Thank you, Tennessee, for your hospitality. Now, it's time to move south.
When my family and I − husband and two dogs − moved from Florida to Tennessee in 2014, we stopped at the rest area off Interstate 24 in Chattanooga.
A sign reading "Tennessee The Volunteer State Welcomes You" greets visitors there and made us feel immediately at ease, embraced and welcome.
Hospitality is a calling card for this state and, in spite of the polarized politics of the day, the relationships I have built over nearly 11 years here have shown me that humanity − and humans, when they are willing − can transcend those barriers that keep us apart.
Now that my parents have moved to Georgia, I frequently stop at this rest area to stretch my legs, go on a walk and take in the beautiful natural vistas.
Soon, our little family will be moving south to be near my folks and the opportunity for me to continue doing what I love as an opinion journalist, but now in Atlanta instead of Nashville.
My service at The Tennessean ends May 2 after nearly 25 years with my employer Gannett.
I leave with an immense sense of gratitude for all the people I have met and events I have experienced.
From Sunday brunches at Lipstick Lounge in East Nashville to seeing the iconic Dolly Parton perform an acoustic show at The Ryman Auditorium.
From running my first and only marathon in the 2015 Rock N' Roll Race Series in Nashville to doing the much-less punishing 5K on April 26 as a way to take in the incredible views of the city and reminisce about my time here.
From enjoying Mule Day in Columbia and the annual Wilson County − Tennessee State Fair to taking road trips to be awed by Fall Creek Falls, to buy ceramics in Sparta, to pray in Sewanee and to check out the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Tennessee.
During my time in Tennessee, I have had the privilege of moderating political forums featuring candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, Nashville mayor, and other local and state offices.
I have developed a relationship over seven visits in six years with the citizens of McMinnville, Tennessee, who graciously invited me to step out of my blue bubble of Nashville-Davidson County and explore intentional civic commitment in red Warren County (shout out to Bill Zechman).
Partnerships with multiple universities have allowed me to get to travel all over the state of Tennessee, from Memphis to Johnson City (no, I have not visited Mountain City).
As I have been reflecting upon my service in Tennessee, these are five highlights that immediately come to mind as great points of pride for me:
"Cost of Growth and Change in Nashville" series (2017): An examination of the widening prosperity gap affecting low- and middle-income residents' access to housing, good transportation options and other essentials needed to live in an ever-booming region. The crisis has grown since then.
Civility Tennessee initiative (2018-Present): A campaign to model, promote and encourage civil discourse. While these days, I prefer the term "citizenship mindset" over "civility," the whole point is about developing self-actuated residents working together to uphold, challenge and strengthen our democratic republic. The Tennessean launched it at Vanderbilt University and held events at Lipscomb University and across all University of Tennessee system campuses.
Tennessee Voices video podcast (2020-2025): A show developed at the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020 just for the sheer need to pivot, innovate and stay relevant in uncertain times. I have hosted 450 episodes with newsmakers, leaders, thinkers and doers over five years, and I have learned so much about leadership, purpose and recovering from one's mistakes.
Black and Latino Tennessee Voices (2020-Present): This effort emerged from our diversity, equity and inclusion task force − which has hosted gun owners, young American Muslims, and experts in neurodivergence − as a means to go from telling stories about communities of color to telling stories for, with and by them. This project evolved from soliciting more guest opinion columns to curating weekly newsletters then producing annual live shows featuring community members sharing a story about their lives. The most recent storytellers show hosts were Meharry Medical College and Trevecca Nazarene University.
The Nashville Mayoral Debates (2023): A series of four debates during an open mayoral election in 2023 in partnership with Belmont University, American Baptist College, News Channel 5 and the League of Women Voters of Nashville for the purpose of illuminating and educating voters, supplemented with both long-form candidate surveys and a popular candidate score card.
Every single one of these efforts required a team. I am proud to have served on the award-winning, extraordinary staff of The Tennessean, full of dedicated professionals committed to telling stories fairly, truthfully and justly. I would encourage readers and the general public to support their efforts by continuing or starting a subscription.
Thank you to my past and present executive editors and current and past editorial board members: Michael A. Anastasi, Laura Hollingsworth, Stephanie Murray, Maria De Varenne, Ben Goad, Frank Daniels III, Mark Russell, Gary Estwick, Cameron Smith and Kerri Bartlett. Also, a shoutout to the glue that holds the team together: Beverly Burnett, our newsroom administrator who celebrates her 50th anniversary at The Tennessean this year.
I leave knowing that I stood on the shoulders of giants, not least of all, the late fomer Publisher and Editor John Seigenthaler who died shortly before I arrived in Nashville. Former Editorial Page Editor Dwight Lewis has been a friend, mentor and source who taught me so much over a meat-and-three lunch at Swett's Restaurant. I am grateful to former publisher, Carol Hudler, my longtime mentor and friend, who persuaded me to come to Nashville in the first place.
I am thankful too for the my colleagues, past and present, on the opinion team, including, Alex Hubbard, Tom Chester, LeBron Hill, Andrea Williams, Donna Cruze, Sarah Frazier, Elena Wilson, Jaymey Hedberg, Kyra Watts; freelance columnists Keel Hunt and Saritha Prabhu; and our foreign exchange journalists: visting Burns Fellows from Germany, Johanna Roth, Tatiana Heid and Angela Gruber, and Russian journalists Stanislav Zaharkin and Evgenia Shcherbina.
Opinion: I'm Roman Catholic-adjacent — and I embrace Pope Francis' message on love and kindness
As someone who loves being among people and community, I am especially grateful to my fellow Rotary Club of Nashville members, Leadership Nashville alums and Salemtown Neighbors Neighborhood Association friends − all who share the values of moral imagination and civic investment.
I mention this because when I am frequently asked about coping in uncertain times, I believe the answer is in building community − both in small and big ways: spending time with neighbors, attending a community event or public meeting, and/or using your voice to challenge injustices, but also to praise the positive.
Now is the time to hold the people in your communities close and to find ways to strengthen each other. Build upon that strength and also take occasional moments to disengage from the noise in order to rest and recharge.
Most important, pay the spirit of hospitality forward.
That rest area welcome sign off I-24 was not just aspirational. The people of Tennessee overwhelmingly proved to me that this message is true.
David Plazas served as the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee from Nov. 25, 2014, to May 2, 2025.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee made me feel welcome and I am incredibly grateful | Opinion
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