Kellie Toon

06 Oct Kellie Toon

What is your vision for Knoxville 10 years from now?

The arts are essential to a sustainable community as they bring people together and deepen cultural understanding through shared experiences. Over the next ten years I would love to see downtown Knoxville continue to evolve and transform into a true cultural center. By bolstering our existing resources, we can build a diverse community united in the arts.

What are you reading that is on your nightstand?

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.

What is your favorite Knoxville memory?

The first Thanksgiving we moved here, my family decided to go to Fantasy of Trees, a benefit of the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. I knew little about it and had no expectations. We were simply looking for something to do to fill the time with our visiting family. I wasn’t prepared for the magic upon walking in the doors of the Knoxville Convention Center. The lights, the beautifully decorated trees, the children’s eyes lit up with anticipation of meeting Santa, the music, dance performances, and crafts all left a lasting impression on each of us. Attending the Fantasy of Trees became an annual tradition for our family and one of my favorite memories as it always brought the magic of the holidays to Knoxville.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor, and who was that mentor?

I have had so many wonderful mentors in my life. Amazingly beautiful people with whom my path has crossed at just the right moment in time. To narrow down to one person, or the best piece of advice is a most difficult pursuit as every mentor and the guidance they have provided in my life has shaped who I am today. My tenth grade English professor, Carole Countryman, introduced me to literature and writings that expanded my horizons beyond the small Texas town I called home. She told me, “If you can’t say it, write it. You have that gift.” Her advice highlighted the power of the written word and my ability to communicate in this way. My mom, Dr. Janey Hunt, my lifetime mentor, once told me to run my own race. It is too easy to compare ourselves to others and never quite feel like we measure up. While we can, and should, applaud the achievements of others, when we run our own race we celebrate our successes as they relate to us. Finally, Dr. Norma Mertz, my doctoral dissertation committee chair would always ask, “So What?” In that deceptively simple question, Dr. Mertz pushed me to think more broadly. What is the point, what is the purpose, what is the meaning? Why do we do what we do? It is a challenging question and yet when we can answer it, we find a deeper connection to our work and our life.

What advice would you give to your 16 year old self?

Be you. If I could go back and talk to my 16-year-old self, that would be my advice. To simply ‘be you’. I would encourage me to not lose myself behind the mask of conformity as it is the uniqueness that makes each of us beautiful.