Eric Hutton is the President/Owner of Practical Programs. I put this page together so you could get to know me a little better.

Work Experience/Education Highlights:

• President/Owner–Practical Programs Inc–Nashville, Tennessee–Current
• Partner–Hutton-Rode Partners–Nashville, Tennessee
• Environmental Consultant–E. Roberts Alley and Associates–Nashville, Tennessee
• Environmental Protection Specialist–State of Tennessee
  Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Air Pollution Control
• Environmental Protection Specialist–State of Tennessee
  Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Awareness
• Graduate Research Assistant of Tennessee Knoxville
• MS Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• BS Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic
  Institute and State University)

Service to Others:

I consider community service a vital and essential part of my life. In July 2010 I was humbled to receive the Will O’Neal Rotarian of the Year from my local Green Hills Rotary Club.  (There are many outstanding members in this club.  I have done the weekly newsletter for a number of years.)  I am also as a deacon at Vinestreet Christian Church, and have served on the board of the William Patton Junior Foundation. While in college and for a few years after that, I provided adult assistance to couple of Boy Scout Troops. I have also served on the board of Walk Bike Nashville and organized several Bike-To-Work Days in Nashville.

Early in my professional career I worked for the State of Tennessee’s Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Awareness, a job I took because of my passion for environmental issues and the need for businesses to find ways to protect the environment, make money, and reduce their regulatory burdens. Over the years I have tried to put these ideas to use in my personal life, by recycling, limiting the amount of driving that I do, buying and re-using containers rather than bags, designing the landscaping around my house to limit my need for pesticides and fertilizers, and numerous other things.

Hobbies:

When I get a chance to practice, I play classical piano. Occasionally I will play a prelude or offertory.  I sing tenor in our church choir.  While participating in another group at church, the Joyful Noise, I was blessed with the opportunity to very briefly play piano and penny whistle on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium here in Nashville in a benefit concert for Second Harvest Food Bank. (If you are not a Country Music aficionado, it is the equivalent of playing at New York’s Carnegie Hall.)  Some of the most memorable people I have met and some of my important life lessons have come from my various musical instructors over the years.

Over the past few years I have also enjoyed running road races, playing ultimatefrisbee, building a new floor in my house, building a deck, and gardening. Many of the pictures on this website are samples of pictures I have taken while I have been backpacking. I have hiked 75% of the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and have section hiked at least 150 miles of the AT (Appalachian Trail). It is difficult to spend this much time in the woods and not be concerned about the environment. You see both amazing beauty and stunning degradation often triggered or worsened by pollution. Unfortunately for my bliss, I have also worked as an environmental engineer for over eight years, so I have seen the nasty side of environmental politics by environmentalists and corporations alike.