Uncategorized – Page 4

August 16, 2018

Welcome to the Neighborhood

It’s been about six weeks since Bill and I moved to Chattanooga and our house in the suburb of Hixson, but it seems longer. I expect anyone who’s ever moved their entire, long-established household to another city to take a new job in that city understands. I don’t mean it seems long in a bad…
July 19, 2018

Thanks for the Memories

Ever spent 24 consecutive years in the same house? My husband and I just did–the house we moved into when we came home from our honeymoon. We sold it in June and moved to Chattanooga, which we are loving, by the way. Moving forces you to purge. The prospect of hauling stuff to a new…
July 15, 2018

Moving Right Along

Knoxville, Tennessee stopped being my home on June 1, almost 26 years to the day since I moved there. Leaving was a little bit scary, a whole lot stressful, and very exciting. My entire professional working life had been spent in Knoxville, but a fantastic new opportunity that I am immensely grateful for was waiting…
April 15, 2018

Helping Tennessee Achieve

I want to be the person I would have wanted to mentor me. That’s how I approach volunteering to mentor Tennessee high school students making the jump to college. Waaay back when I was a first-generation college student, there was no program of mentoring on the sometimes-complex path toward pursuing a degree. My ACT composite…
April 7, 2018

The Communicators Go to Washington

I recently spent half a week in Washington, D.C. For this student of history, consumer of headlines, and higher ed mouthpiece, it was like summer camp for grownups. I was in town to attend the annual conference for senior communication professionals of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. I’ve been to Washington a…
March 25, 2018

There, but for Grace…

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon in March–so many options for a great day. I could go hiking, watch a sporting event outdoors, maybe do some yard work in the bright sunshine. A day like that, when it’s still technically winter, calls for making the most of it. So, what did I choose? None of the above.…
March 13, 2018

Tennessee: The State of UT

My relationship with the University of Tennessee began when I was 9 years old. UT’s White County Extension agent, Linda Koger, walked into my 4th grade classroom for the first time and enrolled me in the 4-H club, along with the 20 or so other kids in my class. I can’t speak for the rest…
March 5, 2018

And the winner is…

In case you didn’t know — hello, Oscars! — it’s award season. As the rich and famous celebrated their noteworthy accomplishments, I was reminded of an accomplishment just as noteworthy to a team neither rich nor famous but who won big for Outstanding Achievement in a Labor of Love. OK, that may not be a real…
January 28, 2018

Ladies Night

Newspaper people. What can you say about them? They work hard. Crazy hours (see, especially, “sports” or “election night”). Weekends. Holidays. Regardless of the weather and, sometimes, because of the weather. They care about the truth. They comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. They uphold democracy by holding government accountable. What they can’t do…
January 14, 2018

Democracy in Action

I wish I could say I chose to major in journalism in college because I dreamt of being a fearless member of the Fourth Estate. Growing up, I was an early reader. Of everything. As a 7-year-old, I remember reading the newspaper to my grandparents for their amusement. By the time I was 10, I…
January 5, 2018

Hello, 2018!

PUBLISHED: Jan. 1, 2018 I am fortunate to have been blessed with two grandmothers who lived well into my adulthood. In our family, each was called “granny”–a good ol’ Scottish appellation of Appalachia. Unfortunately, my paternal grandmother, Ruby Stafford, died in 2010. Followed by my last surviving grandparent, Allie Cantrell, who died in 2014. The…
January 2, 2018

Turning The Calendar

I’m going to be blogging in 2018, starting with a 2017 Year in Review.