by Emily Snell | Jul 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
Produce stands and farmers’ markets are popular throughout Nashville during the summer, and Howell Farms takes advantage of prime real estate with its produce tent in Green Hills along Glen Echo Road, only one mile from Lipscomb’s campus. In addition to the Glen Echo location, Howell Farms sells its products at Sharondale, the Nashville Farmers’ Market and their farm in Bellevue. The stand at Glen Echo is open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Chad Howell, whose grandfather owns the farm, said his family has been in business for three decades. “We’ve farmed the same farm for 30 years,” he said, taking a break from unloading a truck full of fresh goods. “My great papa farmed tomatoes, and it’s just been passed down from generation to generation to generation.” Under the red and white tent, shoppers will find a variety of fruits and vegetables. Included in the vegetable options are: potatoes, corn, tomatoes, squash, asparagus, peppers, onions, beans, okra and more. The fruit selection includes blueberries, grapes, apples, peaches, bananas, lemons, limes, eggplants, watermelons and cantaloupe among other things. The stand has baked items like breads and muffins from Anne’s Cakes on Trousdale Drive. Howell Farms also sells jams and jellies from Spring Valley Farms in Holland, Ky. The stand also has local honey, syrups, fresh herbs, peanuts and other items like bottled black or green teas. Howell said his family specializes in tomatoes. “Our tomatoes basically speak for themselves,” he said. “It’s hard to beat a homegrown Tennessee tomato.” Dry weather this summer has harmed the farm’s crops, Howell said. “We irrigate, but dry weather has...
by Emily Snell | Jun 28, 2012 | Uncategorized
A homeless man sitting on a park bench. A single mom searching for work. Foster kids waiting for new homes. At a small dance studio in East Nashville, young children are rehearsing these scenes from a play, and in the process, nurturing their creative talents and learning about social justice. CreateAffect, a weeklong summer camp for children ages 5-11, educates kids about social justice issues like homelessness and modern-day slavery, while supporting the artistic community and teaching kids to express their creative side. CreateAffect Founder Abby Wahlers said she’s seen the kids come alive as they learn the positive impact they can have on the world. “A lot of kids came alive when they realized that what they were doing was making a difference,” she said. “They see that impact, and they flourish and come alive; and they want to do it more and more. Seeing that makes me come alive and makes me want to do more, and I love it. I love that cycle.” Wahlers, who has degrees in elementary education and human development from Wheelock College in Boston, said she thinks it’s important to teach children about social justice so that they more fully develop their innate empathy. “I think we’re all born with the capability to empathize,” she said. “We’re born with it, but I think along the way, we lose it. But these kids still have it. There are so many areas in their lives where they don’t get to choose, and they don’t get to be a force or to make a difference or to have an impact. When they’re able to reach...
by Emily Snell | Jun 21, 2012 | News Slider
School children armed with engineering tools have been learning electronics and robotics skills this month as part of Lipscomb’s Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering partnership with Nissan for the Lipscomb/Nissan BisonBot Robotics Camp. The camp, which started May 28, offers weeklong sessions, teaching elementary, middle and high school students about the basics of engineering. A diverse group of more than 120 students from across the country will have attended the camp by the time it ends June 29. According to Ginger Reasonover, co-director of the camp, the idea originated from her son Bryan’s Eagle Scout project. Reasonover said her son wanted to help kids participate in robotics while also learning about engineering. “It was such a huge hit that the university decided, ‘We’re going to do this next year,’” Reasonover said. Since 2007 when the camp began, Reasonover said it has continued to grow and gain support from the community and local businesses. In 2010, Nissan began sponsoring the camp. “They’ve increased their support every year,” she said. “A huge kudos to Nissan. With their support, we have been able to build this to what it is. Without their support, we couldn’t have this many kids; we couldn’t have this many counselors.” The camp involves a balanced approach between lecture and hands-on experience. Reasonover said the students attend lecture with engineering professors or working professionals and then have an opportunity to apply that learning in a workshop-type setting. The week culminates in a robotics competition and presentation for parents and friends, which allows the campers to showcase the projects they created during camp. The camp also includes a...
by Emily Snell | Jun 20, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
For the first time in five years there will be a new voice on the Lipscomb basketball bench this fall as Bisons Head Coach Scott Sanderson announces the hiring of Ryan Cahak as assistant coach for the program. The 28-year-old Cahak comes to Lipscomb after spending the last two seasons as a member of the University of Tennessee staff in Knoxville as a graduate assistant working with the likes of Milwaukee Bucks forward Tobias Harris, the 19th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. “Ryan has been with some really good people,” Sanderson said. “He played for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and has worked under Bruce Pearl and Cuonzo Martin. Those are some really good basketball genes in my opinion. “He’s been around some really good basketball people with different philosophies on how to do things differently. I think that’s a big asset for Ryan.” Cahak headed to “Rocky Top” to work with the Volunteer post players after a year at Colgate as the Raiders’ director of operations. “It’s a great opportunity here at Lipscomb with Coach Sanderson and the rest of the staff,” said Cahak. “I’m excited to jump in, learn from the guys and hopefully have a successful season.” The Syracuse native graduated from his hometown university in 2008 having suited up for the Orange for three seasons under Boeheim. Cahak prepped at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., and the Bisons plan to build on his connections in the region to expand recruiting efforts. “About a month ago we talked about starting to recruit prep schools more, and Ryan played at St. Thomas Moore, so that...
by Emily Snell | Jun 9, 2012 | News Slider
The power of social media is all too evident to today’s teenagers. When technology abuse causes two girls to ruin each other, parents and school officials intervene, struggling to create peace and reconciliation. This reality is the center of “Exposure,” a play written, directed and performed by Lipscomb students. “I think it’s a play that speaks particularly to parents, and I hope parents in the audience are encouraged to be good parents, especially in a world that has changed a lot with social media and technology,” said Director Sawyer Wallace, a recent Lipscomb graduate. The play, written by senior Whitney Vaughn, a double major in theater and Law, Justice and Society, won the playwriting competition at last year’s Christian Scholars’ Conference. It was performed June 6-9 during the 2012 conference on campus. The Christian Scholars’ Conference annually brings together Christian scholars from various academic backgrounds “to develop their own academic research and to reflect on the integration of scholarship and faith.” As described in the play’s program, the work is “a riveting play about a high school guidance counselor’s attempt to reconcile two teenage girls who have used social media to destroy each other’s lives. It exposes the pervasive quality of social media and the damaging effects of poor parenting.” Vaughn, who is interning in Washington, D.C. with the Republican National Committee, said the idea for the play came last year when she was in Mike Fernandez’s playwriting class. Fernandez told the students to consider the big moments in their lives and find common denominators between the events. “The common denominator in all of the good and bad that I’ve been...
