Our Writers

Cheryl Stallings, R.N., B.S.N.

Cheryl is the Family Education Program coordinator at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. She teaches a number of family classes sponsored by the medical center, coordinates several groups for new mothers, and teaches exercise classes for people of all ages. Stallings also participates in community events to educate parents, grandparents, young children in expectant families, and others about various aspects of family life. She is a graduate of Union University in Jackson, where she earned a bachelor of science in nursing. She has more than 25 years of experience in nursing, including emergency medicine, critical care, nursing management, and staff development, and is the author of a graduate preceptorship program. 

Kristine Lassen

Kristine Lassen is a clinical specialist at Methodist Therapy, a service of Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. Her specialty is vestibular rehabilitation. She received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Stanford University and a masters of physical therapy degree from the University of Southern California. Along with her interest in vestibular rehabilitation, she is a certified Pilates instructor.

Judy DiGregorio 

Judy is an Army brat from San Antonio, Texas, who has lived in Oak Ridge since 1969. She is a retired training specialist from DOE Oak Ridge Operations. She is now a local free lance writer active in the arts. She is the humor columnist for Anderson County Visions Magazine and also helps handles PR for the Oak Ridge Playhouse where she has appeared in six shows, including Mrs. Higgins in “My Fair Lady.”  

She has published more than 300 columns and essays. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including the Chicken Soup books, Ridges Magazine, the Birmingham Art Journal, New Millennium Writings, CityView Magazine, Army/Navy Times, Byline Magazine, and the Writer.  

Celtic Cat Publishing, Knoxville, recently published a collection of Judy’s humorous essays, “Life Among the Lilliputians.” The book is available online from Amazon.com or http://www.celticcatpublishing.com/ or locally from Jefferson Drug Store or Moondollars Café

The TN Arts Commission named Judy an outstanding southern writer in 2006. She has also been designated a Woman of Distinction in the Arts by the local YWCA, and the Oak Ridge Observer named her the outstanding writer for 2007. 

Judy enjoys speaking to local organizations and clubs and has been featured on the WBIR Style show on two occasions as well as the Cherries Internet Café in Knoxville.  She has been a featured speaker at Roane State Community College, Club LeConte Book Club, Knoxville Writers’ Group, UT Writers in the Library Series, Pellissippi State Writers’ Series, Leadership Oak Ridge, Roane County Writers, and many other places. 

For more info about Judy, visit her website and blog at http://www.judyjabber.com/. Email her at jdig60@gmail.com.   

Ron Eslinger is a retired Navy Captain He is owner and CEO of Healthy Visions Wellness Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, President of the American School for Clinical Hypnosis, International and President and Founder of the American Association for Moderate Sedation Nurses. He graduated from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, Knoxville, TN, in 1970 and completed Nurse Anesthesia training at the University of Tennessee in 1974. He received his BS degree in Professional Arts from Saint Joseph’s College in Wenham, Main, 1990 and his Masters Degree in Foreign Affairs for National Defense and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College, Newport, RI in 1994. 

Eslinger became a Certified Hypnotherapist in 1978, and opened the Knoxville Center for Clinical Hypnosis in 1979.  He became a Certified Instructor for the National Guild of Hypnotist in 1999. Board Certification in 2001, Certified Master Instructor in 2006 and Fellow National Council for Hypnotherapy United Kingdom in 2007. 

His Hypnotherapy awards include Researcher of the Year 2003, Presenter of the Year in 2004, Achievement Award 2005, Lifetime Achievement 2007 and Educator of the Year 2008. 

Eslinger was nominated by the Department of the Navy to Represent the Department of Defense as Ex-Officio member to the National Institutes of Health’s Health Service’s Committee on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He is an internationally sought out speaker and author and has been a monthly columnist for Anderson County Visions Magazine since 2004. 

Melanie Harless

Melanie Harless was born in Luttrell, Tennessee and graduated from Knoxville Central High School in 1963.  She received a BS in education and a MS in Library Information Science from the University of Tennessee.  She retired from her career as a school librarian with the Oak Ridge City Schools in June 2006.  She is the co-president of the Oak Ridge Delta Kappa Gamma Educational Service Organization and writes the newsletter for that organization.

After retiring, she began pursuing her dreams of writing.   She has had fiction and non-fiction pieces published in three anthologies in the last year.

Melanie writes the travel column, Easy Getaways, for Visions. She also takes photographs for each column.

Melanie enjoys traveling, both near and far, but her column is devoted to places within a three hour drive of Oak Ridge.  She loves the unique areas near Anderson County and hopes to inspire readers to travel and learn more about the interesting places nearby.  Her columns reflect her personal experience of a place, but she tries to give historical perspectives and highlight things others might enjoy.

She and her husband Jim have lived in Oak Ridge since 1974.  They have two daughters and three grandchildren.

Nelson Patterson

Nelson grew up in Knoxville and graduated from UTK in 1981.He is married to the former Wendy Vowell of Anderson County and has 2 children, Kirk, and Blair. He is now in his 20th year as a Registered Investment Representative for Edward Jones.

MORE AUTHORS POSTING SOON!