Officers
Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts
PRESIDENT: Brad Eldridge
Brad has been an outdoor enthusiast his entire life. He started whitewater canoeing in 2013, after a friend and founding member of APEs gave him an old school C1. Day one was very challenging, even in flat water, but the adventure was on! Former Captain of the APEs Swim Team, Brad has moved on to a support role on the Team. Currently, he enjoys both whitewater canoeing and kayaking, and is an American Canoe Association (ACA) Level 4 kayak instructor. Brad enjoys paddling throughout the Southeast and helping new people. He is focused on safety, skill progression, and having fun on the water!
VICE PRESIDENT: Ruben Creek
Ruben was born and raised in northeast Tennessee and has enjoyed the area’s local rivers and lakes most of his life—riding the Nolichucky on anything that would float. “I’ve always been drawn to water. Maybe because I’m a Pisces. Or, maybe because I was on an inner tube, on the Nolichucky River, when I was merely 3 years old,” he says. Ruben later took an interest in kayaking, bought his first kayak in 2014, and shortly after joined APEs to meet other paddlers, develop skills and expand his playground. Since that time, he has explored many of the rivers our region has to offer, as well as some flat water. Ruben enjoys working with the other officers and members to bring the joy of paddling to those who want to experience it.
CONSERVATION: Trin McAlister
Trin was born, raised and resides in Easley, SC. He is a lover of most things outdoors including whitewater boating, camping, hiking, hunting and fishing, which are “all a good time” in his opinion. While camping on the banks of the Chattooga in 2020, he hatched an idea to float down Section 2 of the river in his sit-on-top fishing kayak. In the fall of that year, Trin bought his first whitewater kayak, and, since then, he has grown outside the borders of upstate South Carolina and explored rivers throughout the Southeast.
CRUISE DIRECTOR TOURING/ CLASS I-II: Debbie Briscoe
Deb started paddling on the Watauga in 1996 and soon was introduced into whitewater on other rivers—changing her life forever. She has concentrated her efforts on conservation and introducing new enthusiasts to the sport. Deb held APEs conservation chair on and off for more than 13 years, and she still volunteers for local river cleanups. Over the past decade, Deb has been a leader in organizing trips for new paddlers on the Watauga, as well as flat-water events like Paddle to the Grill and multiday trips for touring kayakers. When not paddling, Deb is a home care business owner and member of many other outdoor groups that offer hiking, backpacking and hammock camping adventures.
CRUISE DIRECTOR CLASS II-III: Joe Poehlmann
Joe started paddling at 17 and went to Outward Bound in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota for 24 days—and it changed his life. He switched from canoes to kayaks in 2010, when his boys went into the military. Joe has paddled with the Orcas in the San Juan Islands and with multiple kayak clubs in Cincinnati, OH, and the Frankfort, KY, area. After taking vacations to paddle on the Nantahala and Hiawassee Rivers, he decided: “Life is short!” And Joe made the decision to relocate to the Knoxville, TN, area in 2019; he hasn’t looked back. In 2022, Joe spent a week at the Madawaska Kanu Centre in Barry’s Bay Ontario, where he had the opportunity to run Lower McCoys and the middle channel on the Ottawa River—his first class IV with multiple Class III+ rapids and, “It was AWESOME!” Since then, Joe has stepped up his game to paddle the Middle Ocoee, Nolichucky Gorge, Upper Green and others. Joe is a true “people person” who loves the outdoors and leading trips.
CRUISE DIRECTOR CLASS III-IV: Wesley Bradley
Wesley learned to kayak as a teen in 1994 at Buffalo Mountain Camp in Washington County, TN. He fell in love with the sport, lifestyle and paddling folk from multiple summer camp weeks on the rivers in his youth. This fueled his love for the outdoors even more, along with his adventures in the Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout 1998). He is a member of the Whitewater Team of Jackson Kayak (since 2007) and an outdoor recreation advocate in his local community involved in many park and recreation projects. A lifelong resident of Carter County/Elizabethton, TN, he loves to play outdoors in his local region with his adventurous wife, Jennifer, whom he met and married while kayaking. During the week, Wesley works as an architectural designer and project manager in Kingsport, TN. Most other times you can find him riding the whitewater in his kayak, shredding on his alpine skis, smashing berms on his mountain bike, cranking out miles on his road bike or hiking/camping with his two dogs. He and his wife are also Star Wars nerds.
SAFETY EDUCATION: Join the APEs Officer Team!
WE HAVE AN OPENING: The Safety Education Officer plans and develops activities of an educational nature and investigates current developments affecting water safety, and safety in the use of canoes, kayaks and other watercraft. This individual, who must have an American Canoe Association (ACA) Level 4 Certification, organizes activities that promote development and improvement of paddling skills for APEs members and disseminates educational materials on safety. For more information, contact APEs President Brad Eldridge at paddleapes@gmail.com.
TEHCC LIAISON: Andy Steffan
Andy, who is the APEs liaison for the Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club (TEHCC), has enjoyed recreational kayaking and rafting since he was old enough to take trips. In 2016, he took his first whitewater kayaking class at Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and has since been to pool sessions and enjoying local rivers. In addition to kayaking, Andy enjoys hiking, watching NC State athletics, and home improvement projects with his wife. When not enjoying the outdoors, Andy is in the Process Safety Design group at Eastman Chemical.
SOCIAL DIRECTOR: Laurie Levknecht
Laurie is a retired RN and grandma to two sweet girls. She has been paddling various watercraft since the early 1960s in a Grumman canoe! In her 40s, Laurie became actively involved in sea kayaking, primarily in the Great Lakes in her home state of Michigan. Over the years, she taught at Midwest symposiums and had the good fortune to sea kayak in a number of overseas destinations. Laurie was in her 50s when daughter Adriene (also known as the “Queen of the Green”) sparked an interest in whitewater kayaking. With a solid cadre of Midwest paddlers, Laurie experienced more great kayaking on various Midwest, Southeast and Western rivers. Now living in Tennessee, Laurie’s home is 20 minutes from the takeout of the Lower Nolichucky, and she is quite content on Class I to III water. She also shreds easy mountain bike trails, hikes, is a long-time yoga practitioner, and plays some not-so-good pickleball. As APEs Social Director, she works to gather the group’s members both on and off the water.
SECRETARY/TREASURER: Jerry Griffin
Jerry took his first overnight canoe and camping trip on South Holston Lake while at Boy Scout Camp in 1963. Then, after finishing school and establishing a career in telecommunications, he once again became involved in Boy Scouts in 1980 as an adult leader of his old troop. Most of the boys were older and looking for more than car camping once a month and a week at summer camp, so Jerry helped to start a high-adventure program including backpacking or canoe/camping trips on Class II rivers each year. The troop also became nationally recognized as U.S. Forest Service Volunteers doing trail building and maintenance in Cherokee National Forest. In the late 1990s, Jerry needed more formal training and certification for troop river trips, so he took the APEs beginner whitewater clinic and has been a member ever since. He is married with one son, four grandchildren and three great grandsons. Since retiring from Century Link in December of 2014, Jerry no longer paddles a canoe, has figured out that air rides are more comfortable, and decided that a camper is better than sleeping on the ground. He is open to paddle Class I-III most days.
WEBMASTER: Lisa Cedrone
Lisa began her whitewater journey in 2022, at 55 years old—30 years after taking her first rafting trip on the middle Ocoee and falling in love with the rivers of the Southeast. This happened not long after she moved from Philadelphia to Columbia, SC, and began exploring and hiking in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Fast-forward: Following an 18-year career as an editor/editor-in-chief and 12 years in creative freelance, Lisa finally returned to her “heart home” in Western North Carolina, settled in Burnsville, and reconnected with the rivers that inspired her dreams of whitewater kayaking. Now on a slow-but-steady progression from Class II to Class III, she takes advantage of the many resources in our region, including classes, private instruction, and paddling with APEs.