Eddie Mannis is a native Knoxvillian, who grew up in the Inskip community and graduated from Central High School. The founder of Prestige Cleaners, he is heavily involved in giving back to the community through efforts like HonorAir, which takes veterans from Knoxville to Washington, DC to visit their respective war memorials. He recently announced his candidacy for Knoxville city mayor in 2019, and we met for this interview in July at his home in west Knoxville.
Madeline Rogero was elected the first woman Mayor of Knoxville in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015 with no opposition on the ballot. I’ve known Mayor Rogero for over 10 years and remember her first run for mayor back in 2003. We’ve had lunch several times over the years and I was honored that she agreed to be interviewed by me for my newsletter.
Jackie Griffin, Co-Owner of Jackie’s Dream
Back in 2016 I met my good friend the Reverend Harold Middlebrook for lunch at a new soul food restaurant called Jackie’s Dream, which is about a half mile from my house in East Knoxville. Thus started my patronage of this very good restaurant which specializes in “hot chicken” and other soul foods, including collard greens, fried okra, and my favorite- fried green tomatoes.
