Meet Callie
What do you do with a college kid who needs a job, and just so happens to be majoring in Communications? You put her to work. Meet Callie! She’s the life of every party, thanks to having no filter combined with an inappropriate sense of humor that can only be matched by her dad (at least she comes by it honestly). She is the most determined, hardest working 21-year-old we’ve ever met. Like her mom, her blood runs orange as a University of Tennessee Volunteer (Rocky Top!). For years, her mom has referred to her as her “Warrior Princess” because there is no obstacle she can’t overcome. Battling chronic, often debilitating Lyme Disease for most of her life has taught Callie to never, ever give up and to never assume that you know what someone else may be going through. As an empath, she’s in tune to the emotions of everyone around her and always steps up to protect those in need. Don’t let her petite size fool you, she’ll kick your butt if you hurt those that she loves. Beauty, brains, grit, courage and compassion – she represents the next generation of strong women and we’re lucky to have her on the TSP team. Callie manages our SEO, photography and socials.
And though she be but little, she is fierce.
Shakespeare
Tank the Stank
Our most senior furry team member, Tank is TSP’s unofficial service dog. He always seems to know when we’re feeling anxious about writing the next blog post or worrying about representing our community in the most authentic way. Even though he’s the size of bear and weighs ~100 pounds (he’s a big boy, even for an English Labrador), he’s got no problem at all climbing up in our lap to comfort us. With the personality of a surfer-hippy-dude, he just wants to chill with his peeps all day and considers exercise optional. The words “snuggle” and “treat” are his favorites in the human dictionary. He sheds enough in a single day to provide fur for another dog (if only that was something we could sell). You’ll often find him sleeping under our desk, making it impossible to roll the chair around or have anywhere comfortable to put your feet. We love our snuggle-buddy with all of our hearts.
Tater the Tasmanian Devil
In a moment of insanity, toward the end of COVID and as a way to rebel against the isolation we experienced, we decided Tank needed a friend and we needed some puppy joy in our lives. Despite our founder, Lori, always insisting she will never get a chocolate lab because they’re lovingly known as the “crazies” of the Labrador breed, she did indeed fall for a chocolate puppy from the local breeder. “Tasmanian Devil” is the most appropriate nickname for this 75-pound furball of terror. She has an obnoxious stubborn streak and a facial expression that says “F you” whenever you give her a command.
She’s wicked smart, which is half of the problem, because she learns the rules quickly and then immediately starts looking for a way around them. She has a never-ending supply of energy, which is the other half of the problem. It takes about 4 runs per day around the 25-acre property to finally poop her out enough that she’ll put herself into her house for a nap. Tater provides Lori with an excuse to constantly buy new shoes….because she only chews on Lori’s things (damn it!). Despite her antics, her dragon-gold eyes steal our hearts every time she looks at us (even if it’s a F you expression). As much as she drives us crazy, she also makes us laugh hysterically and she has lifted Tank’s spirits and become his bestest friend. You can usually find her trying to growl and wrestle Tank right at the moment that Lori needs to be on a conference call, or outside terrorizing the Fed Ex and UPS delivery person.
Be the person your dog thinks you are.
CJ Frick
