HOPE for Bristol (Healing Our Polluted Environment for Bristol) is a volunteer-led organization focused on charitable relief efforts, education, and science to improve the lives of the citizens of the cities of Bristol, TN and Bristol, VA. HOPE for Bristol was founded in 2021 and approved as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity in March 2022.
Our organization’s goals are as follows:
Originally from Michigan, Joel Kellogg has worked in many capacities in manufacturing, remodeling, retail and service environments. He enjoys cooking, gardening, heavy metal, tinkering with his cars and riding his Harley all around this beautiful area.
Joel had the extreme good fortune to meet his soul mate who was born and raised in Bristol. They moved to Bristol in late 2013, and they currently live in the Fairmount neighborhood home his wife was raised in. He has lived many places in this great country. None come close to Bristol. The people here are the best. There is a sense of community here that you have to experience to understand.
As the landfill emissions changed from an occasional “did something die?” or “do we have a gas leak?” to an almost daily/nightly assault, he had to get involved. HOPE (Healing Our Polluted Environment) for Bristol was formed by a core of concerned residents with the primary goal of closure and capping this landfill. Relief efforts for severely affected residents are a close second. Future goals are efforts to preserve and enhance our community for everyone in Bristol.
Mike Dean, his wife Tiffany, and their three children lived all their life in New York till the beginning of 2021, when they fell in love with the community and people of Bristol, TN. Mike has worked an assortment of jobs, ranging from in the film production business to fixing and troubleshooting many types of trains for one of the largest commuter railroads in the nation. He currently runs an antique store in Bristol.
Mike loves rebuilding and restoring historic homes and vintage trailers. He’s been an avid collector of many antiques for the past 25 years. In his spare time he researches the many objects and documents he comes across in his work. When he is not out hunting the landfill, he is out hunting antiques and enjoying the many amazing places that Bristol has to offer.
Becky Evenden has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering (Lafayette College, Summa Cum Laude, 2003) and worked in several industries and sectors before moving to Bristol, VA in 2011. Now a resident of Bristol, TN, she enjoys homeschooling her son and looking for ways to serve others in her community.
Becky became involved in community awareness of the Bristol VA Landfill crisis in early 2021 out of concern to see the problem correctly diagnosed and appropriate solutions applied. A firm believer that affected residents should be involved in the conversations and decisions about the landfill, she has worked hard to ask good questions, request and scour public records, learn from contacts with landfill and regulatory experience, and generally help to keep the community informed while advocating the best engineering solutions and relief to residents. She has met some amazing people and learned so much through this unforgettable experience.