The Tennessee Higher Education Commission is honoring a UT Martin student and a staff member for outstanding community service work.
Jeremy Cagle, a sophomore communications major from Union City, and Charley Deal of Martin, assistant director of development, will receive 2000 Love Community Service Awards after being selected from a group of Tennessee college and university nominees.
Ten individuals, five students and five faculty/staff members, are being honored statewide. All 10 will be formally recognized during a reception and awards program April 12 at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville.
Awards go to individuals who excel in volunteer work and community service activities. The recognition programs for faculty, staff and students at public and private two- and four-year post secondary institutions were created in 1991 by the Tennessee General Assembly. In 1993, the General Assembly funded the program by presenting future recipients a $1,000 cash award.
In 1996, THEC adopted a recommendation by its awards task force to rename the awards in honor of the late Tennessee Representative Harold Love who sponsored the legislation to create the program.
Dr. Philip W. Conn, UT Martin chancellor, said both individuals are deserving of the recognition.
“UT Martin is proud that Jeremy Cagle and Charley Deal are being honored by the Love Community Service Awards program,” Conn said. “We are extremely proud of these two individuals and hold them up as shining examples of the strong commitment to outstanding service among our students and staff.”
Deal, a UT Martin employee since 1992 and a native of Hickman County in Middle Tennessee, was recognized for his service to Camp Celebration. The camp, located in Memphis, serves mentally retarded children with a true camp experience ranging from week-long stays to short-term visits that include traditional camp activities. Camp Celebration benefits not only the children who attend but also the parents and care givers of these young people.
Besides working with Camp Celebration since 1993, Deal is president-elect of the Martin Kiwanis Club, is a board of directors member for Leadership Weakley County and will chair the 2001 and 2002 celebrations of the annual Tennessee Soybean Festival in Martin.
“I am honored to be one of the recipients of this award named in honor of Mr. Harold Love,” Deal said. “Each of us has a duty to make Tennessee the best it can be. I enjoy doing my part, because you should give back to your community.”
Cagle is a member of the UT Martin Skyhawk tennis team. He and fellow team members make regular visits to the Martin Residential Retirement Center to interact with residents and provide needed companionship. Beyond team-oriented activities, Cagle organizes and conducts a worship service each Sunday morning at the center and visits individual residents who are experiencing health problems.
Cagle is also vice president of the UT Martin Baptist Student Union, is the male representative on the university’s athletics board and has taught in youth tennis programs during the past three summers.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve my God, my community and my university,” Cagle said. “And I pray that this service would not be in any way an attempt to receive recognition unless it, in a positive light, honors the name of Jesus Christ.-
Cagle and Deal are the tenth and eleventh individuals from the university recognized by the THEC community service awards programs.