they have a speaker this year of Curtis George, and he's very interesting to listen to. The Lions Club always has their coat giveaway, and that will be on the 14th and the 15th. So if any of you, anyone in Cannon county, you have to live in Cannon county, needs a coat or knows somebody that needs a coat, please bring them by the Lions Club on Friday evening. I think it starts at 4 on Friday evening, and then on Saturday it will start at 8 o' clock in the morning. They also give away hats, gloves, socks, whatever that they have that people have, and they're new. Well, the coats are gently used and they're cleaned and everything. But if you need a coat or you need somebody, the only thing that they ask is if you're getting them for children, bring your children with you so you can try them on and make sure they fit. But they have a lot of those to give out, so by all means, take advantage of it. The Blood Mobile will be here on the 20th at noon at the Lions Club building. Cannon Country Christmas. I can't say enough about it. Friday on the 21st, the stores will stay open late. They will give sales and discounts and door prizes and they want your business. So by all means, come down and enjoy the the event. Saturday, the stores will be open again. Their sales and everything will continue. The Christmas parade will start at 6 o'. Clock, but if you want to be in it, come to the Lions Club building in the fairgrounds. They will set you up and you need to be here about 5 o'. [00:50:42] Speaker E: Clock. [00:50:43] Speaker A: They will also be having pancakes with Santa that morning from 7 till 10 o' clock at the Lions Club building. And let's see, of course, Thanksgiving is in there somewhere. It is going to be on the 27th this year. Then we're getting into December and we will have more Lions Club events. It will be. We have a new president this year, Carlie Gannon. And every year when we have a new president of the Lions Club, they get to pick a project they want to do. And she wanted to give, she wanted to fix a dinner free of charge to anybody that wants to come to it. So on the 6th at starting at 11 o' clock until 2, there's going to be food here at the Lions Club free of charge for anybody that wants to come to it. They're inviting the whole county if they want to. It doesn't matter. There's no restrictions. And it will be cornbread and beans and dessert and a drink, and it's all free of charge. That night, starting at 4:00 clock will be the Tour of Homes. And I have four, five different places on the tour of homes. And you can get your ticket for that at the Lions Club when you come to eat cornbread and beans. No, you can come at 4 o' clock and get tickets and a map on where these are. And luckily we have three houses right now that are right next to each other on College street, so that will make it very easy for you. And then we also have one business that's new to our county and that is a new flower shop called Petals and Stems. It's on North Dillon street. And they are going to be part of that tour of homes. And you will. She makes some very pretty items, Christmas items, and they will be giving away a door prize, too. So. And they're also supplying the Christmas tree for the open house that we will light up. I mean, for the country Christmas that we will have the tree lighting that night and they're donating a live Christmas tree and they're not planting it. I did that once before on the square and I think it lived about two weeks. But they're going to bring it and we're going to light it up and enjoy it and then they're going to take it back. So this is a good thing. And the tour of homes and then I'm sure there's going to be other things. Oh, there are other things. The art center. How could I forget them? December 5th through the 21st is going to be the Million Dollar Quartet. And that is their Christmas show. So a lot of their music will be some of the older music, but it'll also be Christmas music. [00:54:02] Speaker E: That's a great show. [00:54:04] Speaker A: It is. It is. [00:54:05] Speaker E: I'm a little partial to it, but it's a great show. [00:54:07] Speaker A: It is the arts. The Senior center, of course, they always have their Christmas gala in December. And I believe that this year I'm looking for a time here, a date that the 16th annual Christmas Gala. And it'll be December 12th at the Senior Center. If you would like to set a table, it's a table for eight. You're welcome to do that. You just need to contact Deborah Leach at the Senior Center. Or if you would like to have. If you have a Christmas party for your office or whatever, by all means, call out there and reserve a table. They're beautifully decorated and they have food that is usually great music and a silent auction. And that will be on the 12th of December. And then the Art center also has the Christmas Bazaar. And that will start on 29 November and go through 21 December. And that will be the artisans that set up inside the Art Center. And you'll be able to go down there and buy something that for somebody that you think has everything, you will find something there that they don't have. And also their season tickets are on sale right now for next year. And there's not a better gift because it'll be giving back all year long because they have all these shows and they're all good. And then the Art center will be closed from 22 December through 6 January. And of course the Chamber of Commerce, the office is inside the Art center. So there's no need of them heating up the whole building for me to go in there and sit. So probably the chamber will be closed for those days, too. And then I guess it's time to wish you a happy Thanksgiving. And I will see you next month on the third. And maybe we will have some of these people that didn't show up today. But I'm glad that we got to talk to the ones that are here because I think what our high school is doing is great. And I hope, like this young man said, that it continues in the future to expand and offer more that our high school can give out besides just an education in books. They're going to actually be able to do some things. And that's all for today.