farragutpress

Community turns out for Farragut Health

March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols

Food trucks and the B97.5 radio van stood guard outside the Farragut Community Center Sunday, March 1. Closer to the door, a sign welcomed visitors to the 2026 Farragut Health and Wellness Expo, sponsored by Tennova Healthcare.

Initially scheduled for early February, the 2026 expo was moved to March due to the large amount of snowfall across the area in the early portion of the year.

Shop Farragut hosts the expo each year at the community center at 239 Jamestowne Blvd. The wait appeared well worth it on Sunday as sunlight beamed on a clear, cloudless afternoon.

“A little sad we had to delay things in February, but the snow had other plans,” Shop Farragut executive director Vic Scott said. “When we first kicked off everything, it was a little bit of a slow start, then everything has started to pick up. So glad we have a nice, sunny day and that we’ve got the crowd we do.”

Visitors had plenty of options to choose from throughout the community center, as the event ran from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Inside, a Hearing Life table welcomed people into the front hallway with free hearing screenings available for anyone. A short walk to the left would take one to a large classroom, where Tennova Medical Center doctors and local attorneys gave presentations on a range of topics from physical wellness to wills and estate plans.

In the gym, dozens of tables were lined up across the

room, each one featuring a different Farragut-based business associated with some form of wellness.

There were tables for stretching companies, spinal nerve function, senior living, travel, cookware and a prosperity lounge featuring a financial coach.

At the First Citizens Bank table, vice president and manager Nikki Brinkley noted the expo’s impact from multiple angles since the bank sponsored a table and she is a member of the Shop Farragut board.

“I love what we do at the Farragut Business Alliance and Shop Farragut, which is try to bring more people and awareness into the Farragut community and bring people into the businesses in Farragut,” Brinkley said. “Super thankful to have the opportunity to be a sponsor and have a booth this year, and I’m happy to be part of the community.”

Tennova CFO and fellow Shop Farragut board member Suzanna Thames echoed the sentiment for her own work.

“I’ve been involved with Shop Farragut for about three years, but I believe we’ve been doing this for many more,” she said. “This is something we do at the hospital with health and wellness, so it’s something we want to be involved in for sure.

“We love it and like to see potentially new patients, people looking for new providers, and we love to have the community come out.”

Volunteers from the University of Tennessee and the Farragut Middle School Honor Society assisted Scott, who grabbed a microphone to serve as an emcee between events.

She gave updates on seminars in the classroom but also introduced the onstage acts, which featured different exercises and an athleisure fashion show from JC Penney in Turkey Creek.

Altogether, the event brought a variety of options for anyone to enjoy — even down to the two food trucks, which offered Spanish and German food out of their respective windows.

“We try to take a bit more a holistic approach,” Scott said in summary. “Farragut offers a lot of things that people don’t realize we have, taking care of your mind, your body, your health and self-care. Then financial advice and having an attorney to talk about estate planning too.

“The big benefit is that there’s something for everybody, and we wanted things to appeal to a wider demographic. So I feel like we really accomplished that.”