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January 2023
Alumni Association announces 2023 alumni award recipients
The Tennessee Tech Alumni Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Outstanding Alumni Awards.
Outstanding Young Alumnus
Lamar Moore, `12 finance
Outstanding Service Award
Michael W. England, `19 interdisciplinary studies, and Cigi S. England, `06 human
ecology
Outstanding Philanthropy Award
David K. Morgan, `74 accounting
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Dr. W. Antoni Sinkfield, `88 marketing
The 2022 award recipients will be honored at an Evening of Excellence on Homecoming. (The Homecoming date for 2023 will be announced soon.) Congratulations to all of the 2023 nominees, and we look forward to honoring these five individuals this fall!
Tennessee Tech's 5th annual I Heart Tech Students fundraising initiative begins Feb. 14
Save the date! On Feb. 14, Tennessee Tech's 5th annual I Heart Tech Students fundraising initiative kicks off! Any gift of any amount made to any area Feb. 14-Mar. 27 will count towards the I Heart Tech Students total, but we will specifically highlight scholarships, programs and areas on campus that put students first. For six weeks, the Golden Eagle community will come together to provide extraordinary support for students, and we hope you'll be a part of it. Watch your inbox and social media on Feb. 14, and show your heart for Tech students by making a gift.
Crawford Alumni Center to host SGA and ASB reunion April 14
Were you a member of the Student Government Association or Associated Student Body during your time at Tech? If so, join us for an SGA/ASB Reunion on Friday, April 14! The event will be held at noon in the Roaden University Center Multipurpose Room. Lunch will be provided, and there is no cost to attend. Click the link below to register.
The SGA/ASB Reunion will be part of Wings Up Weekend, a celebration of all things purple and gold and three days full of events for all ages. More details about the reunion and Wings Up Weekend will be shared in the coming weeks. You won't want to miss it!
School of Music remembers 100-year-old alumna and Steinway piano donor Billye Spicer
Tennessee Tech's School of Music recently dedicated a recital to Billye Spicer, the
100-year-old Tech alumna who gifted a Steinway piano to the school last year. Spicer,
who turned 100 on July 20, 2022, passed away on Sept. 5, 2022. The School of Music's
YouTube video, linked below, includes performances by Tech music faculty Catherine
Godes, Paul Thurmond and Josh Davis.
read aug. 2022 story about spicer's gift
school of music's dedication to Ms. Spicer
Tennessee Tech alumni and friends attend Rose Parade
A group of Tennessee Tech alumni and friends traveled to California last month as
part of Tech's Golden Eagle Travel program. The travelers enjoyed tours of San Diego,
Mission San Juan Capistrano, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach and more. The highlight
of the trip was the Tournament of Roses Parade!
learn more about golden eagle travel
Registration now open for summer 2023 South Dakota trip
Registration is open for our summer 2023 trip to South Dakota, the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore! The six-day tour departs on July 26 and returns on Aug. 1 and includes visits to Custer State Park, Devil's Tower, Badlands National Park, Crazy Horse Memorial and more.
Click the link below to view the full itinerary, and use web code 157369 to sign up. If you'd like a print brochure mailed to you, email alumni@tntech.edu.
If you are interested in alumni group travel but are looking for something different, check out our December 2023 Montreal and Quebec City Christmas Markets trip!
Wings Up Across America!
Crawford Alumni Center asks, "Where do you want to travel?"
The Crawford Alumni Center is planning our 2024 and 2025 Golden Eagle Travel schedule, and we want to know where YOU would like to go! Please consider completing the short poll linked below, and let us know which trips interest you the most. The poll should take only 1-2 minutes to complete. Thank you for sharing your suggestions with us, and we hope you'll travel with us in the future!
take the golden eagle travel poll
Tech women's basketball milestone moment a celebration of program's history and the people who shaped it
The legacy of Tennessee Tech women's basketball is a tremendous one. The championship trophies, the banners hanging in the Hooper Eblen Center rafters, the long list of decorated student-athletes all illustrate that point.
On Dec. 29, the Golden Eagle women added one more accolade that only a select group of Division I women's basketball programs have ever done -- win a thousand games.
And following the program's 1000th victory on Dec. 29, Golden Eagle head coach Kim Rosamond reached her own personal milestone: 100 wins.
rosamond gets centennial victory story
Tech baseball names All-Century Team as part of 100th Anniversary celebration
For the 100 years Tennessee Tech has fielded a varsity baseball team since 1923, there have been a tremendous amount of exciting players, legendary moments and fantastic finishes. Among the cream of Tech's crop, there are student-athletes who went on to become award winners, professional players and even Hall of Famers.
To coincide with Tech Baseball's 100th Anniversary Celebration and First Pitch Banquet on Saturday, Jan. 28, a team encompassing all 100 varsity seasons between 1923 and 2022 has been created to embody the success of the program in its first century.
Golden Eagle baseball announces 2023 schedule for 100th anniversary campaign
With just under a month to go before the start of the 2023 campaign, the Tennessee Tech baseball team is raring to go in the program's 100th anniversary celebration season, which features a number of challenges on the newest Golden Eagle schedule.
Four-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Matt Bragga enters his 17th year directing the Tech program after making his return last season following a three-year run at Rice. In his first season back with the purple and gold, Bragga led the Cookeville crew to a semifinal run at the OVC Tournament last season.
The 2023 schedule features a total of 52 regular season games, including 24 in the comfort of Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Alumni invited to participate in monthly Tech Trivia
Last month we asked the following trivia question:
What was the first building on campus to be named for a married couple?
We tricked a lot of people with this one! The answer was Pinkerton Hall, which serves as a co-ed residence hall. It was constructed in 1969 and is named in honor of Herman and Marguerite Pinkerton. Herman joined the faculty as an associate professor of political science in 1926 and quickly became involved in forensic activities. The speech club he helped develop became the Pinkerton Society in 1930. Marguerite was a high school debate coach in Cookeville and assisted Herman with his career at Tech.
Congratulations to Dr. Allison Ensor, `57 English, who is the only person who guessed correctly and won some Tech SWAG!
And now for this month's question:
A member of the first class of music majors to graduate from Tech in 1951, this individual went on to direct high school bands in Tennessee, earn a doctorate, and teach in Saudi Arabia and Austria before returning to Tennessee Tech in 1963 to chair the department of music. He also formed the Tech Community Symphony Orchestra, which is now the Bryan Symphony Orchestra. What was his name?
Photo top left: MS Cooper & Pinkerton Halls
Monthly trivia questions in The Alumnus are designed to test your knowledge of all things Tech! If you know the answer, email alumni@tntech.edu. We'll randomly select one of the correct answers to win some Tech SWAG! And if you have an idea for a trivia question, send it to us! You may see it in a future edition of The Alumnus.
Tech-themed games and activities
follow the Crawford alumni center on facebook
Inspired by their daughter's experience at Tennessee Tech, Barbara and Jessie Brooks, along with daughter Shelby, have established the Brooks Family Music Education Residency Scholarship.
"When we see a need, we try to help," Barbara said.
In addition to Barbara, `83 accounting, and Shelby, `20 music education, numerous numbers of the Brooks family are Tech alumni as well including Barbara's brother, sister, brother-in-law, two nephews and two nieces.
"My older brother went to Tech, and it created this legacy of so many members of our family coming to Tech," Barbara explained.
When Shelby became the most recent Brooks family member to choose Tech, Barbara and Jessie traveled from their home in Kingston to Cookeville as often as possible to attend football games, music recitals and other events on campus. And they remember the excitement they felt the first time they saw Shelby play in the marching band.
"The first time she marched, I thought, 'This is real -- she's actually in a university marching band!" Barbara said.
While Shelby received scholarships from Tech, Jessie and Barbara acknowledge that not every student is as fortunate. And that's why they wanted to establish this scholarship -- to ease the financial burden for other students.
Myrtis Leonard Conry Ledger and Diary
This month's Archives with Atkinson features an essay from Julia Peacock, archive intern and English major at Tennessee Tech University. In this blog, Peacock shares her impressions of a diary and ledger written by Myrtis Leonard Conry. The diary shares Conry's ideas regarding major historic events, family life, experiences with death and illness, and local Tennessee Tech events affecting her life and the region.
Photo top left: Myrtis Leonard Conry on the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute campus in 1921
University Archivist Megan Atkinson and the University Archives staff are responsible for collecting, preserving and making accessible materials of historical significance to the University and the Upper Cumberland. Follow Archives and Special Collections on Facebook, email their office with questions, and watch for more "Archives with Atkinson" in future editions of The Alumnus.
view university archives' digital collections
learn more about archives and special collections
Follow Tech Archives on Facebook
Matt Brown, `14 finance, has been ranked in the top 1,000 financial advisors for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022) by Raymond James Financial Services. Read more.
Marc Burnett, `82 journalism, `86 M.A. and `93 Ed.S., has an art exhibit titled "Horizons: Paintings by Marc Burnett" at the Cookeville History Museum. The exhibit opened Jan. 13 and will run through March 25. Burnett is a retired Tennessee Tech vice president of student affairs. Read more.
Melissa Clayton, `90 business management, will be promoted to chief financial officer for the city of Hopkinsville later this year. Read more.
Matt Curtis, `02 finance, recently joined Tennessee State Bank's team as a senior vice president/senior credit administrator.
Chris Hicks, `06 agriculture, has been named the new director for UT Extension's Central Region. Read more.
Don Hill, `89 electrical engineering, is the new executive vice president/chief engineer for Nashville Electric Service (NES). Read more.
Dr. John Howington, `85 chemistry, is the new president-designate for the American College of Chest Physicians and will serve as the 87th president in 2025. Read more.
Sam Huddleston, `90 civil engineering, is the new assistant city manager for Engineering and Economic Development for the City of Murfreesboro. Read more.
David Ours, `77 biology, retired after 40 years as a family medicine physician. He and his wife, Robyn, live in Milton, TN.
Damon "Dee" Prince, `14 interdisciplinary studies, has been appointed human resources manager for G&L Tube. Read more.
Kevin Raper, `97 Ed.S. instructional leadership, was officially sworn in as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Jan. 10. Read more.
Joe Rector, `74 secondary education, published an article in The Knoxville Focus about running into fellow Tennessee Tech grad and former Golden Eagle football player Howard "Redbone" Cochran, `73 health and physical education, in New York City. It had been 50 years since they'd seen one another. Read more.
Lamar Rogers, `74 agricultural science, recently reached his 1,300th career win. Coach Rogers is the head girls basketball coach at Clarkrange High School and is currently the winningest active high school coach in the United States. Read more.
Tim Saylor, `91 business management, has been named to Averitt Express's board of directors. Saylor is the company's vice president of information services. Read more.
Barrett Steakley, `08 exercise science, recently opened Mid TN Athletics (MTA) in Cookeville. Read more.
Photo top left: Marc Burnett's art exhibit "Horizons: Paintings by Marc Burnett" is at the Cookeville History Museum through March 25.
We love hearing about the successes of Tennessee Tech alumni. Email us your promotions, awards and other achievements, and we'll share in the next edition of The Alumnus!
Upcoming Tennessee Tech University bookstore sales
Check out the bookstore's Tennessee Tech University Spirit Shop featuring apparel, accessories and Tech-themed items for students and alumni.
The original bookstore website is still available and will focus mainly on textbooks and school supplies, while the Spirit Shop focuses more on Tech-themed gear.
The University Bookstore is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
