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We'll See you Saturday at Henry Horton State Park!
 We can't wait to see everyone at SOCM's Annual Membership Meeting and 40th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, October 20th at Henry Horton State Park! We're firming up the details for a productive annual meeting in the morning and an exciting afternoon celebration filled with music, food, storytelling, and inspiration. Everyone is welcome!
In the morning, SOCM members will conduct business related to the Annual Membership Meeting including electing Board members and setting priorities for next year. Registration starts at 9:30 and the meeting starts at 10 a.m.
At 1 p.m., let the party begin! Some highlights include: a buffet lunch, live music, keynote address by Sandra Goss, Executive Director of Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, a dramatic presentation of social justice in America, a silent auction, a tug-of-war competition, an interactive timeline of SOCM history, and storytelling!
For Saturday's full schedule or to register, please click here. If you haven't registered yet, there is still time! The Annual Membership Meeting and Celebration are free to attend, but we do ask that you register.
If you have any questions or would like to try and arrange a carpool, please contact Kathy Nix at kathy@socm.org or Linda Cowan at linda@socm.org. Both can be reached at 865-249-7488.
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Communities Gather to Build Racial Unity
This past month, SOCM members across the state participated in events aimed to promote diversity and racial healing.
On Friday, September 21st, the Bedford County Chapter hosted its annual Community Unity Night in Shelbyville. Live music and food preceded thoughtful discussions on race and environmental justice. Photos are available on flickr.
In Crossville, the Cumberland County Chapter teamed up with CPAS (Crossville for Solidarity Action) for a Latin Heritage Celebration on Saturday, September 22nd. The afternoon celebration featured Aztec dancers, sampling of real Caribbean and Mexican food, and live music and dancing.
On Saturday, September 29th, the Maury County Chapter held its first Community Unity Day at RiverWalk Park in Columbia. Maury County members were inspired by Jackson's Save our Community Day and invited several local organizations including the Maury County NAACP and MLK-CCC to distribute information to attendees. Photos are available on flickr.
The Jackson Chapter held its annual Save Our Community Day on Saturday, October 6th. Despite the unseasonably cold weather, Jackson residents came together to celebrate their community and begin to address its challenges.
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SOCM Challenges New Permit for Zeb Mountain
Last week, SOCM, The Sierra Club, and the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) challenged a pollution discharge permit that allows continued operations at the Zeb Mountain coal mine in Campbell and Scott Counties. This is the second time we have challenged a permit for Zeb. This new permit allows greater pollution discharges and less monitoring than is required under the Clean Water Act and our communities deserve better.
SOCM has been fighting the destructive coal mining happening at Zeb Mountain for years, as it is the largest mountaintop removal site in Tennessee. The company that owns the mine, National Coal, LLC, has been slammed with multiple notices of violations in recent years for exceeding permit limits and discharging pollutants outside the scope of the permit.
For the full press release about the permit challenge, click here. |
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Walk for Justice with Us!
On Saturday, October 27th, SOCM members from across Tennessee will be walking for justice at Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville. We will be meeting at Shelter #2 at 10 a.m. to register. The walk will start at 10:30 a.m. SOCM's Walk for Justice is an annual event bringing people together from all over Tennessee who care about: - Improving the quality of life in our communities
- Building a green-collar economy that attracts high-paying , sustainable, good industry jobs.
- Creating racist-free communities where all people are empowered and treated fairly.
- Protecting our land, water quality, and environment.
- Preserving our rich heritage for generations to come.
- Defending our rights as local residents to have a say in what goes on in our communities.
For more information or to download a pledge form, click here. You can also contact Kathy Nix or Linda Cowan at the Knoxville office, 865-249-7488. |
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Share Your Energy Story: Jean Cheely
Cumberland County SOCM member Jean Cheely is excited to share her electric bill with us. Your eyes are not deceiving you; her bill is negative. That's right - her distributor, Volunteer Energy Cooperative, owed her money!
Jean has solar panels on her home and has some advice for others interested in solar power. She says if she were to do it again, she would have chosen to connect her panels in series to one inverter rather than having each connected to a microinverter. Inverters are used to convert the power generated by the panels into a frequency safe to plug into the electrical grid.
She also would not have spent extra money on a computer system to monitor the production of each panel on her computer. She says she personally never uses the feature.
If she had done these things differently, it would have saved her nearly $2,000 on the total cost of her system. "My pay back period would have been 6-7 years rather than 8-9 years," said Jean. "Either way, I take much pride in promoting green power production to my neighbors. That is worth a lot."
Since we starting collecting energy stories, we've heard about some wonderful ways that SOCM members and friends are saving money on their energy bills. If you have an energy story you would like to share, please contact Green-Collar jobs Organizer Katie Greer at katie@socm.org or 865-249-7488. If you're interested in helping SOCM expand access to clean energy options in Tennessee, consider joining the Green-Collar Jobs committee. The committee's next call is on Thursday, Oct. 18th.
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Join SOCM!
Your community needs you. Click on the link above to pay membership dues or click below to donate to SOCM and designate your donation as membership dues.
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Saturday, October 20th
Henry Horton State Park
Chapel Hill, Tenn.
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Maury County Chapter Meeting
Monday, Oct. 15
Fresh Word Ministries, Columbia
6:30 - 8 p.m. CT
Roaring River Chapter Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 16
Unity Church of the Cumberlands, Cookeville
7 - 8 p.m. CT
Green Collar Jobs Call
Thursday, Oct. 18
Contact Katie Greer at katie@socm.org or 865-249-7488 to join the call. 8 - 9 p.m. ET
Annual Membership Meeting and 40th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, Oct. 20
Henry Horton State Park, Chapel Hill
Annual Meeting Registration 9:30 a.m. CT
40th Anniversary Celebration 1 p.m. CT
Knoxville-area Chapter Meeting
Monday, Oct. 22
Lawson McGhee Library, Knoxville
6 - 7:30 p.m. ET
Walk for Justice
Saturday, Oct. 27
Cumberland Mountain State Park, Crossville
10 a.m. CT
Anti-Racism Transformation Team Call
Monday, Oct. 29
Contact Brad Wright at brad@socm.org or 615-355-9356 to join the call 6 - 7:30 p.m. CT
SOCM Board Meeting
Saturday, Nov. 3
Lebanon, Tenn.
9:15 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. CT
Cumberland County Chapter Meeting
Monday, Nov. 12
Art Circle Library, Crossville
3 - 5 p.m. CT
Maury County Chapter Meeting
Monday, Nov. 12
Fresh Word Ministries, Columbia
6:30 - 8 p.m. CT
Bedford County Chapter Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 13
The Fly Arts Center, Shelbyville
6:30 - 8 p.m. CT
Tennessee Environmental Leaders Roundtable
Tuesday, Oct. 16
Vanderbilt University, Nashville
6 - 9 p.m. CT
Board of Water Quality, Oil and Gas Public Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 16
17th Fl. Conference Room, L&C Tower, Nashville
10 a.m. CT
Lecture by Dr. Robert D. Bullard
Presented by UTK Chapter of Amnesty International
Thursday, Oct. 18
University Center Auditorium, UT Campus, Knoxville
7 p.m. ET
Webinar on Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Presented by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Wednesday, Oct. 24
12 p.m. ET
Appalachian Public Interest Environmental Law Conference
Oct. 26-28
University of Tennessee Law School, Knoxville
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"If we all tried to make other people's paths easy, our own feet would have a smooth even place to walk on."
- Myrtle Reed
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