Friendship Force of Knoxville, Tennessee,
United States of America
Club Profile (September, 2003)
Official club name: The Friendship Force of Knoxville, Tennessee
Closest major airport: McGhee-Tyson, Knoxville, Tennessee (TYS)
Cost of transportation between the airport and our city: Hosts meet the Ambassadors at the airport; no charge.
The maximum number of Ambassadors our club can host: 25
The Friendship Force of Knoxville was chartered May 16, 1981. We have approximately 90 members including families and single people. Our members live in Knoxville and surrounding communities (Farragut, Maryville, Oak Ridge). We welcome two incoming exchanges each year and send two outgoing exchanges. We are located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in the southeastern United States.
Knoxville is located in the Tennessee River Valley of East Tennessee between the Cumberland Mountains to the northwest and the Great Smoky Mountains to the southeast. These two mountain ranges help provide a moderate climate with four distinct seasons. Temperatures range from 20 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 88 degrees Fahrenheit in July.
Knoxville is a community of festivals with each season having its own unique events. Festivals offer more than 350 events including craft shows, concerts, sports events, and more than sixty miles of dogwood-lined trails. The two-week long Dogwood Arts Festival in April is one of the largest of its type in the nation.
Knoxville is the home of the University of Tennessee, which is well known for its many academic and scientific departments as well as its national championship football and women's basketball teams. The 107,000 seat Neyland Stadium and the 25,000 seat Thompson-Boling Arena on campus host many intercollegiate games, concerts, and other activities.
Our city has a variety of local historical sites and museums including The Knoxville Museum of Art where works of nationally and locally prominent artists are shown. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was opened in 1999. Knoxville's historical downtown district, the Old City, offers dining, dancing, shopping and entertainment.
The nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, approximately thirty-five miles from Knoxville, is the most visited national park in the nation. Included in this park is Cades Cove with its renowned replicas of pioneer homes, churches and businesses, plus many miles of hiking trails bordered by magnificent displays of wild flowers, waterfalls and rushing streams. Picnic and camping facilities are abundant. Also located in the park is a Cherokee Indian reservation with a living Indian village and a modern gambling casino.
Another attraction of the area is Pigeon Forge, the home of Dollywood, one of the major amusement parks of the southeast, featuring rides, crafts and musical shows. Also here are several country music theaters starring national and internationally known country music celebrities.
Other highlights of the area are the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which is world-famous for its electrical power making expertise and Oak Ridge. TVAs many dams have provided the area with numerous lakes for recreational boating, fishing and swimming. A visit here would not be complete without a day at the Museum of Appalachia near Norris where the life and times of the
early settlers is depicted. Oak Ridge, home to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, features the American Museum of Science and Energy and a large Friendship Bell cast in Japan and presented to Oak Ridge by its Japanese sister City.
Our primary emphasis is for the Host family and Ambassadors to get to know each other and share cultures. We take great pride in introducing our family and friends and giving our Ambassadors a chance to enjoy our Southern hospitality, picturesque countryside, mountains and friendly people.
Our mayor greets the Friendship Force Ambassadors at a reception he hosts at the City and County Building, and non-hosting Knoxville Friendship Force members meet and visit with our guests at several events during the week which culminates with a gala farewell party. Our exchange committee is most creative in arranging Ambassadors' requests for special activities. As a result we are bonded with our Ambassadors, establishing long and lasting friendships, and hope they will take a fond memory of our beautiful area and friendly people back home with them.
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Last updated on September 8, 2003. Site maintained by Bill Boys