IN THE NEWS
May 29, 2025
Loudon budget, tax rate gets initial approval
The new budget sees about half of the city’s capital fund balance put to use over the next year. It’s a move that, if it were to become a trend, Cardwell thinks would set a precedent that could yield irresponsible consequences.
“This puts us in a budget deficit of about $800,000,” Cardwell said. “And I don’t think it’s fiscally responsible or fiscally conservative to take an action and then later figure out how to try to pay for it."
“I think we need to hit the pause button, figure out how to pay for this and not burden the taxpayers down the road with it.”
Cardwell also expressed at the City’s workshop meeting that a large facet of that struggle is the lack of adjustment for revenues in regards to inflation. Loudon has barely seen any aid or assistance financially to keep up with rising prices, as well as a sales tax that could decrease according to early projections.
The lack of an influx of revenue has been a big talking point for the City Council heading into their next fiscal chapter.
“Cash flow is what keeps you alive, it’s the Band-Aid on the wound, so the fund balance is everything,” Cardwell said.
Source: https://www.tellicovillageconnection.com/news/article_7b1a596f-39fb-41fa-a617-ecc7e58a6ae4.html
May 28, 2025
Loudon VFW Post 5150 Plants Flags for Veterans
Officer John Cardwell even went through the proper way to pay tribute to each veteran in the initial meeting before everyone ventured out.
“After you plant the flag, you step back and salute,” said Cardwell. “You say the veteran’s full name and follow that up with ‘Thank you for your service.’”
The flag-planting group that went to Riverview Cemetery with Cardwell started at the bottom and worked their way through each grave going up the hill. Along the way … there is a lot of history to be told.
The veterans laid to rest at Riverview go as far back as the Civil War and others fought in other conflicts like World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
Cardwell talked about time spent in care-taking some of the headstones.
“We cleaned the white ones with the badge emblem on them,” Cardwell said. “Those are the Civil War veterans.”
Source: https://www.news-herald.net/celebrations/loudon-vfw-post-5150-plants-flags-for-veterans/article_5a5f7526-2a92-48b5-b098-b585122997eb.html
May 03, 2020
Loudon County History Project
Major General Cardwell is a native of Loudon Tennessee and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loudon High School in 1980.
Source: https://www.loudoncountyvirtualarchives.com/services
Nov 12, 2021
Army ROTC Alumni Council Inducts 16 New Members to Hall of Fame
Inductees into the Army ROTC Hall of Fame include both UT alumni and honorary members, and are selected based on service to their country and communities.
“It says a lot about the character of the folks that in addition to graduating from UT and going out and having a great career, they chose service to their country as well,” said retired Brigadier General Geoffrey A. Freeman, a 1978 UT graduate and the current president of the Army ROTC Alumni Council. “We certainly want to honor those graduates who have excelled in their military and civilian careers. I think that in most cases these inductees would tell you that a large part of their success they’ll attribute to the military: the discipline they learned, the ethics, and the professionalism.”
Oct 04, 2015
Cardwell reflects on military career, command in Pacific
Cardwell was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, which is the highest peacetime medal, for his job as commander from January 2013 through August 2015.
Feb 16, 2026
Tennessee nonprofit helping veterans in need honored
The nonprofit aims to help veterans in need, support VFWs across the state and raise awareness about the assistance veterans need. Retired Major General and President of the Tennessee VFW Foundation John Cardwell said veterans often don’t speak up when they are in need, which is exactly why they created this nonprofit.
“We help veterans because we want to help veterans,” said Cardwell.
He said of the nearly 500,000 veterans in Tennessee, many struggle with homelessness, access to healthcare, or temporary financial burdens.
“We’re a little bit different because we don’t help someone with a specific need. So we don’t help just homeless veterans, or just handicapped veterans, or veterans in general. We help all veterans, regardless of their needs,” he said.
Besides helping out with groceries, utilities, or repairs on a home, he added that the VFW provides veterans with a community and resources free of cost or judgment.
“I believe that helps reduce suicide rates where people think there’s no other solution except suicide,” said Cardwell. “They can turn to organizations like ours for that help and help them mentally as well as financially and socially.”
Source: https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee-nonprofit-helping-veterans-in-need-honored/
June 15, 2022
Cardwell will command Loudon VFW
Huff Post 5150 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Loudon celebrated a change of command ceremony, installing John Cardwell as the new post commander.
As commander for Post 5150 and junior vice commander of VFW District 2, Cardwell boasts the experience of a long U.S. Army career and family legacy. His father, James Cardwell, was commander of Post 5150 from 1960-1961. The father and son legacy is the first for the post.
Aug 10, 2022
Cardwell wins Loudon special election
“Now is the time to get to work for the people of Loudon,” Cardwell said.
Cardwell said he has high hopes for the future of the city. One of his primary goals is to ensure the integrity of council’s decision-making processes.
“At the end of the day, we may disagree, but I want everyone to agree that the decision-making process was fair, open and disciplined,” he said.
June 01, 2022
Memorial day events honor fallen veterans
Cardwell said that the VFW has embarked on several plans to locate, identify and mark the final resting places of as many Loudon county veterans as possible. The VFW will, with the consent of family, put up markers and clean the gravestones of any veterans. Some veterans do not have information on the markers that identify them as veterans, he said.
“We found six graves at Riverview that had military markers that were not on our list,” he said.
Source: www.news-herald.net/lcn/memorial-day-events-honor-fallen-veterans/article_52252dde-e018-5363-881b-b1acb7cf6af8.html
Nov 01, 2017
Cardwell gets dream promotion
“I always tell people that you don’t expect, but you sure do dream about it,” Cardwell said. “... It’s very special to be able to have this. Normally the promotions are done somewhere else, but to be able to have it here in the community is very special.”
The promotion to two-star general raises Cardwell to a rank not many achieve in the reserves.
“There are only 39 two-stars in the Army Reserves,” retired Maj. Gen. Gary Beard said. “There are 78 one-stars. So that’s a big deal for someone to make it to the next rank. There’s only one three-star and that’s the chief of the Army Reserves. So for most of us, to make two stars, that’s it. That’s as high as it can get.”