Howdy,
I would recommend starting with roll practice Wednesday nights with mhoward. It's ten bucks a session (after the first one I think) and you can practice in a nice warmish pool and learn the basics. Mhoward is an AWESOME teacher...don't be surprised if your child/children are rolling and cavorting with playboat moves before they leave the first session.
After that, you can check out boatball on Tuesday evenings at Patriot (6pm). It's good for hearing about upcoming trips, learning balance, is just generally cool (fun) and great exercise.
Garabaldi's on the second Thursday of the month is where all the hobnobbing goes on. You can bring your kids and have pizza and just hang (they also watch videos, have safety talks, and plan trips).
Unfortunately, it's the summer and most of the natural runs will be drying up. There are dam release options. Rockport (in Malvern, ARK 3ish hours away) usually runs on the weekends, the spring river is usually a go (not dam release and heavily populated), and there's always out east with the Nantahala, Ocoee, and Haiwassee trifecta (you can read about these on Americanwhitewater.org). I'm sure there will be a ton of trips out to these rivers this summer since usually they are the only things running. That means you can carpool, meet up, borrow gear and stuff from people you know from Memphis.
It's funny you mentioned the Chattooga. It's one of my all time favorite rivers. I'm in the throws of planning a trip with my children (7 and 10) there this summer. Did you get to run Bull Sluice when you were there? I have never been more astounded by the beauty of a river more than that one. Just simply gorgeous.
Hope this has been helpful (although it's probably stuff you already knew from reading the site). I can also meet up with you for a trip on the wolf in town sometime in May. Or, if you just need shuttle, that's cool too. I live close enough to make that happen without too much hassle. PM me and we'll work something out.
See you on the river,
Santha
