2008-09 Honorees

Tonya Hinch

Hinch was the first to be honored thorough the Accomplished Alumni Program. She is a life coach and former Fortune 500 executive who has worked for such organizations as Edison Schools, Ultrafem Inc., Neutrogena, Clairol, and Procter and Gamble. She now shares her experience with others through seminars, events, and personal coaching.

Al Williams & Dave Freeman

Al Williams, chief financial officer for Bush Brothers and Company, and Dave Freeman, vice president of sales for Activision Blizzard, were honored for their achievements in business and recognized for sharing their time and talent with the MBA students. Williams and Freeman served as the keynote speakers for the weekend.

David Freeman

Freeman founded 36 Venture Capital in 2007 and currently serves as the company’s CEO. The company maintains investments in professional hockey, baseball, and soccer clubs. He is chairman of the Nashville Predators (NHL) and the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (AA Southern League).

Chief Judge Curtis Wagner, Jr.

Wagner graduated from the law college in 1951 and serves as chief administrative law judge for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He has received numerous awards including the Department of the Army’s highest honor, the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service. He appears in four editions of Who’s Who, including Who’s Who in the World.

Deedee Trotter and Jangy Addy

Deedee Trotter (U.S. track and field), and Jangy Addy (Liberia track and field) were all part of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Trotter and Addy were recognized as part of the Accomplished Alumni program as they were recent graduates of the university.

Phillip Moffitt

Moffitt was the CEO and editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine, rebuilding it into a successful publication. In 1987 Moffitt resigned from Esquire to immerse himself in spiritual life. He devoted himself to the study of Buddhism and was ordained as a lay priest in Theravada Buddhism. He now travels the country to teach about spirituality and balance.

Kerry Madden

Madden graduated with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee. She is a well known author of several books and has also been published in a number of publications, including the Los Angeles Times. Her Maggie Valley Trilogy, which includes the books Gentle’s Holler, Louisiana’s Song, and Jessie’s Mountain, has been nominated for a number of awards. Madden will release a young adult literature biography on Harper Lee in the spring of 2009.

Dave Ramsey

Ramsey is a UT grad who makes a living teaching others how to manage their finances, get out of debt, save their earnings, and give back to their communities. He offers life-changing financial advice as host of a nationally syndicated daily radio program.

Edward Ayers

Ayers assumed the presidency of the University of Richmond in 2007. He was named National Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2003. A historian of the American South, one of his books, The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction, was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.

Charles Davis

Davis has provided analysis for just about every major sport and television network, and he has called the past three BCS National Championship football games. Before devoting himself completely to broadcasting, Davis served as assistant athletic director at Stanford University, director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center, special assistant to the executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and assistant football coach at the University of the Pacific.

Bob Gillcrist

Bob Gillcrist (’81) is the senior vice president for Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum, the largest architecture firm in the world. (He also comes from a large family; Gillcrist is one of 10 children who all attended the University of Tennessee!)

Beldina Auma

Auma is senior communications officer for The World Bank in Washington, D.C., and chairs the World Bank Group-IMF African Society.

Jenneen Kaufman

Kaufman, an alumna of the College of Business Administration, is Tennessee Titans Vice President and CFO.

Lowry Kline

Kline is a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Law. Kline was chairman of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. from April 2002 until April 2007 and CEO from April 2001 to January 2004 and again from December 2005 until April 2006. He was vice chairman of the board from April 2000 to April 2002. Before joining Coca-Cola Enterprises, Kline was an attorney with Miller and Martin in Chattanooga.

Marshall Ramsey

Ramsey is a graduate of the College of Business Administration. He is a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist with the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., and has been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist twice for his work. He also has illustrated several books. Ramsey worked for the Daily Beacon when he was a student at UT; his collegiate cartoons won the John Locher Memorial Award, the top prize awarded to college editorial cartoonists.

John Hubbard

John Hubbard graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1983. He is now the global president of ICON. ICON Clinical Research specializes in the planning management, execution and analysis of Phase IIb—IV clinical trials, ranging from small studies to complex, multinational projects.