John Summers (Big John)

Born and raised in Tennessee, John has long been drawn to the ways places shape people—and how stories preserve meaning across generations. His mother was a history teacher, and by high school he was already writing a Tennessee-history column for his school newspaper. He later placed 4th in Tennessee’s statewide U.S. history competition and earned his school’s history medal, early signs of the path he is now fully embracing.

John’s professional background spans ministry, leadership, product management, business systems analysis, certified Scrum mastery, and decades of public speaking. Each of these experiences sharpened his ability to synthesize information, teach clearly, and craft narratives that resonate. His time in the Marine Corps deepened his appreciation for lineage, memory, and the stories that define identity—values that now form the core of SME’s approach to history.

For John, this work is more than a project; it is a calling. The Tennessee History Nerd has lived in his mind for nearly a decade, growing from years of quietly collecting stories, researching forgotten corners of the state, and seeing roads, rivers, and landscapes as threads to deeper truths. 

Dauphin Island Diaries grew naturally alongside it as he and Machelle spent time on the island and discovered remarkable intersections between Tennessee’s story and the Gulf Coast’s. Telling these histories in parallel became not only possible, but compelling. “This podcast is my love letter,” John says, “to the state that birthed me and made me who I am — and to the barrier island that captured both my heart and Machelle’s.”

John believes that stories matter. That they preserve the “why” behind the facts. That they honor the people who walked the roads and made the choices that brought us to today. Summers Media Enterprises is built on that conviction—and on the belief that if these stories are not told now, some will be lost forever.  John and Machelle make their home on a small farm in rural Tennessee with their dog, Maggie. 

Ready to work or listen? Find our podcasts and contact us at john.summers@summersmediaenterprises.com