ETUA
Information
The East Tennessee Chapter of the University of Alabama celebrates its
59th year of bringing together alumni and friends of the
University of Alabama living in the Greater Knoxville area. The
chapter holds luncheon meetings on the 3rd Friday of each
month at noon at the University of Tennessee Faculty Club. All alumni
and friends are invited to attend.
For 28 years the chapter has awarded a freshman scholarship to an
outstanding high school graduate in the East Tennessee area to
encourage attendance at UA. Our goal is to build the endowment to a
level that will offset out-of-state tuition and then work toward
establishing another scholarship. Our endowments are in the names of
Colonel Joe and Claire Shepherd, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Stallworth, and
Hoyt and Margie Turbyfill.
History
The East Tennessee Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni
Association traces its roots back more than 59 years—to 1948 when it
received its charter. Jeff Coleman, secretary of the National Alumni
Association, presented the charter at a meeting held in the Rose Room
of the Andrew Johnson Hotel in downtown Knoxville. Sherrill Mitchell,
class of 1926, was installed as the chapter’s first president. Lucian
Gillis, also of the class of 1926, was another charter officer.
Like many volunteer organizations, the chapter apparently had its ups
and downs during its early years. Ed Lambert remembers a small group
of four or five alumni meetings occasionally at Regas Restaurant
during the mid-1950’s. In addition to Lambert, the group included M.J.
Langley and Bill Huddleston.
The chapter was re-activated in 1962 when Cecil Jackson took on the
responsibilities of president. But again, the history is sketchy
during the 1960’s, showing only that John Phares served as president
in 1969.
Activity stepped up during the 1970’s. Among those serving as
president during this period were Hank Culbert, M.J. Langley, Bill
Huddleston, Joe Shepherd, Dozer Cade, and Hal Rutherford.
A couple of important steps were taken in the late 1970’s that put the
chapter on its present course and established it as one of the
National Alumni Association’s premier out-of-state chapters. First,
Col. Joe Shepherd, then a faculty member at the University of
Tennessee, secured a permanent meeting place at the University of
Tennessee’s Faculty Club, and the club started meeting on the third
Friday of every month (in honor of a little rivalry called the 3rd
Saturday in October) for lunch at the Faculty Club.
Also in the late 1970’s, the chapter, acting on a suggestion from
Travis Parker, voted to establish a chapter scholarship. The
scholarship, initially valued at $1,000, would be used to encourage a
top East Tennessee Area student to attend the University of Alabama
with scholarship and leadership as the twin criteria.
Fund raising to support the scholarship commitment became the
chapter’s main focus. Encouraged by a contribution from Joe and Clarie
Shepherd, several chapter members agreed to contribute $100 each and
become members of the “Century Club” to get the scholarship fund
going. In 1980, the chapter had enough cash to award its first
scholarship.
For several years, the chapter had to fund the scholarship from its
current funds while it worked to accumulate a $10,000 balance, the
minimum amount required to endow a scholarship through the NAA. In
1987, the $10,000 goal was finally reached and an endowed scholarship
became a reality. In recognition of their continuing generous support
of the scholarship, the chapter named the scholarship in honor of Col.
Joe and Claire Shepherd. In 2007 we added
two additional scholarship endowments to be awarded annually. Mr and
Mrs. Bill Stallworth scholarship endowment, and Hoyt and Margie
Turbyfill scholarship endowment. Roll Tide Roll.
Taking advantage of the University’s matching funds program from the
sale of Alabama license plates, the chapter over the years has been
able to build its endowment to a sizable amount. Earnings from these
endowments allow the chapter to award more that $21,000 dollars
annually to outstanding East Tennessee Area students to attend the
University of Alabama.
Traditionally the scholarship winner is awarded at the chapter's
annual spring banquet, held each year in May. We gather at a local
banquet hall, and have keynote speakers from the University of Alabama. In addition to its
scholarships, the East Tennessee chapter helps recruit top students
for the University of Alabama by participating each fall in a series
of College Day programs at about a dozen different high schools
through out East Tennessee. Chapter members set up and staff booths,
hand out literature, and discuss the advantages offered by the
University to literally thousands of high school students in the area.
As the ETUA chapter gained stature in the eyes of the University and
NAA, it was called upon to host visiting alumni at a pre-game party
before the biannual Alabama-Tennessee football game in Knoxville. The
chapter used this format to also raise money for its scholarship fund.
A number of different formats with varying degrees of success took
place until Jesse Hammond, in 1996, hit upon the idea of a river
cruise on Friday evening before the game. The idea clicked. Now the
trips aboard the sternwheeler Star of Knoxville are long anticipated
by visiting alumni, and the boat filled to capacity for both early
and late evening cruises.
With solid scholarship endowments, a student recruitment effort that
reaches thousands of high school administrators, an annual spring
banquet, a annual red elephant golf outing, popular pre-game cruises,
and well attended monthly meetings, it is no surprise that the East
Tennessee Chapter is a perennial winner of Chapter of the Year honors
for the NAA. The chapter has come a long way since its somewhat ragged
beginnings more than 59 years ago.
Worth Wilkerson
