August 2026

Amy Hastings Youngerman, Secretary, Western Region

Winola Shelton, Hardeman County retiree, and Beth Bell, Dyer County retiree, suggested locations in their counties for our fall meetings. Plans have come together wonderfully. Thank you, Winola and Beth!

Retirees will visit Hardeman County to meet for lunch on Thursday, September 24, at 11:30 a.m. (CDT) at Simon's in downtown Bolivar (201 N. Main St.). A headcount email was sent in early September. After lunch, those interested in seeing what's new at Lone Oaks are invited to caravan or carpool for a tour that should conclude by 3:00 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. Friends from across the state may also enjoy a relaxing stay at Lone Oaks. Lodging options may be found at loneoaksfarm.com/lodging.

Retirees will gather on Friday, November 13, at 10:00 a.m. (CST) in Dyer County at Schultz Brothers Farms, to tour Tennessee’s only rice farm and mill. Tennemo Rice keeps the entire process—from field to finished product—here in Tennessee. The meeting location is being determined. After the tour, the group will dine at The Blacksmith Restaurant (2320 Amanda Ave, Dyersburg).

Retirees from across the state are welcome to attend and are asked to email Amy Youngerman at amy.youngerman1@gmail.com for additional information or to be added to headcounts.

The spring meeting was held on June 9 at the UTIA regional office in Jackson. The guest speakers were Jai Templeton and Ashley Eshleman with UTIA Advancement, and sixteen retirees and spouses attended.

Paul Denton, Vice President, Eastern Region

The Eastern Region Upper East Tennessee fall meeting will be held at Laurels Pumpkin Barn, 303 Laurels Road, Johnson City, TN 37601, at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, October 8. A catered meal will be available; more information about the menu and prices will be provided by email at a later date.

Laurels Pumpkin Barn is a family-owned farm and retail outlet specializing in pumpkins, gourds, and fall decorations. And the family is that of our very own Keith Hart, retired agriculture agent and county director in Carter County. In addition to a meal and time for fellowship, Keith will give us an overview of the farming operation, and there will be plenty of time to explore the variety of fall decorations available for purchase.

You will notice that I called this the Upper East Tennessee fall meeting. Current plans are to hold a second fall meeting in southeastern Tennessee in November, somewhere between Knoxville and Chattanooga. We are following the lead of our Central and Western Regions colleagues in trying to provide more frequent fellowship events for our members in a variety of locations across the region. Hopefully, this will make it easier for members all across the region to participate in one or more events each year. Information about the date and location of the November meeting will be provided by email when arrangements are finalized. I look forward to seeing many of you on October 8.

Hilda Lytle, Vice President, Central Region

It’s time for a get-together! Please check your calendar and make plans to join us in Columbia on Thursday, September 24. First, you have the option of participating in the James K. Polk Home and Museum tour beginning at 10:30 a.m. (CDT). We must have a minimum of ten people to get the group rate of $9 per person. There is the home tour plus gardens and kitchen options to explore as you wish. I have allowed one and a half hours for this activity. We have permission to park at the Polk home and walk to the square for shopping and lunch, which is only a couple of blocks. Lunch will be at 12:15 p.m. at Legends Steakhouse on the square in Columbia, 2401 Pulaski Highway. Retirees and friends are welcome to just join us for lunch if preferred. We will order from the lunch menu. The deadline to reserve your spot is noon on Monday, September 21, but I would love to hear from you sooner rather than later.

Also, please hold Wednesday, October 28, as a potential fall social date. More to come on time and location.

Paul Denton, Vice President, Eastern Region

Big changes this year for Ag Day! The event will be moved from Saturday to Friday afternoon. All exhibits will be back in the Brehm Animal Science Arena as in the years prior to last year. The UTIA Retirees Association will have a table and display as in past years. The time will be 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) on Friday, October 2. A new event that’s part of Ag Day this year is Ag Day After Hours in the UT Gardens with food and music from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Details regarding this year’s theme, parking, and additional activities will be coming at a later date, and for now, you can refer to the website: utia.tennessee.edu/ag-day. We also will be recruiting volunteers to greet visitors at our display. So, for now, mark the date and be on the lookout for updates. Hope to see you all there.

Denise J. Brandon, State Secretary-Treasurer

Many of you reading this article already receive the UTIA Retirees Newsletter by email, but some of you still receive the printed copy. While both newsletters include the same text, the mailed newsletter doesn’t include pictures, because of the cost of printing in color and the cost to send the extra pages that are required for photos. If you have an active email address, we would love to add you to our e-news list, so you can get the full benefit of all of those pictures. In addition, you will receive email updates of events impacting our UTIA retiree family, such as meetings and gatherings of the UTIA retirees regional groups, life events, awards, UTIA news, and other related information. Other electronic means of receiving information include our website at retirees.tennessee.edu and our Facebook page, UTIA Retirees Association.

If you have an updated email address, please send it to denisebrandon@comcast.net, so I can notify the appropriate folks to get you in the loop. We will continue to mail letters to those who do not have active email addresses. Also, if you have a new mailing address or phone number, please send that to me as well.

Christene Anderson, Retired 4-H Agent, Lauderdale County

Debra Lockard’s dedication and excellence have earned historic recognition: Debra became the first African American woman selected as Lauderdale County Tomato Farmer of the Year in Ripley, Tennessee, receiving the honor in both 2019 and 2026. She is a third-generation lifelong farmer rooted in the rich soil of Glimp, Tennessee. She is the owner and steward of thirty-five acres of the at least ninety-five-year-old legacy farm. Debra carries forward the vision of her grandfather, Albert Henry Lockard (born in 1895), and her parents, Emmitt and Imogene Lockard. Crops are grown in the open field and inside high tunnels for always “feeding families freshness,” the tagline of Lockard’s Produce.

Her commitment to excellence has also brought her broader recognition, including a feature on RFD-TV in Nashville, Tennessee, as part of the FarmHer series. She also completed the Master Gardener program in 2016 and was selected as the Tennessee State University Small Expo Farmer of the Year for Best Management Practices.

Through her family heritage, agricultural skill, and personal perseverance, Debra continues to honor the past while cultivating a lasting legacy for future generations. 

Paul Denton, Vice President, Eastern Region

One thing I have realized in retirement is how quickly things change in your former organization and in your professional area of expertise. Personnel turn over much quicker than you remember. Go back to a departmental or office event after a couple of years of absence, and you will be shocked by how many people you don’t know (or by how few you do know!). Pick up a technical publication, and you will be amazed by the pace of new technology and the changes in the problems faced by your former clientele.

For many retirees, this doesn’t matter. They are ready to put the past behind them and move on to new things in their life, and that is wonderful. But for others, involvement in their profession is so much a part of their persona that it is a wrenching experience to realize that their knowledge is becoming outdated and their contacts are fading away. I belong to the latter group. I don’t miss many aspects of work, but I do miss interaction with the agricultural community and the challenge of staying technically current.

I handle this feeling by attending as many professional meetings and departmental events as I can. In the summertime, this means professional meetings, county tours, and UTIA field days. This summer, I attended two UT AgResearch and Education Center field days, and the annual meeting of the Tennessee Agricultural Production Association. I had the pleasure of catching up with old friends and colleagues. But I have also had the pleasure of seeing and meeting the next generation of farmers and professionals and being impressed by their knowledge and abilities. I also see the latest research and new technology and learn about the new problems facing our producers, both production problems and problems with regulations and economic conditions.

It is especially a pleasure to meet the new generation of UTIA professionals, including county agents, graduate students, and research and Extension faculty. Quality varies, of course, but in general their professionalism and knowledge are very impressive. Just a little time observing them, and you will believe the future of UTIA programs is in good hands.

So, I encourage you to keep an eye on the UTIA calendar and your local county office calendars and get out to events whenever you can. You will find joy in renewing old acquaintances and in making new ones and intellectual stimulation from all the new knowledge out there. And you may also find that the young folks, good as they are, can still benefit occasionally from a few words of wisdom from the old timers.

Warren Gill, Past President

Once a month, the principal of Petersburg Grammar School, Mr. Thurman Cobb, announced that the students who were enrolled in the 4-H Club would meet in the eighth-grade classroom after recess. I loved it, mostly because it was an hour out of class with my buddies and a very nice man named Larry Glasgow, the Lincoln County 4-H agent.

Mr. Glasgow told us about 4-H projects. There was (and still is) a smorgasbord of projects offered. We could pick two or three to participate in. I chose the beef, horse, and tobacco projects because those were what we did on our farm. Mama made me sign up for the public speaking project because she thought it would be good for me. I did not agree.

What I did not know then was that the 4-H Club was a sneaky youth development scheme. I should have been suspicious when I found out that the University of Tennessee was behind it. The idea was to attract kids to become involved in something interesting and fun while learning about teamwork, leadership, communication skills, healthy living, and citizenship.

I was not an outstanding 4-H member, but I did okay. I won a bunch of ribbons by showing ponies, and my steer was reserve champion at the Lincoln County Steer Show. I got third place in the speech competition (brother Alan won a blue ribbon). My tobacco project report earned an “attaboy” from Mr. Stanley Lyon, the new 4-H agent.

After more years of school than I ever planned for, I found myself launching a career as a college professor with 4-H responsibilities. My boss was Jim Neel, another country boy from Coffee County, who had absolutely no concept of an eight-hour day. His advice was to spend half my time on 4-H, half on adult education, and half on writing UT publications. I wasn’t good enough at fractions to realize that three halves didn’t add up.

My favorite accomplishment was my part in making livestock shows more educational. When I showed, we led calves into the ring, and the judge would line up the cattle—the first calf in line was the winner, the second calf took reserve, etc. I learned a lot, but it could be better.

Some smart people decided it would be beneficial to have a judge evaluate the youth’s ability to prepare and show a calf. It was called showmanship. This shifted the focus to the kid instead of the calf, which improved the educational value of the event. Good move but still not enough.

We added a hands-on practical testing element called Skillathon, where young folks demonstrated what they had learned about such things as feeds, equipment identification, reproduction, and health management. Kids liked it, and their parents were thrilled.

The issue then became developing a fair scoring system that combined all the elements to recognize the young people who did the best overall. I said it wouldn’t be a problem for Clyde Lane—my computer whiz coworker, and he did it—but that was before AI, so it took remarkable skill to devise a scoring system. It wasn’t easy, but Clyde did it.

If you have kids, check out the 4-H club at the Extension office. They’ll have fun, make friends, learn valuable skills, and start on a path to living a rich and productive life. 

Deborah Seward, retired Extension agent Gibson County, is still living up to her nickname "Granny on the Go" and traveling, which was a goal she set for herself once she retired. During early spring, she visited the Tuscany region of Italy for twelve fulfilled days. While in Italy, she and friends visited Rome, Montecatini Terme, Lucca, Florence, Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano, and also Munich, Germany. A standout experience of the trip was attending an Italian cooking school and receiving a graduation certificate. Other activities included taking guided tours of wineries/vineyards, olive groves, and the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) Gothic Line of WWII; attending a cena spettacolo, a lavish cabaret performance with opera singers and dinner; traveling behind medieval walls of the various villages and visiting cheese farms, the Vatican State and Vatican museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, and the world-renowned Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s mural of the Last Judgment. Her standout moment of the trip was when she visited a liberation camp liberated by Black American soldiers during WWII, since her dad served in this war. She said visiting the Colosseum and Roman ruins was eye-catching. Realizing it has survived nearly two thousand years of history was hard to comprehend, especially since it was built without modern technology, making it absolutely mind-blowing and leading to the realization that we are just a speck on this Earth for a brief moment, so we need to make everything count and enjoy life. She said visiting the various villages and towns in the Italian countryside was a visual feast packed with many panoramic views that will be forever etched in her mind.

While in Italy, she and friends visited Rome, Montecatini Terme, Lucca, Florence, Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano, and also Munich, Germany. A standout experience of the trip was attending an Italian cooking school and receiving a graduation certificate. Other activities included taking guided tours of wineries/vineyards, olive groves, and the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) Gothic Line of WWII; attending a cena spettacolo, a lavish cabaret performance with opera singers and dinner; traveling behind medieval walls of the various villages and visiting cheese farms, the Vatican State and Vatican museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, and the world-renowned Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s mural of the Last Judgment.

Her standout moment of the trip was when she visited a liberation camp liberated by Black American soldiers during WWII, since her dad served in this war. She said visiting the Colosseum and Roman ruins was eye-catching. Realizing it has survived nearly two thousand years of history was hard to comprehend, especially since it was built without modern technology, making it absolutely mind-blowing and leading to the realization that we are just a speck on this Earth for a brief moment, so we need to make everything count and enjoy life. She said visiting the various villages and towns in the Italian countryside was a visual feast packed with many panoramic views that will be forever etched in her mind.

In April, 2026, Deborah Seward; Winola Shelton, retired Extension agent Hardeman County; and Winola’s husband, Dick Shelton, recently wrapped up a fantastic trip to the Midwest where they balanced the fastpaced energy of Chicago with the historic car-free tranquility of Mackinac Island and other locations in the Great Lakes Region, which included visiting museums, an architectural boat tour, the Magnificent Mile, and Holland, Michigan, where they experienced millions of blooming tulips at the Tulip Festival and also toured the DeZwaan Windmill on Windmill Island.

They also visited Grand Rapids, Bay City, and Frankenmuth, where they shopped in Bronner’s, the largest Christmas store in America, and Dearborn, Michigan, where they explored the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. They said the highlight of the trip was Mackinac Island, where they spent three days enjoying the island's quiet pleasures, all before flying back to Tennessee. 

Ken Goddard, Past Vice President, Eastern Region

UTIA retirees and current Agricultural and Resource Economics colleagues volunteered to provide a helping hand for our retiree friend, Clark Garland. A long, white vinyl fence had become overgrown to a stage where Clark could no longer manage the required debris removal. A few of us decided to schedule two workdays, May 6 and June 17, to address the issue and return the fence to its original condition. Trailers and trucks were parked along Clark’s fence to load the debris as workers removed it and placed it into piles. All piles were then hauled away and unloaded, forming a brush pile for burning. With everyone working hard those two days, we forgot about taking a group photo. All regretted the oversight; however, those who volunteered and helped included Fred Allen, Emmit Rawls, Jon Walton, John Goddard, David Perrin, David Bilderback, Mike Bushermohle, Tim Cross, Jake Watts, Ty Wolaver, Clark’s neighbor Danny Lovett, and Ken Goddard. Thank you, everyone, for the demanding work. Clark was thrilled and so appreciative.

We are saddened to report the death of these UTIA Retirees

Deepest Sympathy is extended for the death of these UTIA Retirees’ family members: