The Tennessee Aquarium won’t celebrate its 35th birthday until next May, but several employees began their tenure months before the River Journey building opened to guests.

Long before the Aquarium’s grand opening on May 1, 1992, employees from various departments were already hard at work. Several team members have now passed the milestone of 35 years of continuous service to the Aquarium’s mission to connect people with water and wildlife.

Director of Facilities and Safety Rodney Fuller has probably worked on-site longer than almost any other employee, though he didn’t “o-fish-ially” join the Aquarium team until Sept. 4, 1991.

Fuller’s Aquarium journey began in 1990 as a member of the construction team working on the building’s electrical control systems. As construction wound down, his boss encouraged him to apply for an electrician position on the Aquarium staff.

The facility’s chief engineer decided Fuller’s experience and background made him better suited to a more-senior role as the Aquarium’s maintenance manager, so he was offered that job instead. He served as maintenance manager until 2017, when he was promoted to director of facilities and safety.

Fuller says he has enjoyed watching the Aquarium evolve over the years under four CEOs, each of whom had their own signature approach to leadership of the downtown institution. He is especially proud of helping build major additions to the Aquarium campus and guest experience, including the IMAX 3D Theater (est. 1996) and Ocean Journey building (est. 2005).

Fuller twice served as president of the Aquarium and Zoo Facilities Association, and he looks back with pride to when the Aquarium hosted the association’s annual conference in 2005.

“That conference was absolutely amazing,” Fuller says. “At the time, everybody told me it was the best one we’d ever had, and everything went so well. Staff helped a lot, so a lot of credit goes to our facilities team.”

Director of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Mara-Lynne Payne began her Aquarium career in September 1991 helping to develop the Aquarium’s first membership program as the membership coordinator.

Payne helped operate the Aquarium’s “Speakers’ Bureau,” which included Aquarium staff, board members and volunteers who engaged community organizations about the mission and values of a nonprofit that hadn’t yet opened to the public.

About a year after the Aquarium’s grand opening, Payne was promoted to membership manager. In that role, she oversaw all Aquarium member services and events. She later helped implement business partnerships and patron community outreach programs, which extended membership benefits to companies and nonprofit organizations.

Payne’s experience eventually led to a role as brand enhancement manager, through which she ensured the Aquarium consistently and authentically delivered on its brand promises. She managed projects that included the now-iconic signage located on the Aquarium Plaza. Payne sees her current role as a continuation of the work she’s always done to ensure the Aquarium is a welcoming place for everyone.

“This includes access to our facilities and programs, ensuring we have a talented, experienced and diverse workforce that represents the communities we serve, and helping to foster a culture of belonging,” she says.

Payne credits the Aquarium’s enduring appeal to the creativity, innovation and talent staff members have exhibited from even its earliest days.

Among her favorite memories from her 35 years at the Aquarium, Payne fondly recalls the “Parade of Fishes” during the grand opening celebration and her first experience seeing a 3D giant-screen film.

Facility and Safety Coordinator Diane Hanson joined the Aquarium in 1991 as the administrative assistant to the operations department’s chief engineer.

In that role, Hanson helped with nearly all day-to-day operations and needs of the Aquarium. That experience led her to assist the director of operations and husbandry before eventually working with Director of Facilities and Safety Rodney Fuller.

That transition saw Hanson shift into a new role as facility and safety planner, where her efforts helped establish and maintain the Aquarium’s exemplary safety culture.

“It has been exciting to watch the Aquarium grow and expand its presence in Chattanooga over the years,” she says. “I was here when the Aquarium was at the finishing stage and becoming one of the biggest things to happen to Chattanooga.”

Current Chattanooga residents may not realize that the Aquarium was a controversial proposition at its inception. During its planning and construction phases, it was likened to a “big fish tank” and drew its fair share of detractors who doubted an aquarium in a landlocked state could succeed or drive city growth.

“Looking back,” Hanson adds, “it has been incredibly rewarding to see how the vision for the Aquarium grew into something that has had such a tremendous impact on our community and beyond.”