Jill Jones-Lazuka was born and raised in Michigan where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy, but she claims her Tennessee birthright through heritage that extends back to before Tennessee was a state, It was decades later in life that she became interested in that heritage and documenting it.

Jill completed her internship in Music Therapy at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and is a Registered Music Therapist. She has taken graduate courses in leadership at Tennessee Technological University, is a graduate of Leadership Morgan and the Leadership East Tennessee program.

Jill is involved in local genealogy societies, as well as national lineage societies. Her volunteer work with these societies includes: Morgan County Genealogical & Historical Society President, Friends of Frozen Head State Park Board member, Quarles-Burton Society board member, Honorary Chapter Regent Old Walton Road, past TSDAR Sequoyah District Secretary, past TSDAR State Chaplain, current TSDAR State Parliamentarian, NSDAR Correspondent Docent, past Chapter President USD1812, past State Corresponding Secretary USD1812, past Chapter Chaplain NSDU, past NSDU National Officer – Director General of Insignia, and current NSDU Corresponding Secretary General. She also holds membership in Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of 98, Southern Dames, and Descendants of American Farmers.

Jill worked in the field of Early Childhood Education for over 25 years. During that time, she has always worked as a pianist alongside her career. She is currently serving as a church pianist.

Jill has published five books – 4 family genealogies and her latest, Sunbright Potteries. She co-authored, Civil War Stories of Morgan County, and has been a contributing writer for several books, magazines, and blogs. She is currently co-authoring a murder mystery book based on an unsolved murder from the 1930’s.

Jill has recently been awarded honors from the Tennessee Association of Museums, East Tennessee Historical Society, and the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century. She is the recipient of the NSDAR Historic Preservation Medal.

Jill enjoys old cemeteries and grave dowsing. She speaks to groups across the state on the art of dowsing and headstone care and maintenance.

Jill currently lives in the Cookeville area with semi-retired husband, Marlon, and her two German Shepherds. Her daughter, Christina, taught high school math at Tennessee School for the Deaf before relocating to California to work in the computer programming field. She works as a freelance programmer and junior college instructor. Son, Joshua, works as an engineer and has a blacksmithing shop. He recently appeared on the History Channel show, Forged in Fire, where he won the competition.

Zach Foster is a lifelong resident of Anderson County who has loved history for just as long. He has served as the Anderson County Archivist for three years and have overseen the move of Archives which is still ongoing as of this writing.  He will be completing his third year at the Archives Institute in Nashville in April 2024 to become an accredited Archivist in the State of Tennessee.

Originally from Washington County, TN, Miria has spent the last ten years as the director of the Clinton Public Library. She has a bachelor’s in English from Lees McRae College and master’s in information science from UTK. As of the end of March, she has eighteen total years of experience in libraries in Tennessee and North Carolina. One of her proudest genealogy research moments was finding a friends grandfather in less than an hour when the friend didn’t even know his legal name.

Ron Evans is a family historian for the Evans, Paul, Humphrey, Darr and Underwood families )and associated families) of East Tennessee and has been doing genealogical research since 1980.  His interests in genealogical research led to historical research of the many East Tennessee Counties where his ancestors lived, including Knox, Anderson, Sevier, Union, Bradley and Polk.  Ron served as Vice President and President of the Anderson County Historical Society from 2004 – 2013.  He is administrator the Anderson County Historical Society website since 1999 and administrator of the Anderson County TnGenWeb website.  He is now researching the Powell Community of Northwest Knox County.  He co-authored the book Stooksbury – Ancestors and Descendants of Robert “Squire” Stooksbury.

Dr. Kristy Sumner holds a PhD in Public Affairs with an emphasis on Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida. Her professional background includes 8 years as a Senior Director and spokesperson for a Registered Traveler company focused on biometric clearances for the traveling public, where she routinely gave presentations before national airports, local and national media, and members of state legislatures and the US Congress. She was also a consultant for a biometric credentialing company, and she was a college professor at Metro State College of Denver and at the University of Central Florida. In 2021, Dr. Sumner, along with her business partner, Miranda Young, founded History, Highways, and Haunts, LLC., a female owned and operated company located in Tennessee and operating out of the Historic Scott County Jail and Museum. The goal of the business is to promote tourism and encourage historic preservation through creative endeavors.

David Needs is a graduate of Carson-Newman University with a degree in Political Science and History.  He was President of Phi Alpha Theta the History Honor Society while a student at C-N.  He was also in ROTC and was commissioned a 2nd LT in the Field Artillery.  He currently serves Carson-Newman University as an Instructor and Director of the Nationally Ranked Track and Field Team.  Among the many classes David teaches at C-N is “Mossy Creek History 1850 to 1900”.  In 2019, David received the Community History Award from the East Tennessee Historical Society for his work in preservation and sharing the Mossy Creek Story.   In 2019, he was also named the President of the Lakeway Civil War Preservation Association.  In the Fall of 2021, he was named the first City Historian for Jefferson City.  In 2023, he traveled to Austin, Texas and Colorado Springs, CO to share information and speak about the 160^th Anniversary of the Battle of Mossy Creek.  Additionally, he led the City of Jefferson City’s remembrance of the Battle on December 29^th.  David Needs has been active in our community, researching, cemetery preservation, historical documentation, archaeological work, leading tours, engaging student groups, and lecturing.  He is also currently writing a book about the personal stories of the men and units  who fought at the Battle of Mossy Creek.

David Needs

Director of Track&Field and Cross Country
Carson-Newman University
Coach of the Year 2019, 2022, 2023
22 National Championship Appearances
4 National Champions
59 All Americans

My name is Frank Edward Barnes, but actually “Ted” to most. I have been a member of the Anderson County Historical Society for several years, and would like to do what I can to help with this organization. I have been a resident of Clinton and Oak Ridge for about 20 of the last 30 years, where my wife Agatha (a Medieval Historian) and I raised our daughter Sietske, and I was a scientist in the Physics Division at ORNL and a Joint Professor of Physics at UTK from 1989-2011. I was later a Program Manager in Nuclear Physics at DOE HQ in the DC area until retirement in 2018. I have long been fascinated by world history and ancestry research, and since moving here I have discovered that many of my ancestors lived in East Tennessee, dating back to the 1780s, notably through the Gallaher and Disney families. I hope that we can increase local interest and involvement in our Society, since all people should be aware of their own history. As related background, I am the current Editor of the Monthly Bulletin of the ORION (Oak Ridge) Amateur Astronomy Society, which is approximately 35 pages per month, and is distributed and stored online. A copy of the most recent issue can be found at this link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8336647.

James W. Brooks, Jr. (Jamie) serves the 7^th Judicial District, Anderson County, as Judge of the Chancery Court which is a state trial court.  Jamie was appointed to the position by Governor Bill Lee on April 18, 2023, after the retirement of Chancellor Nichole Cantrell.  Prior to taking the bench, he practiced law at Wilson & Brooks, P.C. for 37 years. He and his law partner, James Frank Wilson, practiced law together from 1985 until Mr. Wilson retired in 2016.  Jamie continued as a solo practitioner until his appointment by Governor Lee.  While in private practice, Jamie handled court cases primarily in the Chancery Courts in Anderson, Morgan and Roane counties.  He represented and helped thousands of individuals, families and businesses with their legal needs.

Chancery Court is vital to our community.  More than 1500 cases are filed in this court each year.  The cases consist of family law matters including adoptions, divorces, child custody and orders of protection. Additionally, Chancery Court hears all probates (wills and estate) and most real property disputes.  Originally a Court of Equity, Chancery court jurisdiction has expanded over the years.  Today, we have concurrent jurisdiction with Circuit Court on most non-criminal matters.

Jamie grew up in Nashville. He earned his B. A. degree in History from Trevecca Nazarene University in 1982.  He earned his J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1985.  He and his wife, Carol, have lived in Oak Ridge since 1987 where they raised their son.  They attend Christ Community Church.  Jamie serves on the board of the Morgan County Community Fund which provides grants to 501© (3) charities.  He is a member of the Tennessee, Anderson County and Roane County Bar Associations.  Jamie enjoys traveling, reading and playing golf in his spare time.

Joey Smith – Sellers Realty has deep roots in Clinton, TN, and the surrounding areas. He is devoted to providing personal residential real estate services to both buyers and sellers. His philosophy on real estate, which is a foundational element for the Sellers Realty team as well, is “Connection to Community.” He joined Sellers Realty in 2006, armed with my lifelong love of architecture, urban design, historic homes and the city of Clinton.  Joey serves as the Vice Chair for Historic Downtown Clinton and is a board member for Clinton City Schools as well as an active member with the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.  His love for Clinton history has made him one of the most knowledgeable residents of Clinton on the subject as you will often find him at the library or the register of deeds office.

Katherine Birkbeck is a 2000 graduate of Clinton High School and a 2004 graduate of Berry College with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations. She is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a Master’s of Arts in Professional Writing with a focus in business and grant writing.  While she started her career in Atlanta as a photographer and marketing director for an Atlanta Realty Group, she always knew she was an entrepreneur at heart.  Once she photographed her first wedding, the business took off from there and in 2007 it was a full-time gig.  In 2010 Katherine placed 3rd Internationally for the Wedding Photojournalist Association’s quarterly contest for best photographers around the world.  It was then that Katherine and her family moved back to Katherine’s hometown of Clinton.  Shortly after moving, she fell in love with a building on Market Street that she bought and renovated in 2019.  This building quickly became a successful second business for small events such as birthday parties, showers, etc. Throughout her time in Clinton, Katherine became an active Board Member for the Chamber of Commerce, the Education Foundation, the Business Development Committee and the Chair for the City of Clinton’s beautification committee.  This all led to her taking the charge to apply for the State of Tennessee’s Main Street designation and ultimately to her becoming the Executive Director for Historic Downtown Clinton.