Meet the Staff
Jody Brown | Manager
Blount County Native, his grandparents on his mother’s side were born in Cades Cove. Jody has been backpacking/Mountaineering anywhere from Alaska to Mexico, and many places in between. He enjoys Canoe and Kayak camping trips as well. Jody has been with Little River for 15 years. Current favorite piece of gear: Pork Roast
Lindsay Adsit | Assistant Manager
Works to travel and lives for each adventure. Lindsay has been blessed with the opportunity to embark upon a variety of great adventures over the last few years. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Theatre and upon graduation has taken the last few years to explore the wondrous beauties of the nature. She has a passion for all things outdoors, especially backpacking, snowboarding, and surfing. Aside from outdoor activities she also has a passion for music and will travel near and far for a good show.
Bert Emmerson | “Wildcat”
Standing 5’ Awesome” and hailing from America’s heartland, this ruggedly handsome fellow is equally comfortable whether he is long distance backpacking or giving Chuck Norris life advice. When “Wildcat” is not on the trail he is out chopping wood, passing out homemade business cards (which are currently going for hundreds of dollars on ebay), or combing his lovely wife Becky’s locks. Bert also spends time educating local youth on the importance of calf strengthening. In all seriousness if your bucket list doesn’t include meeting Bert Emmerson then you need to rewrite it. ‘Merica hearts Bert Emmerson!
Jayson Alexander
Jayson is our youngest employee but by no means does that give him any less outdoor experience than the rest of the crew. Jayson is an avid outdoorsman; whether it be backpacking, fishing, recreational paddling, sport climbing, or his most recent passion, fly fishing. You can almost guarantee to find Jayson in the woods somewhere when not in school. Jayson is an eagle scout and has had a passion for the outdoors his entire life. He hiked the AT through the Smoky Mountains when he was 15 years old. Jayson started out as one of our youngest and most faithful customers, at the age of 13 he saved his money and purchased a Kayak from the shop, he has shopped with us for many of years and when he was finally old enough to get a job we snagged him and he has been a blast to work with ever since. Aside from the outdoors, Jayson is quite the artist as well. Jayson is finishing up his senior year at Maryville High School and is looking into colleges. However, upon graduation and before college he hopes to embark upon an epic journey, which has yet to be announced.
Melissa “Itchy” Brown
I’m a local girl, born and raised Southern style. I started working for LRTC in 2004, after many months of begging Greg to hire me! Woody gave me the nickname of “Itchy” after I battled several cases of poison ivy (one which made me unrecognizable to my own husband). I can usually be found in my cave, typing away furiously (setting up new merchandise or shipping/receiving duties) while staring up at my collection of beer bottles (wishing one was still full most days).
After 7 years, I feel like part of a small family here. I am lucky to work with a great group of people who I consider my friends. One thing I love about working here is that we all try to have a good time and keep things fun and lively each day.
I am married, going on 10 years, to the almost famous ‘Karaoke Ken’. I live for snow and snowboarding! Fav powder spots include Park City, the Canyons, Snowbird, Breckenridge and A-Basin. I also enjoy paddling, hiking or trail running with Ken and our pup Sierra. I love the Dave Matthews Band, a good mixed drink (preferably with mint in it), a cold beer (preferably a Belgian-style) and dancing (preferably with drink in hand).
Motto: Live, laugh and love.
Chris Richard
When not at the shop, Chris can be found running or riding his bike on trails in his hometown of South Knoxville. An Eagle Scout and U.S. Navy Veteran, Chris fancies himself a wandering woodsman-philosopher, but often thinks of giving it all up to become a billionaire.
Jeff Sweeney
Jeff is originally from Grand Rapids Michigan, which is 30 miles inland from Lake Michigan. He has been a backpacker since 2003. Jeff’s adventures have taken him throughout the United States as well as Greece, Bangladesh, Turkey, Canada and Mexico. In 2007 and 2008 Jeff maintained trails in Baxter State Park Maine and the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho. During the summer of 2009 he worked as a whitewater raft and rock guide for Discovery Outfitters. Jeff’s greatest adventure was his southbound thru-hike from Maine to Georgia in 2010. From May until Aug 2011 he served as the bicycle intern for Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
