The Best Things in Life Aren’t Things

The best things in life aren’t things. They’re relationships.

A young woman and her business relationship with a local TV anchor.
A reunion between a non-profit president and co-worker of 36-years ago.

Kathryn Lincoln is a self-professed Chatty Kathy. The 2014 Fairview High School graduate is known for engaging her Starbucks costumers in West Nashville. Local TV anchor Tom Randles is among her regulars, and one day the conversation steered toward Washington DC.

“I’ve been there,” Kathryn stated confidently. “My JTG class raised money for some of us to go to a leadership conference. It made all the difference in the world to me,” she explained.

Randles became more intrigued and wanted to know more about this JTG program Kathryn kept sprinkling in the conversation. So much so, that he wanted to profile the program on his newscast. He (along with photographer Craig Minor) visited the Williamson County school Thursday, March 28th and aired a 3—minute story during the WSMV-TV Channel 4 10 p.m. the following Thursday.

All because of casual conversation during a java transaction.

That isn’t the only serendipitous encounter regarding this profile. Randles and JTG President & CEO John Dwyer crossed paths in 1983 at a South Bend, Indiana TV station (the duo’s hometown). Dwyer was a 19-year old sports intern and Randles was a news photographer. “Tom shot my very first story,” explained the 29-year veteran of the TV news business. “When TJ (Tom’s nickname back then) walked into the classroom at Fairview, he was startled to see me addressing the students. We had a good time whispering in the back of class walking down memory lane. We almost got shhhhed!”

Lesson being, you never know where paths will cross leading to stories told. Perhaps a coffee shop. Or a local TV station decades ago.