Board Members
Linda Hong
Chapter President / Director of Publicity & Social Media
Linda started her ballroom dance journey in 1970 when her Mother took her to an Arthur Murray dance in Chattanooga, TN. Two years later she started teaching at the same studio. She continued to teach at Arthur Murray’s in Atlanta, GA while attending college. After graduation she returned to Chattanooga and continue to teach at Arthur Murray’s and independent studio’s over the years.
When Linda remarried, she moved away to New York state and took a hiatus from dance. Upon returning to Chattanooga, she dusted off her dance shoes and became involved with USA Dance and Shall We Dance Club. Because of her involvement with the community Linda opened The Dance Floor studio in Chattanooga with her daughter Tammy and had one of the best studio’s in the area. Linda is now an independent instructor and continues to support dance at every opportunity.
Linda’s passion is to introduce dance to as many people as she can, especially the young. Because that is the future of ballroom dance. She believes that dance can take you around the world and introduce you some of the most wonderful people. She is looking forward to the next two years working on the board of USA Dance and helping the chapter grow.
Connie Patterson
Chapter Vice-President
I have lived in the Chattanooga area for over 40 years and love the area so much that I've talked my brother and sister and their families into moving here. Now that my 2 kids and 3 grandsons -- ages 7, 9 and 11 -- live here I'm never leaving! Plus, I own and operate 5 Great Clips hair salons so I'm uniquely invested in the community. I've only recently discovered the ballroom dancing community and I couldn't be happier to live in such a wonderful place.
My parents were very conservative and didn't allow us to dance growing up. When I was 30 and had my kids in school, I decided to take lessons at Fred Astaire, which I did for about a year. Back then when I bought my first hair salon, I had no time or money to continue so I had to quit taking lessons -- but I've always wanted to go back. Finally, 26 years later, I jumped back in with lessons last June and have since made so many new friends! My friends and I go dancing 2-3 times a week on average--and I'm still finding places to take lessons and practice new skills. Who knew Chattanooga had such a wonderful, well-kept secret?! My life is all the richer for it and I'm very proud to be a part of the USA Dance board. It's been a pleasure getting to know so many wonderful people in the dance community here!
Diana Guinn
Secretary
I became involved in ballroom dancing about 17 years ago. After being very active with sports and school activities with our four children for many years there came a time when all the kids had graduated and left home that my husband, Charles, and I were left wondering what to do next. A co-worker saw an ad for ballroom dance lessons and a group of us decided to try it. So off we went to learn to dance! And as they say, "the rest is history'. The other co-workers dropped out over time but we stuck with it and have been dancing ever since. Prior to becoming a board member of Choo Choo Chapter - USA Dance, I served as the treasurer of Shall We Dance, Chattanooga's Ballroom Dance Club for about 13 years.
Robin Barrett
Treasurer
Robin was invited by a friend to a USA Dance over 13 years ago and fell in love with ballroom dancing. Robin met her husband, John, in the ballroom community. Robin is a CPA with over 22 years experience in Accounting & Tax.
Del Sudkamp
Director of Music
Del will tell you that he has always been a bit of a klutz. Thus, ballroom dancing was not on his bucket list. But, in 2015 a coworker more or less shamed him into going to a dance class. For an introverted engineer, the class was a stretch. But he stuck with it and now, some may even argue that he is a pretty good dancer. But he will tell you that it was one of the best decisions he ever made and if he could learn to dance, then you can too. Del loves music and most things electronic, so the opportunity to provide the music for our USA Dances seemed like a perfect fit.
Del retired from TVA and currently works as an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer for Sargent & Lundy. Besides ballroom dancing, he enjoys bicycle touring, running, and movies.
Linda Lewis
Director of Membership
Linda has always lived in the Chattanooga area. She started dancing at an early age with her father, brother and anyone else that would dance with her, which still holds true today.
Linda started ballroom dancing when a co-worker invited her to go to The Fred Astaire Studio. After taking private lessons for about a year and a half, she found USABDA (previous name for USA Dance) in 1990 and has been a member of USA Dance every since. She has made many great friends through her love of dance. Other than dancing she enjoys outside activities including hiking.
Linda spends a lot of time with family and friends. She has two adult sons, 1 granddaughter, and 1 grandson. She has introduced them to dancing along with other members of her family.
Don't forget "See you on the dance floor".
Lori Maggs
Board Member Large
Lori is a Yankee transplant from Upstate NY. She began her ballroom dancing experience in 2010. Since then she has performed showcases and competed in ballroom competitions with her dance instructor, Denny Lennon and her former husband, Stephen. Lori has traveled to other chapters in her role as District 8 Director.
Lori currently is an independent contractor. When she's not dancing, Lori enjoys bowling, volunteering at her church and spending time with her grandchildren.
Martha Mackey
Director of Hospitality