Local Author: Phil Garver

Collegedale City Commissioner Phil Garver will be at the library to discuss his book Against All Odds on Sunday, October 17, beginning at 2 p.m. He is the final speaker in the 2021 local author series presented by the Friends of Collegedale Public Library.

Readers will find Dr. Garver’s 2020 memoir an eye-opening example of the power of grace. His childhood was marked with intense pain and loneliness following his mother’s tragic death when he was just 11 months old. Yet, with divine help he found a way to turn each early negative into an eventual positive. The author’s path to becoming a caring husband and father as well as an award-winning health educator and civic leader was truly Against All Odds.

A resident of Collegedale for over 40 years, Dr. Garver began teaching physical education, health, and wellness at Southern Adventist University in 1976 and was dean of the program for 28 years. He served for six years on the board of the city’s Parks & Recreation department and has been a City Commissioner since 2014. Awarded two medals for his honorable service as a medic in Vietnam, he is the visionary behind the development and construction of Veterans Memorial Park in Collegedale. He is also a member of the local Desmond Doss American Legion Post Chapter and a past Commander of Ooltewah’s VFW Post 1697.

Don’t miss Dr. Garver’s free one-hour presentation. For those who attend in person, light refreshments will be served and books will be available for purchase afterward. Patrons who prefer to watch the event online rather than attend in person can join with the Zoom link: https://libraryiq.zoom.us/j/99367520731?pwd=aENoMHRVaEZGckhDT09EdVZzaGd3dz09 Passcode: 534717.