Store Manager: Heidi Eckert
With more than 30 years of retail experience behind her, Heidi Eckert feels right at home at the helm of Orvis Nashville. In fact, she views the folks she interacts with on a day-to-day basis as family rather than colleagues or customers. An Alabama native and a University of Alabama graduate, Heidi maintains strong ties to her home state and her alma mater’s football team (Roll Tide Roll) and gets back there whenever she can, whether it’s for the beaches of Dauphin Island or just to fish off the Alabama coast and the waters of Mobile Bay.

But fishing’s not all Heidi can put on her list of skills. Getting out on Nashville’s parks and greenways, cooking, and reading keep Heidi plenty busy when she's not at the store. And, as an accomplished seamstress, she is always creating something new. But you’ll need to glide back in time to understand why Heidi crosses the floor of Orvis Nashville to greet customers or chat with fellow associates with such precision and grace: Heidi’s also a former figure skater, and a proud mom of one, too. And as you probably know, costumes are a big part of the sport. Luckily, Heidi’s sewing skills were put to good use, as she made all her daughter’s skating costumes herself.

Fishing Manager: Patrick Stansbury  
An angler since he was ten, Patrick’s been fly fishing for more than twenty-five years and gets out whenever he can. His favorite destination is the islands of Captiva and Sanibel off Florida’s Gulf Coast where, as he tells us, you’ll find “some of the best beach snook fishing around.” And though he’s fished all over, catching his first-ever tarpon is still number one on his list of favorite fishing stories. A camper, reader, traveler, and aficionado of good whiskey and barbecue, Patrick’s your go-to source for the gear you need and the intel you’re after for all your angling needs. Patrick had an extended career in the medical field prior to joining Orvis Nashville as fishing manager.