If this photo tells you anything, it is that we quite literally left it all on the field. After an incredibly fun photo shoot with the kids, in jeans, a baseball jersey, and Chattanooga heat that clearly did not get the memo that fall was approaching, this was me. Flat on the grass. Done. And laughing because somehow, once again, our team knocked it out of the park.

And honestly, I cannot think of a better photo for this issue.

Baseball is woven throughout these pages as we celebrate the Chattanooga Lookouts, the excitement surrounding the new Erlanger Park, and a sport that has always had a special way of bringing families and communities together.

That makes this month’s nonprofit feature especially close to home. Rivermont Youth Athletic Association is the very organization where the kids featured on our cover play, learn, compete, and make memories. These fields are part of their childhood.

Every improvement made at RYAA is more than an upgrade to a ballfield. It is an investment in the kids who step onto these fields today and the generations who will follow. We are so excited to share their story and give a little extra love to an organization that means so much to families right here in our community.

There is something about baseball that feels a lot like what we are building with Stroll Riverview. Everyone has a role. Everyone brings something different to the lineup. And when people show up for one another, pretty incredible things happen.

That includes our Stroll team. They chase kids, wrangle photos, tell your stories, meet deadlines, make me laugh, and somehow keep up with me. This magazine is absolutely a team sport, and I am incredibly grateful for the people in our dugout.

September also means we are officially back in the swing of things. Backpacks are packed, school calendars are full, Friday night football is here, and hopefully cooler temperatures are somewhere in the on deck circle.

Most importantly, I want our Riverview families to know that we are cheering for you. We love celebrating your children, accomplishments, pets, traditions, businesses, milestones, and all those wonderfully ordinary moments that make a neighborhood feel like home. This magazine belongs to this community, and you are the reason we get to tell these stories every month.

And speaking of our home team, please remember the incredible business partners you see throughout these pages. They are carefully chosen with our residents in mind, and their support makes Stroll Riverview possible. When you need something for your family, your home, or your business, give our partners the first at bat. Call them first. Tell them you saw them in Stroll. Support the businesses that choose, month after month, to support this neighborhood.

Because community really is a team sport.

Here’s to a great school year, football weekends, cooler temperatures, baseball memories, and another season of cheering each other on.

And if September gets a little crazy?

Sometimes you just have to leave it all on the field.

Kelly Harple
Publisher, Stroll Riverview