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By Charlotte Underwood
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Community Health of East Tennessee’s Marketing and Public Relations Director April Bozeman guest spoke at Tuesday’s Campbell County Rotary Club luncheon held at the LaFollette Methodist Church. She spoke a little about herself and how she came to work at CHET. She also spoke about the many programs that the clinic provides to the community, as well as promoted CHET’s upcoming fundraiser, the Power of the Purse, which will benefit the domestic violence shelter.
Bozeman was born and raised in Campbell County on a farm in the Bethlehem area. She grew up “shooting basketball” with her dad, late local coach Jerry Dagley and her older sister, Sarah.
“I grew up playing basketball my whole life, Jr. Pro, grade school, middle school and in high school. If I wasn’t playing during school, I was playing Amateur Athlete Union (AAU) or going to basketball camps and clinics in the summer,” Bozeman said, explaining that basketball was a very important part of her life.
“What else are you supposed to do when you are 5’8″ in the fifth grade,” she joked. She gave credit for her love of the game to her father.
“My dad was a basketball coach and basketball is what made college possible for him and he gave that love and respect for the game to my sister and I. God, Family, Basketball, was the order of importance for him,” Bozeman said.
Bozeman moved away for multiple years, before “being called back home in 2019” to be closer to her parents.
She began working for Community Health of East Tennessee (CHET) in 2020 and started out teaching a Financial Literacy Course geared towards high-risk populations for domestic violence.
“My job was funded by a grant from the TN Coalition to end domestic violence. It was a three year grant so once that was up, I stayed with CHET under a new position, Marketing and PR Director and that is the role I still occupy today,” Bozeman said.
In this role, she handles the social media, community events, work functions, educational programs, fundraisers and manages the transitional housing program.
“I love where I work and the people I get to work with, and I love to promote CHET and all its programs that help the community,” Bozeman said.
She went over some of the many programs that CHET offers as a non-profit providing health care on a “sliding scale so no one is turned away due to an inability to pay.”
The community clinic also has in-house Endocrinology, Behavioral Health, a Black Lung clinic, a brand-new Dental Program, and more.
The Black Lung Clinic is one of only 15 in the whole nation.
“We have Recovery, Mental and Veteran’s Court, these programs change lives of non-violent offenders, rehabbing and shortening their sentences,” Bozeman explained.
Other programs offered by CHET include the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which focuses on reading at a young age and its importance to change lives. The program provides one free book per month from age 0 to age 5.
The clinic also provides Family Services including Education, Training, Support Groups, Court Advocacy, Caring Dads program and more.
Other outreach programs include the Domestic Violence Shelter, which provides a secret safe haven for victims, and a transitional housing program to help those coming out of the shelter, along with a Clothes Closet program that provides free clothes twice a month.
“We have free health education courses, healthy cooking, chair yoga, diabetic education, and smoking cessation classes. We hold community supported events such as our coat closet which provided 233 free coats and socks this year, especially during the cold snap,” Bozeman said.
She finished up promoting CHET’s “newest and upcoming fundraiser,” the Power of the Purse, which is slated for Saturday, March 28, 10am until 2pm.
Purses are collected and then resold or auctioned at CHET’s fundraiser to raise awareness and support for the domestic violence shelter. All of the proceeds from the donations and event will go to fund the shelter.
New and gently used purses and wallets will be collected and then “resold at very discounted prices”.
Purses are still being collected at various locations around the county until March 20th.
“We have over 300 purses and counting to choose from. We will turn the clinic lobby into our very own purse boutique. We will also have a silent auction for the higher end purses. We will have several brands such as Coach, Michael Kors, Dooney & Burke, Patricia Nash, Sak, Guess, Anne Klien just to name a few. We are asking the community to come out and support this important cause and donate a purse and shop at our boutique. Our goal is to collect 500 purses for the event. All donations are tax deductible,” Bozeman said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-03/04/2026-6AM)