That is an awesome idea. Unforunately im in Washington County. We have decent repeater coverage in the surrounding area thanks to the work and graciousness of a few individuals.
Just a shoutout to mygmrs store. Just ordered a kg-935g due to member reviews. With the generous govx discount, this is the cheapest place by far. Thanks.
Tri-Cities area here. As far as repeaters, there are several options in the Knoxville area. you can search for the closest ones on the repeater database. As far as nets in our area, i am not aware of any.