Well, good morning to you today.
I hope you're enjoying this nice brisk morning that we have.
Little comfortable outside.
It feels a little thick.
I was hoping this rain was going to pass, but I think we're going to get stuck with
it.
So for today, May 20th, looks like it's going to be rain.
Should be sitting in here around noon.
And unfortunately, it's probably going to push off our Lady Vols softball game, which
if you didn't notice last night, they, they took the first game of the NCAA tournament
rather well, 12-0 run rule by the fifth.
So that was exciting, exciting to see our men came out in South Carolina last night and
won their first opening of the series, five to nothing.
But in case you need something to do this weekend, there is, as always, plenty going
on.
We have the sixth annual Beaver Creek float, float, Tilla puts in at the Powell landing
behind Powell High School and gets out in cars at Roy Arthur Park.
Gates are open now and the float starts at 9 30.
The outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center is hosting a sunset paddle down the Tennessee
River tonight at seven.
That sounds pretty cool.
Actually, that'd be pretty awesome.
And if you want to do either of these events, but don't feel quite up to it yet, the American
canoe association is teaching kayaking one on one classes all day at seven islands starting
at 10 o'clock.
For more information on all the events happening around town today, go to visit Knoxville.com.
That's visit Knoxville.com.
You know, I sense a little theme today with all these canoes and kayak activities.
So let's talk about summer plans and what you can do for fun.
When the kids are out of school next week, can you believe Wednesday's the last day of
school for Knox County?
My kids, we were in Loudoun County, so we're done.
We're out enjoying summer already.
A lot of a lot of people will be heading to the beach.
That's pretty cool.
But isn't it even more cool to get some rays and splash splash around your own backyard
community pool, whatever it may be?
My first guest is the guy that you need to know when it comes to backyard pools.
He is none other than Tony Campbell, owner of Campbell's Pool and Spa.
Hey, good morning, Tony.
How are you today?
Hey, good morning.
I'm great.
How are you?
Man, I'm actually beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
As we were talking a little beforehand, I don't have a pool anymore.
We have a community pool.
I don't have to take care of it, so I love it.
But it's probably because I didn't know you then, right?
Very well possible.
You know, we were just talking a little bit earlier.
And one of the things that I think probably happens more so than not is those that get
discouraged with their pool or their spa comes down to an educational value and knowing
how to take care of it and well using the sources available to them to fix it.
I know I've used your retail conglomerate pool works.
Maybe you just take them a sample of the water and they can tell you what to do to fix it.
But it seems like people are stubborn like me.
Well, everybody's got a better way, right?
Or they got a brother or an uncle that knows this.
We deal with that a lot.
YouTube?
I mean, YouTube's got to fix it.
Just put some, what, just put some vinegar in it and fix it.
Yeah, those are bleach in there.
That's right.
There you go.
Yeah, that'll be great.
That'll be great.
Let's talk a little bit about some of the new technologies and a lot of what we're seeing.
Of course, we hear a lot now about salt, salt pools, salt water, the filtration systems,
et cetera.
So I guess what I want to know, why has that become such a huge, I guess a huge talking
point in the pool world?
Well, salt's not new.
It's like bell bottom jeans that just came back with a better marketing strategy, right?
So back 40 years ago when salt came out, it was pretty popular for a little while, but
it didn't have the marketing to really take it to where it needed to go.
So yeah, salt is a big thing now, a big, controversial subject when it comes to swim
pools.
People seem to think when they have salt water pools, they don't have a chlorine-style pool.
So in our world, on the building side and the retail side, we have to know all aspects
of the installation, after installation, how to maintain it because we're dealing with
a lot of pools that we're not building or servicing, that people are coming in, very
confused and we have to be able to help them on the retail side on understanding what they've
got.
And that's the biggest thing.
Once they understand what they've got, then they can take it from there.
Pictures, right?
They're worth a thousand words, aren't they?
Yeah.
Pictures, and you would not believe how many conversations I've had with people that will
argue that they do not have a chlorine pool, they have a salt water pool.
So that really tells me how much they know about what they're doing in that initial conversation.
Right.
And so, and again, and I'm no professional here and I will show my own ignorance, but
my understanding is, is through this process, is it's basically a chlorination generator
that's essentially being produced through the filtration.
That's exactly right.
So you've got on a salt water pool, you know, people are dumping 3, 400, 500 pounds of table
salt, not water softener salt, table salt, enter the pool and then it liquefies and you
know, swimming pool with salt runs about 3,500 parts per million.
Our body has about 4,000 to 4,400 parts per million.
The ocean is 4,000 parts per million.
So in a salt water pool, you should not be able to taste the salt.
You're basically swimming in a saline bottle.
But as the salt crystals go through this chlorine generator at the equipment pad, it's got a
bunch of titanium plates that the energizes the salt crystal.
So as the salt crystal comes in one side and it's being energized by these titanium plates,
it comes out as a chloramine or a chlorine gas on the other side.
So essentially with swimming pools, it's a three step process.
You have a sanitizer, an oxidizer and an algae side.
Right.
So back when we were kids, we had chlorine tablets.
We'd throw in a cup of chlorine shock and then we'd have some algae side.
Right.
So the same technology.
The only difference is the salt system makes the tablet.
So you don't have to worry about putting a tablet in your chlorinator, your skimmer,
whatever you may be.
So it's making chlorine.
The downside of that is the chlorine that it's producing is making a pH of about 12.0,
which is very corrosive, scales very much.
So you've got to be able to put another product in there to keep that at your pH neutral 7.0,
7.2, which is meretic acid.
So you've got all these housewives or moms out there, daughters, kids here, it may be
dumping meretic acid in this swimming pool, not knowing what they're dealing with, right,
and bringing this pH down.
So it gets very interesting.
And we see a lot of things happening with salt, what it does after that process of making
chlorine.
Not only do you have a high pH, but you've got the electrolysis as these plates are energizing
this salt crystal, it's putting the electrolysis out in the water.
So now you've got this stray electricity out there.
Interesting story.
We built a project last year near the TVA towers, the power towers.
You've got these setbacks.
Now I was talking to the guy from TVA and telling him what we're doing, and we have
to have it surveyed by them, and you've got elevations, all the things.
He goes, listen, I don't see a problem putting the pool here, but you cannot use salt.
I said, why?
He goes, because electricity that the salt puts off will interact with the power of these
electrical towers.
Turn into a conductor.
Absolutely.
And I thought, wow, I didn't think about that.
So you get into grounding issues and you got sacrificial anodes.
There's just so much chemistry that has to happen with salt that people don't have a
clue what they're doing.
Right?
That's what those machines are for, Tony.
That's what they're for.
All right, so if your head's spinning like my head is, and you're wondering, why did
I sleep through that chemistry class in high school or wherever you may have had it?
Hey, if you've got questions for Tony about your pool or spa, give us a call or text this
morning, 865-656-8255.
That's 865-656-8255.
We'll be right back here on Around the House, a news talk, 98-7 WOKI.
And welcome back to Around the House.
If you're just joining us, I have in studio this morning, Tony Campbell from Campbell
Pool and Spa.
If you're listening, there is no doubt you have heard that name before.
Just all of us know of Campbell's Pool and Spa around town.
Tony, how long have you guys been here in business?
Well, the family's been doing pool since 1969, and then I opened up Campbell's in the winter
of 93, so 30 years this year.
Wow.
Well, congratulations.
Thanks.
I mean, that is that.
Look, it's easy to start a business, right?
It's hard to keep a business.
Yeah, for sure.
It just is.
So, in the reason, but some of those things are, it's how you handle service.
It's how you handle your customers and treat your customers.
And obviously, that's why so many people know of your business is because they know that
you guys are, A, the standard for what we need, but B, that you're going to be there.
And I'm not going to lie to you.
I've called and reached out to your team before, and I didn't buy my products from you because
most of them were inherited, you know, but you guys have always been there to help.
And that's always, to me, is that's the biggest thing, right?
It's the biggest thing.
So if you were listening in our first segment, we were talking about salt pools and kind
of why the rage and where they came from.
And as Tony explained, well, it's kind of like Bell Bottoms.
They just came back with a better marketing strategy.
I like that.
So we talked a little bit about the salt systems, kind of how they work, what they do.
So I know, and I've had many of friends who their big deal is, is I'm going to convert
my current pool to salt.
Can you walk us through that process?
Because to me, that just sounds like it's going to be a very tedious and to me, it sounds
like it's going to take some time to get this to happen.
Yeah, it's really not.
Depending on the chemical product that you're using now, if you're using a chlorine, like
a tablet or whatever, it's pretty easy.
You're just, again, the salt makes the tablet.
So when you quit putting the tablet into your vessel, whatever you're doing, and you put
a salt system on, really, you're just throwing salt in the pool and producing the tablet
again, right?
So the conversion is not huge.
There is some things that we're seeing that's not happening.
You know, I was talking in the first segment about that stray electrolysis.
There's a product that we put in line.
It's called a sacrificial anode, which is absorbing all of that stray electrolysis.
So we get a lot of aftermarket people are just, you know, ordering online, putting salt systems
in YouTube and for your comment and about how to do it.
And they're missing several steps.
And so to convert for your question, you're just simply installing a salt generator at
the equipment pad, getting your water tested and adding the salt.
And then you're continuing the chlorine system in your swimming pool.
I love it.
We're continuing your to chlorinate your salt pool.
Exactly.
Well, but again, right?
I mean, good marketing, but you know, at the end of the day, I know what I enjoy about,
like our community pool is it was converted to salt.
And it seems like to me that it is, it's less invasive as far as any of the chemical smells
or running into the fact that whoever's taking care of the pool this week, they put too much
of this in, they took, you know, so it seems like there's a little more stability in the
balance of the chemicals that would that be accurate?
Well, you're continually producing chlorine, so therefore you're not when you, you know,
running out of a tablet or whatever, you're having to put another tablet in it.
This thing's always making chlorine.
Just keeping it stable.
Yeah.
So that's kind of the thing.
People look out their back window, they see their pool looks crystal clear.
They're telling their neighbor, I got a salt system.
I don't have to touch it.
And then we get the call.
Hey, this, what's going on?
This is breaking.
Why is my concrete pitting?
Why is the coping flaking or why is it loose?
Why do I have this white stuff coming out of my tile?
Why is my plaster cracking?
I mean, there's so many things that happens when that clear body of water is sitting in
your back water, back yard that you can't see.
I will say this, if you, if you're managing your salt water pool like you're supposed
to be, it's a good product, but 99% of people don't.
I mean, it's like the new car, you get a new car, you wash it every week for six months
and you don't wash it for twice a year.
And so the way the swim pool world works, the people with new pools, they're taking
care of them, doing everything we're teaching them for the first year.
The second year it goes by 50%.
And by the year three, you know, they're looking out the back window.
It looks great.
Kids are swimming, but they're wanting to know why their eyes are itchy and they're burning
and their hair turning green and, but their water looks beautiful.
Right.
Well, that's, that's the problem we're running into assault.
Sure.
And, and I, again, I've already confessed this to you, but that was, you know, one of
the things when we had a swim, a boy, I bought a house that had an above ground pool that
was in it.
And it, and really I kind of, I went to a couple of places.
I went to your shop.
They gave me some good ideas, but it was kind of like, well, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's
almost seemed like I just needed somebody to come out, look at it and tell me, cause you
know, well, how many gallons is your pool?
Well, crap.
I don't know.
It was in here when I bought the house, you know, how do I figure that out?
Well, you know, how big is it?
Then you can do the math and, uh, you know, obviously as you can tell, I'm not real good
with chemistry.
And math is a good suit, but I just need to formula.
So, you know, it seemed like there was a lot of moving parts and, and it would just, it
would get to the point in time.
Math is busy and I'm like, okay, well, I need to do something to the pool.
And I throw us a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
And, and like you said, you know, you might have some burning eyes for a couple of days,
but hey, you know, you be hot.
Shake it off.
Right?
I mean, I'm old, right?
You know, sucking up buttercups, you know, but, but that's not really the ideal way to
do it.
And, uh, I know, you know, you guys have a lot of tools to help customers.
I mean, obviously service, you can alleviate all of these problems just by calling Tony
and his team and they'll just come take care of it for you anyways.
Right?
Yeah.
We'll come out a week.
Please preferred check the water, a vacuum brush, you know, do all the things that we're
supposed to do to maintain your pool, which we're telling the homeowners to do.
Right?
I mean, it takes 15, 20 minutes a week to maintain a pool.
It really does.
Now, when you get a storm or, or something like that, or you've got, um, chemical
issues because you've not been your job, normally when the pool gets out of whack, it's most
of the time because somebody's not been maintaining it properly.
You know, and you've got these one offs where, you know, people don't understand when they're,
they've got a boat and then they've got a pool.
We've got a lot of that going on or there are the pools built on a lake.
People go swimming in the lake.
They'll come back to the jump in a pool.
They just brought all the algae, all the, all the bacteria from the lake and their swimming
trunks to the pool and now they're fighting this, uh, algae bloom that they're got and
they don't understand what happened.
We run into that a lot.
So, you know, pools are very delicate, uh, to keep them crystal clear, uh, bodies of
water that you have to be managing on a weekly basis for sure.
And I remember when, when I was growing up, we would, uh, we would go to a community pool
and before they would let you in a community pool, I'm going to tell you they were, I
mean, buddy, they were, they were strict.
You, you had to shower before you hit the pool.
I mean, they would not let you in.
I mean, and, and to speak to kind of what you're, you're referring to is that, you know, you're
bringing your, I guess I'm just going to say it this way, but we are bringing the imbalance
to the pool when we get in it.
Absolutely.
You know, and, and a lot of that, just like with a hot tub, um, you know, and we're going
to, we're going to talk about some hot tub stuff.
I got, I'm going to tell you my hot tub story.
You're, you may just get a kick out of it, but you know, our bodies are inducing so many
different chemicals and so many different things into the water.
Right.
We all know that our skin constantly comes off.
Right.
We know that.
So when you're in the water, it's no different.
It comes off.
So I think in, in like with me, that's one of the things that I do pretty good with my
hot tub now, but that's what I have learned over the years is that I have to be aware
of I'm inducing the imbalance.
And so after I get out of it, that's when I need to be mindful that, you know, like
with the, the, the spa, you know, there's some stuff we can dump a little bit in there
to after you get out and, um, I forget what it's called now, but you, you know, those
are the little things that we think of.
So when you have a simple pool and you have a big pool party, well, what you normally
do to maintain your, your pool versus after you just had 30 people in your pool, it's
going to be a little different next week.
Absolutely.
Let's call it a bath or load.
Absolutely.
So, you know, we, we've always got to be mindful of those different things and those different
pieces.
So, um, and I'm going to ask real quick.
So how, how busy are you now in the new construction world?
I know, you know, COVID got here and everybody wanted a swimming pool.
Yeah.
Uh, it's busy.
It's crazy busy, but you know, we're still not where we were pre 2008, you know, it's
a, as an industry and a whole, we're about 50% of where we were pre 2008.
So the difference is, um, we're extremely busy, but we don't have the help we need to
help us overcome the busyness.
That's the, so it, it's a different, it's a different world.
Sure.
Yeah.
What, uh, how, how far out are you guys on a pool start at this point?
If somebody came to you and Hey, we want to, we want to do a pool.
Yeah.
Depending on the project, we're, we're probably eight to 10 months out before we can start
the process.
Okay.
So it's come down a little bit, right?
Yes.
Yeah.
Cause what you guys were running and, and I don't know if, if you ever shut yours
off or not, but I know a lot of companies shut them off and they were running almost
16, 18 months.
Yeah.
Now we, we're, we're one of the guys that build year round.
We have to, I cannot convince the utility company to quit paying, but quit sending me
bills in the winter.
But so we have to pay him, right?
But now we build year rounds and we were probably 16, 18 months behind at one point
in time.
Yeah.
Well, again, like I said, I know that, uh, you know, I mean, going through what we went
through as a nation and dealing with a COVID and, and, and all those, I know a lot of people
decided that they were going to take on, they wanted to build a pool, um, because, you know,
you couldn't go anywhere else.
And, and, you know, so it's like everything, right?
Something good can come out of everything that happens.
And, uh, obviously I think that, uh, I think we learned how to enjoy each other in our
own space a little bit, uh, which I think is good.
So, uh, pools and backyards and outdoor living.
Uh, we all have always enjoyed that here in East Tennessee.
And much like many others, that, that's what's so attractive to, to so many, but, uh, that's
what's, to me, I think is one of the great things with you guys.
I've seen many of your projects actually.
And it, you know, you don't go into it just to put in a swimming pool, you know, you're,
you're creating an environment, uh, an outdoor living environment.
And, you know, yeah, I'm sure absolutely sometimes it's just where it's going to go
dumping a pool, you know?
Uh, but for the most part there is a lot more thought that goes into that swim.
Well, as you mentioned, you know, understanding the electricity, understanding the surroundings,
um, runoff is always, you know, a contributor in, um, yeah, I would imagine even having
conversations about mowing your grass, you know, uh, are things that come into play.
So, Hey, if you've got questions about your pool or if you want to pool or need to have
your pool service, give us a call, give us a text, eight, six, five, six, five, six,
eight, two, five, five.
I've got Tony Campbell here in studio.
He would love to answer all of your questions and get you on the right track for this summer
to enjoy your outdoor swimming pool.
We're going to be right back here on around the house.
The news talk, 987 W okay.
Welcome back to around the house.
I am Scott Brokamp, founder and co-owner of his security and technology right here in
Knoxville, Tennessee, and I am speaking with another local business owner, Mr. Tony Campbell
from Campbell's pool and spa.
Tony and his family have been here for many years.
And as Tony mentioned in one of our previous segments, they are celebrating 30 years this
year.
Uh, congratulations again, Tony.
That is, that is a huge milestone for sure.
Uh, again, if you have questions about taking care or maintaining your pool or spa, feel
free to give us a call or text 865-656-8255.
We would love to hear from you here this morning.
Uh, so I alluded to it before we went to break that I had a spa story that I wanted to share.
Um, and so, and I'm sure I may not be alone in this, but maybe they just be me.
I'm weird.
Um, so we, we had bought a new spa where we were living and we were, uh, I don't know,
we'd had it maybe six months or so.
And it was not in a permanent fixed location and it was somewhere that could be easily
moved, et cetera.
So we ended up, we started to build a house and we sold our house and went and moved into
an apartment and the people who bought our house made it clear.
They didn't want the hot tub when we thought, well, that's cool.
You know, we just bought it.
We didn't want to get rid of it.
And so I'm like, okay, so what do we do with this thing?
You know, do I store it?
Do I, what, what do I do?
I don't know.
And what little bit of knowledge I have.
I'm like, okay, probably one of the worst things is going to be just have this thing
sit somewhere.
So I called up a buddy of mine.
I said, Hey, you want to borrow a hot tub for about a year?
He's like, sure.
So I paid to get it moved over there and we got it set up and he kept water in it.
I think that's about it.
Right.
So we got in our new house, we got our hot tub back.
We were so excited.
Got it all, you know, cleaned out, filled back up, chemicals were right in it.
Man, it wasn't about a week later.
It just, it had a little aroma coming out of it and it just seemed like we could never,
ever get it right.
I just, we could just never seem to get it right.
Could never get it balanced.
My wife had some issues when we would get out of the tub, took water samples.
Nobody really ever found anything.
Cause I think, you know, when you check them, you're checking for levels.
You're not really kind of digging in.
Is there a parasite, is there something in here?
And so I have, I found a product that was kind of a flush.
They got in there and seemed, I think there was some biofilm that was basically in there
and, and I think I got that stuff out.
So, but I guess for me, in that situation, how do you, what's the best way to store hot
tub?
Well, the flush part is important.
I'm impressed that you know the word biofilm.
I don't want to get to hear people know that word.
So that's impressive.
The, so yeah, if you're going, if you're going to, when you drain a hot tub, you're
just draining the, the main body part of water.
You're not draining the jets and the motors unless you have a particular brand that does
have a drain for that.
So if you're going to store it, I mean, just drain it, take a shot back over each jet,
suck the water out of it.
It wouldn't be a bad idea.
And when, when you go to start it back up, you fill it up, you use the swirl away or
whatever it was you bought, there's a product that flushes the pops and everything.
And then you, you drain it, do the same thing again, fill it, rinse and do it again.
So I know it seems like a lot, but it's going to prevent what happened to you.
You know, there's a lot of things that can happen in a hot tub whole lot more than a
swimming pool.
Cause you're dealing with hot water, bacteria, lous, warm water, hot tub for leaky lous,
lous, hot tub.
So I mean, there's a lot of things that can happen in a hot tub.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, you know, careful what you say here, Tony, we've all heard those stories.
No, but you're right.
You know, because again, it is, it is a hot water and, and it does it, it breeds, it,
it, it's just a breeding ground for parasites and, and, and other things to form.
And I've always wondered like, you know, we got this top and you keep this top on here
all the time and it's just collecting this stuff, you know?
So I think to me there's a lot to learn about really taking care of any of it, whether it's
a hot tub, whether it's a pool, et cetera.
But you know, I learned that the hard way about finding a good flush product.
What's a good flush product?
I just, I'm just going to ask because I, I'm going to tell you, I searched and searched
and searched and I tried a couple and didn't really have many very good results.
Yeah.
And I don't remember what the one is that I, that I bought, but you know, it was one
of those Amazon searches and, and it had, you know, I'm a, I'm a review reader.
Yep.
And it, it seemed to be pretty good.
So I gave it a shot.
It worked well.
Yep.
So I'm sure you guys sell one over there.
Pool works.
Yeah.
A swirl away.
It looks like a blue product.
It works really well for us.
Um, I mean, you could use a highly concentrate of chlorine or bleach or anything like that
to kind of run through the pops to kind of clean them out before you store it or after
you get it out of storage, but anything that you can do to get the water circulating, do
a high concentrate of chlorine or bromine water, maybe you're using or one of those
products that has some enzymes and stuff like that in there to do would be good, better
than nothing.
Right.
For sure.
Right.
Well, I will say I'm, I'm grateful that we, we finally got to the point.
We got to the other side of that on ours and worked through it.
But you know, again, like I said, it was, it was a challenging process because I didn't
really know what was wrong.
I tested the levels, the levels were, were testing good, but we just knew we had a problem,
you know, and, uh, and, and that was it.
I didn't, uh, I, I, I, I pride myself on having some pretty good common sense, but apparently
I missed it on that one because the flush was really the key to, to getting that right.
Um, but I am going to ask, uh, as far as that goes, you know, just like with swimming pools,
uh, we hear again, we've talked about the salt and the, the making your own chlorine
from your, your salt, uh, system.
But I know in like in the hot tub world, we've, we've got the chlorines and then bromine and,
and then there's this bakwa seal.
Um, there's other products that are out there as well.
Um, is there anything really?
Like people with sensitive skin, obviously you got to be careful on the hot tub because
of the heat and the chemicals, but I know like bakwa seal is, is claims to be a more
gentler type of, of chemical for your spa.
Yeah.
So bakwa seal has been out since the late seventies, early eighties.
Um, used to be a huge product in our market, um, for alternative sanitizers.
So the main ingredient in the bakwa, bakwa seal line, which is the only true non-chlorine
product that we can sell you for your hot tub or swimming pool.
You've got hydrogen peroxide based oxidizer.
So as you know, peroxide's good, you know, and doves to depend on how you use it.
So it's 27% that you're adding into your pool.
So it's a great oxidizer.
Um, and then the, uh, the bakwa seal project itself, the main ingredient in the bakwa seal,
the big long chemical word that I'm not going to try to announce, but I can tell you it's
done so good so far.
It's the same product that's in the Bosch and Lawn contact clear solution.
So it's 95% less on eye near infection.
It's really soft.
It feels good for your skin.
Um, great for sensitive skin, burning eyes, all those things, pH neutral.
The downside to it, there's some water mold going back to flushing those pipes.
There's some water mold that can, uh, create in the plumbing.
So there's a product that bakwa seal started bringing out called CDX.
So you, if you're going to use the bakwa seal product or the, um, soft swim or, uh, spa
guard, whatever it may be, you just want to make sure you're using the full line and not
just part of the line.
So as testing's been done, if you're using the CDX, you're not having the water mold
and the gunk that's built up on the filters like we did in the 80s and 90s.
And then, and then it started coming out.
They, they went back to engineering and the chemistry labs and figured out, okay, well,
they've got a, uh, solution for the water boat.
So the CDX is something that needs to go with bakwa seal.
Now we saw that trend of bakwa seal kind of go out in the nineties and 2000s.
A salt came up and, um, salt kind of, you know, took the market by storm.
And then everybody's looking for the easy button, right?
Everybody's wanting to, Hey, what can I put on my pull?
I never have to do anything.
Well, unfortunately there's not.
There's nothing that does that, but UV and ozone, uh, we, we introduced in this market
about 15 years ago has become really, really popular because the people with salts, um,
are thinking they have a maintenance free pool until it really cost them a lot of money
to fix.
So the UV ozone is kind of replacing that easy button to make it the probably least
amount of maintenance we could sell or put it's install on a swimming pool.
So what, what is, what is that?
It's, it's lighting.
It's just light.
So it's a series of lights.
So UV is ultraviolet lights.
So you've got this canister that has ultraviolet lighting in it bulbs.
So water's passing by it and it's, it's treating the water with ultraviolet lights, which is
a great sanitizer.
So there's your sanitizer.
Remember me talking about the three steps?
Yeah.
So there's your sanitizer.
It's, it's creating a natural sanitizer for your body.
We're like kind of like an aquarium.
Then we're introducing ozone.
So we've got a black light over here that we're pulling the CO3 off of and injecting
it into the pool.
There's your oxidizer.
So we're oxidizing 24 seven naturally.
We're treating the pool naturally with ultraviolet light.
So now the third component would be what do we do for the algae side?
So when we're installing this UV ozone, we have another product called the frog system,
which is a mineral system canister that has a zinc and silver capsule.
So the water's been transferred through that, the silver kills bacteria and the zinc is
an algae side.
So the zinc is, is our algae side and those capsules last about six months.
So therefore you've got your sanitizer, your oxidizer and your algae side and you're not
having to do nothing.
But alone it can't do it.
So you still have to have a little bit of chlorine and the amount of chlorine that we're
having to introduce is less than your drinking water.
So it's 0.5 parts per million, which comes from the frog system.
The thing about the UV ozone system that people don't understand is it's the only product
that we have that will kill a crypto spritian.
A crypto spritian is the bacteria that comes from human waste.
So when you go to the commercial pool or your H.O.A. pool and it's closed down for 24 hours
because some kid, you know, decided to have an accident and they shut it down for 24 seven
because you got to go through a series of chlorine super chlorinating to kill it.
If you had UV ozone, it kills crypto spritian immediately.
So that bacteria.
So that's another big thing that we're seeing and it's man, it's pH neutral.
It's there's not a negative.
I have yet to find a negative.
Wow.
So there you have it.
There's the closest you're going to get to a maintenance free swimming pool.
And you're just basically making it a natural process.
Exactly right.
And that's quite frankly to me is, I mean, it doesn't really get any better than that.
So again, if you've got questions for Tony Campbell before he heads out here this morning,
give us a call or text 865-656-8255.
Maybe you just need to set up a service contract to have Tony and his crew come take care of
your pool.
They're happy to do that.
You can check them out at Campbell pools.com.
We'll be right back here on around the house on news talk 987 W okay.
Welcome back to around the house.
If you're sitting around your house today, maybe you're sitting around your pool.
You're looking at a beautiful sparkly blue swimming pool this morning and you're thinking,
man, how am I going to make sure I keep this thing working the way I need to for a long
time to come?
Well, you're in luck because we have Mr. Tony Campbell from Campbell's pool and spa
right here in studio.
And he's been spreading joy all morning telling us exactly what you can do to keep your pool
or hot tub in good working order.
So Tony, thank you for joining us this morning.
Other than your website again, that's camelspool.com.
So Campbell's with an S pool with an S camelspool.com.
What's the best phone number to reach you guys at Tony?
A 65584-3607 and be sure you listen to the prop so you get to the right place.
You got to get to the right place as always.
So Tony, before we kind of wrap up here this morning, I know that there seems to be an influx
again of fiberglass pools, prefabs, pre-mades.
Benefits pros, cons?
Benefits would be typically their installations quicker, maintenance free.
It's probably the least maintenance free we can build, swim pool wise because of the surface
product, the fiberglass acrylics.
That would be the pros.
The cons would be color selection.
There's probably only nine, but really I'm going to take that equation because the colors
are pretty cool.
Shapes and sizes, you're limited to what the step configuration or the bench configuration
may be.
The depth might be.
And there's some other cons that I've heard from homeowners after the installation.
One being the product is very slick, so when they go to step on it, how can we fix the
slickness?
Pools that we build, we have the factory sand the steps down to help that have a grit to
it, but still it's a little slick.
And secondly, when they jump in, they hit the bottom of the echoes like a bathtub.
I said, well, it kind of is a big bathtub.
I mean, it's kind of what you got.
But I will say if I was going to get into the business today, it would be fiberglass
pool repair.
There's so many pools being built.
If you're seeing them on interstate every day, and there's so many people that don't
have a clue what they're doing, putting them in and just creating a massive construction
project in your backyard is really going to be a lifelong thing because it wasn't done
properly.
We're seeing a lot of that going on right now.
Well, and I would say I spent some years living in Southwest Florida and they're very popular
in Southwest Florida.
Very, because, you know, again, like you said, the installation is pretty quick and easy.
I think probably a lot of it has to do with the water table.
But I know one thing, you never want to leave one empty.
I mean, if you've never seen one pop out of the ground before, it is kind of a sight to
see, but it is relying upon the weight of the water to keep that thing in place.
I learned that and most people only learn that from experience.
So interesting little tidbit.
Tony, man, thank you so much for hanging out with me this morning.
I really appreciate it.
Again, if you have questions and need some help with your pool or spa, definitely give
Tony and his team a call.
You can visit their retail locations as well, which is Pool Works and they're there to be
able to help serve you with all of your needs.
And so as we look at wrapping up our number one, as we have started doing here, we have
the topic of the day.
And Tony, this may interest you a little bit being that we were talking a little bit.
You mentioned you, you're kind of a boat fella.
Today is National River Cleanup Day.
And if you've been listening to this show regularly, you'll know that we have great
friends that keep the Tennessee River beautiful.
Kathleen Gibby is always been a huge joy to have on our show and very enlightening.
So, but we just, we just got through talking with Tony about the importance of clean water
in your pool.
So there's a sunset paddle down the Tennessee River tonight.
And that brings us to again, National River Cleanup Day.
River Cleanup Day is a movement that began about 30 years ago to help keep America's
waterways clean and litter free.
Here in East Tennessee, we have keep the Tennessee River beautiful.
The first Keep America beautiful affiliate in the nation to focus solely on a river.
I'm pretty sure I think Kathleen's going to join us at some point this morning here by
phone, but if not, I will say this.
When I had, when Kathleen was here on the show not long ago, she mentioned a lot of,
well, kind of like Tony got into this chemistry stuff.
And there's bioplastics that develop in our waterways.
But just the amount of trash that her and their, and her team actually pulls out of
our waterways is absolutely phenomenal.
And if I remember, I forget how many tons of trash she said that they typically bring
out, but it is a volunteer type of organization.
Again, that is keep the Tennessee River beautiful.
And it encompasses not just Tennessee, it encompasses roughly, if I remember correctly,
I think she said they cover five or six different states, following our rivers all the way down
to where they enter into the Gulf.
But just the amount of plastics that end up getting polluted into our waterways is just
crazy.
And it's not, a lot of it is just, we don't think.
It's not like I was on the water and I threw something out of a boat or I'm on the edge
of the water.
So many things that when you deposit trash or things get loose, they blow.
And you know where they end up?
They end up where the water goes.
Why?
Because everything naturally is designed to get water to run to those areas.
And so when you're going about your day to day and you have a little something that you
need to dispose of, make sure that it's securely in a disposal container, make sure it's in
a good garbage can with a lid.
That is so important because again, it ends up in our waterways.
So we're going to come back and we're going to talk a little bit more about today being
National River Cleanup Day.
And I know it's nice and beautiful where you're at.
And you can thank our friends at Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful.
We are going to be right back and hopefully we'll get Kathleen on the phone and we'll
thank you again, Tony, for coming in and sharing with us your experience and your chemistry
skills about how to keep your pool beautiful just as our rivers are as well.
We'll be right back here on around the house on news talk 987 W okay.
Well good morning to you.
Welcome.
If you are listening the first hour, you know, we had Mr. Tony Campbell from Campbell's
Pools and Spa in the house this morning.
And before he left as we ventured into our topic of the day is National River Cleanup
Day.
And as many of you know, one of our good friends from the show, Ms. Gibby is from Keep the Tennessee
River Beautiful.
And they are an amazing organization that really they do so much, they do so much to
keep our waterways clean and clear and enjoyable for all.
And I mentioned before we went to break that I couldn't recall how many states that they
service and it's actually seven states that they service.
And when you think about that, just the amount of water and waterways that they are actually
going through in helping to preserve and keep clean.
It's simply it's really simply phenomenal.
When she was with us on the show, not long ago, I guess it's been a month or so ago.
We talked about the boats and the tons and tons of waste that is is removed from our
waterways and our rivers.
And when we talked about that, you know, it's again, I don't want people to get the impression
that we're like, oh, you know, everybody's a litterbug, because it's not it.
You know, it's that when things are built in our roads are constructed and neighborhoods
are developed as everything is designed and built.
It is designed to have a runoff value in that runoff value is is to most importantly to
get the water to runoff.
But the thing is, is that all these items get included in that water when it's running
off and it ends up being pollutants in in our waterways.
So as you're out and about today, just be mindful, be mindful of the things that we do.
And well, as as we talk about around my house, be mindful of what and how you do because
every little thing that you do always has a consequence and it always affects others.
And so we just want to be mindful of that today.
So I'm sure Kathleen is is probably patrolling the waterways and her skiff right now and
and is is really seriously making an impact for us to enjoy the beautiful water that we
have here in East Tennessee.
So you know, I wish I could tell you that it was going to be a beautiful, sunny day
today.
And unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to be.
And my little girl has we have a softball tournament today and I'm hoping we get through
it before the rain gets here.
So I'm rooting for that.
And then of course, our Lady Vols are playing today at one o'clock.
They won their opener for the NCAA tournament last night.
We faced North Kentucky and today we will face the University of Indiana.
They played a pretty good, pretty good game yesterday.
We were was able to enjoy that and take that in in the beautiful sunshine unlike today.
So hey, if you're out and about today, just remember there is a good chance that you may
get a little liquid sunshine coming down on us today.
So let's not forget today is National River Cleanup Day.
Adopt a river mile, adopt a storm drain.
There are many ways that you can get involved to help keep the Tennessee River beautiful
organization.
All right, there is also a boatload of other things going on today.
We have the sixth annual beaver Creek float Dilla puts in at the Powell landing behind
Powell High School and gets out in cars at Roy Arthur Park.
Gates are currently open now and the float starts at 930.
The outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center is hosting a sunset paddle down the Tennessee river tonight
at seven o'clock.
And if you wanted to do either of these events, but you don't feel quite up to it yet, the
American Canoe Association is teaching kayaking 101 classes all day today at seven islands
starting at 10 o'clock.
For more information on all the events happening around town today, go to visit Knoxville.com.
That's visit Knoxville.com.
We're continuing our conversation.
One all the fun things that you and your family can do once the kids are out of school.
And if you're lucky enough to be like me and live in Loudoun County, your kids are already
out for the second hour of around the house.
We have pulled out the big guns.
There is no one more influential to the success of tourism and special events in Knoxville
than this particular woman right here here to fill us in on a full slate of summer fun
around town is the president of Visit Knoxville, Ken Bumpas.
Hey, good morning.
Good morning.
Thanks for having me.
Absolutely.
So, you know, I joked about it when you got here, but I'm just telling you, I mean, there's
so much happening going on.
I ought to just hand the microphone off to you and just call it a day.
But let me tell you, if you're listening right now, you can get all this information at visit
Knoxville dot com, but if you're old school, get your pen, get your paper and get ready
because there is a lot happening.
So Kim, how are you today?
I'm doing good.
You know, we we're coming off a slew of events and now we're getting ready to go into the
summer event.
So I'm just excited.
It's here and it's time.
There's always a slew of events with you guys.
There really is.
And I just want to say this.
Thank you.
Thank you so much because you make it so easy for individuals to go to one place to essentially
figure out and find out what in the heck is happening around this beautiful town and we
call Knoxville.
Well, I appreciate that.
And we try to, we try to do our best, but it is a lot of events.
So it's constant management for sure.
Absolutely.
So speaking of events, World's Fair 40th celebration is on May 21st.
So that's tomorrow.
Tell us about it.
Definitely.
So really the 40th was last year.
So but we do have a lot going on.
So we have the visit Knoxville open that we're getting ready for right now.
And so that's exciting.
It kicks off with the programs on Monday and then tournament play is Thursday through Sunday
of next week.
So that's May the 25th, I believe is Thursday and people can get passes for the tournament
at Holston Hills, which is super, super awesome.
Visit Knoxville kind of partnered up with the PGA to take over the branding opportunities
and the exposure of the Knoxville open a few years ago.
So we're really excited about it.
It's super, super economical for a day past $25 for the whole weekend.
There's going to be like CJ's tacos, Oakwood barbecue.
And you can really know before you go and see it all at visit Knoxville open.com.
Awesome.
So what else do we have coming up?
I mean, like I said, I know you've got there is absolutely just a list.
I mean, you could probably spend an hour just poking around on the website.
And I'm just going to say again, I'm going to brag about your website because it is
broke down into ways that you can simply find things that well, quite frankly, you're interested
in things are broke out based on different types of events, theater, community events,
festivals, all sorts of different ways to make it simple and easy for you to find what's
going to fit you in your family best for well, quite frankly, months to come.
100%.
So our website is really designed for both visitors and Knoxvillians, which I think is
what makes it awesome.
And we also have probably the most comprehensive event calendar.
So you really can get on there and know before you go playing your whole day, your whole
weekend, everything.
And speaking of weekend, since we kind of talked about the weather today, today is the
kickoff of Dogwood Art, Southern Skies.
Tickets are still available.
I think by the time the music starts, the rain will have come and gone.
They're also playing music all day tomorrow, which looks to be quite beautiful.
You have the Children's Festival of Reading happening right now, the Water Lantern Festival,
which is quite as just as interesting as it sounds.
So, and then you also have Open Streets this weekend on Sunday, which is again, weather
looks to be perfect.
So that's exciting.
I actually, I misspoke.
Don't anyone run out to go to Open Streets?
Open Streets is actually weekend of the first weekend in June partnered up with Bike Boat
Broom Bark, but we'll get to that.
So I literally just fast-tracked through the entire VK Open.
So sorry to view to my trick everyone on that one.
But there is a lot going on this weekend, which is exciting.
And then like I said, the VK Open is getting ready to happen.
I kind of did those highlights.
And then we literally go through the VK Open.
We have Memorial Day, which is on Monday, which everyone will be excited to kind of
take a breath.
But we go right into Bike Boat Broom Bark, which is an amazing community-driven event
for both visitors and Knox Villians.
So, tell us a little bit about that event.
What can we expect from that event?
And for those like me who have never been to the event, what is it all about?
And what can we expect from that?
Well, I think what's really cool about this event is we created it.
It's been around quite a long time, like pre-COVID, which is kind of a weird way to define time.
But it is how we do it sometimes.
It is the new standard.
It is.
It's pre-COVID.
We developed Bike Boat Broom Bark in partnership with an event we used to have that we don't
have anymore.
But this is about highlighting every one of those words, bike, boat, brew, and bark, and
what those words mean to Knoxville, Tennessee.
So we've really honed in on that first Saturday in June each year, and we run this event from
10 to 3, and there's all kinds of cool stuff that we kind of tell you the story of how
bike-friendly, what the river in today is national cleanup day.
So that's also ties in what the waterways mean to Knoxville, how much microbreweries
mean to tourism in general, and then how pet-friendly are, which we define it with the word bark.
There you go.
Awesome.
Well, hey, we're going to take a short break, and then we're going to come back and tell
you about what else you can do for the next, well, next couple of months to come here with
Kim Bumpus from visit Knoxville.com.
We'll be right back here on Around the House on News Talk 98-7 WOKI.
Welcome back to Around the House.
I am Scott Brokamp from his security and technology, and well, if you wanted to take a step back
from technology and just enjoy people and life, I have the best source for you to find
out what's going on, and that is Kim Bumpus from Visit Knoxville in the house this morning
trying to keep me in line, not working real good, but hey, we're going to give it a shot.
So right before we left for the break, we were talking about the bike, boat, brew, and
bark event that is coming up, and that is a huge event with so much to know.
So we're going to keep talking about it because it's a free event, and well, quite frankly,
it reaches a lot of different, I guess, just a lot of different groups of people that maybe
you wouldn't think about coming together so much, right?
Definitely, and I think it's kind of awesome because it's a perfect way if you are a Knox
Villian or if you have family in town that doesn't really know what Knoxville is all
about.
This event really gives you a wide range of opportunity, and like I said, it is all free.
We are set up and headquartered at the Knoxville Adventure Collective, which quite honestly,
people in West Knoxville, if you do not come downtown, you might not know where that is,
but it's right by Bruce Chris, and it's a great opportunity to really be able to engage
with all of the outdoor activities and offerings we have as a destination.
So we're set up in that parking lot, and we have booths, and we have all these ways that
you can learn about the words, like I said, bike, boat, brew, and bark.
There's also all these walks, so you've got to go on the website at bikeboatbrewbark.com.
I know that's a mouthful, but I'm going to go slow.
You say that again.
Bikeboatbrewbark.com.
The crazy part is I can say it really fast, but a lot of people get whipper-jalled with
all of that.
Yes, that's my word.
It's trademark.
You're welcome.
Happy day.
Whipper-jall.
Yeah, whipper-jall.
I've got to remember that one.
So that's a good word.
So there's all these walks, but you do have to sign up for them.
So if you want to do the Riverwalk with Jack Neely and learn about all the history of Knoxville,
there's a downtown walk with Alan Sims, which a lot of us know as Urban Guy.
He is a great resource for information about all things Knoxville.
We have another walk with Karola Evans with Legacy Parks.
Then, if brew is more your word, we have brewery slow rides.
And this year, we really learned a lot from last year.
You're going to start and finish everything at the Knoxville Outdoor Collective in that
parking lot.
So, yes, you'll meet there.
You'll go on your slow ride to the breweries, learn a little bit about what each brewery
is doing, what beers they're kind of serving up for the season, probably do a little taste
testing, nothing crazy, so that you can brewery slow ride back to your destination, which
is where we are.
So that's exciting.
We also have some other new things this time.
We have the Bikewalk Knoxville guided bike rides to Sutray Landing Park and the UT Gardens,
which are quite beautiful this time of year.
So that's exciting.
We just talked about this.
We also have a river cleanup with Keep Tennessee River Beautiful.
So that's a super fun tie in for what today's all about.
And again, that will be happening on June 3rd.
So go to the website to learn more.
And then I'm really kind of hitting it, but there's also other stuff.
I mean, we have a partnership with Freedom Boat Club now, and they're going to have
cruises.
And that's a whole interesting concept that if you're not familiar with, you really should
look it up on the website and see, but that's kind of like a membership where you can go
all over the country in places where freedom boats exist and be able to have access to
boat use, which is really kind of cool.
And that's really, it's a great kind of interesting concept, by the way, all in itself.
So that is amazing.
All right.
So I do want to, I want to back up just a minute.
I do want to ask about the Knoxville Waterlander and Festival.
Yes.
Again, I am, look, I've got, I've got a couple of kids that keep me busy and active.
So I don't get to do much of all this stuff between sports and other activities that goes
on in our world.
But it sounds amazing.
It's really cool.
How long has this been going on?
You know, it's just a couple of years old.
I mean, and it's at Chilhaway Park, which is also such a fantastic venue for Knoxville
and Knox County that a lot of people maybe don't know about or haven't gone to an event
out there.
We are just coming off the National Street Ride Association, which has been here for
39 years and they utilize Chilhaway Park, but so does the Waterlander Festival.
And it's actually, it is tonight from 530 to 930.
And it is where you see all the floating lanterns.
And if anyone's ever complained about, you know, the ponds at Chilhaway Park, this is
a great use for those ponds.
And it is absolutely beautiful if you haven't seen it.
And you can see some pictures of it at waterlanderfestival.com.
And that's also where you can purchase your tickets.
Yeah, that is beautiful.
It's just, I mean, I looked at some of the pictures and it's just, it's really neat.
Oh, it's so cool.
It really, really is cool.
And there's nothing, if you haven't gone to other Waterlander festivals, there's nothing
quite like it is what I was getting ready to say.
So something really neat to check out.
And then one other thing I think for this weekend is if you have a family, like you
said, and you have kids and you really wanting to engage them in an activity, I encourage
you to go today to the Children's Festival of Reading is from 10 to three at World's
Fair Park right near Southern skies.
So you literally could go to the Children's Festival of Reading, you know, let the kids
get all their energy out, get a few books, maybe take the kids back home with a babysitter,
come back out for a little date night with some music at Southern skies.
However, Southern skies is also kid friendly.
So great way to spend the day with this weekend.
Yeah, always, always a lot going on here, especially this time of year with, you know,
making that transition into summer, schools out, just, I mean, let's face it, this is
a great place to stop for many of these events that some of them are obviously just traveling
around the country to do these events in multiple places.
And we are, we are so lucky to be where we're at, right?
I know that just knowing some of the music stops that are able to swing in here just
because they're passing by.
Oh, 100%.
I mean, we're on the map as a premier getaway destination and every single event, every
single experience that I'm talking about is one way to tell the story of why you should
visit Knoxville.
So and that's 100% primarily what we're doing at visit Knoxville, but that also enhances
everything that we have as Knoxvillians and what we get to do and what we get to experience,
which is super cool and fun.
And you know, I just love it.
I know, right?
I mean, how awesome is it?
We get to experience all this stuff every day.
I know.
We do.
But it just doesn't get really any better than that.
So hey, we're going to take a quick break here on around the house and we will be right
back continuing to talk with Kim Bumpas and learn about what else is going on here in
our beautiful area.
Step out your back door and enjoy an amazing event this weekend or for those weekends to
come throughout this summer.
Again, we'll be right back here on around the house on news talk 98 seven W okay.
Oh, welcome back to around the house.
I hope you're enjoying this beautiful, pleasant day out this morning.
I will tell you this much when I stepped out the door, it was just nice, calm and peaceful
and comfortable.
Yes.
That's what I like.
So beautiful.
Just comfortable.
Even though it's it's smell like rain, you know, I know it's coming.
But hey, you just, I just love being able to get up in the morning and just go outside
and it just be when you walk out there and they take a deep breath, it's refreshing.
I love that.
And I'm sure you do too.
That's what so many people love about East Tennessee, right?
Oh, I love it.
I mean, one time I went on the weather channel and did like a zoom interview about us making
the list for like the number one destination not to go to if you have bad allergies.
So the way I spun it was I was like, yeah, but there's a price for beauty.
So, you know, I would rather be one of the most beautiful places that kicks up pollen
than to be super dry and no pollen.
So but it is, it's beautiful out there.
We had a great morning yesterday to walk in some outreach for USA cycling, which I know
we're going to talk about here in a few, but it's just, it's awesome out there.
The I would tell you, I never experienced pollen like, you know, what we have here.
But it's not just here, by the way.
So my first experience with seeing pollen laying on the street and on vehicles, I flew into
a rolling North Carolina.
And here I had never experienced it.
And I was blown away.
I said to a guy, I said, what in the world happened here?
He's like, what do you mean?
I said, what is all this stuff on everything?
He's like, what do you mean?
That's pollen.
I said, no.
He's like, yeah.
It is.
Okay.
It's that yellow stuff that's sitting right in my throat right now that I keep it like
not letting out.
Right.
It just don't go away.
But you know what?
The difference between Raleigh and us is, well, they don't have the beauty that we have.
Exactly.
Hello.
They come here to visit our beauty through all that.
So anyway, yeah, I thought that was just kind of interesting.
So I'm going to say it the easy way, Kim.
So the four B's.
Yes.
The four B's is an amazing event.
And again, we've talked about it and we're going to keep talking about it because there
are so many feeders that come off of this event.
It really is.
And I think that's what makes it an important event for Visit Knoxville because it really
supports a lot of our stakeholders of tourism.
So James White, Fort Blunt Mansion, Ruse Chris, Knoxville Outdoor Collective, the Women's
Basketball Hall of Fame.
Everyone really engages with the event.
So what I think is so cool is that if you're listening from 10 to three on that Saturday,
James White's Fort is free.
Blunt Mansion is free.
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is free.
We also have all of the guided stuff and the brewery rides that I've already mentioned.
That Ruse Chris is open that day from 11 to two doing happy hour pricings for burgers
and beer to go along with Bike Boat Brew and Bark.
So that's super fun.
And if you haven't had a hamburger from Ruse Chris, you've been missing out.
It's super delish.
And we also have some other things.
We have partnerships with Parks and Rec and they're going to have like yoga classes, which
last year I was like, what are we doing?
But then when I saw all the people that came out on a beautiful day to do yoga, it was
quite awesome.
I personally don't been like that.
So I can't do yoga.
But that's why you need to do it.
Obviously.
But I think, I think this, the ship's already sailed on me.
So and then volunteer landing Marina is going to have pontoon boat shuttles back and forth
from our footprint to such a landing.
So if people haven't ever really seen such tree or even gone over and experienced some
of the things you can in South Knoxville, this is a great day to do that because there's
awesome shopping and restaurants on that side of the river as well that people don't
realize.
So super cool event.
I encourage everyone to check it out.
Like I said, go to bikeboatbrewbark.com, sign up for the slow rides, sign up for the walking
cause they do feel and then once they're full, they're done and that's how we kind of run
the day.
And we are looking at this event and seeing how we can grow it since, you know, that first
weekend in June is usually a fairly open weekend for us to get adventurous with events.
Yeah.
Well, and it just again, I mean, the way that you guys kind of incorporate this event with
so many different things around town is just simply awesome.
All in itself, but again, I, you know, it's, it's just, it's such a beautiful way for us,
for people to come together and enjoy our natural landscape.
It really is.
And you know, last year, you know, I came on here this show to talk about this event,
but it was day of.
Yeah.
And crazy enough, there were people listening to the show that were from in, from out of
town and they just kind of talk radio is what they do when they go to communities and they
learned about the event on this show and showed up at the footprint, which I thought was pretty
awesome.
They were like from Indiana.
And so it was a great way to tell them the story of why you should visit Knoxville in
the future, which is a big thing for us because people come to Knoxville typically and they
say there's so much to do here that they need to come back because they couldn't do everything.
And that's a cool thing.
Yeah.
I mean, it is.
It is such an amazing venue here, right?
Oh, it is.
I mean, and we hear it in, in so many different aspects.
I know that we have a part of my state association for alarm companies, one of the things that
we have a convention every year.
And usually one of our biggest draws is when we have our convention here.
And of course, you know, we're normally out in the Smoky Mountains because that's what
everybody loves, especially from the other side of Tennessee.
But it is so cool just to see when people come here, when we have different events,
sporting events like right now, right?
We're hosting the regionals for softball, Lady Vols.
And I'm going to tell you what.
There are a lot of people here in town and then folks from the Hoosiers.
I mean, look, they, they had a huge section at the game yesterday.
And, and just like you said, anytime there are events that come in, sporting events or
other events that come to town, people want to come to this one.
Yes.
They want to come to our area.
So they're circling on their calendars.
Okay, I'm going to participate in this type of, whether it's cycling, whether it's marathons,
whether it's a sporting event, whether it's a musical event, there's so many of them
within their ear marketing.
And they're going, I'm going to that one.
Definitely.
And I think that says a lot about our community because one of the other big feedbacks we
get is just how nice everyone is.
And so they're like, Oh my gosh, I come here and everyone is so nice.
And we see this from sports to conventions to the film projects that we recruit to everything.
And I think that's super cool.
And speaking of sports, this is the last year for Knoxville to be able to really engage,
participate, see, pay homage to the USA cycling pro road national championships.
And so we've had this event for seven years.
So it's a very, very bitter sweet thing for me because they feel like an extension of
visit Knoxville and our family, but that's June 22nd through the 25th.
And it's, you know, it's not goodbye forever, but it is going to be farewell for a while
because we're building the new multipurpose stadium.
We're doing a lot in Knoxville from a construction and development aspect.
And that's put a pinch on the event.
But also the events been here for one of the longest runs it's ever done.
And so it's time for us to say, okay, it's okay for you to go somewhere else, see how
not as awesome it is there as it is here and then come back in a few years.
So we're excited about that.
Right.
Yeah.
You know, I mean, there's no doubt it's coming back.
Oh yeah.
They, they are family.
They love Knoxville and Knoxville embraces cycling.
You mentioned it in some of your comments and it's a big deal.
And this event will run this year.
Same as it did the last couple of years that Thursday, June 22nd will be in Oak Ridge.
We'll be doing the time trials.
That's a great partnership that we've had with Oak Ridge.
We literally just walked all the neighborhoods yesterday because there's a big impact to
the community over there, but also a big celebration by Oak Ridge, partnering with Knoxville to
support this event for all these years.
Melton Hill Lake is beautiful.
So if people haven't visited Oak Ridge, you're missing out also.
You need to get out there, come out, check out the time trials last time to do it.
Then Friday we moved back downtown and we have what's called NASCAR on a bike with the
criteria.
So that will be super exciting.
On Saturday we will be at Olympic Day at Safety City, so all families 12 to 2, if you don't
get to see Safety City, it doesn't open on Saturdays very often.
It'll be open that day.
And then Sunday is the big pro road national race.
Starts with women, ends with men, all over downtown.
Super awesome.
Check it all out at USACycleKnox.com.
You can still volunteer to be a course marshal, which is also a super cool way to see the
race.
Hey, look, I always need some volunteers to pull off all these amazing things.
100%.
How many miles is that race?
Do you know?
It is a lot.
I know that.
Yeah, I know.
We would have to pull that up on the website.
I should know that off the top of my head, but the reason I don't is because we did change
it a little bit because they have to do more laps because we redid the route.
So it's like, I think it's over 100 miles is the road race for the men.
And it might as a little shorter for the women, but they have to go up if anyone's ever been
in South Knoxville, Sherrod Road.
I encourage you just to go see that hill.
These cyclists ride up that hill like six times and come down it going about 100 miles
an hour.
So I've been in one of the cars because it has a huge, huge entourage of cars that go
to protect the cyclists.
And it is really, really different.
And all the people that shared, if you're listening, y'all have the best parties I've
ever seen in the history of cycling.
So keep it up.
This is the last year.
We really need to send them off in a really positive, awesome way.
Yeah, that'd be great.
Well, I can tell you this, not recently as you can probably, if you could see me, you
would understand that statement.
But in past, I have done a several sprint triathlons and one that I always love to do was down
in UT campus and, you know, seven miles of biking, not hundreds, but just seven.
But some of the hills just up and down around campus, right?
I know how difficult it is.
There are, biking is huge in our area.
And I just got to say hats off to every single one of you because, man, the hills that we
have around here, it is just crazy to watch how they're able to just, they just come up
that thing like it's nothing, you know?
They are pure, pure muscle.
I've never seen anything like it.
But yeah, our hills, if you want to challenge yourself in getting shape, just start tackling
a hill a day.
There's plenty to go around.
There is.
We are going to come back and continue to talk with Kim from Visit Knoxville.
And we're going to, we're going to focus a little bit about what's going on just this
weekend, rain or shine, or maybe you need to get indoors.
We'll find you a way to have an amazing weekend and enjoy our beautiful area here in East
Tennessee and Knoxville.
Thanks for listening and we'll be right back here on Around the House, a news talk, 987
WOKI.
Welcome back to Around the House.
I hope you're having a beautiful morning this morning.
I know I am visiting here with Kim Bumpas from Visit Knoxville.
Hey, we, we've got Robert here on the line who's got a quick question for us.
Hey, Robert, sorry to keep you waiting, buddy.
How are you doing this morning?
Good morning.
I'm glad to hear your program.
Enjoy it.
Well, thank you.
Yeah.
Well, I've got a couple of questions and real quick ones and easy answers.
I'm sure.
First of all, me and my family, I'm looking for a win-win-win pool.
We're the artists women pooling locally that you can take your family to and enjoy.
Yeah.
So, you know, plus women have a trouble finding a park that you have grill that to go out
and grill.
That used to be one down in West Knoxville, but that's a good grill there.
Well, I do know, I think McPhee Park out in Farragut still has grills.
That's a good one to check.
But you know, most of them, I think nowadays most of them with their grills, they do require
a reservation usually for most of those.
But I can tell you an easy place to find out about public pools.
If you just go to KnoxvilleTN.gov, that's the city of Knoxville webpage.
They have the local community pools that are available and then just depending on what
part of town you're in, there are resources.
I know there's a lot of splash pads and stuff like that around town as well.
So probably your best source to find that information, Robert, is just to check out
the parks and rec for whatever area you're looking in, whether it's in the city of Knoxville
or West Knoxville Farragut area, Loudoun County or the surrounding counties.
Knox County has parks and rec.
Yes.
In Knox County's parks and rec.
That's probably going to be your best source.
Great.
One more.
Does she ever promote a place and they used to do curling.
You remember that?
There was a curling.
That's that little thing you slide.
You have to use a broom.
You know what I'm about.
Yeah.
I definitely know what you're talking about.
Yeah.
I'm looking for something like that too, plus I need something for handicapped person and
then we're going to go with nice things together.
Well, I hear you.
You know, I would look at the ice chalet.
Sometimes has special activities that might, you know, fall in line.
I'm not sure of the timing of it on when you're in town.
Cool sports also offers some cool opportunities there as well.
So I'd probably check those out.
And if you're ever in town, you definitely need to go to the Coliseum and check out the
ice bears are hockey team and they sometimes do some special curling activities.
Now, I don't know if we can really participate in them, but we can sure watch them do it.
Yeah.
Watch them and check them out.
Hey, Robert, thanks for calling us this morning, buddy.
Thanks for listening.
We appreciate having you.
And hopefully hopefully I'll get you going in the right direction.
So, you know, one of the things that Kim mentioned about it before is that, you know, we have
people in here from out of town, out of state, out of area, and they may be here today.
Maybe they're going to go watch the softball team that there's a good potential that may
get rained out.
So I want to talk about what's happening this weekend.
Definitely.
And I have to backtrack one step because I felt entirely guilty for having partnered
with USA cycling for that long and not being able to rattle off the miles of the race.
So it's 115 miles for the men and 66 miles for the women is the road racial and Sunday.
So obviously you can imagine that takes a long time to run them.
So lots of opportunity for you to come out and see it now.
So way back to this weekend.
You kind of mentioned what's going on, but let's mention it again, because I really think
these are awesome, awesome things that can be before and after the game.
If that's what you're here for, if you're just visiting family, or if you're just visiting
your own backyard called Knoxville, the Waterland on Festival is tonight.
You have the Children's Festival of Reading and then you have Southern skies.
But I know when we say those words, you might not know what that means.
So Southern skies is at World's Fair Park on the performance line.
It is a two day homegrown music festival and they have got some great bands lined up and
they have a band that a lot of people know here in town called the Dirty Govnas and they
are awesome.
So you need to go and then St. Paul and Broken Bones is one of the headliners.
They're amazing music.
So go check out their website at southern skies music festival.com.
I know I'm giving everyone these big, huge tongue twister words today, but it's Saturday.
So that's what it's all about.
Then also today, 10 to three, also at World's Fair Park, but the other lawn.
So when you think about World's Fair Park, you have a big performance line, which is
on the, where they have the big concrete padding is probably a good way to describe it.
Then you have what's called the festival lawn, which is over by the splash pad, which is
not really a splash pad, but it's definitely the fountains that come out by the memorial
at the base of the brand new rebranded Marriott, which is exciting.
It has a lot of maker stuff inside.
So that's a destination in itself.
But the festival of reading is something that the library puts on Knox County library systems
puts on every year.
It's a free event.
It celebrates books and imagination.
It has music storytelling, arts and crafts, food, live music also, but more kid friendly
live music.
So super fun that you can look at their website.
You can also just look at visit Knoxville.com for more information.
The Water Lantern Festival is also tonight, which we've kind of already talked about.
And you can also, there's some other things happening this weekend.
So go to visit Knoxville.com.
Look at our event calendar and it will segment it for you also.
It'll say what's free, what's not free, what's a minimal investment.
And then I also want to shout out that if you're at World's Fair Park and you don't
scan the QR code to make a reservation to go into the sun sphere, you're also missing
out since we opened the sun sphere back to everyone on February 22nd, 2022.
We have welcomed over 67,000 visitors representing all 50 countries and all 50 states and 43
plus plus countries.
So super exciting.
Man, see, I told you when you got here, I just needed to hand you the microphone and
just, I could have just went home.
I mean, really, Kim, you could have took this all by yourself.
Hey, I hope that you have enjoyed today's show.
Kim, thank you so much for joining me this morning.
So if you want to know what's happening around town, go to visit Knoxville.com.
It can't get any easier than that, right?
100%.
If you have missed part of today's show and want to listen again, there's a link to replay
on my website.
Just go to hissecurity.com and click on the A-T-H radio tab to find the recordings of
all our shows or go where you find your favorite podcast and just search for Around the House
with Scott Brokamp.
I want to thank my guests for being on the program today.
Tony Campbell, the head man at Campbell's Pools and Spa, and president of Visit Knoxville,
Kim Bumpus.
Have a topic or a guest that you would like to hear on the show?
Send us an email with your suggestions and comments to thehouseathissecurity.com.
Around the House is produced by News Talk 987 with guest coordination services from Be
Media Savvy.
We'll be taking the Memorial Day weekend off so Riley can take his granddad fishing.
If you didn't hear Don Stimer's last broadcast, then tune in next Saturday morning at 7 when
we'll replay a fantastic show featuring Don Dave Folk and a cast of several others.
I'll be back with all new live shows after the holiday.
June is National Homeownership Month.
You don't want to miss it.
We'll be looking at nearly every aspect of buying a home all month long.
Until then, I hope you enjoy some quality time around the house.