Our Staff

Terry Maughon – Founder and President (1987)

Terry graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 1978. He served as Director of Student Ministries at Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City, TN for 16 years. During that time, he conducted summer camps using rented facilities and eventually formed Doe River Gorge Ministries, where he has served as president since 1994. Terry and his wife, Karen, and have three children: Kara (married to Brad Teeple), Danielle, and Michael, and wife Sara (Owen).

Ryan Vernon – Program Director (1995)
Jennifer Vernon – Discipleship Coordinator/Teen Leadership Supervisor (2022)

Ryan graduated from East Tennessee State University with a BS in Continuing Education (Outdoor Recreation & Safety). During the development years of Doe River Gorge he volunteered as activity instructor and facilitator. His certifications include: Lifeguard Instructor, Wilderness First Aid Instructor, CPR/First Aid Instructor, USSF Soccer Coach & Referee.

Jennifer holds a BSW in Social Work from East Tennessee State University and a Master’s in Recreation with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation from UT Knoxville. She has been actively involved in ministry at Doe River Gorge, serving as an instructor, facilitator, Bible study leader, and summer staff trainer. With a career in the mental health field since 1995, Jennifer also spent five years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, working on college campuses. She has a passion for mentoring high school and college students.

Ryan and Jennifer have two sons, Riley & Reece. They enjoy traveling, hiking, skiing, beach walks, and watching sons play soccer & run cross-country. webpage

Clif and Hannah Jensen – Website (1996)

After graduating from Cedarville College (1972) and Moody Aviation (1976), Clif and his wife Hannah served as missionaries in Amazonas, Brazil with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. They have five children and sixteen grandchildren. Clif is the webmaster.  Hannah helps in the office.  webpage – newsletter

Mark Milbourne – Technical Services (1997)

Mark graduated from Wheaton College in 1987 with a degree in Computer Science/Math. He worked for DuPont as a Systems Analyst until 1995.  Mark now manages the IT systems and helps coordinate railroad operations. His wife Nancy also served on staff 1996-2000.   They have two children, Jon (2001) and Kate (2003).
webpage – newsletter

David Legge – Maintenance Supervisor (2004)

David graduated with degree in Business Admin. from Marshall University in 1991. He later completed bible courses through Moody Bible Institute. David and wife Samantha moved to East Tennessee in 2001 to train with Moody Aviation. They have two daughters, Micah and Hannah, and two sons, Joseph and Jesse.  webpage

Matt Kellerman – Maintenance (2012)

Matt graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 2002 and served with Carter County Sheriff’s Department.

Scott Freemon – Business Manager (2016)

Scott served as summer staff at Doe River Gorge from 2010-2015. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Computer Science in 2013, he assisted in the development of the one-year internship program at DRG. His transition to business manager came over a period of time being mentored by previous DRG business manager, David Jensen.

Michael Maughon – Outdoor Education (2017)

Michael worked at Le Reve in Las Vegas before coming to Doe River to develop the Outdoor Education program. From his youth he has had a passion for all things outdoors. Michael has a well-developed skill in nature photography which he uses to document his discoveries and observations. Michael is married to Sara (Owen), who was an Exponential intern (2018-19). They have two children, Spires and Charlynn.

Jessica Ostrander – Maintenance Assistant (2017)

Jessica trained in Parelli Natural Horsemanship methods in 2009. In 2010 she served at Doe River Gorge as Summer Staff and then on full-time staff 2013-15.  She returned to her home in WI for 2 years and returned to Doe River Gorge in 2017. webpage

Karen Sizemore – Food Service Director (2018)

Karen served on the housekeeping staff beginning in 2007, and in 2018 moved into the food service staff.

Chuck Lyle – Chief Development Officer (2018)

Chuck is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and Cumberland School of Law. He practiced law in Tampa, FL for 13 years before becoming a real estate developer. He and his son have enjoyed Father/Son Challenges and Adventure Quest at Doe River Gorge. He joined the DRG Board of Directors in 2015. Chuck and his wife Angie have four children: Connor, Catherine, Chase, and Christin and reside in Knoxville, TN.

Jacob Thomas – Assistant Program Director (2021)

Jacob is from Elizabethton, TN and began his connection with Doe River Gorge when he attended Father-Son retreats. He then served as summer staff 2017-2020.

Joel Hurst –  Assistant Program Director  (2021)

Joel came to Doe River Gorge as a middle school camper in 2001. He worked as a firefighter in Florida 2008-2011. In 2011 he came to DRG as summer staff where he met his wife Angela (Rodriguez). Joel and Angela worked at Christian camps in California and Texas 2011-2021.  Joel is part of the program team, and also works with summer staff recruiting and the Exponential Gap Year program. Angela volunteers in various ministry and program roles. Joel and Angela have three sons Silas, Jedidiah and Elias.

Charis Jensen – Communications/Social Media (2022)

Charis has a long-time history with Doe River Gorge. Starting out as a Junior Adventure Quest camper, she has worked her way through Adventure Quest programs including all three leadership programs.  She served as a summer camp counselor for three summers, as well as the 9-month Exponential Gap Year program from 2021-2022. Charis joined full-time staff in 2022 in Recruitment and Marketing and married Owen in 2023.

Theo Fadrow – Guest Services Host (2022)

Zoe Love – Executive Assistant (2023)

Zoe has 15 years of experience in education, English, and business administration. From 2007-2022, she worked with her family’s business which taught writing and rhetoric to 5th-12th graders. During that time, she developed a love for kids and a passion for Jesus. Through a series of miraculous events, including a friendship with the David Legge family, Zoe, her mother, and her sister moved from Minnesota to TN in 2021. As the Lord called Zoe and her family to new adventures, He lined up several circumstances which led Zoe to Doe River Gorge, where she joined the team as  Executive Assistant in January of 2023.

David Poteat – Railroad Maintenance & Operations (2023)

David is from Stone Mountain, GA and has professional automotive and railroad maintenance experience including the restoration of the A&WP 290 Steam Locomotive and New Georgia Railroad Dinner Train Operations & Engineer.  The love of the mountains and Doe River Gorge Ministries brought him by faith to join DRG.  David is married to Kathy and has two married daughters and 3 grandchildren.

Ivi Williams Vernon – Guest Services (2024)

Ivi first came to DRG as a camper and returned in 2022 as a camp counselor. After completing 2022-23 Exponential gap year program, she served as a Supervisor Assistant  during the summer of 2023. After that, she completed an Activities Program Internship from the fall of 2023 to the following summer. In summer of 2024, she returned to her role as Supervisor Assistant. She also met her husband, Riley Vernon (son of Ryan and Jennifer Vernon) while serving here.

Brooke Crabeels -Summer Staff Recruitment and Marketing  (2024)

Brooke began her journey at Doe River Gorge as a camper where she first felt the camp’s transformative impact. She returned as summer staff in 2023, followed by   a 7-month internship, including another summer staff term in 2024 which deepened her faith and further developed her leadership skills.