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Podcasts
Celebrating 50 years of Parks and Recreation in Gatlinburg, with Marty Nicely and Laurence Evans (Episode 119)
April 18, 2025It was April of 1975 when your host moved to Gatlinburg to start the Parks and Recreation Program for the City of Gatlinburg.
Now 50 years later, this agency has become one of Tennessee’s best. Consistently winning statewide recognition for exceptional facilities and innovative programs. All the credit goes to my two guests, Marty Nicely (Director 1978-2020) and to Laurence Evans, the current Director.
We have a fun conversation, reminiscing about the origins of the agency and the elements which make it outstanding today.
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Interview with April Johnson, Assistant Director, Recreation Services, TN Dept Environment and Conservation (Episode 116)
February 28, 2025
Interview With Michael Robertson, 2024 TRPA Fellow, Director of Field Operations, TN State Parks (retired) Episode 115
December 20, 2024
Interview With Author and Naturalist Joanna Brichetto, This Is How A Robin Drinks. Essays on Urban Nature (Episode 114)
December 6, 2024
Interview with Michael Officer, Executive Officer Cuan Beo (Bay Life) organization, Galway Ireland (Episode 113)
November 8, 2024
Historic Overton Park in Memphis Tennessee, Melissa McMasters and Eric Bridges of the Overton Park Conservancy (Episode 112)
July 12, 2024
The Tennessee Smart Yard Program, with Amy Dunlap, Agricultural Extension Agent, University of Tennessee (Episode 111)
June 28, 2024About Mark
Mark Thomas Fraley is a lawyer (now retired) in Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Prior to starting law practice in 1987, Mark was active in the field of Parks and Recreation. He was the first Parks and Recreation Director for the cities of Gatlinburg and Sevierville Tennessee. He was the founding program administrator for the Parks and Recreation Technical Advisory Service (PARTAS) and served as Assistant Commissioner of Conservation and Director or Parks and Recreation for the State of Tennessee. In 1987 Mark was designated a “Fellow” of the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association.
Mark practiced law in Nashville Tennessee from 1987 until retirement in 2017. He had a general practice with an emphasis on Social Security Disability claims. He was a faculty member of the Nashville School of Law ( 1997-2009) teaching the course on Social Security Law.
Education
University of Cincinnati, 1974, Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy)
Nashville School of Law, 1983, Doctor of Jurisprudence
Licensure
License to Practice Law, Tennessee Supreme Court (1983) BPR# 10448
Admitted to Practice, U.S. Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (1987)
Admitted to Practice, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, (1994)
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