Mark Troutt’s long walk

Nearly $70,000 raised for Isaiah 117 House with 52-mile hike

February 8, 2023

Except for the weather, Jan. 17 was a great day for Mark Troutt.

But again, that Tuesday’s bad weather probably made what Troutt did that day more noteworthy.

“It was rainy, dark, and cold,” he said, laughing.

Troutt, general manager of Rusty Wallace Chevrolet in Clinton, is a supporter of many good causes, worthwhile organizations and charities that benefit the community.

Isaiah 117 House, a non-rofit that provides physical and emotional support in a safe and loving home for children awaiting placement, is one of the many organizations Troutt has helped.

“I like to walk,” Troutt said. “I put in a lot of steps every day.

“I’m a Teddy Roosevelt fan. He would walk 50 miles a day. He walked all over the west when he was president,” Troutt said.

Putting those two things together, Troutt came up with a unique way to not only raise funds for Isaiah 117 House, but also awareness.

Part of that awareness Troutt wanted to spread is that we are all tied together: That a successful business man and loving husband and father is just as much a part of “the whole,” the community, as a kid placed in temporary foster care.

And while he knows this in his heart, it was confirmed Jan. 17 when he trekked 52 miles of East Tennessee roadways and found support, encouragement, and beauty along the way.

He started at 4 a.m. from a Rusty Wallace Automotive dealership in Morristown. Seventeen hours later, about 7 p.m., he crossed the Lewallen Bridge in Clinton and came “home.”

It was during those 17 hours that the world — at least the East Tennessee part of it — welcomed him and offered a perspective that is sometimes lost in the day-to-day of everyday life.

“There were people who would come and walk with me for a bit. One man walked 14 miles with me, and his son walked 10 with me,” he said. “It was nice meeting these people.”

Troutt received encouragement and support from the numerous Rusty Wallace Automotive dealerships he passed by. He was joined for a bit by the Jefferson County Isaiah 117 House chapter.

And Troutt said all of the encouragement, all of the well wishes, meant a lot.

“Coming out of New Market, and it’s beautiful there, you top a hill and you can see just a long way ahead of you,” he said. “It was like, ‘Wow. I’ve got a ways to go.’”

Troutt said he worked on his leg strength before taking the long walk. And it seemed to have worked … Until he reached Racoon Valley Road.

That’s when fatigue started to set in, he said.

But then someone would join him for a while, or just drive by and honk their horn and shout out support.

At Ciderville he was greeted by a couple of friends,who finished the walk with him.

“That was crucial, to have the company,” he said. “It took my mind off things.”

Like his tired legs and feet.

Once back at Rusty Wallace Chevrolet in Clinton his was greeted by blue light and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Clinton High School cheerleaders.

And it was a reminder of what he had accomplished.

“All of these communities coming together. Realizing we’re all tied together … That’s something, you know?” he said.