Circulation Station Stays Involved In Our Community

It’s true!  We believe in that old-fashioned notion of giving back to our community and we sponsor several events!

The Great Dragon Boat Race

Strength, power, harmony, and agility are just a few of the qualities represented by dragons in ancient culture. These attributes are also reflected in the TELLICO HEAT DRAGON BOAT CLUB!
 
Circulation Station is proud to sponsor this team, and I had the opportunity to see them in action last week. It was an incredible experience, showcasing a fantastic team that utilizes patented wellness technologies to aid their bodies in recovering from performances.
 

Every June on Fort Loudoun Lake, Knoxville’s 40-foot dragon boats sprint 250 meters to fund Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM). Entry is free for spectators; paddlers raise money that becomes meals, shelter, and addiction-recovery programs for neighbors in crisis. One morning on the water changes lives all year.

Since 2002, this regatta has blended a 2,000-year-old Chinese sport with East Tennessee heart, generating well over $600,000 for KARM’s life-change work. Teams of twenty paddlers and a drummer must move in perfect unison—just as the community must pull together to fight homelessness.

The race honors Qu Yuan, the patriotic poet whose supporters beat drums and churned the water to save him 2,300 years ago. Today, the drum cadence keeps crews in sync and reminds us that focused teamwork can rescue lives off the water, too.

Festival Highlights for 2025

  • Lion-dance kickoff & Taiko drum exhibition

  • Kids’ zone with paddle-pond, inflatables, and face painting

  • 15 + food trucks—Asian fusion to Knoxville BBQ

  • Live bluegrass, hip-hop, and cultural dance troupes all day

  • Awards for Fastest Crew, Top Fundraiser, and Spirit of the Dragon (best costumes)

Real Lives Changed

“I slept under this bridge in 2021. This year I’m steering a boat with people who kept me fed, sober, and hopeful.”
— Josh, KARM Recovery Graduate

Hundreds of graduates like Josh return each year—as paddlers or volunteers—to prove that compassion can out-race despair.

Conservative Club of Tellico

This is a social organization of like-minded conservative patriots that want to support our U. S. Constitution and learn more about what is going on in local, state and federal government.
Our principles are founded on God, Family, Country. We strive to restore constitutional limits on government, through the promotion of traditional American Values, endowed by our Creator, which includes Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.