For 17 years, state employee Charles Burroughs ran a golf tournament held in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s annual environmental conference. He used his state email account to solicit sponsorships for the event from companies regulated by his employer, set up a (now suspended) website for golfers to register for the tournament, and paid expenses from a bank account established solely for this event. However, the TDEC refused a public records request for emails regarding the tournament, maintaining the event was a private affair.