TOP PHOTO:  Indian River Marina features an outside dining area on the water.  This photo is courtesy of Garrett Hill.
By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – Indian River Marina is celebrating a 25th anniversary and is the place to be on the lake this weekend.  Saturday, Aug. 29, marks the 25th year of ownership for Debbie Farmer.  To celebrate this occasion, multiple events are planned, including live music Friday night and Saturday, as well as a fireworks finale. The celebration is being sponsored by Pyro Shows.
Indian River Marina will host a special celebration this weekend bro commemorate 25 years in business for owner Debbie Farmer. Multiple bands will be playing starting Friday night and the celebration will culminate with a Pyro Shows fireworks presentation Saturday night.
The fun kicks off on Friday night with the JACK’D UP Band at 7 p.m.  On Saturday, there will be a ribbon cutting event with the Campbell County Chamber of Commerce at 10 am, followed by the Jordan Foster Band at noon.  A cake cutting will be held at 4 pm, and then later the Aaron Tracy/Get Up Band performs beginning at 7 pm.  The celebration will finish off with a fireworks finale at 9:45 pm.
The inside area has also been updated and remodeled.  This photo is courtesy of Garrett Hill.
Farmer  welcomes everyone to come celebrate at the marina.  “We’re super excited for the celebration and manager Heather Boshears Sexton has put a lot of time and effort into planning the event,” Farmer said.  And don’t forget to get some of Indian River Marina’s famous chicken wings with Chief sauce, made special by Farmer herself.  Every Wednesday is Wing Wednesday.  Indian River Marina is located on Norris Lake at 740 Indian River Boat Dock Road, Jacksboro and can be reached by calling 423-562-5290.
Indian River Marina was established in 1958 by Earl Carr.  It was purchased in 1995 by Debbie Farmer, who bought it from Hershel and Geneva Taylor.  Over the years Farmer has made many upgrades and changes to the marina, which specializes in watercraft rentals, cottage rentals and more.  In the first year, she added additional boat slips and walkways.  This year she remodeled and renamed the restaurant Geronimo’s Bar and Grill and the inside area Lucy’s Speakeasy Hideaway after her daughter.
Over the last 25 years multiple upgrades and additions have been made to Indian River Marina including the addition of a slip for dining.  The photo above is from 1995 compared to the photo below from 2020.
As the tourism has grown in the area, so has the marina, according to Farmer.  She said the area gets substantially more “out of state visitors” than it used to.  “We live in such a beautiful place; everyone just loves it down here,” Farmer said.
Farmer is originally from Athens, Tennessee, but feels right at home in Campbell County.  She said one of the best parts of owning the marina over the last 25 years is it has given her “a great home base.”  When she first moved to the area, she met Tom Stiner, who encouraged her to get involved in the community and the chamber of commerce.  “He introduced me to Shirley Fox- Rogers who got me on the girl scout board; I really owe my initial community involvement to those two,” Farmer said.
Debbie Farmer will celebrate 25 years of ownership at Indian River Marina this Saturday. 
For Farmer, the best part of owning the marina is that it “put her in the right place at the right time” to adopt her daughter Lucy.  When she was 40 years old, Farmer was having a conversation with one of her regular customers and told her she regretted working so much and not having a child.  According to Farmer, she jokingly said, ‘you don’t know where I can get a baby do you?’ Two years later the woman remembered that conversation and Farmer received a phone call from her asking if she “wanted to adopt her soon-to-be granddaughter.”  The answer was an immediate and definite yes. “I was meant to be right here at the marina for that conversation,” Farmer said.  Shortly after that phone call Farmer and her mother drove up to Ohio to bring her baby home. That was 18 years ago. Her daughter Lucianna starts college this September.
“Owning the marina and being a part of this community has been wonderful these past 25 years,” Farmer said.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 08/25/2020-6AM)

One Reply to “Indian River Marina is celebrating a 25-year anniversary”

  1. Could not be happier for you. Great story. I’m so proud to be part of your marina. Very best for the future.

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