Marilyn Childress served in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class and Operating Room Technician during the Vietnam War. She earned the National Defense Medal and received Special Orders for Representing the Navy at the 1975 United States Volleyball Tournament.
Marilyn is one of the founding members of Veterans Heritage Site Foundation (VHSF) and their first President. She also serves as the Vice President of the Veterans Council of East Tennessee and she serves on the boards of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1078 (VVA) and the East TN Foundation for Women Veterans. Outside of her veterans organizations, Marilyn also leads the Cavett Station Chapter, NSDAR,a chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Marilyn is the spokesperson for VHSF and speaks at various organizations about VHSF projects. VHSF was chosen as the lead organization with Legacy Parks to raise funds for the new French Broad Veterans Memorial Park. VHSF was selected by East TN PBS and Home Federal Bank to be the Non Profit of the Month Nov 2021. In May of 2024, under her leadership, VHSF was awarded the Greystone Award by Knox Heritage in recognition of their significant achievements in the support of historic preservation.
Some of Marilyn’s awards include the following: U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett selected Marilyn to be the 2nd District Veteran of the Month for February 2020; Next Level Brewery selected Marilyn for the Veteran for the Quarter Fall 2021; South High School Class of 1970 awarded Marilyn a Special Recognition Award at their 50th Reunion for her service to veterans; She earned a Lady Vol Letter for her volleyball playing days at the University of Tennessee; Marilyn has been selected the “Volunteer of the Match” by UT Lady Vols Volleyball team and the :Coach of the Game” by UT Lady Vols Basketball team due to her veteran service.
Marilyn has been heavily involved in women sports for over 25 years as a player and an administrator. She helped form many nonprofit organizations in that role. She served on numerous boards of directors to help girls and women in sports. She also received many awards including being inducted into the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame as the driving force for having women’s soccer added to the 1996 Olympics. On September 24, 2022 was installed in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Authority which she served for over 10 years.