Come-on in

Let us introduce ourselves...

We are Bill and Ethel White, and we live in semi-retirement in Maryville, Tenn. We moved here (south of Knoxville in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park) in June 2000 after completing a one-year volunteer commitment with the Christian Appalachian Project in eastern Kentucky. Before that we lived in La Crosse, Wis., where Bill was a reporter with the La Crosse Tribune and Ethel had been a legal secretary for many years and worked for two seasons in an accounting office preparing tax reports. In Maryville Bill is freelance writing and recently completed two books -- a 50-year history book of Asbury Inc., a Maryville-based nursing home corporation and the history of 175-year-old Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. Ethel is the part-time office staff at Highland Presbyterian Church and doing volunteer work through our church New Providence Presbyterian Church. We've also "organized" a friends of international students program with Maryville College. We call it Maryville Global Connection Since the program started, more than 100 international students have had Global Connection families.

Here's our family

		We have three grown children. Our daughter Amy Kreibich (far left) lives in Maryville. Her son, Drew, (below, left) is a freshman at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Our son Brad (left) and his wife Shawn live in Moraga, Calif. Brad's son, Will, (below) lives in Sarasota, Fla. Our other son, Brian, (below,right) lives in Hot Springs, Ark., with his wife Karen and two sons, Joey and Daniel.
Drew	Will	Brian, Joey, Daniel(front, left) and Karen

We Have Our Own Ross Store

   A new Ross Dress for Less store was opened in the Hamilton Crossing shopping area in Alcoa, the sister city of our "hometown" Maryville, TN, on March 8, 2008. And it was dedicated "in honor of Bill & Ethel White."
   How cool is that?!
   But why? you might ask. Well, the plaque displayed at the main check-out counter says it is in recognition of our "community spirit and civic pride." Actually, it's more probably because our son Brad is Senior Director of Store Planning for Ross, whose headquarters is in Pleasanton, CA.
   The company opened 26 new stores in March to exceed 900 in 27 states nationwide.
   In addition to recognizing us, Ross also presented a generous donation to the Blount County Habitat for Humanity.
   Brad and his wife, Shawn, came out from California for the store's Grand Opening. The plaque is at the main check-out counter.
   Needless to say, we are honored. And we'll be shopping at Ross a lot.
    Here is a story about the opening in The Daily Times of Maryville.

Our interests are:

International students. . .
Many students and journalists from around the world came through our door in La Crosse during the 1990s, and now we've added more to our family since arriving in Maryville. We've laughed together, we've cried, we've shared our lives. Many have e-mail addresses that let us stay in touch and others have homepages on the Web. You're welcome to meet them, too, on our World Family page. We've also visited many of them in their homes. You can read about our travels on our Library page.

Habitat for Humanity. . .
Bill served on the board of directors of the Blount County Habitat for Humanity four four years until June 2005, helping build public awareness of the organization and its efforts to provide decent, affordable housing in the Marvyille area. Both Ethel and Bill also serve on the family selection committee, interviewing applicant families and helping determine who will be chosen to partner with BCHFH for a new house.

Church . . .
We are active in New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville. Ethel is a program coordinator for the Presbyerian Women's group and has volunteered in the Bartlett Program, a day care/respite program caring for people with developmental or dementia-related problems. Bill sings in the Chancel Choir and coordinates the men's Witnessing Square, a bi-weekly breakfast/prayer group.

To learn more about these organizations, follow their links:
Christian Appalachian Project
La Crosse Tribune
Asbury Inc.
New Providence Presbyterian Church
Highland Presbyterian Church
Maryville College
Alcoa Kiwanis

Or return to The Welcome Page

Now, let us know something about yourself. Write to us at laxbillw@hotmail.com.
Please come back soon to visit. And remember to sign our "guestbook." Thanks.
Updated August 22, 2008.