If you can’t find this member of East Nasty, she’s probably camping or on a week long backpacking trip –in fact, that’s exactly where Becca Stinson was when we told her she was the newest East Nasty of the Week. After she finished hiking the 70-mile section of the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains, she excitedly accepted the honor. Becca grew up in Nashville and was an extremely energetic kid. When her energy couldn’t be contained to her Hillsboro Village neighborhood, her family would go camping and backpacking, which created a love for the outdoors at a very young age. It was on a hiking trip to Rocky Trip in the fourth grade that Becca saw “real backpackers” and inspired her to do the same thing when she grew up. Last week Becca hiked Rocky Top as one of those real backpackers!

Becca_on_Rocky_Top_with_cousin_Anne_Passino

In high school, Becca played soccer for Hillsboro High and admits to being a rule follower who participated in Model United Nations and wrote for the school newspaper. She went on to attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where she was on the soccer team.

After college, Becca served one year in the AmeriCorps in Washington D.C., and then worked on one of the 2004 presidential campaign in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When her candidate didn’t make it to the White House, Becca moved back to Nashville and landed a job as an account executive at a local PR firm, where she met fellow ENOW Meg Willoughby.

Becca’s running career started in her soccer days, though she first hated it. On her first run with her mom, an avid runner, Becca told her that running was stupid. She began to enjoy running in college and officially fell in love with it in 2007, when she ran her first half marathon (Country Music Half) with her best friend from college, Jes. Around that time, Becca was introduced to East Nasty through Meg. Meg inspired Becca to become an East Nasty regular and by 2009, she was a loyal Wednesday night runner. Becca also credits Meg for encouraging her to complete the Country Music Marathon in April, her first full marathon.

Today Becca works as the Communications Director for Hands On Nashville (HON)**, Nashville’s volunteer resource center (and one of the largest of its kind in the world). HON meets the volunteer needs of the community and offers over 400 volunteer opportunities each month. Becca lives in Inglewood with her husband and casual East Nasty runner, Will Wilson, their crazy dog Cody and cool cat Mustachio (he has a mustache). You’ll be shocked to learn that the couple enjoys backpacking and camping together.

With one marathon in the books, Becca is considering another marathon this fall. She and Will have contemplated registering for Huntsville and are looking for race suggestions!

In addition to running and backpacking, Becca also loves beets and cheesecake (her husband co-owns Tennessee Cheesecake).

Make sure to congratulate Becca on her ENOW honor!

**In the spirit of East Nasty community and volunteerism, read more about Hands On Nashville:

The Opportunity Calendar offers 400+ volunteer options each month. In the last year, HON has launched three new volunteer-driven programs that aim to promote healthy and sustainable communities, including the Home Energy Savings Program (engages volunteers in improving the energy efficiency, comfort, and safety of North and East Nashville homes owned and occupied by low-income homeowners), the HON Urban Farm, and the Nashville Waterway Recovery and Restoration Project.

-Erin Burcham Taylor