Several hundred Villagers enjoyed a new way to have some fun in the sun.
The HomeOwners Association of Tellico Village held its first Summer Fun membership picnic 3-7 p.m. June 26 at the Yacht Club. The HOA invited guests for food, live music, games such as corn hole and prizes.
The event planned for 500 people was sold out.
“What we’re trying to do it’s create a community event for Tellico Village,” Mark Pantley, HOA president, said. “We have about 3,800 members here in the Village, and it’s primarily around the membership, but it’s a big piece of the Village. We created a community event here where people can get together and have a good time.
“It’s meant to be like an old fashioned community picnic is kind of the thought,” he added. “A lot people here came from — well, we all came from somewhere else, and a lot of those people had a heritage or a history or a tradition of an annual community picnic. We’re trying to recreate some of that.”
Pantley said his own background includes company and family picnics. He said his parents belonged to a club that hosted an annual picnic, which meant fun for the family.
“The idea is that Tellico Village is a community, it’s just how do we all then get together and act as one,” he said. “This creates a common event, common purpose, common activity that we can all touch base on and say, ‘Hey, we were all there and we were apart of that’.”
While this first year is somewhat of an experiment, the hope is the picnic becomes a significant annual community gathering. The HOA hosts an annual Christmas Gala in December also designed for the creation of community, Pantley said.
Betty Fortune, vice president of event planning, worked with a team of about 10 HOA members to organize the picnic. Other volunteers were recruited to run the activities.
Tellico Village Lions Club helped with parking. A number of organizations, such as The Public Library at Tellico Village, provided information to those in attendance.
Pantley said he was looking forward to everyone relaxing and having a great time.
“It’s a little bit trite, but we’re still getting over COVID,” Pantley said. “To me, it’s almost like we’re relearning how to socialize. We’re learning how to get together and meet and greet and have some fun and relax.
Villagers gathered in the front, back and bottom floor of the Yacht Club to either eat from the buffet, play games or watch a demonstration by the Tennessee Heat Dragon Boat Club, also known as Tellico Heat.
Others grabbed a cool drink before sitting under tents to talk, laugh and enjoy the music overlooking Tellico Lake.
Denise Rotunda and Sally Rieger were among those attending with some members of Rotunda’s family. Rieger said she thought the gathering was a nice way to bring the community together.
“We’re new to the Village,” Rieger said. “I’ve only been (here) about a year and half. … So it’s kind of nice to all gather in one spot and enjoy each other and meet more people and celebrate the summer because it’s a hot one today.”
