Skip to content

Kingsport Spirit

Jeff Fleming's unique take on the Kingsport Spirit with stories of faith, family, people, places, & history of his hometown and surrounding region. Jeff retired in 2019 after serving the City of Kingsport for 35 years, rising from planning intern to city manager.

  • History
  • Move To Kingsport
  • People
  • Motivation
  • My Family
  • Remodeling the Model City – Highland Park

    If you haven’t explored the side streets of Kingsport lately, you’re missing out on a story worth telling. While much attention has been given to code enforcement, an equally remarkable narrative is unfolding: the private sector is stepping up with reinvestment, and homeowners are purchasing properties at fair market value. Adding to the appeal, the…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 28, 2024
    Move To Kingsport
    City Planning, housing, Infill, kingsport, Neighborhood, Redevelopment
  • Lynn Garden Reimagined

    Lynn Garden sprung up as an unincorporated neighborhood of worker cottages in the 1930s for Kingsport’s legacy industries. The community grew rapidly, necessitating the creation of a county elementary school (Lynn Garden) and later a county high school (Lynn View). Fast forward to 2024 and the community is now in the city limits with full…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 28, 2024
    Move To Kingsport
    Affordability, Community, housing, Neighborhood, Redevelopment
  • Patriots to Pioneers: Tracing My Connection to Becky Boone

    I grew up hearing stories about my father’s roots in Clintwood, Virginia, in Dickenson County. It’s just over an hour’s drive north of Kingsport, Tennessee, near Virginia’s border with Kentucky. I still treasure my copy of Meet Virginia’s Baby, a book highlighting Dickenson County, the youngest in the Commonwealth, formed in 1880. What I didn’t…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 25, 2024
    History, My Family, People
  • A Realtor’s Guide to Regional Schools

    The Tennessee Department of Education’s recent report card offers insights that go beyond surface appearances—much like the values we cherish in people, it’s what’s inside that truly counts. Pro Tip: If you want to cut to the chase, look at the link/chart at the bottom of this article. Education isn’t just about modern buildings or…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 24, 2024
    Move To Kingsport
    bristol, education, johnson-city, kingsport, news, northeast-tennessee, schools
  • Northeast Tennessee offers an attractive alternative

    Housing is a cornerstone of economic development, serving as a powerful driver of economic growth. Reporting statistics per capita is important because it standardizes data by accounting for population size, allowing for fair comparisons. By normalizing data, per capita metrics avoid misleading interpretations arising from raw totals, especially when populations differ significantly. With that in…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 19, 2024
    Move To Kingsport
    growth, housing, memphis, nashville, news, offthegrid, tennessee, travel, urban planning
  • First Families of Tennessee

    First Families of Tennessee was established by the East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) in 1993 as a Tennessee Bicentennial project. Membership is open to anyone who can prove direct descent from a person or persons living in what is now Tennessee before or by statehood in 1796. I began my First Families journey recently. My…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 17, 2024
    History, My Family
    genealogy, hawkins-county, History, kingsport, news, north-carolina, sullivan-county, tennessee
  • Is Northeast Tennessee growing too fast?

    When people worry about Northeast Tennessee growing too fast, looking at other mid-size cities across Tennessee is helpful. Middle Tennessee’s market is undeniably white-hot, so it’s no surprise that the top four cities are from that region. But the disparity may surprise you. Those four cities account for 60% of all the homes sold. Northeast…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 16, 2024
    Move To Kingsport
  • The Hidden Costs of Coastal Living

    As you likely know, I’ve been involved with Move To Kingsport for 25 years. Upon retirement 5 years ago, I began managing the program on a part-time basis for Visit Kingsport. Marketing my hometown has become part of my psyche, so I thought I’d share some insights we are asked by new citizens and those…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 14, 2024
    Move To Kingsport
  • Recharge: Life Lessons from My Watch

    For some reason, I let my watch battery drain to zero. It’s an older Fitbit, which means it needs a specific charging cord with a USB plug. That complicates things because I can’t just set it on a charging pad by my bed like Apple users do. This disruption in routine often leads to a…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 6, 2024
    Motivation
    healing, lifelessons, mentalhealth, mindfulness
  • Butterfly, Tenn.

    Occasionally as I scan old maps of our area, I stumble across a place name that has been lost to time. Such is the case of “Butterfly, Tenn.” located at the intersection of Reservoir Road and Bays Mountain Park Road. When post offices first began, there was a need for official place names that could…

    Jeff Fleming

    November 18, 2024
    History
    family-history, History, post-office
Previous Page
1 … 20 21 22 23 24 … 29
Next Page

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Subscribe Subscribed
    Kingsport Spirit
    Join 186 other subscribers

    Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.

  • Kingsport Spirit
    View site in Reader
    Manage subscriptionsSign upLog in
    Report this content
    Collapse this bar