What is the former Three Dog Night drummer doing to help kids?
The former drummer for Three Dog Night is about to open a camp for troubled kids in Claiborne County. Michael McMeel will operate Inner City Slickers from his ranch in New Tazewell. “It’s designed to get kids more in touch with who they are and the possibility they have for a future,” McMeel says. Beginning in June, kids in the Claiborne County court system will have two options. They can pay a $250 fine and do community service or pay $55 for a weekend at the ranch. “There is really nothing that comes out of the fine and doing the community service. There is no interaction. They might pick up trash or whatever but this forces them to be here.” McMeel describes his program as an old west style boot camp. “They know they are going to be sleeping either in tents or out under the stars or in the barn over there and so we start with sort of acclimating them to the surroundings.” They’ll also get acquainted with his horses. “We do a lot of trust exercises because that is a big issue, people
Michael McMeel and the rock group Three Dog Night sang about spreading “Joy to the World” back in the ’70s. In September, McMeel spoke about extending a little of that goodwill to youngsters in this small East Tennessee town. McMeel, the drummer for Three Dog Night from 1974-77, moved to nearby Claiborne County two years ago. “We came here from California about two years ago,” said 58-year-old McMeel. “We came out here because it’s green. The only thing California has over this area is opportunity.” While McMeel continues to dabble in acting and music, his real passion is helping kids. McMeel, along with his wife, Erlinda, founded Inner-City Slickers in 1994 in Los Angeles. Inner-City Slickers offers at-risk kids opportunities to build their self-esteem through participation in horse-skills programs at a 10-acre youth ranch. McMeel’s vision for Union County is much the same. That was the purpose of Thursday’s Impact Union County rally, which attracted about 75 people, including communi
