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Wakefest--Savannah-Hunley-WEB
Savannah Hunley shows her skills during Wakefest in DeKalb County.

Being a professional wakeboard coach is not bad work, if you can get it. The travel will take you all over the globe.
That's the life of California resident Chad Lowe, who was in DeKalb County over the weekend to compete in Wakefest at Pates Ford Marina. Lowe was among hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators who converged on Center Hill Lake for the annual event.
"I get to travel all over the world training young riders," said Lowe. "I've been on the road for 50 days straight. I've been to Portland, Kentucky, and Mexico before making it to Tennessee. In Mexico, I coached the team training for the world games in Poland."
The fact Wakefest was able to attract a competitor like Lowe shows how its popularity has spread. Prizes were awarded in nine divisions, including a $3,000 prize for the top female and a $7,500 prize for the top male.
Lowe says wakeboarding is a combination of balance and strength. Most important, he says, is technique.
"You have to focus on technique, especially for the advanced tricks," said Lowe.
He said first-class competitors can turn two flips and pull off 1,080-degree spins. That's three 360s.
Lowe spent the better part of a week in Middle Tennessee before landing back on the West Coast on Tuesday. He's from Discovery Bay, Calif., which is about 40 minutes north of San Francisco.
"I fell in love with that area," said Lowe, who has been to places such as Australia. "That's one of the most picturesque lakes I have ever seen. I'd love to come back and spend a week there relaxing and wakeboarding. That would be great."
Wakefest got its start in 2005 on Old Hickory Lake. Since relocating to Pates Ford Marina in 2012, the event has experienced explosive growth and bills itself as one of the largest wakeboarding tournaments in the Southeast.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community