Volume 29, Number 1
December 2017 Newsletter
Message from the President
As we move closer to the heart of the holiday season, I’m reminded of the many fond memories that make this time of year so very special for me. My thoughts quickly carry me back to my younger years growing up on the family farm in Middle Tennessee. Those were exciting days that are still fun to recall.
The holiday season usually began when my dad, sister, and I would head to the woods to look for that one perfect red cedar that would adorn our home from mid-December until the New Year arrived.
UTIA Strategic Plan Update
Tim L. Cross, UTIA Chancellor
In late October, the UTIA Strategic Planning Leadership Team and our administrative leadership met in Franklin to work on the development of a draft plan. The retreat offered an opportunity to review our past, present, and future to determine where we’ve been, where we are, and where we want to go over the next ten years.
During the retreat, we embraced the importance of integrated teaching, research, and extension in support of our vision to positively influence lives in Tennessee and beyond. We spent considerable time reminding ourselves of the significance of the Land-Grant Mission, and our responsibility to achieve that mission both in Tennessee and globally. We discussed challenges and opportunities, as well as strengths and weaknesses, which must be considered as we think about our work over the next decade. As a result, we renewed our recognition and appreciation for the innovation, capabilities, and inspiration that come from UTIA faculty, staff, and students working together, and the possibilities that exist to partner with private, public, and industry groups.
Draft vision and mission statements were developed based on external trends, unit assessments, and stakeholder input. UTIA goals were also drafted using this input and potential metrics were discussed for each goal. There was careful attention paid to ensure that the plan is holistic and inclusive of all UTIA units.
Next steps include refinement of the plan by the Strategic planning team and administrative leaders, with one last distribution of the draft plan to all members of UTIA and stakeholders for review and feedback.
New Program to Help Veterans,
Others Who Want to Become Farmers
Tennessee Extension Efforts Receive Three-Year Grants from USDA
Fewer than 1 percent of the population of America can count themselves as farmers, so the question becomes, “Who will comprise the next generation of farmers?”
A nationwide movement by the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) believes that veterans might serve their country in a new capacity, as providers of the nation’s food and fiber – and help themselves in the process. USDA and many in Tennessee, including UT Extension, TSU Extension and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, agree. With support from the USDA, a new program is coming to Tennessee to help the dreams of some veterans become a reality. It may also help others who would like to farm, but don’t know where or how to start.
Read more about this new program.
UTIA Celebrates Fifty Years in 2018
The UT Institute of Agriculture will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2018. The Institute was founded under a reorganization of the University System led by UT President Andy Holt in 1968.
If you have copies of historical photos or stories you would like to share as part of the celebration, please contact:
Beth Hall
UTIA Marketing and Communications
104 Morgan Hall
2621 Morgan Circle
Knoxville, TN 37996
865-974-7141
Tennessee Home Garden Vegetable Calendar Available for 2018
Monthly Tips, Management Templates and More from UT Extension Experts
Home gardeners and growers across the state should enjoy a new resource in 2018 available free from UT Extension. The Tennessee Home Garden Vegetable Calendar has been developed by the UT Extension Fruit and Vegetable Workgroup to help users create a comprehensive plan for home vegetable gardens.
2018 Beef Calendar Available
The updated Beef IRM calendar provides management tips and record-keeping resources for producers.
Click here for more information…
Former UTIA workers or retirees who have recently joined the Association as lifetime members are:
Richard Groce
Last employment: County Extension Director, Maury County
Connie Heiskell
Last Employment: Eastern Region Director
George Michael (Mike) Heiskell
Last Employment: Extension Agent and County Director, Claiborne County
Judy Kovach
Last UTIA Employment: Extension Agent, Robertson County
Martha Martin Pile
Last Employment: Extension Agent III, Montgomery County
Connie D. Geddings Reese
Last Employment: Admin. Specialist, UTIA Marketing and Communications
Hildegard M. Schuller
Last Title: Distinguisher Professor of Comparative Pathology,
Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences
Andy J. Seals
Last UTIA Employment: Camp Manager, Clyde Austin 4-H Ctr., Greeneville
Michael E. Smith
Last Employment: Extension Agent, Williamson County
Information About Retirees
Eastern Region Retirees Meet in Greeneville
Steve Sutton, Eastern Area Vice President
The Eastern area retirees held their annual fall get-together on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, in Greeneville. Twenty-one retirees and guests attended the event at the Clyde Austin 4-H Center. The group enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by the 4-H center staff, a highly competitive cornhole tournament, reminiscing about their careers, and catching up on their retirement experiences.
Emmit Rawls was the winner of the cornhole tournament.
Door prizes were awarded to Virginia Cavin (October birthday), Demetra Cloar (most grandchildren/great grandchildren), and Jim Neel (most medications). A special thanks goes to Martha Jo Tolley for putting the door prizes together.
If you were not in attendance, you were sorely missed! Plans are underway for another event next fall.
Central Fall Gathering
A host of retirees enjoyed fellowship, fun, and food at the Central Fall Gathering hosted by Cherry Lane Darken at her home in Leiper’s Fork on September 19, 2017.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The 2018 Eastern Area UTIA Retirees Meeting will be held April 19, 2018, at the Eastern Region Extension Office, 1801 Downtown West Boulevard, Knoxville.
The Cumberland Area UTIA Retirees Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at the American Bank and Trust, Cookeville. The street address is 1450 Neal Street. This is the same place as last year.
A small group of retirees has been meeting in Lynchburg. This meeting was started years ago by Mrs. Mary Ruth Hall and Mrs. Jean Webb for retirees from District 3. The group will meet again next year on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. The invitation is open to all retirees. You may call Larry Moorehead for reservations.
Congratulations!
Melissa Knox writes that in the last twenty-six months, she has gone from no grandchildren to five! Her daughter Laura, an avid 4-H’er for eight years, and son-in-law Michael adopted a baby–quite a journey! About the same time Melissa’s son Alan and his wife Sarah had a little boy. Then in May 2016, Laura and Michael gave birth to triplet sons!
New Interim Vice President for Cumberland Area
Carolyn Fox graciously agreed to serve as the interim vice president for the Cumberland Area until a new person is elected at the 2018 spring meeting. Carolyn has served in that role previously and is more than capable to step in and do the job well. Thank you, Carolyn! The Cumberland Area’s spring meeting will be held at the American Bank and Trust Building in Cookeville on Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Carolyn and Linda will put together a very nice meeting!
The UT Human Resources Office reports the following persons retired or departed recently from UTIA.
Retirements
- Joyce Ann Coombs, research associate I, AgResearch, Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
- Evelyn D. King, administrative specialist II, UT Extension, Animal Science
- Edward Michael Burns, Extension agent III, Extension, Franklin County
- Elizabeth Sue Parrott, administrative support assistant II, UT Extension, Hardin County
- Hubert J. Savoy, associate professor, Extension, Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
- David Allen Culbertson, agricultural service supervisor II, AgResearch, Dairy Research and Education Center
- Terry Lynn Stevens, pharmacist, Vet Med
Departures
- Gina Renee Badon, Extension agent III, UT Extension, Dickson County
Name links to obituary.
Mary Gilbert, retired administrative support assistant II for the Central Region, passed away Monday, November 13. Mary worked in the Central Region Office for more than thirty years. Visitation and services were held at the Glencliff Presbyterian Church, 416 E. Thompson Lane, Nashville, TN 37217.
Hubert E. Lambert of Bristol passed away Saturday, October 14, 2017 at age eighty-five. Before retirement in 2001, he was an agricultural Extension agent and director in Sullivan County. Hubert had been fighting cancer and lung disease for several years. A Celebration of Life Service was held Sunday, October 22, 2017, at Fellowship Baptist Church, 3957-TN HWY 390, Bluff City, TN 37618.
Joseph Elroy Winsett, age eighty-seven, of Fayetteville passed away on Monday, November 6, 2017, at St. Thomas Hospital, West. He retired from UTIA in 1989 as a farm/financial management area specialist with Extension. He also worked several years as Extension director in Lincoln County. Funeral services were conducted on Saturday, November 18, 2017, at Higgins Funeral Home, Fayetteville. Burial was in Mansfield Cemetery with Military Honors.
Joe Woods, retired UT Extension agent and county director, Sevier County, passed away peacefully at University of Tennessee Medical Center Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Mr. Woods served as the agriculture Extension leader in Sevier County for twenty-five years before retiring in 1989. Funeral services were conducted at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 9, 2017, in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home, 118 East Main Street, Sevierville. Interment in Shiloh Cemetery.
We express sincere comfort and/or speedy healing to the following UTIA employees or retirees:
Sympathy is expressed to Cathy Bunton, administrative assistant in Carter County, whose mother passed away on September 21, 2017. Please keep Cathy and her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Sympathy is expressed to the family of Bob Fehling, who passed away September 26. Bob had many ties to UTIA. His wife is retired Extension Dean’s Office administrative assistant Lois Fehling, and his daughter is Office of Sponsored Programs information specialist Karin Langan.
Sympathy is expressed to Warren Gill, UTIA Retiree Association member and director of the School of Agribusiness and Agriculture Science at Middle Tennessee State University, in the death of his mother, Helen Carolyn Collier Gill of Petersburg, Tennessee, on November 12, 2017, at age ninety.
Sympathy is expressed to the family of Inez Frady. Frady—mother of Kim Frady, county director and agricultural agent in Bradley County, and grandmother to Kelley Frady, TSU agent in Polk County, passed away early Sunday, November 5. She was ninety-one years old.
Sympathy is expressed to Glen Hall, dean emeritus, CASNR, in the death of his wife, Doris Swingle Hall, on Sunday, September 17, at age ninety. The Halls have been married sixty-nine years.
Hugh Dwight Loveday Sr., father of H. Dwight Loveday, associate professor in the Department of Food Science, passed away October 9, 2017. Hugh retired from the UT motor pool and was a 4-H volunteer leader in Blount County. We express our sincere sympathy to Dr. Loveday, his wife Rita, and family.
Sympathy is expressed to the family of Murray Miles. Murray passed away in Columbia on September 13. He was a Farm Bureau executive for thirty years, but may be best known as television host of “Farm Digest,” which ran on WSMV in Nashville. Murray, a 1952 UT Knoxville graduate in agronomy, was especially passionate about our 4-H program. A former 4-H’er himself from Culleoka, Tennessee, he was an all-star champion in 1949 which influenced his lifelong interest in youth development. He was one of 4-H’s strongest supporters, attending 4-H Congress each year where he will be remembered for his stirring rendition of “God Bless America” during the closing ceremonies. He so believed in the 4-H program that it’s been said his blood ran green. Murray was a great friend of UTIA and Tennessee 4-H, and he will be greatly missed. Please keep Mary Jane, and their daughters Nancy, Pat, Mary, and Sally, in your thoughts and prayers.
We were saddened to learn of the passing of Verna Mae Brandon Steelman, the mother of UT Extension Cannon County agent Bruce Steelman. View full obituary.
Sympathy is expressed to Brandon and Lisa Garrett Suiter on the passing of their son, Garrett Suiter. Brandon and Lisa were both Extension agents many years ago. Those agents who have worked for a while may remember working with one of them. Garrett lost his battle with cancer at the age of twenty-six. View full obituary.
Western Region Interim Director
Richard Powell will continue to serve as interim Western Region director until a permanent director is in place or until March 31, 2018. Ben West will continue to serve as acting Lone Oaks Farm director.
Berven Transitions to New Role in Extension Evaluation and Development
Brandi Berven has accepted the position of Extension specialist in Extension Evaluation and Staff Development. She began work in this new role on October 1, 2017. Berven is a familiar face in UT Extension from her work in the Strategic Planning Office for the past four years. Berven is a native of Greeneville, Tennessee, and holds a BA with honors from Carson-Newman University and an MS in information sciences from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Berven brings extensive experience coordinating strategic planning initiative teams and committees. She has a comprehensive understanding of many of the programs for which she will be responsible in her new role, such as the Mentoring Program, LEAD95, the Healthy Lifestyles Committee, the Visibility Committee, and the Competency Assessment for new agents. Berven also will be responsible for coordinating Extension New Employee Orientation and the Tennessee Extension Internship Program.
University of Tennessee CASNR Associate Dean Named ASA Fellow
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Associate Dean John C. Stier has been named a Fellow in the American Society of Agronomy. Stier was inducted as a member of the Society’s 2017 Class of Fellows at its annual meeting in Tampa in October.
Baby Liam Connor Joins the Extension Family
Congratulations to Hawkins County FCS agent Susan Connor and her husband Daniel on the birth of their son Liam. Mom and baby are doing well.
Membership in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Retirees Association is for anyone who has worked five or more years for The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. The organization’s membership includes former employees from the Herbert College of Agriculture, the College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension.
It doesn’t matter if you were one of the support staff, a teacher, research scientist, Extension educator, a farm worker, custodian, laboratory technician or an administrator. If you worked at UTIA, we welcome you to join.
A major objective of UTIA Retirees Association is to unite all former University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture workers and to provide channels for communication and friendship after employees leave the Institute. Our newsletter and web pages are communication links with the Institute and current and retired employees.
When employees retire or terminate employment at UTIA, their names are added to our mailing list to receive a complimentary issue of the quarterly newsletter and an invitation to the next area meeting scheduled in the area where they reside. During this period, retirees have the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to continue their contact with former co-workers by joining the UTIA Retirees Association. The cost is $30 for a lifetime membership.
The UTIA Retirees Association newsletter is published quarterly by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status.
UTIA Retirees Association
2621 Morgan Circle Drive || Knoxville, TN 37996
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