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Alumni News

Kim White takes the reins as president of Alumni Board

Kim White (’82 UTC) is the President and CEO of Luken Holdings, Inc. and the new UTC Alumni Board President for 2008-2009. White was presented the gavel by last year’s president, Kayvon Sadrabadi. Recently, White shared her experiences as a student at UTC, her feelings on alumni participation, and her goals for the alumni board.

What are your favorite UTC memories?
I loved my time at UTC and was very active on campus. My favorite memories as a student involved all the activities during Rush (or Recruitment) week—culminating with the running out the doors of Patten Chapel on bid day. I drove down McCallie a couple of years ago, by chance, when this was going on and it brought back an abundance of good memories.

In what student activities did you participate?
I was President of Chi Omega, involved in UAC, Student Orientation Board, Peer Council, Honor Court, Panhellenic Council.

Tell us about your current job and other community volunteer activities.
At Luken Holdings, Inc., we own and operate over 2 million square feet of office space throughout the Chattanooga area. In addition to serving as President of the UTC Alumni Board, I serve on the Erlanger Board of Trustees, River City Company, Executive Board of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, United Way Executive Board, Association for Visual Arts, Women’s Leadership Institute, Downtown Rotary Board, UT Board of Governors and the UTC Business Advisory Board.

Why are you an alumni volunteer?
I truly feel that UTC provided the foundation for my success. This is something that’s become even clearer with the passing of time. When I moved back to town five years ago after a 20+ year absence, UTC was one organization I knew I wanted to be involved with.

I also feel that it’s important for business leaders to get in front of students and be positive role models. As someone that’s active in the community I want to do my part to make sure we keep top students in our community after graduation.

What is your advice to current students?
Look for ways to develop your leadership skills while going to school. Get involved on campus, get involved in the community—make sure you know your professors and alums that support your particular major. In order to stand out, you’ve got to show what makes you different---what did you do BESIDES go to school. Start networking on day one.

How can alums get involved?
Call the alumni office and make sure we have your current information. Tell them your interests and we can make sure you are plugged in. There are tons of opportunities for volunteers---we need people to mentor, we’re looking for businesses that want to participate in internships. We need volunteers to assist with homecoming activities and other events throughout the year. You can support athletic events by purchasing tickets and helping us fill the seats. Most of the colleges have an advisory board where you can get plugged in to that area. I am on the Business Advisory Board and speak at Senior Seminar each year—giving real world advice to graduating students. You can participate in our college fair, or volunteer to help students as they move in. Bottom line, you let us know your interests and we will find a place for you. It’s not all about the money, although we’re not opposed to that—we’re hoping to raise funds for an Alumni Building!

What are your top priorities for the UTC Alumni Board in 2008-2009?
Partnerships!

Partnerships with the business community—making sure area business leaders understand that success at UTC translates to success for our community. The last stats I have indicate that UTC creates more than 4300 jobs and has more than $285 million a year in economic impact in our area. We need this community—alumni and non alums alike getting engaged in OUR University.

Partnerships with our students—we need to get alumni engaged early on with students as mentors. We need to increase the graduation rate of our students. Students active in college are more apt to graduate. We need alumni involved and helping us send that message.

Partnerships with area high schools—using alumni, faculty and our athletes to get out to schools and talk about the importance of education and graduation.

Kino Becton takes leadership of Hamilton County UTAA Chapter

Kino Becton (’03 UTC), staff assistant for Tennessee’s 3rd District Congressman Zach Wamp, has just taken over the leadership of The University of Tennessee Alumni Association Hamilton County Chapter. This former two-year UTC Student Government Association president is a volunteer for Big Brothers of Chattanooga. As president of the University of Tennessee Alumni Association (UTAA) Hamilton County Chapter, Becton will oversee a board of individuals who represent the alumni of all University of Tennessee campuses who now reside in the greater Chattanooga area. The UTAA Hamilton County Chapter has received numerous awards for its service to advance UT through outstanding programs.

Becton recently passed on his vision for the UTAA Hamilton County Chapter for the upcoming year and reflected on his experience at UTC.

What are your favorite memories as a student at UTC?
The biggest one was to serve as Student Government Association President for two years. It gave me the opportunity to serve one of the greatest student bodies in the country. Being a former student leader, I was able to work with some amazing faculty and students who are a lot smarter than me.

In what activities did you participate?
I participated in Student Government Association and the Black Students Association.

Why are you an alumni volunteer?
It’s an opportunity to share with current students the value of giving back to the University. It’s a small token of thanks to a University that has given me so much as a person.

What advice would you give current UTC students?
Life is built on more than money and careers. So, always maintain a foundation built on faith, relationships, and a drive to succeed.

Why should UTC alumni participate in UTAA activities?
UTAA is an organization that is focused on making the University of Tennessee System a stronger family. As a Chattanooga alumnus, there hasn’t always been the best relationship between the two campuses for a variety of reasons. The only way to build a stronger relationship for generations to come is to encourage outside the box interaction between the alumni from all UT campuses.

As the upcoming UTAA Hamilton County Chapter President, it will be an honor to extend open arms to fellow Mocs during the upcoming year to all UTAA events and I would like to look at avenues to partner with the UTC Alumni Board of Directors on future events as well. It is vital to have the support of UTC Alumni and other campuses if we ever are to expect to have a stronger university system.

Alumnus Michael Cranford awarded top national Boys & Girls Clubs honor

Before an assembly of 3,000 professionals from Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) gathered for the 102nd Annual National Conference in San Francisco in May 2008, Michael Cranford (’74 UTC) was presented the Tom G. Garth Character and Courage Award. Cranford is a current member of the UTC Alumni Board of Directors.

The award was created in memory of former Boys and Girls Club of America president Tom G. Garth, described as an extraordinary leader and role model during his decades of service to the organization. As a recipient of this award, Cranford was acknowledged as the club professional who best exemplifies the qualities attributed to Garth.

“The Office of Alumni Affairs and the UTC community would like to congratulate Michael for his continued leadership and service at the Boys and Girls Club and his support in the Chattanooga community, especially here at UTC,” said Jayne Holder, Director of Alumni Affairs.

Cranford has been with the Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga for over forty years. He began his career there while attending classes at UTC. “I walked in just looking for something to do after class,” said Cranford, “but I was too old to join. But the director at the time offered me an opportunity to work there through the UTC work study program. I’ve been here ever since.”

As one of a small minority of African American students at UTC in the early 1970s when communities were still dealing with segregation issues, Cranford strongly felt that his education was worth all of the potential challenges that he would face. One college memory he shared was when he joined a group of other students in a sit-in demonstration at the home of the president of the university. “It was the first time I had ever done something like this,” he said, “and it played such an important role in my life. I remember the president [William Masterson, ’66-’73] actually sat down and listened to us. That was so important to me.”

Cranford continued his education and earned a Bachelor’s of Arts and Sciences degree in Sociology and Human Services. He credits both the academic and social experiences he had at UTC with helping him prepare for his role at the Boys and Girls Club.

“It helped me as a person and gave me an opportunity to see the world in a different light. Segregation was very apparent during that time but because I lived on an Air Force base when I grew up we lived in an integrated community, so that helped me to adjust to the campus life quicker than others who had to break the barriers that I didn’t have to. But even though there were some difficult times and I had to deal with typical racial issues, I really never felt like I had built up any resentment. In fact it helped me to learn how to deal with issues like that. And now I can help to relate to some of the issues that the kids I work with today have to go through. I can relate to them about perseverance,” Cranford said.

As a member of the UTC Alumni Board of Directors, Cranford wants to assist UTC in creating partnerships with Chattanooga’s African American community, for better understanding of how the University can provide opportunities for future professional growth. Cranford has served on the UTC Alumni Board of Directors since 2006 and his term expires in 2009.

“For me, to think about all that I went through, I believe that my college education helped me be able to even have the opportunity to work in this profession and position. It allowed me the ability to get to where I am. And to receive the Boys and Girls Club honor just made me so proud that I got my degree and was able to progress professionally,” Cranford said.

It was a very good year—’07-’08 alumni events in pictures

Were you there for the homecoming celebration or the Trisha Obear Memorial Tennis Tournament? Check out the alumni year in pictures below.

New UTC GOLD Council members selected

Congratulations to the inaugural members of the newly formed UTC Grads of the Last Decade (GOLD) Alumni Council, who will assist the UTC Office of Alumni Affairs in providing services and programs for UTC's most recent alumni.

The GOLD Council will convene for its first meeting on September 18, 2008, and begin to establish the GOLD Council's by-laws. Members will also begin to develop programs and services for the GOLD community. Information regarding the UTC GOLD program and the new GOLD Council can be found on-line at www.utcalumni.com/gold.php.

To date, the charter members of the UTC GOLD Council include:

Roni Abraham ('03)
Leslie Berryhill (’98)*, member-at-large, UTC Alumni Board of Directors representative
Suzanne Bidek ('05)
Toni Brock ('04)
Brian Clay ('98)
Jason Demastus ('00)
Emily Gavlick* (President of the UTC Student Alumni Council )
Lacey Heftka ('05)
James Hobbs ('05)
Andrea Irvin ('96,'99)
Alex Lopez ('01)
Marin Rieman ('07)
Raphael Smith ('06)
Jade Stone ('04)
Adrienne Teague ('06)
Jessica Varnell ('07)
Justin Wilkins ('04)
Page Wood ('08)
Mary-Jo Woolcock ('00,'06)

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