On Saturday, April 8th, a small group of Plateau Corvette Club Members braved the rain and cool temps to gather at the Brass Lantern to participate in the Sgt. Chris Jenkins Memorial Benefit Ride. Ten members in 5 Corvettes made the journey from Crossville to Louden Municipal Park to register and stage for the ride to Smokey Mountain Harley Davidson.

When we arrived at the Park we were greeted with cheers and applause for showing up with the Corvettes. There was a very large presence of Police vehicles from many different departments – Louden County Sheriff, Louden City PD, Maryville PD, Alcoa PD, Oakridge PD and several other departments. The police vehicles were at the head of the group ride and they blocked side streets and traffic lights the entire route from the Park where we began to Smokey Mountain Harley Davidson

Traffic was stopped and people were sitting in their cars on the side of the road (some people even exited their cars while we passed by) to show respect in true Tennessee fashion. There was a band at the Shed (the entertainment venue for Smokey Mountain Harley Davidson) – “GreyBeard” who provided entertainment for several hours during the event.

February 3, 2022 at approximately 8 a.m., K-9 Sgt. Chris Jenkins responded to I-75 at mile marker 74 in the northbound lanes near the Tennessee River bridge to the report of debris in the roadway. As Sgt. Jenkins was removing the debris from the roadway, he was struck by a semi-truck. Sgt. Jenkins succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

Thanks to Roger and Kathy for leading and the photos.

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