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PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) — Forty-five years after becoming the Volunteer State’s first female city manager, Pigeon Forge City Manager Earlene Teaster has announced she plans to retire later this year.
The City of Pigeon Forge shared on Tuesday that Teaster will retire on June 30, after serving her hometown for 63 years.
In 1961, Teaster was first hired as the city clerk during the same year that the city of Pigeon Forge was incorporated. Later, she became the city recorder, and in 1980, she was named as Pigeon Forge City Manager. The city said Teaster was the first female city manager in Tennessee and is the longest-serving city manager in the state.
“As I reflect on my time in office, I’m overwhelmed with immense gratitude as I know what a blessing it has been to serve this fine city and its people,” Teaster said. “I’ve lived my entire life in Pigeon Forge and gotten a front row seat to watch the city and my family grow, and both have brought me tremendous joy. I close this chapter with the certainty and confidence that Pigeon Forge’s foundation is solid, and the best is yet to come.”
Teaster’s leadership has seen the city grow and become a family vacation destination. The city said her advocacy and recognition of the city’s potential has helped support their only industry: tourism.
Through partnerships with local businesses and improved infrastructure, she helped guide the city to establish new businesses, including Dollywood in 1986, the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge in 2013, and the Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge in 2016. Teaster also led efforts in 1986 to establish Pigeon Forge’s Fun Time Trolley, which is now Pigeon Forge Mass Transit, the third largest rural transit system in the United States.
Under her leadership, the city has seen sustained growth and more than $1 billion in annual revenue for 11 consecutive years. Her career also included guiding Pigeon Forge through the 2016 wildfires and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Teaster was born and raised in Sevier County, where she raised her own family along with her late husband, Glen. She is a mother of two, grandmother of five, and great-grandmother of four. In addition to her lifelong public service career, she has also been involved in the local community through active roles in supporting Pigeon Forge Schools and the Boys and Girls Club of Pigeon Forge.
She received the J. Prichard Barnes Community Service Award and was a member of the inaugural Leadership Sevier class. She is also a member of both the Pigeon Forge and Sevier County High Schools’ halls of fame.