Supporting Community through Education with Michelle Lewis
Michelle Lewis, Executive Director of the Loudon County Education Foundation, has been supporting excellence in local education for over 11 years. Watch this episode of ConnectTheKnox to learn how she got involved with LCEF, as well as how LCEF is...
Michelle Lewis, Executive Director of the Loudon County Education Foundation, has been supporting excellence in local education for over 11 years. Watch this episode of ConnectTheKnox to learn how she got involved with LCEF, as well as how LCEF is supporting local educators and students. Michelle and Julia talk through some of their favorite LCEF fundraising events, and Michelle explains how that money is used to help fund programs like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, grants for local educators, and so much more.
Highlights
00:00 Intro
01:02 Michelle introduces herself and her local roots, and describes her journey to become the Executive Director of the Loudon County Education Foundation
02:37 The history of the Loudon County Education Foundation and the changes she’s seen in education over the past 11 years
06:11 Michelle explains how the LCEF works with Imagination Library and why it’s so important to Loudon County children
07:35 Ad - Dr. Joe Chiro
08:57 Michelle and Julia discuss how LCEF currently fundraises, as well as some of their biggest annual fundraisers and favorite fundraisers of the past
16:10 Michelle explains how COVID has affected fundraising for LCEF
21:04 Julia asks Michelle how LCEF is anticipating the growth of surrounding areas like Farragut and Knoxville
24:33 Ad - Just Homes Group
25:43 How you can find and support the Loudon County Education Foundation
26:27 Michelle tackles Julia’s lightning round of questions about her favorite Knoxville hot spots
Links:
- Loudon County Education Foundation https://lceftn.org/
- Dr. Joe Chiro www.goseedrjoe.com
- Just Homes Group www.justhomesgroup.com
- Meadowview Greenhouse & Garden Center https://www.meadowviewgreenhouse.com/
- Painted Tree Knoxville https://paintedtree.com/locations/knoxville-tennesse
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Transcript:
Julia: Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Connect the Knox. I’m your hostess with the mostest, Julia Hurley connecting the nation with Knoxville, Tennessee. Today’s guest is an all-time personal favorite person of mine, a very close friend and supporter for many years, Michelle Lewis. And Michelle is the Director of the Loudoun County Education Foundation. And Loudoun County touches Knox County, and we actually share a school district, we share a lot of the same traffic patterns, we share a lot of the same shopping and employees.
So, it is extremely important to get to know the Education Foundation in Loudoun County as it does also affect Knox County. So Michelle, thank you for your time. Thank you for being here today. Tell us a little bit about you, how you ended up in this specific area, and just take it from there.
Michelle: All right. Thank you for having me, Julia. As you said, I’m Michelle Lewis. I’m the Executive Director of the Loudoun County Education Foundation. And I have held this position for 11 years as of October the 18th.
So, I’m very proud to be in this position. I feel like I have the opportunity to do a lot of good work for Loudoun County, and as you say, as it affects Knoxville, which I’m actually from and live in Knoxville. So, you asked me how I ended up in Loudoun County and in this position. So, I have always kind of worked in nonprofit. My education, I have a degree from the University of Tennessee in public relations communications.
So, I worked at the Knoxville Museum of Art, I worked with Florence Crittenton, and then eventually I applied for an Executive Director position here in Loudoun County for the Education Foundation. I come from a family of educators, my father taught at Farragut High School where I graduated from, my aunt teaches at UT, my other aunt and uncle both teach in Maryville. So, as I said, it’s kind of the family profession. And so, when I saw the opportunity to support education in Loudoun County, it felt like a true calling. And so, I applied for the position and was the lucky candidate, and 11 years later, here I am [laugh].
Julia: Tell us how it started. Like, I’m sure the Loudoun Cou—it hasn’t always been here. Tell us how the Education Foundation started and kind of where it’s gone in the last 11 years. Like, what have you seen change in education as a whole, in the Foundation, in growth? Tell us about that.
Michelle: When I first started with the Foundation, I had a lot to learn, obviously. The Foundation had been going as an individual organization since 1998. It started as a program of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce began the Education Foundation as an outcry from the community for support from the chamber for education. And even though we became a standalone organization, that was mostly so that we could be a 501(c)(3), the chamber is not a 501(c)(3), so when people contribute to the Foundation, it is tax deductible.
But we’re still sort of the stepchild of the chamber, we rent office space with them, and rely a lot on them for office equipment and things like that help keeps our costs down so that we can contribute the most that we possibly can to education. When I started with the Foundation, it actually had sort of a backward business model. The schools were really kind of supporting the Foundation as opposed to the Foundation supporting the schools. The schools were funding programs that the Director of the Foundation was going into the schools and providing for the students. But right around 2010, 2011, which is pretty close to right before I started, the education model overall kind of turned to where it was much more testing and state standards and that sort of thing, so obviously, there’s nothing that I can provide to a student that would benefit pulling them out of a classroom with a degreed teacher who’s teaching to curriculum.
So, you know, we really took a long, hard look at that and decided that we needed to really adjust how we support the schools. Mostly what we do are classroom grants, and so I worked very hard to raise funds in the community so that teachers have the opportunity to write grants to me for classroom projects. So, we don’t support a budgetary needs, we don’t support bricks and mortar. So, we’re not here to provide the schools with money that they’re already receiving through, you know, county budgets and such, but this is to give teachers the opportunity to reach out and get funds for things that they don’t have access to through their normal budgets. And of course, teachers are the ones who know what’s going to grab a student and make them want to learn, and so when teachers have the opportunity to access funds like that then our kids benefit.
And when we have an educated workforce, an educated community, then everybody benefits. Our slogan, our motto is, “Education is the foundation of a successful community.” And we believe that very strongly. So, there’s been a lot of changes since I first started with the Foundation. We were probably contributing maybe $25,000 a year, and as I said, a lot of those funds were actually coming straight from the schools.
Since I started with the Foundation, we have contributed over $950,000 to education in Loudoun County. We do that through individual contributions and corporate and business contributions. We do not receive government funding really at all. So, the City of Lenoir contributes to us annually to assist with one of our fundraisers Run LoCo. But that is the only municipality that’s contributing to the Foundation. The city of Loudoun donate services and so we get support that way.
But overall, that’s how we raise our money. One of the things I think you asked me about earlier was the Imagination Library. And most people think that Dolly Parton pays for all of it. But Dolly is actually the initiator and a partner of the program. So, each county that has an Imagination Library has to have a host organization that accepts the fundraising responsibility for that program. In Loudoun County, we have 1950 kids enrolled right now [crosstalk 00:06:33]—
Julia: Wow.
Michelle: Yeah, we are—that’s 73% of our saturation of eligible kids in our county, and we’re one of the top counties in Tennessee. So, while Knox County may have more kids enrolled in their program, percentage-wise, you know, it might be less than what we have. But—and I’m not going to say that’s true with Knox County because it may not be, but we are one of the top counties in Tennessee. But we have the responsibility of raising $25 per child per year. So, that would be about 48, $49,000 a year for us to raise. But we do have the benefit of the Governor’s Early Literacy Program Foundation in Tennessee, and they help with 12.5 dollars for that. So, $12.50 from them, $12.50 for us. So, it’s a bottom line of about $25,000 for our budget annually to provide that benefit and resource to the kids in Loudoun County.
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Julia: Yeah, I had Imagination Library growing up, so I know that the effects of that are lifelong; they’re long-term effects. I mean, I remember growing up around kids who had no books and those were the only books I got. So, I mean, that was… it’s a staple. It’s a staple need, I think. For every county and especially counties, you know, butt up against larger counties like Knox County that gets most of the time, attention, and resources for the outlying rural communities to get that program. So, that’s fantastic.
What are your biggest fundraisers of the year? And what does that look like… like, basically your fiscal—you don’t get a break. You’re 365 fundraising. I can only imagine every single person that you talk to you, you’re at the grocery store and you overhear, like, 1031 Exchange, you’re like, “Donate.” So, it’s [laugh]—you know, what are your biggest fundraisers?
Michelle: I’m always looking for those opportunities. Covid has changed some of how we do things and what we’re doing. We used to do a Dine Out for Education, very similar to what Knoxville has where we ask restaurants to participate, and they contribute 10%. But of course, Covid just really hit restaurants hard and they have not recovered yet, service staff, food costs, all of those things. So, we’re trying to be sensitive to that and not hit restaurants when they’re down.
So, instead of doing a day where we ask for contributions from restaurants, we changed that to a pancake breakfast. Last year that was supported by Aubrey’s, who are a huge community neighbor, and always do so much and support us so very much. So, that was a little different than what we’ve done in the past. We have been working with Del Conca for several years. They were doing a tile sale for us, but as of last year, they determined that we would now make that an annual event. I’m very excited about that.
That sale will be the first Saturday in May and it’ll be annual, so if you’re doing a DIY project at home, don’t buy tile [laugh] at top prices; come to the Del Conca sale. It’s Italian tile, it’s made here in Loudoun County, it’s beautiful, and they’re selling it for 30 cents to 50 cents square foot during our sale. So, I’ve seen people pull in with, you know, trucks with trailers behind them and load the whole thing up and spend $300. So, you know, you could tile your entire front yard house and backyard for just a small amount of money and support education at the same time. So, that’s going to be a new standing event that I’m very excited about. I think we have a lot of potential. You know, as much tile as we can sell, we can make money off.
We have our Run LoCo marathon, that’s going to be December 3 this year. And that’s a marathon, half marathon, and 5k. And that’s been going very well. Covid obviously had a big hit on that in 2020; we had to cancel the event. So normally, it takes about three years to build an event like that. We’re in our fourth right now, but having had Covid kind of hid in the middle of it, we’re still working on that event to build it to its greatest potential.
But it brings people in from Knoxville, it brings people in—actually we have 14 states represented so far this year signed up to run. And yeah, so that really draws people into the entire area. So, when people are coming in from New York, Kansas, North Carolina, I mean all over the place, you know, they’re definitely going to go to Knoxville, they’re definitely going to go, you know, to different sites around and hopefully spend lots of money in Loudoun County, too [laugh].
Julia: Loudoun County is not an easy run. These roads are up and down like this. I mean, people—it’s a Boston qualifier, correct?
Michelle: Yes, it is. Yes it is.
Julia: That’s a big deal—
Michelle: Boston qualifier.
Julia: Because we have quite a few people that have relocated that are runners and a lot of leaders in the communities that are runners who are looking to qualify for Boston so they can get into the New York as well. So, that is an opportunity for people I don’t think they are aware.
Michelle: Mm-hm. Absolutely.
Julia: I know [crosstalk 00:11:59]—do you all still do the bus, the Fill the Bus?
Michelle: Well, we do something a little different this year because—and there again, when I started with the Foundation, they did Stuff the Bus. We parked the bus on tax-free weekend in Walmart parking lot, which always fell, like, first weekend in August, so of course, it was 190 degrees in the parking lot at Walmart, you know [laugh]? And I lost at least five pounds every day. But little by little, some of the other organizations in town started picking up efforts in stuffing backpacks. And so, what we found is that a lot of churches, the Good Samaritan center, were offering backpacks to kids.
So, most people were already contributing to those efforts. And we never want to duplicate and we also don’t want to take away from other nonprofits, so we decided that we would do it a little differently. One of the things that we were hearing is that with our Stuff the Bus, we were getting a lot of repetitive products. So, they were getting, like, at the time, like, a whole big bunch of hand sanitizer, and, you know, maybe not enough magic marker. So, we decided we’d do something a little different and raise money. So, we now have what’s called Banking on Education.
Julia: That’s right. Sorry, I’m going to interrupt you. I remember I’ve got—I was like, there’s another fundraiser that I really love and I forgot the name of it. Yes.
Michelle: Banking on Education. So, we have local banks, we usually have four banks that contribute a $500 prize eat, and then we sell 100 chances for each $500 prize, each chance is $20. So, you have a 1 in 100 chance of winning $500 for just a $20 contribution. And from that we have contributed a minimum of $4,000 a year to the school systems so that they have a resource. So, when those backpacks are depleted and those kids don’t have any supplies, what happens is teachers go to their own pockets and buy those things.
So, now they can go to the family resource center and say, “Hey, Susan Fox,” or hey, “Cindy [Perdie 00:13:54], I need, you know, this amount of money,” or, “I need this amount of you know, magic markers,” or composition books or whatever it is they need. So, we help support with classroom supplies that way. So, we have Banking on Education, Dine Out for Education, Run LoCo for Education, [laugh] we have DIY for Education. And then we also have our celebration of excellence in education. And that’s in March.
And that’s where we acknowledge 200 students from the Lenoir City and Loudoun County School Systems for being outstanding in their classes. Out of those 200, we choose 20 grade-level winners and then four finalists. And those four are submitted to the International Leadership Network and have an opportunity to compete nationally. And we have had several national winners that have won prizes from the International Network as well. We usually have about 1200 to 1500 people show up to that event to see those children come across this stage and win prizes.
We acknowledge 12 teachers, six from each school system, and then we also have our essay contest, which is sponsored by [Fullon 00:15:08] Insurance that we have three winners for three different grade levels. So, there’s nine winners total and we give out $1,050 in prizes for the essay contest winners. All total that night, we give out $3,050 in prize money, but that event we also have sponsors for, and the money that we raise through that event is what we fund our Great Idea Classroom Grants with. So, it all goes back around.
Julia: It’s all connected. I think [crosstalk 00:15:40]—
Michelle: It’s all connected
Julia: It’s all connected with Connect the Knox. It’s all connected. It’s an entire trickle-down system and every single person plays a part. Even during Covid, we didn’t shut our schools all the way down. I mean, we had the option, so there was still a need. And I think a lot of the financing from the school district itself was getting depleted and a lot of parents were getting depleted. And how did the Education Foundation stay solvent? And how did you reach those teachers and parents through those times?
Michelle: Hmmm. Well, that was—you know, it was a difficult time because there wasn’t a lot of movement in between. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to even do Young Achievers in person that year. It was the first time in over 28 years that that event hadn’t been held in person. We were still able to acknowledge our Young Achievers and make awards and mail those out and notify the school so they were able to publish those names and those sorts of things.
So, we were still fundraising, we were still able to award classroom grants, we still did Banking on Education, we still supplied classroom supplies funds, so we tried very hard to keep things going. As I said, we did have to cancel Run LoCo that year as well. So, it you know, those effects weren’t necessarily felt right then. We’re, you know, we had funds together and people met their commitments for that year, but it’s the years have come after that have gotten more difficult for fundraising. I’m sure every nonprofit you talk to will say the same thing.
It’s just a hard economic environment right now to raise money in. But, you know, it’s important. It’s an absolute important job to do and it makes a difference. You know, we’ve been able to contribute microscopes to Greenback, books to Fort Loudoun Middle. I mean, I could tell you just incredible stories about things that teachers have been able to do with grant funding and how it’s encouraged the kids.
But just even one small project. One teacher asked for money for an escape room and it’s based on mathematics. And so—
Julia: How fun.
Michelle: Yeah, exactly. And so, the kids know, as they’re learning each section, like, if they’re working on fractions, they know they’re going to have to use fractions to figure out the clues to win the escape room. They are motivated [laugh], you know? They are ready. They know this is going to help him win the game. And so, you know, those sorts of things, like I said, you know, teachers know, you know, what kids are going to want to do. So, being able to fund those sorts of things have just been really important. And to continue—
Julia: I love it.
Michelle: Yeah, yeah.
Julia: I love it. What was the event that you had that we came to where you celebrated the World’s Fair and had that bit—
Michelle: [laugh].
Julia: —[crosstalk 00:18:19]. Because I have to tell you right now, that was probably the most fun thing we did almost the whole year. We did, you know, a ton of not-for-profit events; your event was so much fun. What was that event?
Michelle: [laugh]. Okay, so our galas are a little different than most galas. Our galas, first of all, are donor appreciation. So, you received an invitation to that because you were a supporter of the Education Foundation. So, thank you very much.
And that evening, making sure that everybody has a good time is our way of saying thank you. So, our galas, right now for the past couple of years, we’ve been playing trivia during our galas, and we have some sort of theme. So, this past year was based on the world’s fair because it was the 40th anniversary of the World’s Fair. The year before we did the Love Boat Gala because we were—all had been in lockdown and everybody needed a cruise. The year before that, we did the Summer of Love Gala because it was the 50th year anniversary of Woodstock, Sesame Street, the landing on the moon. So, everybody came dressed as hippies [laugh]. And yeah, so we have so much fun. And we give away prizes. And I mean the prizes start off from anything from, like, bank swag, like, you know, earbuds that—
Julia: I won a whole tree.
Michelle: Yeah.
Julia: Like a whole, grown tree. And it takes 40 years to grow a tree. I’m like, I won a whole tree. That is such a perfect gift.
Michelle: Absolutely.
Julia: I loved it.
Michelle: Congratulations. I didn’t realize you got the tree.
Julia: I got the tree. I got the tree. I actually swapped it with the people in front of me. They really—whatever it was that I actually got, they got—I got $100 gift card to Aubrey’s and I’m going to tell you right now, every podcast we have recorded, I will ask somebody, “What’s your favorite restaurant?” And they said Aubrey’s.
Michelle: Aubrey’s. Yeah.
Julia: Every single time. It’s like, “Aubrey’s.” I’m going to have to get the guy on here. I’m going to have to get him on here as a podcast guest. But Aubrey’s showing up. But I got a $100 gift certificate to Aubrey’s and I giggled because I said, “You know, I eat at Aubrey’s so often anyway.” The people across me had just moved here and they had not eaten at Aubrey’s yet and I was like, “I will trade you for that tree.” And she was like, “You want a tree?” I was like, “I want the tree.”
Michelle: “I want the tree.” [laugh]. That’s awesome. And it’s not just the tree; it’s installation as well. So yeah.
Julia: It’s oxygenation, it’s beautification. But it’s events like that you have so much fun with. And you don’t even know who all the donors are until you get to that event at the end of the year. And then it’s an opportunity to meet all the businesses in, like, 13 counties that show up, and you’re like, I had no idea that you contribute to Loudoun County Education Foundation. That’s amazing. And it’s people you see all the time and you don’t think about it.
And so, you are connecting all of these people through education and for these kids. What do you see as the future? Because you know, Knox County itself is the hub, it’s our biggest city, and they are exploding growth-wise. Although in the last census—a decade—Loudoun County was the largest percentage growth. Knox County is still the largest growth County and now you’re pushing out of the city limits, butting up to Farragut, Loudoun County, Lenoir City shares some of a school district.
And we kind of have a little bit of the city itself into that. How do you anticipate managing, partnering with the Knox County School District—really more Farragut at this point—and moving forward to what they need and incorporating and keeping safe just Loudoun County Education Foundation?[ because keeping that separate is a big deal.
Michelle: Yeah. You know, I’m going to admit that those are probably larger questions than my arena. But what I’m very aware of, especially since I live in Knox County and I work in Loudoun County, and so I deal with, you know, daily traffic going both ways. And what I know is that many Loudoun Countians work in Knox County. Having an educated workforce in Loudoun County benefits the surrounding counties because they’re drawing from our labor force.
Many Knox Countians work in Loudoun also, but you know, little by little, you see that traffic pattern is starting to even up a little bit, but when I first started working at the Foundation, driving from West Town Mall to, you know, downtown City of Loudoun took me all of 20 minutes. Now, it’s taking me an hour to get from Loudoun to Knoxville, and that’s because there’s so much traffic, you know? And when I first started, I would just be whizzing by and I’d look over in that lane going the other way and they were at a dead [still 00:23:05]. So, you know, it’s starting to even out as far as the work exchange, but there’s been so many people from Loudoun County that have supported Knoxville through their work efforts, through their labor for so very many years, and vice versa. So, when we have Knox County people working in Loudoun County, they’re getting gas here, they’re going to lunch here, you know, they’re still spending their dollars here. Same thing with us, you know?
But as long as we have that educated workforce, then we still have that foundation for Loudoun to continue to grow, you know, and to protect the assets that we have here and keep those two counties, you know, separate. Because, you know, if Loudoun can’t, you know, sustain itself, then it’s going to become Knox County [laugh].
Julia: Right. Right.
Michelle: So ultimately, you know, keeping—making sure that we maintain a good education system—and we have an amazing education system here in Loudoun County. We have reward schools, you know, our schools are constantly being acknowledged. Our teachers, we have one of the I think the Teacher of the Year came from Loudoun County this year for, you know, statewide recognition. So, you know, we have quality programs, we have excellent schools here. So, you know, as people move into this area and look at schools, as people move into the area and go, “Do I want to live in Knox County and go to Knox County Schools,” where you have schools that are you know, busting at the seams, or do I want to go to Loudoun County where I have a smaller, you know, classroom size, you know, more teacher attention, you know, that sort of thing. It’s just all important, all of it.
Julia: Well, it is all connected, obviously. Everything that impacts Knox County impacts Loudoun County and vice versa. And you made a very good point there, something that I don’t think a lot of people inside of their own individual counties—and that counts are Blount County, Union County, Anderson County, Monroe County, they don’t think, “Hey, my educated workforce contributes to the success of the larger cities,” and I think that is something that you brought up and I think that is a fantastic point which is even more relevant to support the Education Foundation. Michelle, just a couple of minutes left. Where can people find you? Where can they help you? Where can they contribute?
Michelle: So, my website is lceftn.org. Loudoun County Education Foundation Tennessee dot org. So, you can go there you can read all about the Education Foundation. We didn’t even talk about the leadership program which comes under our umbrella as well. You can find a contribute button there, you can contribute to scholarships, classroom grants, Imagination Library, all of the things that we fund in this community. You know, it really does take a village, you know, to raise these kids, and we’re trying to do our part, so any help that we get is greatly appreciated.
Julia: I love that and I’d love contributing to the Education Foundation. It’s very near and dear to my heart and I appreciate all that you do. I have just a couple of we call them the fire-round questions—
Michelle: [laugh].
Julia: —of Knox County area.
Michelle: Okay, I’m ready [laugh].
Julia: So, favorite restaurant?
Michelle: My favorite restaurant? Well, Aubrey’s, of course. I love the Sitar. The—oh, what’s the name of it? The sports bistro. That’s one of my new favorites. It’s right off of the interstate on Kingston Pike, near where the Highway Patrol office used to be.
Julia: Oh Walk-On’s.
Michelle: Yes, yes. Walk-On’s Sports Bistro.
Julia: Yes, that’s [crosstalk 00:26:21]
Michelle: Yes. Yes.
Julia: Very good. I like Walk—I like Sitar as well. Have you been to that one in Turkey Creek that has the buffet?
Michelle: Yes [laugh].
Julia: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh, I can eat—I could live there.
Michelle: Yes.
Julia: I could live there and—
Michelle: Bombay.
Julia: —eat naan bread all day long. All day long.
Michelle: Oh, their food is delicious.
Julia: All right. Favorite, like, bar slash brewery slash pub, like, favorite just kind of place to hang?
Michelle: Oh, Julia, I’m old now. I don’t hang at breweries or bars [laugh].
Julia: Every restaurant is a bar [laugh].
Michelle: The Sitar has a really good Taj Mahal. It’s a really big beer.
Julia: I forgot about that. It’s like a 40-ounce—
Michelle: It’s a 40—yes.
Julia: —[crosstalk 00:27:04] glass shape. Just so classy [crosstalk 00:27:06].
Michelle: They’re delicious. Yeah. And they’re again um, I guess last time I actually sat at a bar, it was at Walk-On’s. So, I’m going to say Walk-On’s [laugh].
Julia: Walk-On’s is really entertaining. And I’ve been there a few times now and I’m very impressed with their food selection and the availability of sports. Ever—just sports everywhere.
Michelle: Everywhere [laugh].
Julia: It’s fantastic. It is a very good—it is a good space. All right. Let’s see… favorite dessert? Like, in which restaurant has your favorite dessert?
Michelle: Mmm, maybe the Cheesecake Factory. I just had their chocolate cherry cheesecake just the other night [laugh]. It’s very good.
Julia: Delicious. Are there any businesses that we forgot to mention and thank? Just, I’d love to give that opportunity for you.
Michelle: Well, Tate & Lyle, now known as Primient, it is a huge supporter of the Foundation. They’ve been in this community for years and they have contributed, on their own, over $100,000 to the Education Foundation. They designate $15,000 of that every year as a classroom grant, so—for math and science. So, those are the skills that they need in their plant and they’re putting their money where their mouth is. Those are the skills that they’re growing in our education system.
Julia: So, I sat next to them at the event.
Michelle: Oh, okay.
Julia: And I asked because the gentleman—because I introduced myself to everybody at the table, I said, “Oh okay, who are you here with?” And he said, “Primient.” And I was like, “Uh-huh.” I was just like, [nods head]. I didn’t know they had changed their name at that time, so I was like, this must be really new—I was like, “Uh-huh.”
I had no idea, and then ten minutes later, he was like, “Tate & Lyle.” I was like, “Oh, ah-ha.” So, that is so absolutely fantastic. Last question. If people were to visit to you, out of state, out of the country, or whatever, where’s your special spot that you take people to do anything at all that you think nobody else might know about that people visiting Would love to know?
Michelle: Okay, so my in-laws were just in town from England. And so, I had Monday with them that I got to take them to the things that I wanted to do. And the first thing I did was taken to Meadowview Greenhouse and Garden Center.
Julia: Love it.
Michelle: They absolutely loved it.
Julia: Love it.
Michelle: And then on the way back, we went to the Painted Tree, which is—
Julia: Oh yeah.
Michelle: Yeah. Oh man, it is so cool.
Julia: [unintelligible 00:29:17].
Michelle: And yeah. And they were just, I mean, they could spend days and days. And my mother-in-law was like, “Oh darling, why didn’t you bring me here first?” [laugh]. And so, that’s my mother-in-law for you. And then when my husband gets home, he immediately takes him to Newfound Gap and then over the mountain into North Carolina to see the elk. So, he loves the elk.
Julia: Thank you for sharing those top secrets. I’m going to start recom—I’ll make sure to put it in your bio so the businesses get a shout-out. Everybody, this is Connect the Knox. I’m your hostess with the mostest, Julia Hurley, connecting Knoxville with the nation. Our guest today was Loudoun County Education Foundation Executive Director—that is a lot—Michelle Lewis. Michelle, again, thank you so much for taking time out for us today.
Michelle: Thank you.
Julia: lceftn.org. Thank you so much.
Julia: Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Connect the Knox. I’m your hostess with the mostest, Julia Hurley connecting the nation with Knoxville, Tennessee. Today’s guest is an all-time personal favorite person of mine, a very close friend and supporter for many years, Michelle Lewis. And Michelle is the Director of the Loudoun County Education Foundation. And Loudoun County touches Knox County, and we actually share a school district, we share a lot of the same traffic patterns, we share a lot of the same shopping and employees.
So, it is extremely important to get to know the Education Foundation in Loudoun County as it does also affect Knox County. So Michelle, thank you for your time. Thank you for being here today. Tell us a little bit about you, how you ended up in this specific area, and just take it from there.
Michelle: All right. Thank you for having me, Julia. As you said, I’m Michelle Lewis. I’m the Executive Director of the Loudoun County Education Foundation. And I have held this position for 11 years as of October the 18th.
So, I’m very proud to be in this position. I feel like I have the opportunity to do a lot of good work for Loudoun County, and as you say, as it affects Knoxville, which I’m actually from and live in Knoxville. So, you asked me how I ended up in Loudoun County and in this position. So, I have always kind of worked in nonprofit. My education, I have a degree from the University of Tennessee in public relations communications.
So, I worked at the Knoxville Museum of Art, I worked with Florence Crittenton, and then eventually I applied for an Executive Director position here in Loudoun County for the Education Foundation. I come from a family of educators, my father taught at Farragut High School where I graduated from, my aunt teaches at UT, my other aunt and uncle both teach in Maryville. So, as I said, it’s kind of the family profession. And so, when I saw the opportunity to support education in Loudoun County, it felt like a true calling. And so, I applied for the position and was the lucky candidate, and 11 years later, here I am [laugh].
Julia: Tell us how it started. Like, I’m sure the Loudoun Cou—it hasn’t always been here. Tell us how the Education Foundation started and kind of where it’s gone in the last 11 years. Like, what have you seen change in education as a whole, in the Foundation, in growth? Tell us about that.
Michelle: When I first started with the Foundation, I had a lot to learn, obviously. The Foundation had been going as an individual organization since 1998. It started as a program of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce began the Education Foundation as an outcry from the community for support from the chamber for education. And even though we became a standalone organization, that was mostly so that we could be a 501(c)(3), the chamber is not a 501(c)(3), so when people contribute to the Foundation, it is tax deductible.
But we’re still sort of the stepchild of the chamber, we rent office space with them, and rely a lot on them for office equipment and things like that help keeps our costs down so that we can contribute the most that we possibly can to education. When I started with the Foundation, it actually had sort of a backward business model. The schools were really kind of supporting the Foundation as opposed to the Foundation supporting the schools. The schools were funding programs that the Director of the Foundation was going into the schools and providing for the students. But right around 2010, 2011, which is pretty close to right before I started, the education model overall kind of turned to where it was much more testing and state standards and that sort of thing, so obviously, there’s nothing that I can provide to a student that would benefit pulling them out of a classroom with a degreed teacher who’s teaching to curriculum.
So, you know, we really took a long, hard look at that and decided that we needed to really adjust how we support the schools. Mostly what we do are classroom grants, and so I worked very hard to raise funds in the community so that teachers have the opportunity to write grants to me for classroom projects. So, we don’t support a budgetary needs, we don’t support bricks and mortar. So, we’re not here to provide the schools with money that they’re already receiving through, you know, county budgets and such, but this is to give teachers the opportunity to reach out and get funds for things that they don’t have access to through their normal budgets. And of course, teachers are the ones who know what’s going to grab a student and make them want to learn, and so when teachers have the opportunity to access funds like that then our kids benefit.
And when we have an educated workforce, an educated community, then everybody benefits. Our slogan, our motto is, “Education is the foundation of a successful community.” And we believe that very strongly. So, there’s been a lot of changes since I first started with the Foundation. We were probably contributing maybe $25,000 a year, and as I said, a lot of those funds were actually coming straight from the schools.
Since I started with the Foundation, we have contributed over $950,000 to education in Loudoun County. We do that through individual contributions and corporate and business contributions. We do not receive government funding really at all. So, the City of Lenoir contributes to us annually to assist with one of our fundraisers Run LoCo. But that is the only municipality that’s contributing to the Foundation. The city of Loudoun donate services and so we get support that way.
But overall, that’s how we raise our money. One of the things I think you asked me about earlier was the Imagination Library. And most people think that Dolly Parton pays for all of it. But Dolly is actually the initiator and a partner of the program. So, each county that has an Imagination Library has to have a host organization that accepts the fundraising responsibility for that program. In Loudoun County, we have 1950 kids enrolled right now [crosstalk 00:06:33]—
Julia: Wow.
Michelle: Yeah, we are—that’s 73% of our saturation of eligible kids in our county, and we’re one of the top counties in Tennessee. So, while Knox County may have more kids enrolled in their program, percentage-wise, you know, it might be less than what we have. But—and I’m not going to say that’s true with Knox County because it may not be, but we are one of the top counties in Tennessee. But we have the responsibility of raising $25 per child per year. So, that would be about 48, $49,000 a year for us to raise. But we do have the benefit of the Governor’s Early Literacy Program Foundation in Tennessee, and they help with 12.5 dollars for that. So, $12.50 from them, $12.50 for us. So, it’s a bottom line of about $25,000 for our budget annually to provide that benefit and resource to the kids in Loudoun County.
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Julia: Yeah, I had Imagination Library growing up, so I know that the effects of that are lifelong; they’re long-term effects. I mean, I remember growing up around kids who had no books and those were the only books I got. So, I mean, that was… it’s a staple. It’s a staple need, I think. For every county and especially counties, you know, butt up against larger counties like Knox County that gets most of the time, attention, and resources for the outlying rural communities to get that program. So, that’s fantastic.
What are your biggest fundraisers of the year? And what does that look like… like, basically your fiscal—you don’t get a break. You’re 365 fundraising. I can only imagine every single person that you talk to you, you’re at the grocery store and you overhear, like, 1031 Exchange, you’re like, “Donate.” So, it’s [laugh]—you know, what are your biggest fundraisers?
Michelle: I’m always looking for those opportunities. Covid has changed some of how we do things and what we’re doing. We used to do a Dine Out for Education, very similar to what Knoxville has where we ask restaurants to participate, and they contribute 10%. But of course, Covid just really hit restaurants hard and they have not recovered yet, service staff, food costs, all of those things. So, we’re trying to be sensitive to that and not hit restaurants when they’re down.
So, instead of doing a day where we ask for contributions from restaurants, we changed that to a pancake breakfast. Last year that was supported by Aubrey’s, who are a huge community neighbor, and always do so much and support us so very much. So, that was a little different than what we’ve done in the past. We have been working with Del Conca for several years. They were doing a tile sale for us, but as of last year, they determined that we would now make that an annual event. I’m very excited about that.
That sale will be the first Saturday in May and it’ll be annual, so if you’re doing a DIY project at home, don’t buy tile [laugh] at top prices; come to the Del Conca sale. It’s Italian tile, it’s made here in Loudoun County, it’s beautiful, and they’re selling it for 30 cents to 50 cents square foot during our sale. So, I’ve seen people pull in with, you know, trucks with trailers behind them and load the whole thing up and spend $300. So, you know, you could tile your entire front yard house and backyard for just a small amount of money and support education at the same time. So, that’s going to be a new standing event that I’m very excited about. I think we have a lot of potential. You know, as much tile as we can sell, we can make money off.
We have our Run LoCo marathon, that’s going to be December 3 this year. And that’s a marathon, half marathon, and 5k. And that’s been going very well. Covid obviously had a big hit on that in 2020; we had to cancel the event. So normally, it takes about three years to build an event like that. We’re in our fourth right now, but having had Covid kind of hid in the middle of it, we’re still working on that event to build it to its greatest potential.
But it brings people in from Knoxville, it brings people in—actually we have 14 states represented so far this year signed up to run. And yeah, so that really draws people into the entire area. So, when people are coming in from New York, Kansas, North Carolina, I mean all over the place, you know, they’re definitely going to go to Knoxville, they’re definitely going to go, you know, to different sites around and hopefully spend lots of money in Loudoun County, too [laugh].
Julia: Loudoun County is not an easy run. These roads are up and down like this. I mean, people—it’s a Boston qualifier, correct?
Michelle: Yes, it is. Yes it is.
Julia: That’s a big deal—
Michelle: Boston qualifier.
Julia: Because we have quite a few people that have relocated that are runners and a lot of leaders in the communities that are runners who are looking to qualify for Boston so they can get into the New York as well. So, that is an opportunity for people I don’t think they are aware.
Michelle: Mm-hm. Absolutely.
Julia: I know you do—do you all still do the bus, the Fill the Bus?
Michelle: Well, we do something a little different this year because—and there again, when I started with the Foundation, they did Stuff the Bus. We parked the bus on tax-free weekend in Walmart parking lot, which always fell, like, first weekend in August, so of course, it was 190 degrees in the parking lot at Walmart, you know [laugh]? And I lost at least five pounds every day. But little by little, some of the other organizations in town started picking up efforts in stuffing backpacks. And so, what we found is that a lot of churches, the Good Samaritan center, were offering backpacks to kids.
So, most people were already contributing to those efforts. And we never want to duplicate and we also don’t want to take away from other nonprofits, so we decided that we would do it a little differently. One of the things that we were hearing is that with our Stuff the Bus, we were getting a lot of repetitive products. So, they were getting, like, at the time, like, a whole big bunch of hand sanitizer, and, you know, maybe not enough magic marker. So, we decided we’d do something a little different and raise money. So, we now have what’s called Banking on Education.
Julia: That’s right. Sorry, I’m going to interrupt you. I remember I’ve got—I was like, there’s another fundraiser that I really love and I forgot the name of it. Yes.
Michelle: Banking on Education. So, we have local banks, we usually have four banks that contribute a $500 prize eat, and then we sell 100 chances for each $500 prize, each chance is $20. So, you have a 1 in 100 chance of winning $500 for just a $20 contribution. And from that we have contributed a minimum of $4,000 a year to the school systems so that they have a resource. So, when those backpacks are depleted and those kids don’t have any supplies, what happens is teachers go to their own pockets and buy those things.
So, now they can go to the family resource center and say, “Hey, Susan Fox,” or hey, “Cindy [Perdie 00:13:54], I need, you know, this amount of money,” or, “I need this amount of you know, magic markers,” or composition books or whatever it is they need. So, we help support with classroom supplies that way. So, we have Banking on Education, Dine Out for Education, Run LoCo for Education, [laugh] we have DIY for Education. And then we also have our celebration of excellence in education. And that’s in March.
And that’s where we acknowledge 200 students from the Lenoir City and Loudoun County School Systems for being outstanding in their classes. Out of those 200, we choose 20 grade-level winners and then four finalists. And those four are submitted to the International Leadership Network and have an opportunity to compete nationally. And we have had several national winners that have won prizes from the International Network as well. We usually have about 1200 to 1500 people show up to that event to see those children come across this stage and win prizes.
We acknowledge 12 teachers, six from each school system, and then we also have our essay contest, which is sponsored by [Fullon 00:15:08] Insurance that we have three winners for three different grade levels. So, there’s nine winners total and we give out $1,050 in prizes for the essay contest winners. All total that night, we give out $3,050 in prize money, but that event we also have sponsors for, and the money that we raise through that event is what we fund our Great Idea Classroom Grants with. So, it all goes back around.
Julia: It’s all connected. I think [crosstalk 00:15:40]—
Michelle: It’s all connected
Julia: It’s all connected with Connect the Knox. It’s all connected. It’s an entire trickle-down system and every single person plays a part. Even during Covid, we didn’t shut our schools all the way down. I mean, we had the option, so there was still a need. And I think a lot of the financing from the school district itself was getting depleted and a lot of parents were getting depleted. And how did the Education Foundation stay solvent? And how did you reach those teachers and parents through those times?
Michelle: Hmmm. Well, that was—you know, it was a difficult time because there wasn’t a lot of movement in between. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to even do Young Achievers in person that year. It was the first time in over 28 years that that event hadn’t been held in person. We were still able to acknowledge our Young Achievers and make awards and mail those out and notify the school so they were able to publish those names and those sorts of things.
So, we were still fundraising, we were still able to award classroom grants, we still did Banking on Education, we still supplied classroom supplies funds, so we tried very hard to keep things going. As I said, we did have to cancel Run LoCo that year as well. So, it you know, those effects weren’t necessarily felt right then. We’re, you know, we had funds together and people met their commitments for that year, but it’s the years have come after that have gotten more difficult for fundraising. I’m sure every nonprofit you talk to will say the same thing.
It’s just a hard economic environment right now to raise money in. But, you know, it’s important. It’s an absolute important job to do and it makes a difference. You know, we’ve been able to contribute microscopes to Greenback, books to Fort Loudoun Middle. I mean, I could tell you just incredible stories about things that teachers have been able to do with grant funding and how it’s encouraged the kids.
But just even one small project. One teacher asked for money for an escape room and it’s based on mathematics. And so—
Julia: How fun.
Michelle: Yeah, exactly. And so, the kids know, as they’re learning each section, like, if they’re working on fractions, they know they’re going to have to use fractions to figure out the clues to win the escape room. They are motivated [laugh], you know? They are ready. They know this is going to help him win the game. And so, you know, those sorts of things, like I said, you know, teachers know, you know, what kids are going to want to do. So, being able to fund those sorts of things have just been really important. And to continue—
Julia: I love it.
Michelle: Yeah, yeah.
Julia: I love it. What was the event that you had that we came to where you celebrated the World’s Fair and had that bit—
Michelle: [laugh].
Julia: —[crosstalk 00:18:19]. Because I have to tell you right now, that was probably the most fun thing we did almost the whole year. We did, you know, a ton of not-for-profit events; your event was so much fun. What was that event?
Michelle: [laugh]. Okay, so our galas are a little different than most galas. Our galas, first of all, are donor appreciation. So, you received an invitation to that because you were a supporter of the Education Foundation. So, thank you very much.
And that evening, making sure that everybody has a good time is our way of saying thank you. So, our galas, right now for the past couple of years, we’ve been playing trivia during our galas, and we have some sort of theme. So, this past year was based on the world’s fair because it was the 40th anniversary of the World’s Fair. The year before we did the Love Boat Gala because we were—all had been in lockdown and everybody needed a cruise. The year before that, we did the Summer of Love Gala because it was the 50th year anniversary of Woodstock, Sesame Street, the landing on the moon. So, everybody came dressed as hippies [laugh]. And yeah, so we have so much fun. And we give away prizes. And I mean the prizes start off from anything from, like, bank swag, like, you know, earbuds that—
Julia: I won a whole tree.
Michelle: Yeah.
Julia: Like a whole, grown tree. And it takes 40 years to grow a tree. I’m like, I won a whole tree. That is such a perfect gift.
Michelle: Absolutely.
Julia: I loved it.
Michelle: Congratulations. I didn’t realize you got the tree.
Julia: I got the tree. I got the tree. I actually swapped it with the people in front of me. They really—whatever it was that I actually got, they got—I got $100 gift card to Aubrey’s and I’m going to tell you right now, every podcast we have recorded, I will ask somebody, “What’s your favorite restaurant?” And they said Aubrey’s.
Michelle: Aubrey’s. Yeah.
Julia: Every single time. It’s like, “Aubrey’s.” I’m going to have to get the guy on here. I’m going to have to get him on here as a podcast guest. But Aubrey’s showing up. But I got a $100 gift certificate to Aubrey’s and I giggled because I said, “You know, I eat at Aubrey’s so often anyway.” The people across me had just moved here and they had not eaten at Aubrey’s yet and I was like, “I will trade you for that tree.” And she was like, “You want a tree?” I was like, “I want the tree.”
Michelle: “I want the tree.” [laugh]. That’s awesome. And it’s not just the tree; it’s installation as well. So yeah.
Julia: It’s oxygenation, it’s beautification. But it’s events like that you have so much fun with. And you don’t even know who all the donors are until you get to that event at the end of the year. And then it’s an opportunity to meet all the businesses in, like, 13 counties that show up, and you’re like, I had no idea that you contribute to Loudoun County Education Foundation. That’s amazing. And it’s people you see all the time and you don’t think about it.
And so, you are connecting all of these people through education and for these kids. What do you see as the future? Because you know, Knox County itself is the hub, it’s our biggest city, and they are exploding growth-wise. Although in the last census—a decade—Loudoun County was the largest percentage growth. Knox County is still the largest growth County and now you’re pushing out of the city limits, butting up to Farragut, Loudoun County, Lenoir City shares some of a school district.
And we kind of have a little bit of the city itself into that. How do you anticipate managing, partnering with the Knox County School District—really more Farragut at this point—and moving forward to what they need and incorporating and keeping safe just Loudoun County Education Foundation?[ because keeping that separate is a big deal.
Michelle: Yeah. You know, I’m going to admit that those are probably larger questions than my arena. But what I’m very aware of, especially since I live in Knox County and I work in Loudoun County, and so I deal with, you know, daily traffic going both ways. And what I know is that many Loudoun Countians work in Knox County. Having an educated workforce in Loudoun County benefits the surrounding counties because they’re drawing from our labor force.
Many Knox Countians work in Loudoun also, but you know, little by little, you see that traffic pattern is starting to even up a little bit, but when I first started working at the Foundation, driving from West Town Mall to, you know, downtown City of Loudoun took me all of 20 minutes. Now, it’s taking me an hour to get from Loudoun to Knoxville, and that’s because there’s so much traffic, you know? And when I first started, I would just be whizzing by and I’d look over in that lane going the other way and they were at a dead [still 00:23:05]. So, you know, it’s starting to even out as far as the work exchange, but there’s been so many people from Loudoun County that have supported Knoxville through their work efforts, through their labor for so very many years, and vice versa. So, when we have Knox County people working in Loudoun County, they’re getting gas here, they’re going to lunch here, you know, they’re still spending their dollars here. Same thing with us, you know?
But as long as we have that educated workforce, then we still have that foundation for Loudoun to continue to grow, you know, and to protect the assets that we have here and keep those two counties, you know, separate. Because, you know, if Loudoun can’t, you know, sustain itself, then it’s going to become Knox County [laugh].
Julia: Right. Right.
Michelle: So ultimately, you know, keeping—making sure that we maintain a good education system—and we have an amazing education system here in Loudoun County. We have reward schools, you know, our schools are constantly being acknowledged. Our teachers, we have one of the I think the Teacher of the Year came from Loudoun County this year for, you know, statewide recognition. So, you know, we have quality programs, we have excellent schools here. So, you know, as people move into this area and look at schools, as people move into the area and go, “Do I want to live in Knox County and go to Knox County Schools,” where you have schools that are you know, busting at the seams, or do I want to go to Loudoun County where I have a smaller, you know, classroom size, you know, more teacher attention, you know, that sort of thing. It’s just all important, all of it.
Julia: Well, it is all connected, obviously. Everything that impacts Knox County impacts Loudoun County and vice versa. And you made a very good point there, something that I don’t think a lot of people inside of their own individual counties—and that counts are Blount County, Union County, Anderson County, Monroe County, they don’t think, “Hey, my educated workforce contributes to the success of the larger cities,” and I think that is something that you brought up and I think that is a fantastic point which is even more relevant to support the Education Foundation. Michelle, just a couple of minutes left. Where can people find you? Where can they help you? Where can they contribute?
Michelle: So, my website is lceftn.org. Loudoun County Education Foundation Tennessee dot org. So, you can go there you can read all about the Education Foundation. We didn’t even talk about the leadership program which comes under our umbrella as well. You can find a contribute button there, you can contribute to scholarships, classroom grants, Imagination Library, all of the things that we fund in this community. You know, it really does take a village, you know, to raise these kids, and we’re trying to do our part, so any help that we get is greatly appreciated.
Julia: I love that and I’d love contributing to the Education Foundation. It’s very near and dear to my heart and I appreciate all that you do. I have just a couple of we call them the fire-round questions—
Michelle: [laugh].
Julia: —of Knox County area.
Michelle: Okay, I’m ready [laugh].
Julia: So, favorite restaurant?
Michelle: My favorite restaurant? Well, Aubrey’s, of course. I love the Sitar. The—oh, what’s the name of it? The sports bistro. That’s one of my new favorites. It’s right off of the interstate on Kingston Pike, near where the Highway Patrol office used to be.
Julia: Oh Walk-On’s.
Michelle: Yes, yes. Walk-On’s Sports Bistro.
Julia: Yes, that’s [crosstalk 00:26:21]
Michelle: Yes. Yes.
Julia: Very good. I like Walk—I like Sitar as well. Have you been to that one in Turkey Creek that has the buffet?
Michelle: Yes [laugh].
Julia: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh, I can eat—I could live there.
Michelle: Yes.
Julia: I could live there and—
Michelle: Bombay.
Julia: —eat naan bread all day long. All day long.
Michelle: Oh, their food is delicious.
Julia: All right. Favorite, like, bar slash brewery slash pub, like, favorite just kind of place to hang?
Michelle: Oh, Julia, I’m old now. I don’t hang at breweries or bars [laugh].
Julia: Every restaurant is a bar [laugh].
Michelle: The Sitar has a really good Taj Mahal. It’s a really big beer.
Julia: I forgot about that. It’s like a 40-ounce—
Michelle: It’s a 40—yes.
Julia: —[crosstalk 00:27:04] glass shape. Just so classy [crosstalk 00:27:06].
Michelle: They’re delicious. Yeah. And they’re again um, I guess last time I actually sat at a bar, it was at Walk-On’s. So, I’m going to say Walk-On’s [laugh].
Julia: Walk-On’s is really entertaining. And I’ve been there a few times now and I’m very impressed with their food selection and the availability of sports. Ever—just sports everywhere.
Michelle: Everywhere [laugh].
Julia: It’s fantastic. It is a very good—it is a good space. All right. Let’s see… favorite dessert? Like, in which restaurant has your favorite dessert?
Michelle: Mmm, maybe the Cheesecake Factory. I just had their chocolate cherry cheesecake just the other night [laugh]. It’s very good.
Julia: Delicious. Are there any businesses that we forgot to mention and thank? Just, I’d love to give that opportunity for you.
Michelle: Well, Tate & Lyle, now known as Primient, it is a huge supporter of the Foundation. They’ve been in this community for years and they have contributed, on their own, over $100,000 to the Education Foundation. They designate $15,000 of that every year as a classroom grant, so—for math and science. So, those are the skills that they need in their plant and they’re putting their money where their mouth is. Those are the skills that they’re growing in our education system.
Julia: So, I sat next to them at the event.
Michelle: Oh, okay.
Julia: And I asked because the gentleman—because I introduced myself to everybody at the table, I said, “Oh okay, who are you here with?” And he said, “Primient.” And I was like, “Uh-huh.” I was just like, [nods head]. I didn’t know they had changed their name at that time, so I was like, this must be really new—I was like, “Uh-huh.”
I had no idea, and then ten minutes later, he was like, “Tate & Lyle.” I was like, “Oh, ah-ha.” So, that is so absolutely fantastic. Last question. If people were to visit to you, out of state, out of the country, or whatever, where’s your special spot that you take people to do anything at all that you think nobody else might know about that people visiting Would love to know?
Michelle: Okay, so my in-laws were just in town from England. And so, I had Monday with them that I got to take them to the things that I wanted to do. And the first thing I did was taken to Meadowview Greenhouse and Garden Center.
Julia: Love it.
Michelle: They absolutely loved it.
Julia: Love it.
Michelle: And then on the way back, we went to the Painted Tree, which is—
Julia: Oh yeah.
Michelle: Yeah. Oh man, it is so cool.
Julia: [unintelligible 00:29:17].
Michelle: And yeah. And they were just, I mean, they could spend days and days. And my mother-in-law was like, “Oh darling, why didn’t you bring me here first?” [laugh]. And so, that’s my mother-in-law for you. And then when my husband gets home, he immediately takes him to Newfound Gap and then over the mountain into North Carolina to see the elk. So, he loves the elk.
Julia: Thank you for sharing those top secrets. I’m going to start recom—I’ll make sure to put it in your bio so the businesses get a shout-out. Everybody, this is Connect the Knox. I’m your hostess with the mostest, Julia Hurley, connecting Knoxville with the nation. Our guest today was Loudoun County Education Foundation Executive Director—that is a lot—Michelle Lewis. Michelle, again, thank you so much for taking time out for us today.
Michelle: Thank you.
Julia: lceftn.org. Thank you so much.
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