Board Member Profiles

Catherine Suddarth and Robert Marlino

Old North News is featuring brief profiles of Old North Knoxville's officers and board members. These volunteers come from different backgrounds, but all want to see Old North Knoxville thrive.

Originally from Nashville, Catherine Suddarth landed in Greensboro, NC, after a series of moves that had taken her to Virginia, Mississippi, and Florida. In 2003, "I decided to move to Knoxville and stumbled on ONK during a house-hunting trip. It was love at first sight. The old Victorians and tree-lined streets appealed to my sense of history and nostalgia. I moved into my Folk Victorian cottage on Kenyon in June 2003."

After working on a number of clean-up projects and volunteering for the beautification committee, she was elected to the Board in April 2004. "As a Board member, I want to help ONK retain its charm, while enhancing its ability to attract preservation-minded families and individuals," she said.

Almost two years ago, Oak Ridge native Robert Marlino and his wife moved to a house on Grainger Avenue in Old North Knoxville. Love of old homes, like-minded neighbors, and a neighborhood "close to everything" were part of what attracted him. In 5 to 10 years, Robert sees "a great neighborhood … similar to the close in neighborhoods in Charlotte and Atlanta." 

Bettering the neighborhood is one of his goals on the board, and he would like to see "an active LLC (in the neighborhood) to buy and renovate some of the severely distressed properties, more social gatherings, implementation of traffic calming, (and) period light fixtures" if possible. Robert believes the neighborhood organization "does a great job now," but would like to see more participation by more residents and an exploration of ideas that have worked in other cities. A recently board member, Robert is not yet on any committees. "Anybody interested?" he asked.

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