2017 Issue 4 Jul/Aug - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

FREE 

Serving the Middle Tennessee LGBT Community+its Allies | JULY+AUG 2017 

the 

COMING 

OUT 

Issue 

JUDGE 

RACHEL BELL 

DAVIDSON COUNTY JUDGE 

OPENS UP ABOUT HER RECENT 

MARRIAGE, CONTROVERSIES 

ADVOCATE 

CHRIS SANDERS 

TENNESSEE’S MOST 

INFLUENTIAL LGBT LEADER 

MORGAN 

HUNLEN 

TRANSWOMAN LEAVES 

HER MARK ON MTSU’S 

BATHROOM SIGNAGE

THANK YOU 

for fighting so hard this 

legislative session 

Sign up for our newsletter and action email list. 

Keep up with what's going on near you. 

TNEP.org

LETTER FROM THE 

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER 

Welcome family and 

friends. It’s with great 

passion, excitement, 

and enthusiasm that I 

present to you, Focus 

Middle Tennessee. We 

are the region’s newest 

LGBT + -centric magazine 

dedicated to all those who 

fight the fight, cry the 

tears, share the joy, the 

love, and the happiness. 

Whether you identify as 

LGBT+ or an ally, we honor you the best way we 

know how, through words, pictures and pure 

creative talent and artistry. We show anyone who 

picks up this magazine who we are as individuals, 

families, everyday working Americans. 

I longed for a way to share my talents with others 

for the greater good. I looked high and low, near 

and far. I was never settled in my career. I never 

felt fulfilled—not until now. This opportunity is 

a godsend, a blessing, another reason to smile 

real big every morning. I thank my best friend, 

Ray Rico, for this opportunity. You see, his vision 

for Focus Mid-South is the reason Focus Middle 

Tennessee is possible today. He and I both know 

that Focus is bigger than either of us. Its purpose 

is far greater than a business. We are humbled to 

be in life positions that allow us to come together 

with each other to support our communities, 

families, and friends. 

I would truly be amiss if I didn’t mention and 

thank my beautiful wife, Lauren Means. Without 

her, I would still be a mess. She’s my rock and roll, 

the most beautiful soul. We have three awesome 

fur babies: Scarlett (our cat), Franklin (our Beagle) 

and Daisy (our Beagle-Bassett). Those three 

are rocks for me too. They’ve seen and heard so 

much more than most. (Oh, if my pets could talk, 

the stories they would tell.) 

This first issue wouldn’t be possible without all 

of our contributors, photographers, advertisers, 

and supporters. I want to thank my team here 

and the Focus Mid-South team. The talent I have 

worked with since January has been incredible. It 

won’t be hard to keep up the great work. It comes 

naturally to all these folks. 

Stay Focused. 

With love, 

Selena 

selena@focusmidtenn.com 

MANAGING 

EDITOR 

Joan Allison 

ADVERTISING 

Selena Haynes 

Joan Allison 

Rebekah Dawson 

Bonnie Glassco 

Kelly Harrison 

Focus ® Middle Tennessee is all about LGBT people and their allies…their work, play, families, 

creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. Our focus is on you. 

Focus ® Middle Tennessee is published bi-monthly and distributed free throughout the greater 

Middle Tennessee area. Focus reserves the right to refuse to sell space for any advertisement the 

staff deems inappropriate for the publication. Press releases must be received by the first of the 

month for the following issue. All content of this magazine, including and without limitation to the 

design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content, as well as the selection, coordination 

and arrangement thereof, is Copyright ©2017, Focus ® Middle Tennessee. All Rights Reserved. No 

portion of this magazine may be copied or reprinted without the express written permission of 

the publisher. For a full list of our editorial and advertising policies, please visit focusmidtenn.com 

policies. 

PICK UP + GIVE FOCUS 

Pick up a copy of Focus ® Middle Tennessee at over 60+ locations near you. Check out 

focusmidtenn.com for the most up-to-date list of spots where the magazine is distributed. Want 

to carry Focus ® ? Call us at 615.603.6169 or email selena@focusmidtenn.com. 

Give a subscription to someone, or treat yourself. Introductory rate $6/year; subscribe on 

focusmidtenn.com. 

Focus ® Middle Tennessee 

is published by 

Ray Rico Freelance, LLC 

2294 Young Avenue 

Memphis, TN, 38104 

focusmidtenn.com 

PUBLISHER 

Ray Rico 

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER 

Selena Haynes 

DESIGNERS 

Daphne Butler 

Ray Rico 

INTERACTIVE 

Ben Bauermeister 

Selena Haynes 

H.N. James 

Chef Jay Kill 

Lauren Means 

contributors 

EXTRA ONLINE CONTENT 

If you see this icon, you will find additional 

online content related to the article. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Chellie Bowman 

Lauren Means 

Dr. Tara Ralph 

Ray Rico 

Scot Ridgway 

Sarah Rutledge Fischer 

DISTRIBUTION & 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Terry Demars 

Selena Haynes 

Randall Sloan 

Michael Wells 

F. Dodger White 

Leslee White 

MIchelle Willard 

Let’s be friends. Tag us! 

Twitter: 

@focusmidtenn, #focusmidtenn 

Instagram: 

@focusmidtenn, #focusmidtenn 

Facebook: 

@focusmidtenn 

Page 4 / focusmidtenn.com / JUL+AUG 2017 / The Coming Out Issue

Introducing 

Focus Middle Tennessee 

Hello! We are new on the block and we’d like to introduce ourselves. We are a new LGBT+ -centric magazine aimed 

at covering the Middle Tennessee area. We are a bi-monthly news and features magazine covering 

Arts+Entertainment, Travel, LGBT Advocates, Straight Allies, LGBT Seniors, LGBT Youth, Faith+Spirituality, 

Health+Wellness, Music, Food+Drink, and even an advice column called Dear Allie (pronounced ah-LEE). 

Our focus is on you. What is your focus? 

Vision 

Focus Magazine seeks to become one 

of the most important LGBT information 

source and the most used means of 

advertising to the LGBT+ audience in 

Middle Tennessee. 

Values 

Focus Magazine will leverage community 

contacts, designers, social media 

experts and web developers to advance 

the interests and wellbeing of LGBT+ 

individuals and their allies. 

Mission 

Focus Magazine will promote LGBT+ 

inclusivity through delivery of dignified 

content that is relevant to LGBT+ persons. 

Editorial and advertising content will be 

included at the discretion of the publisher 

to assure thoughtful and respectful content 

for all—LGBT and straight allies. 

Giving Back 

We make it a common practice to give back to our community. Proceeds of profits will be donated to the non-profits we serve. 

Our core group of non-profits are Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), OUTCentral, Nashville Cares, Operation Education Animal Rescue, 

MTLambda, and Nashville Pride. 

To learn more about these agencies, please visit us online at focusmidtenn.com/our-story to read more. 

Serving the Middle Tennessee LGBT Community+its Allies

contents 

LIFE 

WORKPLACE 

DISCLOSURE 

PAGE NO. 

8 

TRAVEL 

DISCOVER 

WOODBURY 

HALF HILL FARM 

PAGE NO. 

28 

LGBT ADVOCATE 

CHRIS SANDERS 

GETTING TO KNOW 

TENNESSEE’S MOST 

INFLUENTIAL ADVOCATE 

PAGE NO. 

11 

TRANS FOCUS 

MORGAN HUNLEN 

UNCHARTED TERRITORY 

PAGE NO. 

18 

FEATURES 

INSIDE: 

Judge Rachel Bell is the 

latest public official to 

come out while in office. 

15 

COURAGEOUSLY 

COMING OUT 

7 

THEME 

The COMING OUT Issue 

10 

PET FOCUS 

Dog rescue gives humans 

purpose in life 

12 

LGBT ALLY 

Laura Bohling covers her 

reconstruction period 

20 

HEALTH+WELLNESS 

Openness about your 

sexuality can save your life 

21 

LIFE 

Tips for coming out on your 

own terms 

22 

FAITH+SPIRITUALITY 

Open Table gives 

community new meaning 

BE PART OF OUR NEXT ISSUE 

THE IMAGINE ISSUE 

SEPT+OCT 2017 

Submit story ideas: editor@focusmidtenn.com 

Editorial submission deadline: July 24 2017 

Advertising inquiries: sales@focusmidtenn.com 

Ad space reservation due: July 21 2017 

23 

FOOD+DRINK 

Q+A with Chef Jay 

24 

MUSIC 

Q+A with Fame+Fiction 

27 

COMMUNITY 

Nashville Rollergirls roll on 

30 

CALENDAR 

You won’t want to miss 

these Summer events 


theme 

The journey 

of 1,000 miles 

begins with 

the first step. 

– Lao Tzu 

THE COMING OUT ISSUE

life 

DEAR 

N.J.O.C. 

Dear Allie, 

My husband and I have a dispute 

that I hope you can settle. We are 

both healthy HIV+ men in our midthirties. 

We have built a comfortable 

life surrounded by a strong support 

network. We are out about our HIV+ 

status to family and friends and try to 

stay active in both the HIV+ and LGBT 

rights movements. 

Our disagreement arises with 

regard to my career. I recently 

accepted a position with a new 

company. I was out about my HIV+ 

status at my old job, and I’d like to be 

out in my new job. 

My husband disagrees. My old boss 

was a friend, and my husband argues 

that everyone at this new job is a 

stranger. I’m torn. My relationship with 

my team is important. I don’t want to 

start off with an attitude of distrust. At 

the same time, I can’t undermine my 

husband’s sense of security. Help. 

Sincerely, 

New Job, Old Closet 

Dear N.J.O.C., 

Congratulations on your new 

position. Let’s see if I can help you 

navigate this difficult decision so 

you can get back to the enjoying this 

exciting transition. 

HIV + STATUS: THE RISKS/BENEFITS OF 

WORKPLACE DISCLOSURE 

by Sarah Rutledge Fischer 

Before we begin, I should mention that there are certain areas of 

employment, such as healthcare and sex work, that carry an obligation 

to disclose HIV+ status. If you work in such a field, I would advise you 

to seek legal advice regarding your obligation to disclose. Even if you 

do not work in one of those fields, some jobs require employees to 

undergo a medical examination or at minimum complete a medical 

questionnaire. Again, if this is the case, you should contact your 

attorney or the nearest AIDS service organization to make sure you 

understand your rights and obligations. 

That aside, the decision of whether or not to disclose your HIV+ 

status at work is a matter of assessing the risks and deciding what 

level of risk you and your husband can bear. As a starting point, 

you might check out the list of benefits and risks laid out in the U.S. 

Department of Labor guide, Employment and Living with HIV/AIDS, 

available at dol.gov/odep/topics/HIVAIDS/. 

If you and your husband decide against disclosure, or even if 

you decided on partial disclosure, make sure to discuss how you 

will handle the situation if your status becomes known without your 

consent. The decision to disclose should be yours alone, but we live 

in a world where not everyone respects this. It doesn’t hurt to be 

prepared. 

No matter what you decide and what happens from there, it is 

important that you are making this decision together. The strength 

of your relationship with your partner and with the friends and 

family with whom you have surrounded yourselves will see you 

though. 

That should get you started. 

Your friend, 

Allie 

If you believe you have been fired or discriminated against 

in the workplace because of your HIV+ status, you should reach 

out to the ACLU AIDS Project online at aclu.org/issues/hiv or by 

telephone at 212-549-2627. 

To submit your own question, email Allie at editor@focusmidsouth.com. 


Benefits of disclosing your HIV + 

status at work 

• People who disclose their diagnosis may feel 

unburdened. They no longer feel as though 

they are hiding something. 

• Some people who have disclosed at work find 

their employer and/or co-workers supportive 

and helpful, especially when they get ill. 

• Once you have disclosed, no one can ‘out’ you 

at work. 

• When employees are open about their HIV/ 

AIDS or disability status in the workplace, this 

can contribute to an inclusive work culture 

and potentially reduce stigma against people 

with HIV/AIDS. 

Risks of disclosing your HIV + 

status at work 

• Once you disclose to your employer, it may be 

hard not to see every workplace decision as a 

reflection of this knowledge. 

• Even today, some employees report HIV/AIDSrelated 

discrimination. Sometimes it can be 

difficult to prove that discrimination results 

directly from your disclosure. 

• Disclosure to an employer can be an 

unnecessary complication in your life. Dealing 

with job stress and legal issues can affect your 

health and well-being negatively. 

• If you do decide to disclose, remember 

that it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing 

decision. For now, you may choose to disclose 

only to your boss, and wait to disclose to the 

rest of your team later should you deem it 

necessary. Managers and supervisors have 

a legal obligation to keep your medical 

information confidential. Limited disclosure 

could minimize the potential impact of stigma 

on your entry into this new position, but also 

leave you confident that your boss would 

not feel blindsided if a later health crisis 

required time off or other accommodations. 

If you choose this route, be sure to discuss 

confidentiality with your boss or manager. Be 

polite, but make sure that you are on the same 

page about their legal obligation. 

Ready to address 

organization challenges. 

Ready for change. 

Unleash energy by 

Clearing 

the Way 

Home 

Susan Gardner 

CPO-CD, MDiv 

Professional Organizer 

615.477.9795 

Hermitage, Tennessee 

clearingthewayhome.com 

FEELING EXCLUDED? 

FIND A 

PLACE 

WITH US 

WE CELEBRATE THAT ALL ARE PART 

OF GOD’S GOOD CREATION 

OPEN TABLE 

CHRISTIAN CHURCH 

– DISCIPLES OF CHRIST – 

1130 HALEY ROAD | MURFREESBORO, TN 37130 

OPENTABLECHRISTIANCHURCH.ORG 

SUNDAYS AT 5:30PM • SERVICE AT 6:00PM 

Memphis Cool / JUL+AUG 2017 / focusmidsouth.com / Page 9

pet focus 

Rescues Give 

Humans Purpose 

by Bonnie Glassco | photo by H.N. James 

TYPICALLY, THE PURPOSE OF 

RESCUING DOGS IS TO SAVE THE LIFE 

OF THE DOG. SOMETIMES DURING THE 

PROCESS, HUMANS ARE SAVED 

Justin Way is one of those 

human lives and his five-yearold 

pit-bull Reese is his savior. 

Before we can meet Reese, 

we must get to know the man 

behind the four-legged legend. 

Justin resides in Murfreesboro 

with his partner Bruce Powers. 

They bought a home with a 

yard last July just for their 

dogs, which includes pets 

and fosters; however, Justin 

has come a long way on his 

journey into dog rescue. 

Justin, a former alcoholic 

with five years of sobriety, had 

multiple DUI’s and legal issues 

stemming from his addiction. 

Justin needed responsibility to 

help him stay focused. A friend 

that worked at a veterinarian’s 

office suggested Justin 

adopt a dog to help give him 

purpose. By adopting, Justin 

knew he would have a living 

creature that was dependent 

on him. After some thought, 

he brought Reese into his life 

and she changed his life for 

the better. 

Once Reese was in his life, 

Justin decided that he wanted 

to help dogs in a larger 

capacity and hoped that other 

people could experience 

positive change like he did. 

Justin started volunteering 

at an animal shelter where he 

helped socialize the dogs by 

walking them and spending 

time with them. He also 

volunteered his time at a pit 

bull rescue in Tampa. 

Justin and Bruce moved 

to Tennessee a few years 

ago to their home with the 

yard perfect for pups to run 

in and they decided to add 

to the family. Justin wanted 

to adopt another dog using 

a local rescue and he found 

Operation Education (OpEd) 

Animal Rescue. OpEd had 

recently saved a mother 

and her newborn litter from 

euthanasia. From this rescue, 

Justin and Bruce chose Stevie, 

a female pit mix, who is now 

a year old. Justin then started 

volunteering with OpEd. He 

plays a very active role in 

all aspects of OpEd Animal 

Rescue by helping with day to 

day operations, coordinating 

events, and assisting in 

adoptions. 

Justin and Bruce also 

fostered a dog for the rescue. 

Daffodil was found during 

the winter in Christiana, TN. 

and was underweight with 

some medical issues. Justin 

explained that they use a 

boarding house when the 

dog first comes into OpEd 

Animal Rescue. Once the 

dog is cleared, they go to 

a foster home. Justin and 

Bruce welcomed Daffodil 

into their home and family 

where she stayed until she was 

successfully adopted. Justin 

expressed the greatest part 

of the foster experience was 

finding the best family for her. 

Justin’s life was forever 

changed the moment he 

rescued Reese. She gave him 

a reason to get out of bed 

every day, a purpose, and 

turned his life around. Justin 

may have rescued Reese but 

Reese saved Justin. For more 

information about OpEd 

and how you can help, visit 

opedanimalrescue.com. 

Photo above: Justin Way (left) with his partner Bruce Powers. 

Dogs (left to right) are Reese, Daffodil and Stevie. 


lgbt advocate 

Chris 

Sanders 

TEP Leader Serves 

Community with Honesty 

and Precise Goals 

by Kelly Harrison | photo by H.N. James 

“When Game of Thrones is 

on, everything stops for that 

hour in the week. I’ve read all 

the books and I’m waiting for 

the next.” Reading and learning 

is how Chris Sanders chooses 

to spend what little time he has 

to himself. “I relax and do what 

I want,” said Sanders. Every 

other moment you will find him 

heavily involved in his advocacy 

work as the Executive Director 

of the Tennessee Equality 

Project and the Tennessee 

Equality Foundation, a position 

that he has held since 2013. 

With a graduate degree in 

divinity from Vanderbilt, his 

heart has always been led 

toward nonprofit work. It seems 

only natural that his favorite 

part of what he does consists of 

traveling the state, and meeting 

with the LGBT community and 

its allies. 

Growing up gay in a small 

southern town, one would think 

you must mask who you are 

or act like someone you aren’t. 

The way Sanders described his 

experience sounded almost 

poetic. 

“In a small town you reveal 

and mask many things. 

Sometimes the things you 

mask, everyone knows. Quite 

often the things you reveal 

everyone ignores.” 

Sanders had been masking 

since he was in kindergarten 

because that’s when he knew. 

He went on to talk about 

the struggle of the process, 

overcoming the part where you 

convince yourself that everyone 

else is spending as much of 

their time thinking about you 

as you are. He admitted that 

it’s important to keep moving 

forward in your own life and to 

not worry about what others 

are saying or thinking. 

Interested in knowing his 

coming out story, I asked 

Sanders to share it with me. 

“Oh, I’m sure lots of people 

knew or suspected and there 

have been lots of coming out 

moments over the years. But 

then you get to take your 

straight friends to gay bars and 

they have a blast and that has 

happened more times than I 

can count.” 

Sanders shared a moment 

from 2001 when at a reception 

he was asked by the spouse 

of a Vanderbilt professor if 

he was married. “I probably 

could have just stuck with no. 

However, making a conscious 

choice to no longer stand for 

“compulsory heterosexuality” I 

told her.” 

To this day what surprises 

him the most is when his friends 

come out to him. “I never know 

how coming out will show up 

in my life. I think if I had not 

taken on certain specific roles 

in our community, I’m not sure 

how I would fit in. I really don’t 

know how I fit in now in terms 

of the LGBT social scene. You 

rarely find me out. That may 

surprise people because TEP 

is so often in the media that 

people assume I’m in the midst 

of everything” said Sanders. 

Sanders’s passion for the 

community in which he serves 

is clear and his goals are honest 

and precise. Let’s take the 

bisexual identity for instance. 

Sanders had heartfelt words 

for all within the community 

when it came to validating and 

acknowledging such a large 

group of people. “Straight 

people make it hard, but our 

community makes it hard too. 

If we gave space for bisexual 

people to be themselves, 

think how much stronger our 

movement would be!” 

Sanders connects his coming 

out experience to getting 

involved early on in advocacy 

for equality. It helped him and 

he feels it can help others gain 

a sense of self in the coming 

out process. “You can try to 

do it alone, but it’s better with 

friends!” 

Seeing young people 

speaking out in their schools 

and on the Legislative Plaza 

gives Sanders hope. “Some are 

fearless and some are afraid, 

but they are still doing it.” 

Seeing parents from all over 

the state advocate for their 

kids when they never expected 

to do so reassures him that 

discrimination against them 

and discrimination against us 

doesn’t stand a chance and 

can’t last. 

He says it’s almost hard to 

remember a time for him before 

his life of advocacy. Through 

the years he has learned that 

there is not just one action that 

will help solve every situation 

the LGBT community faces. 

“My concern, of course, is that 

discrimination persists in our 

state’s political culture and the 

fight will be long and it will have 

casualties.” 

What’s next he says is the 

same as it has been for many 

years. While going over his 

responses to my questions, I 

had the feeling that each day 

was a preparation for coming 

out—a coming out for the 

community and the state of TN, 

one that will show that there is 

more of a connection between 

people than some may realize. 

Sanders jokingly tells me that 

if he ever does retire he will 

move to the country and run 

for constable in a small county. 

“I will come into town every 

morning with lights and sirens 

on and stir things up at the 

courthouse. I’m on my way to 

being that old man every day.” 

Sanders’ retirement plans will 

have to wait for now. Between 

all that’s happening on the Hill 

and the meetings taking place 

every year at the Tennessee 

General Assembly, he will spend 

time preparing to keep LGBT 

rights progressing. 

“It will happen whether I’m 

there or not, but as long as I 

am fortunate enough to have 

this job, I will spend my time 

advocating there or preparing 

for the upcoming legislative 

session. Preparing for that 

involves trying to grow the 

movement in every part of TN. 

That’s plenty to keep me busy.” 

The Coming Out Issue / JUL+AUG 2017 / focusmidtenn.com / Page 11

lgbt ally 

LAURA 

BOHLING 

by Michael Wells | photo courtesy of Eric England 

A Period of 

Reconstruction 

“It’s okay 

to love your 

gay child. 

It’s okay 

to support 

the gay 

community. 

It’s ok.” 

For more resources please 

visit focusmidtenn.com 

Laura Bohling wants 

you to know you can’t hurt 

her. She considers herself 

to be in a unique position, 

having found herself feeling 

more powerful than ever 

before, and after a period of 

deconstruction and rebirth, 

she’s using her newfound 

clarity to be an ally for the 

LGBT community. 

“I never suspected that 

my son was gay as he was 

growing up,” Bohling said. 

In 2004, Laura’s son, James, 

returned from a two-year 

mission trip and announced 

he was leaving the church. 

Laura and her family were 

active members in the 

Church of Latter Day Saints. 

She couldn’t understand 

why James had made this 

decision until November 

2014. He called a family 

meeting to announce he was 

gay. 

The entire family was 

present for the meeting: 

Laura, her husband, two 

daughters and James. He sat 

before the family that loved 

him more than anything in 

the world and said the words 

and waited for a bomb to 

drop. Seeing her son struggle 

before his own family began 

a process of transformation 

in Laura. “That was the 

moment I realized how hard 

it was to be that person; just 

to be who they are…and that 

I needed to do something.” 

Her son coming out 

prompted Laura to question 

and deconstruct everything 

in which she believed. She 

tried to remain a member 

of The Church of Latter Day 

Saints but found it hard to 

play the game of Russian 

roulette on whether the 

service would be in attack 

mode or actually have a 

message that day. During her 

reconstruction, 

she found a 

welcoming home 

with the Mama 

Dragons council, 

a group of mothers 

who support one 

another on their journey 

with their LGBT+ children 

while supporting their faith, 

families, and communities. 

This helped bridge her to 

make the decision to separate 

from The Church. 

Laura’s deconstruction 

also brought a closer look at 

her affiliated political party 

she was affiliated with. She 

was raised in a Democratic 

working class family. As a 

member of the Mormon 

Church she made a cultural 

decision to be Republican. 

She’s always been pro-choice, 

about equality, and anti-war… 

so she always knew she didn’t 

fit in with the Republican 

belief system. “I don’t really 

fit with any party but the one 

that aligns with my family, my 

history, and my values is the 

Democratic Party.” Laura’s 

reflection led her to make the 

brave choice to switch parties 

in the ruby red Tennessee. 

It also pushed her to be so 

politically involved she ran for 

State Representative for her 

district. 

Bohling is excited that as 

she has found her voice and 

that her fellow Tennesseans 

have found their voice as 

well. “People are involved 

like never before, they’re 

organized, and holding 

elected officials accountable.” 

Our current President was 

elected on the slogan of 

Make America Great Again. 

“He’s going to make America 

Great Again because he is 

waking people up, people 

who believed everything 

would just be okay…and they 

are realizing they must be a 

voice for not only LGBT but 

immigrants, labor, people of 

color...He’s going to make 

America great again, just not 

how he thinks.” 

Bohling’s son coming out 

transformed her. From The 

Church of Latter Day Saints 

to the Mama Dragons, she 

is a woman reconstructed 

with new views and ideas. 

She knows that the LGBT 

movement has a long way 

to go but so does she. “I’m 

still learning about people’s 

differences every day and I 

love it.” As an ally, she’s setting 

an example to others. “It’s okay 

to love your gay child. It’s okay 

to support the gay community. 

It’s ok.” 

What’s next for Laura 

Bohling? “I have a ton signs left 

over, so I’m definitely running 

for District 34 again.” Bohling 

is the rare politician with actual 

common sense and a sense 

of humor. She will be running 

for State Representative for 

District 34 in 2018. 

Laura Bohling’s life took on 

a different path after her son 

revealed her true self to him. 

She discovered someone she 

loved was gay, and the world 

didn’t stop. She continued to 

love them unconditionally. 

“That moment in my living 

room when James came out is 

what keeps me going.” An ally 

indeed. 


OF PROOF 

PROOF PROOF 

• French inspired pastries 

• Southern classics 

• Fresh coffee & teas 

• Lemonades 

• Sandwiches 

• Salads and more 

OOF PROOF 

Open Monday - Saturday 

6:30a - 4:00p 

118 N Walnut St. #2 

Murfreesboro, TN 37130 

615.962.8086 

Your vow exchange is the 

HEART of your wedding 

TRADITIONAL SECULAR s VOW RENEWAL s ELOPEMENT 

PROOF PROOF 

Mention Focus Magazine when you stop in to get a free small coffee 

A custom ceremony that fits seamlessly into your 

vision, creating an unforgettable day 

508.838.9383 

lovejoyweddings@gmail.com s lovejoyweddings.com 

UNCONVENTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS 

FOR UNCONVENTIONAL PEOPLE 

CUSTOM E-LIQUID • E-JUICE • MODS 

STARTER KITS • SUBTANKS • CUSTOM-BUILT RDAS 

The Royal College of Physicians found vapor 

products to be conservatively 

95% safer than combustible cigarettes 

H.N. James 

Headshots • Children 

Engagement & Bridal 

LGBT Weddings • Seniors 

Music • Promotional • Editorial 

608-239-9148 PUNKROCKPHOTOGRAPHY.NET 

/PUNKROCKFOTO PUNKROCKPHOTOGRAPHER@GMAIL.COM 

The LGBTQ community is 

50-200% more likely to smoke. 

Tobacco harm reduction is something we 

MUST consider. Safer alternatives have to 

enter the discussion. 

2992 South Church St., Suite B 


615-603-6656 

kaleidoscopevapor.org 

3325 Memorial Blvd., Suite E 


615-631-0631

THERE’S NO PLACE 

LIKE HOME! 

PET SITTING 

• • • • • • 

DOG WALKING 

VOTED NASHVILLE’S BEST PET SITTER 

info@homerunpetcare.com 

615-668-6917 

homerunpetcare.com 

NOW HIRING! 

EXIT REALTY BOB LAMB & ASSOCIATES 

We provide our clients with 

unsurpassed 

customer service 

JENNIFER 

VANNOY 

Realtor 

2630 Memorial Blvd. | Murfreesboro, TN 

jvannoy@realtracs.com 

OFFICE 615•896•5656 CELL 615•430•6651 

PARKBENCH.COM/SMYRNA 

Announcing the theme for the 

September 29-October 1, 2017 | Memphis 

for more info visit 

midsouthpride.org 

2017 MEMPHIS Pride Fest 

UNITY THROUGH 

DIVERSITY 

#memphispridefest 

#midsouthpride

lgbt advocate 

Courageously 

Coming Out 

Davidson County Judge Rachel Bell joins other Tennessee 

politicians on coming out and shares the importance of doing so 

by Michelle Willard | photos courtesy of Rachel Bell

lgbt advocate 

SIDE: Judge Rachel Bell and Dr. Dorsha James celebrate their 

union on a private honeymoon. ABOVE: Sherry Porter and Denise 

Johns Porter, next to Dr. James and Judge Bell. The couple were 

married by Judge Bell last October. 

DAVIDSON 

COUNTY JUDGE 

RACHEL BELL 

LEARNED 

EARLY TO BE 

COURAGEOUS 

IN HER LIFE 

At 13 years old, she was 

diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. 

She had to learn to cope with 

and manage her disease to reach 

her dream of playing college 

basketball at Auburn University 

and University of Memphis. 

At 34 years old, she had to be 

courageous to run for Davidson 

County General Sessions judge. 

At 38 years old, she had to 

be courageous when facing 

negative press coverage over 

how she runs her courtroom. 

At 39 years old, she is being 

courageous in exposing her 

private life for 

public view. 

After 

marrying her wife on February 

24, Bell has made her relationship 

public, a tricky proposition for 

an elected official in Tennessee 

even in decidedly blue Davidson 

County. 

“I want to do something 

to make it better for future 

generations,” she said “I want 

to show whoever your partner 

is, it doesn’t matter. It’s not fair. 

Someone needs to step out and 

talk about it.” 

Throughout her career, 

she has worked to lessen the 

burden on defendants in her 

courtroom and make a positive 

impact on the African American 

community in Nashville. She has 

now set her sights on impacting 

the LGBT+ community. 

“I’ve never been in the closet,” 

she said. But then she’s never 

been open about her sexuality 

either. 

“I never waved the flag,” Bell 

said, adding that Nashville’s 

gay community knew, but her 

sexuality wasn’t something she 

wanted to be identified by. “God 

made me gay and I own it.” 

Her outlook changed when 

she married Dr. Dorsha James, 

an emergency room physician in 

Hopkinsville, Kentucky. 

The couple met in 2015 at 

the Iroquois Steeplechase, Bell 

said. They were introduced and 

had a great conversation and 

exchanged numbers. But the 

stars weren’t aligned yet. It wasn’t 

until more than a year later that 

they finally met for dinner. 

“We kind of just clicked,” Bell 

said, her happiness evident 

in her voice. Within a few 

months, they were in a serious 

relationship and, after only eight 

months, they married. 

After their February wedding 

ceremony, the couple took a 

few months “to love on each 

other,” she said. They set June 

as the month to celebrate their 

union with friends and family 

with a “Love Fest.” On the first 

weekend in June, the couple 

threw a party in Nashville and 

took those closest to them on a 

OFFICIALS 

COME 

OUT IN 

TENNESSEE: 

Timeline 

Jamaican holiday before setting 

out on their private honeymoon. 

They also set June as the 

time to come out to the entire 

Davidson County community. 

“We are so excited about 

finding love and want the focus 

not to be on sexuality but 

intellectuality. We have never 

liked being labeled different. 

We are children of God and 

look forward to having more 

conversations and dialogue 

about love,” they said in a joint 

statement. 

COURTING 

CONTROVERSY 

Bell, a graduate of the 

University of Memphis Cecil 

Humphreys School of Law, has 

been a judge since 2012 when she 

became one of the Nashville’s 11 

General Sessions judges. Over 

the years, she has presided over 

misdemeanor criminal, minor civil 

cases and mental health court. 

Paula Skahan, 

Memphis Judge 

• Appointed, then elected 

as an out official 

• Served on the court since 

2004; re-elected in 2006 

and 2014. 

• 2004-2022: Judge, Shelby 

County Criminal Court 

Nashville Mayor 

Megan Berry issued 

a Proclamation 

expressing her love 

and support to 

Judge Bell and Dr. 

Dorsha James. 

Page 16 / focusmidtenn.com / JUL+AUG 2017 / The Coming Out Issue 

2004 

Memphis

lgbt advocate 

When she ran for the office in 

2012 and for re-election in 2014, 

no one questioned her sexuality 

and she didn’t make it an issue. 

But she is now. 

“I’m very prophetic in my own 

life,” she said, explaining her 

calling. “Everything that God 

put inside me I saw manifest. 

God wanted me to work with 

the gay community.” 

In particular, Bell said God 

wants her to work in the 

African American community 

to help increase acceptance of 

homosexuality. 

Bell said she’s never been 

comfortable with public 

displays of affection at galas 

and other parties in Nashville’s 

African American community. 

But now she is a married 

woman who wants to hold 

hands with her wife and even 

dance with her in public. 

So she decided to let 

everyone know how happy she 

is to be married to James. 

Coming out during Pride 

month isn’t the first time Bell 

has courted controversy. 

Shortly after taking the 

bench, Bell said she changed 

how she ran her court. “To make 

things easier for people who are 

about to be shackled up like a 

dog in a cage, I decided I was 

going to run my court a little 

different.” 

She set up a Saturday 

community court for 

the indigent docket and 

expungement clinics. She had 

her clerk read the morning 

docket at 8:30 a.m., then set 

aside time for defendants to 

discuss their cases with their 

attorneys. At 10 a.m., Bell hears 

settlements, pleas and cases. 

She said all cases are heard the 

day they are on the docket. 

“I made changes within the 

rules,” she said, explaining she 

checked with human resources 

about making accommodations 

for her health issues and 

the Tennessee Board of the 

Judiciary about how the docket 

is read. 

Bell’s changes weren’t 

brought without scrutiny and 

launched investigations by local 

media and a complaint to the 

Board of the Judiciary. 

According to The 

Tennessean, a defendant 

filed a complaint in June 2016 

against Bell claiming his case 

was delayed because she 

showed up late to work. In 

May, the Tennessee Board of 

Judicial Conduct dismissed the 

complaint. 

When asked if she thinks 

her sexuality played a role in 

the complaints, she said “to be 

honest everything you could 

imagine has come up in my 

mind.” She listed everything 

about her from the top of her 

head to the tips of her toes as a 

possible cause. But in the end, 

she stands by her decisions. 

“The people who know me 

know I have not done one thing 

wrong,” she said. 

WRITTEN IN THE STARS 

After their February wedding 

ceremony, the couple decided 

to wait until June to celebrate 

with friends and family. 

“It took us a while to 

determine when we would 

share our story,” James said in 

a Facebook post. “I’m so happy 

to have had the support of my 

closest friends and family.” 

On the first weekend in June, 

the couple began their Love 

Fest with A Night Written in 

the Stars. On Friday June 2nd 

and Saturday 3rd, they brought 

families together at their north 

Nashville home and created a 

new constellation with those 

who love them. 

“We want to show community 

that we can all get along,” she 

said “Nobody felt gay. Nobody 

felt straight. Nobody was 

looking at you. It was epic.” 

The response has been 

epic too. Elected officials and 

community leaders from across 

Davidson County, like Howard 

Gentry and Brenda Wynn, 

attended the couple’s wedding 

in February and Love Fest. 

Nashville Mayor Megan Berry 

even presented them with a 

proclamation congratulating the 

couple on their marriage. 

“On the blessed occasion of 

their marriage I want to present 

them with this proclamation that 

honors them and celebrates 

them and wishes them many, 

many, many happy years,” Berry 

said in a video for the couple. 

Bell’s parents Dwayne 

and Beverly Walker Bell also 

expressed their support. 

“Our daughters are 

courageous, smart, hardworking 

women and we are 

happy they found love in each 

other. God is love and love is 

God. We are proud of their 

journey and the peace they find 

in each other,” they said in a joint 

statement. 

Their February ceremony 

was performed by Dr. Judy 

Cummings, senior pastor at 

the inclusive New Covenant 

Christian Church in north 

Nashville. Cummings also 

participated in the Love Fest. 

“I’ve known Rachel since 

she was a little girl and I have 

enjoyed watching her mature, 

grow and find her life partner in 

Dr. Dorsha. They are an amazing 

couple,” Cummings said. 

The response has reaffirmed 

Bell’s decision was the right one, 

she said. 

Bell said all her decisions, from 

changing how her court is run to 

coming out publicly, is to fulfill 

her assignment from God. 

“If my life can’t help 

somebody else, it’s in vain. What 

good is it?” she said. 

Bell said she knows she 

will be scrutinized but she is 

courageous and it’s worth it if 

she can make a difference. 

Keith Durbin, 

Nashville Councilman 

• Nashville Metro Council 

Representative, District 18 

for 1.5 years (Aug 2007- 

Jan 2009) 

• Metro Nashville’s 1st 

openly gay councilman 

• Married his longtime 

partner in California in 

May 2014 

• Currently CIO/Director of 

Information Technology 

at Metropolitan Govt 

of Nashville & Davidson 

County (From Jan 2009- 

Present) 

Chris Anderson, 

Chattanooga Councilman 

• Member of the 

Chattanooga TN City 

Council from April 2013 

- April 2017 when he was 

defeated in a run-off 

election 

• First openly LGBT 

individual to be elected 

to Chattanooga's City 

Council 

• He also serves as a 

member of the Tennessee 

Democratic Party State 

Executive Committee. 

Nancy VanReece, 

Nashville Councilwoman 



from Sept 2015- present 

• Married to wife Joan 

VanReece 

• Founding Member of both 

the TEP and Nashville 

LGBT Chamber of 

Commerce 

Brett Withers, 

Nashville Councilman 



(September 2015- present) 

• Long-time East Nashville 

neighborhood volunteer, 

activist and leader before 

elected 

2007 

Nashville 

2013 

Chattanooga 

2015 

Nashville 

2015 

Nashville

transfocus 

MORGAN 

HUNLEN 

UNCHARTED 

TERRITORY 

story and photo by Michelle Willard 

“I knew I wasn’t 

alone, that there 

were other people 

out there like 

me. Some weren’t 

using the campus 

bathroom at all.” 

While navigating the 

challenges of transitioning 

during her senior year at 

Middle Tennessee State 

University (MTSU), Morgan 

Hunlen helped create a safe 

place for future students to 

land. 

A trained pilot and 

transwoman, Hunlen 

graduated from MTSU with 

honors in spring 2016. But 

before she left, she flew into 

uncharted territory to benefit 

future MTSU students and 

visitors to campus. 

During the national 

debate over which restroom 

transgendered people should 

use, the 22-year-old searched 

out 90 family, unisex and 

single-user restrooms on the 

MTSU campus to find out 

which could be accessed 

by the public. Of the 90 she 

found, only seven can be used 

by the public, but at least they 

have been plotted on a map. 

“I knew I wasn’t alone that 

there were other people out 

there like me. Some weren’t 

using the bathroom at all on 

campus,” Hunlen said about 

why she took on the task 

during these turbulent times 

for transgendered people. 

A graduate from the 

aerospace department, Hunlen 

has been obsessed with flight 

and “the magic behind it” from 

a young age. “You can literally 

fly around the world in a metal 

can,” she said, wistfully. But it 

took more than an obsession 

for Hunlen to search the MTSU 

campus for the 90 potential 

gender-neutral restrooms. It 

took a drive to do what’s right. 

FLYING INTO UNKNOWN 

Hunlen came out as 

genderqueer at 19 years old. 

When she came to college, 

she discovered “the idea of 

gender as a malleable thing.” 

She said she always knew she 

was different but didn’t have 

the language to talk it until 

college. 

“I was a very fem boy 

but not gay,” said Hunlen, 

who wore a button with her 

preferred pronouns, “she, her, 

and hers. 

While she was at MTSU, she 

wasn’t quite comfortable with 

herself as a transwoman even 

in a women’s restroom. She 

had a difficult time finding a 

safe space. Then, she found 

MT Lambda, the oldest LGBT+ 

student organization at a 

Tennessee university, Hunlen 

said she had found a safe 

place to land. MT Lamba was 

one, but there weren’t many 

safe places on campus. 

MT Lambda’s mission is 

to provide a safe and secure 

environment for everyone 

in the LGBT+ community 

at MTSU, according to its 

website. It works toward its 

mission through political 

activism, education on 

LGBT+ issues, community 


transfocus 

engagement and social 

support. Thanks to the efforts 

of MT Lambda, MTSU became 

the first public college or 

university in Tennessee to 

include sexual orientation in 

its nondiscrimination policy 

in 2001. MTSU added gender 

identity to that policy in 2009. 

With her newfound support, 

Hunlen first started dressing 

fem for MT Lamba, then for 

going out with friends on 

the weekends. She did more 

and more as her true self 

calling it “a slow burn.” Then 

in January 2015, Hunlen went 

full-time fem in Tennessee. 

She was flying without a 

parachute, which was difficult, 

especially in the homogeneous 

aerospace department. “I 

didn’t have any allies there,” 

she said. 

To make matters worse, 

there weren’t any restrooms 

where she felt comfortable 

in the Business-Aerospace 

building, where most of her 

classes were. The closest was 

in the neighboring College of 

Education building. 

The support provided to her 

by MT Lambda allowed Hunlen 

to take flight into the unknown 

and begin her transition in the 

fall of 2015. 

It was like the first time she 

flew a plane. 

“It was exciting to see the 

world from that perspective. 

Making it move and watching 

it fly was special,” Hunlen said. 

She said it was exciting and 

special to come out as her 

true self. “Everyday I wasn’t on 

hormones was a day I wasn’t 

the way I wanted to be. Now 

I’m growing into the person I 

want to be,” Hunlen said. 

Now a crew scheduler for 

GoJet Airlines and living in 

St. Louis. Mo, Hunlen is on a 

journey to her truth. She has 

no final destination in mind, 

but she’s enjoying the trip 

along the way. Her route can 

be changed as she changes, 

Hunlen said. “As I continue 

to grow and become more 

accustomed to myself, it can 

be adapted,” Hunlen said, 

adding her body dysphoria 

has lessened since she started 

hormone therapy. 

SETTING A COURSE 

Hunlen’s senior year, in fall 

2015, MT Lamba spearheaded 

an effort to rebrand family 

restrooms and unisex, singleuser 

restrooms as genderneutral 

restrooms. 

There were only a handful 

of single-user restrooms 

on campus that had proper 

signage, explained Dr. William 

Langston, faculty advisor for 

MT Lambda. “Depending on 

where someone was, they 

might have to walk five or 

more buildings away to find 

one,” Langston said. 

Hunlen said she had 

experienced just that. “I 

would leave class, leave the 

building, walk to the (College 

of Education building) and 

do my business or wait for 

someone to come out,” she 

said, likening it to segregated 

bathrooms in the 1950s. 

Because she was dressing 

fem, she said she could have 

used the women’s restroom 

but with the political climate 

in Tennessee, she didn’t feel 

comfortable. 

Just as people with 

disabilities who might need 

help from a caregiver of a 

different gender or families 

with small children, 

gender non-conforming 

and transgender people 

needed a better way. With 

Langston’s assistance, 

MT Lamba went to the 

administration and asked for 

better signs. 

“Making it clear to everyone 

who could use the restrooms 

would increase access, and 

also remove the problem of 

someone deciding on their 

own who got to use the 

restroom,” Langston said. But 

there was no definitive list of 

restrooms. 

Langston asked MT Lamba 

to take on the project with a 

list of eight restrooms to start. 

Hunlen volunteered and 

walked the campus with a 

friend, searching high and 

low for restrooms that could 

be converted. Together they 

found 90, but Hunlen wanted 

to make sure. 

Then she took the pilot’s 

seat and flew through 

the project, finding all 90 

restrooms in three or four 

hours. 

The restrooms were all 

over the 1,000-acre campus 

in dorms, administration 

buildings and classroom 

buildings. In the end, she 

confirmed there were 90 but 

not all of them were accessible 

to the public, Langston said. 

“After walking the campus 

with facilities services and 

prioritizing the need to re-sign 

the restrooms, the list was 

actually a lot shorter than 

that,” he said. 

Some no longer existed, 

weren’t available to the public, 

or already had appropriate 

signage. 

“However, Morgan’s list was 

the foundation for the final 

list. The impact is that we have 

at least one properly signed 

single-user restroom in every 

building where it was possible 

to have one,” Langston said. 

LANDING SAFELY 

Now the longest distance 

anyone who needs a genderneutral 

restroom has to 

walk is one building and the 

university’s administration 

agreed to post the same 

signage in all new buildings 

and renovations. 

MT Lamba has also 

published on its website a list 

of gender-neutral restrooms, 

which includes seven 

restrooms in five buildings 

across campus. 

“Proper signage contributes 

to the campus’ welcoming 

atmosphere for everyone,” 

Langston said. The new 

signs say “This restroom 

may be used by any person 

regardless of gender identity 

or expression.” 

The first wave of rebranding 

took place in spring 2016. Then 

in March 2017, MTSU Student 

Government Association voted 

to change family restrooms 

to gender-neutral restrooms. 

The measure passed just a 

few days before an attempt at 

another “bathroom bill” died in 

the Tennessee State Senate. 

“Putting signs out like this 

will let others know they 

are safe,” Hunlen said. The 

rebranding is just part of the 

overall effort by MTSU to 

become more inclusive. 

Langston said the university 

supports MT Lambda’s efforts 

to make the school more 

inclusive. The organization 

has implemented a Safe Zone 

program that trains resident 

assistants in dorms, hosts an 

LGBT+ conference, and lists 

resources on its website. 

Through these and Hunlen’s 

efforts, MTSU has made sure 

current and future generations 

of LGBT+ students have a safe 

place to land. 

“I have helped make MTSU 

a more diverse and inclusive 

place and that’s a good thing,” 

she said. 


health+wellness 

THE TRUTH 

Shall Set You Free 

by Dr. Tara Ralph 

photo courtesy of Murfreesboro Medical Clinic 

Feel empowered. Feel encouraged. 

Take control of your health. 

Come out to your providers, 

it may save your life. 

I guess I should start an 

article out about telling the 

truth to doctors, by first 

confessing that before I 

became a doctor, I did not 

always tell the whole truth. 

Often times, I minimized my 

symptoms or self-edited my 

responses to questions in an 

effort to “not cause trouble or 

be difficult.” I get that it is not 

always easy to tell your doctor 

the truth, the whole truth 

and nothing but the truth! 

Sometimes it is easier to omit 

information or tell a half-truth 

or maybe even tell a full out lie. 

I am writing this to 

encourage the opposite of 

even my own past behavior. 

For the record, I do tell my 

doctor everything now. 

Through my years of education 

and training, I have realized 

how important it is to get “the 

whole picture” when it comes 

to my patients and their health 

history -- this includes sexual 

orientation and behaviors. 

There are many medical 

reasons why this is important 

but I would like to focus on 

something different today. I 

would like to stress that this is 

important because it means 

you TRUST your doctor. The 

bigger picture here is that 

being able to be completely 

open and honest with your 

healthcare provider indicates 

that a good relationship has 

been established, one built 

on mutual trust. I often tell 

my patients this is a two-way 

street; you need to trust and 

like me as much as I need to 

feel as if I can trust you and 

provide meaningful healthcare. 

I encourage everyone to find 

healthcare providers you trust 

and to be honest with them. 

As physicians, we are not here 

to judge. We are here to help. 

If you feel any differently at 

your visits with your doctor, 

maybe you should seek out 

a different provider. There is 

nothing wrong with “trying out 

doctors” until you find one that 

is a good fit for you. I know 

that I am not the best doctor 

for everyone who walks into 

my exam room. There have 

been times when patients and 

I have parted ways so that 

they could find a healthcare 

provider that can better meet 

their needs. I have learned to 

say, with confidence, “That’s 

okay!” For lack of a better 

term, “one size does not fit all” 

when it comes to finding the 

right doctor. It is critical to find 

the right fit for you. 

As I rarely get the 

opportunity to communicate 

this to a mass audience -- 

get your yearly physical! It is 

important for people of ALL 

ages to get a yearly exam with 

their doctor. This is true for 

multiple reasons. 

First, it allows you to 

establish that honest, trusting 

relationship. Second, it 

provides an opportunity to 

discuss preventative health 

measures and to make sure 

you are up to date on all of 

your health screenings. It is 

better to be prepared and to 

stay ahead of things rather 

than wait for something to “be 

wrong.” Finally, what better 

time than when you are face 

to face with an expert, to have 

your questions answered? 

Feel empowered. Feel 

encouraged. Take control of 

your health. Come out to your 

providers, it may save your life. 


life 

BEING COMFORTABLE 

IN YOUR OWN SKIN 

TIPS FOR COMING OUT ON YOUR OWN TERMS 

by Scot Ridgway 

Coming out is a process 

that is different for 

everyone. In the end, 

you’re the one who makes 

the decision about who 

you come out to and how. 

But these all-purpose tips 

can help you through the 

process. 

Consider the “who” and 

“why” before deciding 

“how”. Who in your life 

needs to know, and why? 

What are the benefits? 

What are the risks? 

TRY TO ANTICIPATE 

PEOPLE’S LIKELY 

REACTIONS AND 

QUESTIONS. 

What comments 

have people around 

you made about LGBTrelated 

subjects in the 

past or presently? Read 

up on LGBT issues so 

you can respond to 

negative assumptions and 

stereotypes people in your 

life may have about LGBT 

people. Don’t immediately 

assume that people who 

have made negative 

comments about LGBT 

persons in the past will 

automatically reject you. 

Similarly, a loved one you 

thought might understand 

may need some time to 

process. 

FIGURE OUT WHAT 

SUPPORT YOU HAVE 

AVAILABLE IN CASE 

SOMETHING GOES 

WRONG. 

Plan out what you can 

do and who can help you 

if someone responds to 

the disclosure in a way you 

didn’t want or anticipate. 

Your support network 

may include people whom 

you’ve already come out 

to, other out LGBT persons, 

supportive counselors or 

clergy, or LGBT support 

hotlines like the Trevor 

Project (1-866-488-7386) 

or the hotlines operated 

by the LGBT National Help 

Center (glbthotline.org). 

Also, if you live with and/or 

are financially dependent 

on someone you think 

may react negatively, 

reconsider or at least make 

contingency plans. 

PRACTICE WHAT YOU 

WANT TO SAY AND HOW 

YOU WANT TO SAY IT. 

Even if you aren’t 

entirely ready to identify 

as LGBT, you can still talk 

about being attracted 

to someone of the same 

sex, or how you don’t feel 

like the gender you were 

assigned at birth. It may 

help you to write out what 

you plan to say to organize 

and clarify your thoughts 

ahead of time. 

PICK THE RIGHT TIME. 

If the people who plan 

to come out to are dealing 

with other problems or 

stressors, they may be less 

able to handle this latest 

development. Find a quiet, 

private place to tell them, 

at a moment when you’ll 

both have time to talk. 

Be patient. 

You probably needed 

time to realize and accept 

your own LGBT status; 

the people around you 

may need some time 

to understand it. Try to 

maintain an open, caring 

dialogue in the meantime. 

ADDITIONAL COMING OUT RESOURCES + HOTLINES AVAILABLE FOR ALL 

“A Resource Guide 

to Coming Out” 

(hrc.org/resources/ 

resource-guide-tocoming-out) 

A guide from 

the Human Rights 

Campaign with 

practical steps to 

coming out and living 

openly. 

“Coming 

Out As YOU” 

(thetrevorproject. 

org/section/YOU) 

A pocket-sized 

resource for 

exploring your 

thoughts about the 

coming out process 

and doing it safely. 

In the event of a crisis: 

You can reach out to the Trevor 

Project Hotline 1-866-488-7386. 

If you experience a crisis or need a safe place, you can always call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 

1-800-273-TALK (8255) or reach someone via the Crisis Text Line (text “TN” to 741741) at any time. 


faith+spirituality 

Come As You Are 

Open Table Christian Church gives ‘community’ a new meaning 

by Open Table Christian Church | photos by Lauren Means 

For far too many, “church” 

is a dirty word, and for some, 

“Christian” may be even 

worse. Many members of 

Open Table Christian Church 

(Disciples of Christ) have 

been burned in the past by 

churches and Christians, too, 

but they believe faith is bigger 

than narrow-minded religion. 

According to one member, 

“To reflect our vision of an 

exuberantly loving God, we 

created a place that opens its 

arms to EVERYONE regardless 

of gender, sexual orientation, 

race, economic status, age, 

nationality, gender identity, 

or marital status. Because 

we don’t claim to have all the 

answers or the exclusive, final 

interpretation of scripture, 

we welcome independent 

thought, deep questioning, 

and people honestly searching 

for faith in their lives.” 

As a gay man, Pastor George 

Cunningham has long felt the 

need for a church that affirms 

the LGBT+ community in 

Murfreesboro. He was ordained 

as a minister long before he 

ever served a church because 

most churches would not hire 

a gay pastor. That prejudice 

drives many people away from 

the Church—the opposite of 

what we strive to accomplish. 

“As Disciples of Christ, we look 

to Jesus as our best example 

of how to live,” George notes. 

“In the gospels, Jesus 

reached out to those 

who were outcasts 

in his community— 

lepers, tax collectors, 

beggars, prostitutes, 

and non-believers. 

Jesus taught, and 

we believe, that the 

most important thing 

is to love God with 

all our might and to 

love our neighbors as 

ourselves. That is our 

primary focus at Open 

Table.” 

Mandy Ray-Jones, 

who has been 

attending regularly 

with her kids, says 

she first sought out 

Open Table not as a 

Christian, but as a way 

of healing her past 

experiences in unwelcoming 

churches. “I was starting to 

feel negative things about 

Christians and hearing my 

kids say negative things 

about Christians,” she says. 

She wanted to find a positive 

experience of church for her 

kids and for herself. Mandy, 

who also volunteers with 

SOAR (a grassroots initiative 

committed to providing 

education and support for 

the LGBT+ community in 

Rutherford County), identifies 

as pandemisexual. For her, 

hearing the pastor of a church 

talk openly about his own 

sexual orientation during the 

worship service was refreshing. 

“It was validating to hear 

George refer to himself as a 

gay man,” she says. “Open 

Table is not just tolerant, not 

just accepting. It is affirming.” 

The intention to be radically 

welcoming was a natural 

extension of their desire to be 

a church deeply concerned 

with social justice. “God 

cares for the marginalized 

in society, those who feel 

excluded. We want to work 

to heal the hurting, to provide 

a place for the outcast, to 

feed the hungry, to fight for 

the defenseless.” The church 

has purchased sleeping bags 

for homeless citizens in the 

community, sponsored a 

booth at the first ever Boro 

Pride Festival, and collected 

necessities for newly arrived 

refugees from Syria. Currently, 

members are raising money to 

provide clean water access to 

people around the world who 

desperately need it. 

If you’ve attended any type 

of church service in the past, 

you might get a feeling of 

familiarity when you visit Open 

Table Christian Church. “But 

we aren’t church like you might 

have known it. You can sit and 

listen, but we hope you will 

want to get involved because 

God always has something 

going on here.” 

Open Table aims to be a 

place where ALL belong, 

where you can find space to 

be truly yourself. They don’t 

expect you to fit someone 

else’s expectations of who you 

should be. 

Be you. Because that’s who 

the world needs. 

If you would like to “Come 

Out” and see what Open 

Table is all about, you can 

find them at: 1130 Haley Rd, 

Murfreesboro, TN 37129 with 

service beginning at 6pm on 

Sundays. 

Page 22 / focusmidtenn.com / JUL+AUG 2017 / Coming The Coming Out Out Issue

food+drink 

Q&A with 

Chef Jay 

by Selena Haynes 

photo courtesy of Art Institute of Nashville-TN 

Focus welcomes our new 

food+beverage columnist, Chef 

Jay Kill. He will be answering 

your most burning questions. 

Before he begins, we thought 

it would be nice for our readers 

to learn about him. 

Do you remember when you 

realized you were gay? 

Interesting question… I 

knew I was attracted to males 

when I was very young. As for 

knowing the “gay” part, that 

was not until my freshman 

year in college. One of my 

humanities classes had a guest 

speaker. He was a gay man 

and I was very impressed that 

he was a professional in the 

agricultural industry. I did not 

think it was even possible to 

love a man and own/work on 

a farm. This was in 1985. He 

put his phone number on the 

chalkboard and extended an 

offer to join a weekly support 

group for anyone who was 

interested. I sat for 30 minutes 

repeating that phone number 

in my head so none of my 

classmates would see me write 

it down. Later in the week, I 

called that number twice but 

hung up both times when he 

answered. I was so scared. 

Who did you come out to first? 

I really was never in the 

closest. I had boyfriends, 

friends with benefits, and a 

person that I did not know 

I was “in love with” until he 

moved away for college. As 

for putting a label on myself, 

it was not until I moved to 

Columbus, Ohio in 1986 to 

continue my education. There I 

met a guy my age named Scott 

who introduced me to the gay 

community via bars. After that, 

I never looked backed, I am 

proud to say. Scott and I are 

still friends today. I told my 

parents in 1988 at 3am in the 

morning. My college female 

friend rode with me for 2 hours 

from Columbus to the family 

farm. I just had to get it off my 

chest. It was killing me inside. 

I got my parents up out of bed 

and sat them at the dinner 

table. 

After sharing who I was, I 

finished the conversation with, 

I will never “flaunt it or throw 

it in your face, BUT, if you 

have questions and just want 

to know how I am doing, I will 

always answer honestly.” This 

was the best thing I could ever 

say. Over a very short time they 

started asking me who I was 

dating, and since it was the late 

80s and early 90s, questions 

about AIDS. 

How did it affect professional, 

family and/or personal 

relationships? 

I felt that I could not be a 

farmer and be an open gay 

man. I attended The Ohio 

State University in Columbus, 

Ohio. This allowed me be 

close enough to family for 

visiting while allowing me to 

“find myself.” I found food 

service a “safe and accepting” 

industry for which I could use 

my work ethic and personality. 

This was the beginning of my 

professional career. I promised 

myself that I would not let my 

sexuality control my future. I 

feel I have had a “normal” life. I 

never flaunted it or hid it. I have 

always been proud of myself. 

Trust me, it has been hard but 

no one has the right to say I am 

a bad person due to the fact I 

love a man. 

If you could go back to your 

younger self, what's one piece 

of advice ‘future you’ would 

give? 

Wow, this is a hard question. 

Hell, I would love to have 

advice now since I will be 51 in 

July. I am more worried about 

the future than changing my 

past. I had a great gay life. I 

got to do everything I ever 

dreamed. Being gay did not 

stop me. 

What do you see for the future 

of our state? Our Country? 

I have lived in Nashville, 

Tennessee now for over 17 

years. I never thought this 

would be a city where I would 

have deep roots. The current 

state of our economy and equal 

rights within Nashville is great 

for me and my career. I feel 

I can be myself here and not 

judged to the point I am being 

suppressed or overlooked for 

opportunities. As for the State 

of Tennessee and the Country, 

what confusing times we live 

in. Every day I read that we 

are doing great things for ALL 

the people of Tennessee and 

then, SMACK, someone or 

some group is working hard to 

suppress humans that do not fit 

into their comfort zone. Back 

in the day, gays moved to San 

Francisco or large city to find a 

community that was accepting 

and loving. Today, you can 

be married and live most 

anywhere. I have a wonderful 

husband, who is from Mexico, 

for close to one year now. We 

are both learning how to have a 

healthy marriage in the straight 

and gay community. We never 

thought we could be this 

happy. Even Mexico recognizes 

our marriage now and we are 

working on legal status for me 

in Mexico. FYI, I LOVE LATIN 

FOODS. 

What's one thing you would 

tell someone who wants to 

come out but is afraid to? 

Coming out is a personal 

experience. Do it when you 

feel you need to, but do not 

let it define you. I see many 

people who are not true to 

themselves and miss out a lot 

on experiences. Good or bad, 

live life to the fullest. 

Have questions about anything 

and everything food+Drink 

related? Email them to 

QAChefJay@focusmidtenn.com 


music 

GIRLS BAND 

TOGETHER 

by Selena Haynes 

photo courtesy of Heart of Mine Design 

Six of the busiest musicians around are all part 

of Fame+Fiction. Kristen Ford, lead guitarist, plays 

nearly 200 shows a year as a solo artist. She also 

has another project, The Blu Janes, and she’s 

getting married! Kelsey Von Strantz plays cello 

and violin. She also does freelance performances, 

session work, and plays in Von Strantz, a duo, 

with her sister. Lauren Horbal, guitarist, also plays 

drums for The Hardin Draw and does freelance 

work. Owen, bassist, plays with another band too, 

Commoner. Leah Shipchack, lead singer, performs 

as a drag king at Play and bartends there as well. 

Trish Noe, drums, is currently devoting all her time 

to F+F while working as a director of private events. 

Now comes touring as Fame+Fiction sets out 

beginning in August. 

Focus recently pinned them down so our 

readers can get to know them a little better. Be 

sure to check them out at local venues including 

The Lipstick Lounge on June 23 along with Von 

Strantz and Hudson K. 


music 

MEET THE BAND 

KRISTEN FORD 

Instrument(s), Vocals: 

Lead Guitar + Vocals 

Preferred Pronouns: She 

Number of tattoos: I’ve got 

some tattoos. 

Cat or Dog: I dislike most 

cats and consider myself an 

amateur dog whisperer. My 

dog’s 

insta is @cosmorawks. He is a 

feminist. 

What brought you to music 

city? I moved to Nashville to 

be among the best, and you 

know, winter. 

TRISH NOE 

Instrument(s), Vocals: Drums 

Preferred Pronouns: Her or 

Daddy 

Number of Tattoos: 5 - all on 

my arms 

Cat or Dog? Dog! Quincy! 

Quincetagram79 (on Insta) 

Toilet paper over or under? 

Always over. Geez don’t be 

that under person. 

Skittles or M&Ms? Depends on 

if I also have popcorn. Sand 

popcorn - skittles. Popcorn... 

peanut M&M’s. 

What brought you to Music 

City? 

I moved to Nashville via NYC 

in ‘07 when the housing 

market crashed. I wised up to 

the cost of living/quality of 

life game and made the move. 

OWEN 

Instrument(s), Vocals: Bass 

Preferred Pronouns: They/ 

Them 

Number of tattoos: 2 

Cat or Dog? Cat 

KELS VON STRANTZ 

Instrument(s), Vocals: Cello 

and Violin 

Preferred Pronouns: She, her, 

Kels 


Cat or Dog? I’ve recently 

converted from a cat person 

to a dog person. haha. 

Toilet paper over or under: 

The toilet paper should 

roll over. That’s how it was 

patented! 

Skittles or M&Ms: I’m forever 

loyal to peanut butter m&ms! 


city? Short answer, Music! I 

play with my sister in a duo 

called Von Strantz, and we 

came here to network and be 

in a central location of the US, 

as we tour full time. I also do 

session work, and freelance 

performances, and Nashville 

is a nice central location for 

that as well. 

LAUREN HORBAL 

Instrument(s), Vocals: Guitar 

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her. 


Cat or Dog: Cat 

Toilet Paper over or under: 

Over 

Skittles or M&Ms: M&Ms 


city? 

I am originally from 

Connecticut and had dropped 

out of music school a few 

years prior to moving here. 

I met some very talented 

musicians at a local bar 

in Milford, CT and they 

convinced me to move down 

to Tennessee! So I did :) 

LEAH SHIPCHACK 

Instrument(s) or Vocals: Lead 

Singer 

Preferred Pronouns: Her 

Number of tattoos: 8 and a 

Half Sleeve 

Cat of Dog: Dog 

Toilet paper over or under: 

Over 

Skittles or M&Ms: M&Ms 


city? 

I moved here from LA to 

live with my best friend and 

guitarist, Lauren Horbal. I had 

visited Nashville twice driving 

out to LA from our home 

state Connecticut. I fell in love 

with the city and immediately 

felt like it was home. 

THE HISTORY 

How did you all meet? 

Trish - Kristen and I met via 

Craigslist because she and 

her wife were moving down 

to Nashville from Boston. I 

was looking for a house with 

musicians, but I didn’t realize 

that I had struck gold with 

this particular bad-ass. 

Kristen - We had 4 days to 

find a place to live with a 

music space, roommates, and 

to sign a lease without any 

employment or references. 

It all came together. A few 

months later at Play, Leah was 

attractive enough to catch 

the attention of my finance’s 

(straight) sister’s eye. She 

said “that bartender is HOT. 

Think she plays music?” 

Trish - Leah introduced us 

to Lauren, her best friend 

from childhood who had also 

moved to Nashville for music. 

They’d been performing for 

years. Lauren worked with 

Owen at the Wild Cow and 

asked Owen if they wanted 

to play bass. And then 

Kelsey came out of Kristen’s 

endless pursuits to have as 

many musical projects as she 

can muster. It all just came 

together and the future is 

bright. 

How did it feel to play before 

a sold out crowd for the very 

first show that you all did as 

a band? 

Kristen - The first gig was 

special. I think this band has 

been lucky so far! It’s almost 

like the stage has been 

waiting for us to take it. I also 

blame Kelsey for swiping that 

second bottle of vodka and 

the goat man for creating a 

bit of a scene and my intense 

hangover the following day. 

Leah - Having our first show 

at Basement East in the first 

place was amazing. I love that 

venue and I’ve seen so many 

talented people play there. 

The fact that it was a sold out 

show for such a good cause, 

just made me even more 

proud and thankful. 

Trish - Well I was totally 

jazzed but also nervous as 

****! Seriously, there was 

more adrenaline than my old 

body could even handle - 

pretty sure I even dropped 

a stick somewhere in the 

set but managed to recover 

without too much notice. It 

was an amazing night! 

Lauren - Omg it was 

incredible but so nerve 

racking! The energy in the 

room was amazing and 

unforgettable. And it was for 

a great cause. We ended up 

making so many connections 

and meeting a lot of awesome 

musicians. 

Kels - It was definitely a nice 

start. I think it set the bar 

high for us, and that can be a 

good and challenging thing. 

But, as I’ve been performing 

for a few years now, I think 

it’s always encouraging to 

experience those kind of 

shows every now and then 


when you’re starting out, to 

keep you moving forward, 

being able to tangibly see a 

goal. 

Why is being involved 

in activism important to 

you as individuals? As a 

group? 

Kristen - The longer I have 

been playing music, the 

older I get, making my way 

in the world, the less I give 

a damn about speaking my 

mind, the less afraid I am to 

express myself, and the more 

outraged I am by our state of 

affairs. “Be the change you 

wish to see in the world.” It’s 

cliché but also an aspiration 

and something that drives 

my desire to make music, to 

travel the world, and tour 

to connect with so many 

different people. 

Owen - Activism is important 

because we are responsible 

for the world we create. 

Trish - I’m comfortable in my 

queerness and I’d like to be a 

good role model for others. 

Lauren - I think that anyone 

who has a voice and can use 

it for good needs to speak up. 

If we have that voice and ever 

have that influence, it’s very 

important that we fight for 

the things we believe in. As 

for myself, I’ve been involved 

in a ton of LGBT rights 

activism since high school 

and I think we need to do this 

now for future generations 

as those before us fought so 

hard and suffered so we can 

benefit from the rights we do 

have today. 

Leah - Us as a group, being 

as unique as we are, we have 

a huge chance to turn some 

heads and open some eyes. 

We celebrate our diversity as 

a group and individually. Even 

if one mind is changed for 

the better, not only with our 

music, but with our different 

styles and acceptance of 

being different, that is a huge 

accomplishment. 

THE FUTURE 

FOR FAME + 

FICTION 

What does the future look like 

for Fame+Fiction? 

Kels - I would say hopefully 

we are touring. Hopefully we 

have made a reputation for 

ourselves as professionals, 

and as advocates of human 

rights and people. From what 

I know of my bandmates, 

I think that is important to 

all of us. I think as a group 

we would desire to have a 

platform to speak truth, and 

utilize our growing fan base 

to be encouraging to people, 

specifically to women and 

to the LGBTQ community, 

leading by example to inspire 

others to pursue their dreams. 

Trish - We’re heading out on 

a tour in August and playing 

some really cool venues and 

events! One I am psyched 

for is the Michigan Family 

Festival on August 5th! I think 

we’re gonna start recording 

new songs, making albums, 

filming music videos and 

slowly taking over the world. 

You know...that ole bag. 

What struggles have you 

overcome to get where you 

are today? 

Leah - I’ve overcome coming 

out as gay, struggling for 

acceptance, anxiety. 

Kels - My biggest struggle 

is myself. What I have to 

overcome is self-doubt, 

insecurities, and depression. 

I’ve been playing music 

my whole life, and at times 

I’ve been held back by a 

lack of confidence. It’s a 

longstanding and perpetual 

battle. And I know I’m not the 

only one fighting this fight. 

But there have been people 

and friends that have come 

into my life at different points 

that have helped push me 

back up when I find myself 

at a stand still. The key is 

being able to pinpoint what’s 

holding you down, and also 

pinpoint the things that lift 

your spirits and motivate 

you to pursue your passions 

100%. For me, I save me from 

myself by surrounding myself 

with good friends and staying 

healthy. 

Lauren - I’ve dealt with a 

lot of family issues with 

my father passing when 

I was 17 and dealing with 

family members battling 

addiction and I suffered 

from depression when I was 

younger. Music is so healing 

though and has been the 

one thing that has gotten me 

through all of this. 

For more from the band please 

visit focusmidtenn.com 

ADVERTISE 

WITH 

US! 

Rates 

Starting at 

$ 

75 00 

per mo. 

For more 

information and space 

reservation contact 

Selena @ 615.481.4919 

focusmidsouth.com

community 

NASHVILLE 

ROLLERGIRLS 

story and photos by Leslee Marie White 

It’s been called the fastest 

growing female sport in America 

and it’s right here in Nashville. 

Our very own Nashville 

Rollergirls (NRG) are currently 

skating in their 11th season and 

rolling to the top of the Women’s 

Flat Track Derby Association 

(WFTDA) rankings. 

Forty ladies are divided into 

two teams: the Music City Allstars, 

the charter team who travels 

nationwide to compete against 

other high ranking teams as well 

as taking part in the regional and 

divisional playoffs and the Music 

City Brawl Stars; the “b team” that 

consists of skaters that travel the 

southeast and midwest competing 

against other up and coming 

teams. 

The NRG’s were founded 

in 2006 and became members 

of WFTDA in 2008. They are 

currently ranked 55th out of 

392 teams. The All-stars have 

taken part in the international 

championships in 2010, 2011, and 

2015. 

The NRGs call themselves 

a family-friendly, communityminded, 

and service-oriented 

organization. While being a 501(c) 

(3) organization, they still find 

time to devote to charity work. 

Each season the NRGs partner 

with charitable organizations 

to volunteer and offer financial 

support by donating a portion of 

their ticket sales from each bout. 

This season they’ve partnered with 

Music City Sisters of Perpetual 

Indulgence, Oasis Center, 

Nashville Cares and Thistle Farms. 

While the Rollergirls are fiercely 

dedicated to their charitable 

interests, they are just as intensely 

dedicated to their sport and 

their team. When posed the 

question “what does derby mean 

to you?”, Deathalopod says, “It 

means so many things. Strength. 

Confidence. The ability to not just 

occupy a space but to OWN it. To 

not be afraid of failure because you 

learn to fail over and over again 

until you succeed in an awesome 

and empowering way.” 

Aside from working and playing 

hard together, they also have fun 

and develop skills that transfer 

into everyday life as well. Through 

training, they help empower the 

ladies by promoting skills such 

as communication, leadership, 

mediation and organization. 

Electra Cal, skater, coach, and 

mom of five, has been with the 

team since 2009. She attended 

Belmont University to get a degree 

to become an American College of 

Sports Medicine (ACSM) certified 

physiologist with the goal to help 

the team become stronger. 

Through her education she has 

been able to implement strength 

training and dynamic warm-ups to 

help minimize injuries and help the 

ladies come back to the track faster. 

Fracking Toast Her, league 

president says, “Playing derby 

and being a part of this team in 

particular has challenged me in 

ways I didn’t think possible. Not 

just the physical challenge of 

skating and cross-training but the 

emotional challenges that come 

with learning how to be a good 

teammate.” 

You can catch the Rollergirls 

at the Sports Arena located at the 

Nashville Fairgrounds for their 

remaining regular season bouts on 

July 8 and August 5. Doors open at 

5 pm with the Brawl Stars starting 

at 5:30 pm and the All-stars at 7:15 

pm. They will also be hosting the 

3rd Annual Hit It and Quidditch, 

a Harry Potter themed roller derby 

bout that helps raise funds for the 

NRGs next season. 

The double header will be on 

Oct. 21 with doors opening at 4:30 

p.m. followed by two games. The 

first game is at 5:30 pitting longstanding 

rivals Slytherin against 

Hufflepuff and the second game is 

at 7:30 where Gryffindor will take 

on Ravenclaw! 

The tournament will be held at 

The Fairgrounds Nashville campus 

of Hogwarts. 

Skaters such as Harry 

Slaughter, Hermione Danger, 

Dumblegore, Drew Blood Prince, 

among others will be sorted into 

House Teams by a very special 

sorting hat ceremony that will 

begin at 5:20 p.m. 

Fans will have the opportunity 

to buy spells to affect gameplay 

and also earn house points for 

their cheering sections. 

There will be a costume contest 

as well as other fun Harry Potter 

surprises. 

Earn points for your team by 

dressing in costume or sporting 

NRG swag! 

Tickets for all NRG 

events are available through 

nashvillerollergirls.com. 


travel 

DISCOVER WOODBURY 


by Michelle Willard 

photos courtesy of Half Hill Farm 

When Christian Grantham 

returned to Middle Tennessee 

from Washington D.C. with his 

husband Vince Oropesa, he 

wasn’t sure what to expect. 

It only took a year for 

his home state to tell him 

how it viewed his marriage 

when voters overwhelmingly 

approved a ban on gay 

marriage. 

“After that, I worked 

purposefully to protect myself 

and my family,” Grantham 

said about what led him to 

found Half Hill Farm with 

Oropesa in 2012. 

He said the vote made him 

look at his life and it awaken 

his entrepreneurial spirit. He 

decide he wanted to create 

a life that would insulate his 

family from the whims of a 

bigoted electorate. 

“Now I am serving others 

and serving people and doing 

it well,” Grantham said. “That 

can actually sustain me if that 

is the center of everything.” 

In the years since, 

Grantham and Oropesa 

have created a mushroom 

extract and kombucha 

organic empire in Woodbury, 

Tennessee. 

Grantham had tried other 

business models in the past 

that were solely focused 

on making money. But with 

his venture Half Hill Farm, 

he wanted to do something 

more, something that helped 

other people. 

Customer Thea Prince 

is one of those who have 

developed a trusting 

relationship with Grantham 

and Oropesa. Prince came 

in the store on a Sunday 

afternoon to ask about how 

CBD oil, which is extracted 

from hemp, might affect her 

husband Joe’s Parkinson’s 

Disease. 

Despite the fact it was 

Sunday, and the store was 

closed, and he was in the 

middle of making tea for 

the couple’s next batch of 

kombucha, Grantham spoke 

with Prince for half an hour 

about how the oil is taken, 

what amount would be 

best and whether the hemp 

extract is legal. 

Her husband Joe wants 

to relieve the symptoms 

of his Parkinson’s Disease 

and reduce the amount 

of medications he is on, 

Prince explained, adding her 

husband was a Marine during 

Vietnam. 

“Since he is a Marine, he 

doesn’t give up,” she said. 

When she said she trusts 

Grantham and Oropesa 

to help her find the right 

nutritional supplements for 

her health and the health 

of her husband, Grantham 

smiled with pride. 

“I’m doing this to help 

people. That’s what our 

business is about,” he said. 

Not work, a mission 

After working as a political 

consultant in and around 

Washington D.C. for about a 

decade, Grantham relocated 

with Oropesa to Middle 

Tennessee in 2006. 

In the middle of the Great 

Recession, Grantham decided 

to make a career change. He 

was working for a broadcast 

news station in Nashville in 

2010 but quit his stable job 

to travel the state working 

as a freelance storyteller, 

which introduced him to 

the man behind Short 

Mountain Distillery, 

Billy Kaufman. 

“I found artists 

who were 

successful because 

of their passion 

and their love of 

what they did. I 

found people with 

values,” he said. 

“It brought me to 


travel 

Cannon County and I met 

Billy. He wanted to do that 

with moonshine.” 

Grantham joined forces 

with Kaufman to change 

state and county law to allow 

alcohol manufacturing in 

Cannon County. He gave up 

life on the road and took a 

job as chief operating officer 

from Short Mountain Distillery 

in Woodbury. 

A few years later, he and 

Oropesa bought a small farm, 

literally on half a hill, outside 

of Woodbury and moved 

in to start working on their 

business. 

The success of Half Hill 

Farm didn’t come without 

heartache. 

“It was a disaster for two 

years,” Grantham said. 

After moving to the 

farm, Grantham realized 

they couldn’t make it on 

vegetables alone. They would 

have to find a way to add 

value to their products. 

First, he and Oropesa 

worked to get the farm 

certified organic. 

He recalled growing organic 

vegetables for Woodbury’s 

Saturday Farmers’ Market and 

tearful times on the hillside, 

wondering if he had done 

the right thing, giving up 

everything and moving to the 

country. 

Grantham said he found 

the spark he saw in the artists 

he profiled after Oropesa got 

devastating news; his mother 

had stage 4 lung cancer. The 

doctors told them there was 

no cure but chemotherapy 

could extend her life. 

Natural treatments 

for ailments 

About the time they got the 

bad news, a friend came to 

visit the farm and discovered 

something that would change 

the direction of Grantham and 

Oropesa’s lives, wild turkey 

tail mushrooms. 

Turkey tail mushrooms 

grow wild in Tennessee 

forests and the fungus has 

been brewed as a tea in China 

for centuries to help boost 

immune systems. 

Grantham learned how the 

extract from the mushrooms 

could help Oropesa’s mother, 

who started taking it along 

with her chemo treatments. 

“It helped keep her general 

health good, she didn’t lose 

weight, she kept her hair,” 

Oropesa said, adding she 

tolerated the chemo better 

than the other patients he 

saw in the oncologist’s office. 

“It eased her pain,” Oropesa 

said. “It’s still hard to think 

about because the end result 

is she’s not here. But I do find 

comfort in that.” 

Now, the couple produces 

extracts from turkey tail, red 

reishi, chaga and lion’s mane 

mushrooms for customers 

through their online store . 

“Those ship all over 

the United States from 

Woodbury,” Grantham said. 

They have also expanded 

into kombucha. In January 

2016, Grantham and Oropesa 

teamed up with fellow 

Woodbury makers, Short 

Mountain Cultures and 

started an organic kombucha 

brewery in The Kitchen at 

the Arts Center of Cannon 

County. 

Kombucha is sweet tea 

fermented with special 

yeast and probiotics into 

a carbonated beverage 

often flavored with fruits, 

vegetables, roots or herbs. 

“We are lifting up the food 

and beverage culture in 

Cannon County,” Grantham 

said. 

Their first year in the Arts 

Center of Cannon County 

has been a resounding 

success. They have run out 

of production space for their 

kombucha and are looking 

for a larger facility or land to 

build on, as well as hiring on 

workers. 

“It’s hard work but work 

is what it takes to be 

successful,” Grantham said. 

Oropesa was recently able 

to quit his job in IT to focus 

on the family business. 

Two of their kombucha 

flavors are also on tap at The 

Turnip Truck in Nashville. 

Grantham said the Gulch 

grocery has even taken beer 

off tap to replace with Half 

Hill Farm kombucha. 

“When you are pursuing 

your values, you wonder 

if anyone cares. They do,” 

Grantham said. 

Now they are committed to 

the health of their community 

and the health of their 

customers. 


210 Grand View Lane 

Woodbury, TN 37190 

615-469-7778 

halfhillfarm.com 


calendar 

WHAT TO DO IN JULY+AUGUST 

BY LAUREN MEANS 

CELEBRATE LIVING 

IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE 

WITH THESE FUN 

EVENTS! 

JULY 8 

NASHVILLE ROLLER GIRLS 

Check out the NRGs at the Nashville 

Fairgrounds. Doors open at 4:30! 

For more info, visit nashvillerollergirls.com 

JULY 19 

NASHVILLE LGBT CHAMBER 

HEALTH EXPO: 

TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR HEALTH 

The Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce is 

hosting its first-ever Health Expo on July 19. For 

more info, visit nashvillelgbtchamber.org. 

JULY 22 

OUTCENTRAL GAY 5K 

Join OutCentral as they celebrate LGBT+ unity 

and solidarity in Nashville on Saturday, July 22. 

Register@ outcentral.org. 

JULY 28-30 

ENCORE PRIDE 

NASHVILLE, TN 

“ENCORE” Music City Pride, is the first premiere 

all inclusive weekend to be introduced to 

Nashville, TN. Taking over the heart of Music City 

Row, July 28th -30th 2017. For more info, visit 

encorepride.com. 

AUGUST 

STEEL MAGNOLIAS 

ROXY REGIONAL THEATER, CLARKSVILLE 

What began as Robert Harling’s beautiful, 

cathartic memoir about his sister has become 

a widely beloved play and popular film about 

the hope, healing — and even humor — possible 

in the midst of heartache. Various showings 

throughout August. For more info, visit 

roxyregionaltheatre.org. 

AUGUST 21 

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE PARK 

HOSTED BY TN STATE PARKS 

On Monday, August 21, a total eclipse of the 

sun will sweep across the United States from 

approximately noon until 3:00 PM (Central 

Time). For more info, visit tnstateparks.com. 

AUGUST 11-12 

TOMATO ARTS FESTIVAL 

EAST NASHVILLE 

Tomato Art Fest returns for the 14th year! Located 

in Historic East Nashville’s Five Points, this free, 

costume-encouraged event provides a wildly 

entertaining, fun-filled day for all types and allages. 

For more info, vist tomatoartfest.com. 

HAVE AN EVENT TO LIST? DO IT 

ONLINE AT FOCUSMIDTENN.COM. 


est. 

ommon 

Get 

erse 

attend. volunteer. donate. invest. 

We’re all connected somehow. 

At OutCentral, it’s our common 

unity that connects us. That’s why 

it’s called community. 

Get involved, make a difference, 

and become part of the connected, 

diverse LGBT+ community at 

OutCentral.

2017 Issue 4 Jul/Aug - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?