Initially, business was good, but it got much better in a hurry after Field & Stream magazine wrote a story on Southeast rafting, and after Warner Brothers released the movie “Deliverance” in 1972. Within two years, the Chattooga had been designated a “wild and scenic” river by the federal government, and people were flocking to run its rapids. “Before ‘Deliverance’ no one knew about rafting east of the Mississippi,” Jim said. “The Atlanta Constitution ran an article, and that became our largest market.” Well-known retailer Ervin Jackson Jr., of J.B. Ivey & Company, booked an outing and was so impressed by the Wildwater operation that he became the company’s biggest promoter, distributing flyers for the rafting firm throughout the Southeast. Jeannette continued to pay the bills, do the payroll and take care of the accounting through the ’70s and into the ’80s. However, as business boomed, a full-time manager, Juanita Guinn, was hired in 1978. The first full-time female raft guide at Wildwater was Olympic paddler Kim Goertner. Many other female guides followed her. The first Chattooga River manager/chief guide was also a female — Annie Kenyon Scarborough. NEW GENERATIONS Becky eventually graduated from lunches and reservations to become a guide. By 1981 her proficiency had earned her the title of trip leader and {at right} Cricket Wise Barnett is the third generation of women in the Greiner family to hold a key management position at Wildwater Rafting, one of the Southeast’s leading providers of whitewater rafting and other outdoor adventures. • {below} Jeff Greiner, Jim and Jeanette’s oldest son, is currently president of Adventure America Canopy Tours based in Asheville, NC. The firm offers authentic, full-length, state-ofthe-art Zipline Canopy Tours at five different locations across the Southeast.
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