NEW LEADERSHIP DELIVERING RESULTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY

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NacQuia Johnson, Chair

 

 

 

 

From our Chair:

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As a 25 year resident of Tipton County, I am honored to serve as Chair of TNDP. My husband and I, Dr. Samuel Johnson, medical doctor and Air Force Veteran, are business owners of Johnson Clinic of Covington, INC, as we have raised four children in Tipton County, Dillan Johnson, Navy veteran and IT professional, Alexis Johnson, a Tipton County star athlete and May 2022 graduate of University of Memphis in Biomedical Engineering, Farraday Johnson, a sophomore University of Memphis Biomedical Engineering honor student and reigning Miss MidSouth Fair 2022, and Jordan Johnson a junior Mississippi Valley State University honor students and basketball player.  As Tipton County Democratic Party Chair, I bring more than 20 years of advanced education and experience in special education, teaching, center director, adult education, management, fundraising, medical billing and coding and medical office administration and management to the Tennessee Democratic Party. In life and on the job, I have supervised, managed and lead people all the while understanding that it is necessary to treat people with care. I understand that this is done by communicating -both listening and speaking- to work ideas and situations out for the greater good of all involved. I am currently a Health Information Management Technology college instructor for the Tennessee Board of Regents, Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Ripley, TN.  I have lived with special needs invalid relatives, where I’ve grown up with them, as I was exposed to them at a young age. At a very young age, I was left to take care of my handicapped aunt with hydrocephalus and an invalid grandmother side by side when grandma was no longer able to. Therefore, I have a strong desire to work with and speak for those who need extended care and healthcare. It has been a part of me for a long time to use best practices to help those with disabilities. I watched my mother teach special needs in the public school system as well as at developmental centers in Chicago, Illinois, throughout Mississippi, Tennessee for over 50 years as now she is retired but is still teaching part time. My stepfather's parents have a long history of teaching in Haywood County. My mother in law has a long history of teaching in Arlington, TN, as my father in law retired as a truck driver. My maternal grandmother was a cosmetologist for the community as well as a cook and housekeeper for bankers and doctors in Mississippi. My maternal  grandfather owned his own lawn care business as he serviced many lawns in Mississippi. Service is our business. I even married someone with a gentle spirit as he cares for the sick as a medical doctor and surgeon.  I used the techniques of care and love as I taught special education for 8 years in the public schools and 8 years in my childcare center. While I was a special education teacher for Shelby County Schools, I was a candidate for the running of Teacher of the Year. This is a testament that shows that I watched many others treat this population with love, so this is where I was molded to know how to use “heart work” and TLC.

 

I am a member of Jackson Tennessee Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC (JTAC), Daughters of Moolah Court #22, Order of Eastern Star Mayflower  #92, District #4 and 6 Chaplin, Tennessee State  Employees  Association, AAPC American Association of Professional Coders. I am happy to bring 10 years of teaching children with special needs, that is, autism (Asperger's Syndrome), emotionally disturbed, hearing loss, multiple disabilities, speech impairments, and developmental delay. I also taught Adult Basic Education as well as students in the child care setting at TCAT and To chest Preparatory as a tutor and Daycare Director. I am licensed with the state of Tennessee to teach special education as I graduated with a bachelor's degree minoring in special education from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, and a Master’s degree in education and additionally preschool education courses from Union University in Jackson, TN.  I have taken advanced courses at University of Memphis and worked towards a doctoral degree in business coursework at Capella University. The service of Chair of TCDP is important as I am to make sure that our party continues to push the values that all laws, legislations, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures are substantiated in an ethical manner in all capacities since they are an important part of our system. It is necessary to support laws for systemic change so that they can help support the education and transition of students into society. I am a strong advocate for the rights of special needs children. I bring along diversity since I have served in the trenches in underrepresented and underserved urban as well as rural populations. 

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Stephanie Foster, Vice-Chair​​​​​​​​

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Col. Robbie Shears, Former Interim Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary

 

Currently on Sabbatical

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Col. Robert Eugene Shears II, known as Robbie, was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1976 to R. E. Shears, Sr. (Bobby) and Donna Lee Kendall (Shears), a native of the Kingdom of Sweden. 

 

As a young child, Robbie was shown to be of exceptional intelligence and IQ tests placed him at above genius level.  He also showed an early and prodigious talent in music.  Robbie was accepted into the world-renown St. Mary’s Boys Choir at the age of six.

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Throughout his high school years, Robbie would become involved in music on a daily basis, learning and performing both instrumentally and vocally, winning dozens of awards at state and national levels.  He was mentored by the Worship Leader of a large Charismatic church in Memphis and would go on to become involved with the recording of live “Praise and Worship” albums which featured collections of popular short songs sung by congregations in a modern form of worship.  Robbie would work with well-known personages known in the industry and the Integrity Music’s Hosanna! Music® series.

Robbie graduated from high school in 1994 and then went on to attend The Northeast Mississippi Community College and then the University of Memphis on full scholarships. He was eventually awarded his degree in music business administration.

 

After college, Robbie started working for Delta Air Lines at the Memphis international Airport and then, years later, decided to go into business for himself. He started several small businesses in Mississippi while raising a family. He  has one son Jordan, 17.

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In 2009, Robbie moved back to his home state of Tennessee and became very involved in the local community of Memphis. He volunteered working with homeless teenagers and LGBTQ persons by way of counseling and mentoring.

 

In 2018, Robbie started working for Watson‘s Appliance: Sales, Service and Installation in Munford, Tennessee after having moved to Tipton County and served as the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Marketing for that expanding firm. 

In 2019, he was elected as Secretary of the Tipton County Democratic Party,  He was re-elected in August of 2021and March 2023.   He is now serving his third term as Officer.  Robbie is involved on a state-wide level in our state’s Democratic Party and politics, working closely with organizations that are near and dear to his heart. Robbie is the founder of the Tipton County Young Democrats Club and has begun a new committee for the Tennessee Equality Project for Tipton, Haywood, and Fayette Counties.  He spends the rest of his time peddling chicken at a local Zaxby's restaurant, reading all things historic and cherishing the memory of his dearest loved one, Betty who passed away in April of 2022.

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Kathryn Vaughn, Treasurer

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Kathryn Vaughn is a native New Yorker who moved to Tipton County in 2002. She has a Bachelors in Professional Studies from The University of Memphis and a Masters of Education with Honors from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. She has worked as an Elementary Art teacher in Tipton County Schools since 2006 and currently serves at the President of the Tipton County Education Association. She is a member of the Tennessee Rural Education Alliance, is a TN Achieves Mentor, a Tipton County Museum Artist in Residence, and a 2019 National Education Association Leadership Fellow. Mrs. Vaughn also teaches STEM, an after school group, and at Dyersburg State’s College for Kids program. 

 

A published writer and journalist, she began writing for the Reading Eagle, of Reading, Pennsylvania at the age of 14. She has been published in The Guardian, The Tennessean, The Leader, and has been featured in The Washington Post, and The New York Times. Her articles about art education have been published in School Arts Magazine. Mrs. Vaughn is also a frequent face on local and national television where she discusses the current state of education. 

 

Mrs. Vaughn resides in historic Covington with her husband, artist and Air Force combat veteran, Lance Vaughn, and their infant son Wynston. In her free time Mrs. Vaughn enjoys global travel, outdoor sports, and lobbying for fertility coverage with Tennessee Fertility Advocates. 

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Shara Vernon, Secretary

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Shara Vernon moved to Tipton County from Indianapolis in 2021. She works as a Clinical Reimbursement Consultant for Long Term Care and Rehab facilities in west TN and KY.  Shara became active in local politics in Indianapolis serving as a Precinct Committee Person and a Team Leader for the No New Jail Committee.  She enjoys book club, weight lifting, camping, and GETTING DEMOCRATS ELECTED!  She lives in Covington with her husband, Eric, and her twin daughters. 

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