Bicentennial Volunteers, Inc.
Connecting People with Purpose., Community., Resources., Service., Opportunities.
Bicentennial Volunteers, Inc. (BVI) is a nonprofit organization that oversees two affiliated nonprofits: National Emergency Assistance (NEA) and Retiree Resources Corporation (RRC). Together, these organizations offer Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) retirees and former employees opportunities to engage in volunteer service, support FEMA disaster recovery efforts, and participate in TVA contract work.
Bicentennial Volunteers, Inc.
BVI offers an opportunity to volunteer at the Visitor Centers at Fontana Dam, Kentucky Dam, Norris Dam, and Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage Facility along with a variety of other volunteer opportunities.
National Emergency Assistance, Inc.
FEMA relies on NEA employees to augment their disaster assistance endeavors all over the United States.
Retiree Resources Corporation
Many TVA retirees and former employees are working through RRC to provide temporary staff augmentation to TVA.
We seek to make an impact in our Tennessee Valley community through the following efforts each year
STEM grants given to Tennessee Valley teachers
Visitors to the TVA Visitor Centers
Tennessee Valley Robotics Teams entered into competitions
RRC employees supporting TVA through staff augmentation
NEA employees deployed to disaster areas
Retirees doing projects to help improve their communities
What’s New?
iSpy With My Little Eye
Jun 2, 2025
Outdoor Explorers Help Grow Species Database
Davis, an avid iNaturalist user, lent her expertise during the iSpy workshop.
Canada geese, raucously honking, flew low over the Tennessee River in Knoxville.
On the boardwalk nearby, a group of hikers searched for tiny plants clinging to the cliffside.
Leaf cup plants soaked up the sun.
Virgin’s bower, a climbing clematis, twined around bare tree branches.
“This place is the leaf cup capital of the world,” botany enthusiast Lynne Davis said. She snapped a photo and added it to the iNaturalist app.
Bountiful Birds
May 8, 2025
Visit Spectacular Birdwatching Spots During Spring Migration
Throughout the spring, millions – on some nights, billions – of birds soar unseen under the stars on their annual migrations north.
People can spot them during the day as birds rest and feast at sites across the Valley region.
It’s a flyway for birds that migrate south in the fall and back north in the spring.
Birdwatching and other types of outdoor recreation bring $13 billion dollars annually to the Tennessee economy alone.
And many top birdwatching sites sit right on Tennessee Valley Authority lands and waters.
River Restoration
May 9, 2025
Farmers and TVA Use Trees to Aid in Flood Control
On the banks of Sugar Creek in south-central Tennessee, pastures rippled in the stiff wind. The scent of gust-carried dust and the spice of springtime plants steeped the air.
From left, Nathan Cannon walks alongside Heidi McIntyre-Wilkinson, of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture; David Cannon; and Drew Grimmitt and Greg Wunner, both of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
But the stars of the show were the saplings.
Rows of newly planted trees stood in holes that farmer David Cannon and his family had augured in the gravel-studded ground.
As a farmer, he signed up for the Tennessee Riparian Incentive Program, or TRIP. It’s a statewide partnership between the Tennessee Valley Authority and other agencies to plant riparian buffers – lines of trees along waterways – to protect rivers and the people who depend on them.
Cicada Cycles Benefit Valley Region
May 14, 2025
New Brood of Time-Keeping Insects Emerging
Buzzing, whining, beautiful – the cicadas are back.
But have no fear.
These red-eyed bumbling insects aren’t dangerous to people, pets or crops.
In fact, they’re tasty to wildlife and fish, who feast on their crunchy exoskeletons by the millions.
And they’re part of a natural cycle that’s been going on for millennia.
The Silver Chub Club
May 16, 2025
Anglers Benefit as River Management Helps Fish Thrive
Waves lapped the rocks. Ospreys wheeled and chortled overhead. And anglers hooked all kinds of fish off the riverbank in downtown Knoxville.
“I’ve caught skipjack herring, bluegill and yellow perch and smallmouth, white and largemouth bass,” Conservation Fisheries director Bo Baxter said. “It’s a great little spot.”
He and Dave Matthews weren’t casting for just any fish, though.
They sought a relatively rare fish for these parts – a silver chub.
It’s a sturdy little creature that’s appeared out of the blue on anglers’ hooks in the upper reaches of the mainstem Tennessee River.
And that’s a good sign.
Kingston Celebrates 70 Years
May 13, 2025
Workers Reflect on Proud Legacy of Service
Growing up in Roane County, Tennessee, Robbie Davis spent a lot of time riding around in the back seat of his family’s 1972 Monte Carlo.
One local landmark always entranced him.
The twin 1,000-foot chimneys towering over Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant.
“I just remember being in awe of how big they were,” Davis said.
Cruising past on Interstate 40 as a young adult, Richard Turner had a similar experience.
“I remember driving by and saying, ‘My gosh, what do they make at that plant?’ I’d never seen a plant that size.”