09/02/2016

· Back by popular demand (well, one person asked about it)…the return of Friday Stuff!

· Interviews for the new Naifeh Center director took place earlier this week. After having the opportunity to meet and speak with the four candidates the search committee offered for consideration, I can say with all certainty that the committee did a bang-up job of getting what was originally a pretty big pool of candidates down to a reasonable and very good few. The reinvention of the Naifeh Center is very important to all of IPS. The choice of the new director will get that new adventure off on the right foot.

· Even though I missed some of it, I really enjoyed the conference in Chattanooga last week. Ending it with the session with the comedian was great. It felt great to laugh…really hard…at most of the things she said, but her closing comments about what’s really important in life struck close to home. And what about all the MTAS award winners…and there was a bunch…

o Nancy for 10 years of service, Brett with 20 and Al and Richard for 30. Four people contributing 90 years. Amazing!
o Gary for the MTAS Hobday Award
o Rex and Margaret with the MTAS Trailblazer Award
o Patrick for the MTAS Customer Service Award
o Abb with the IPS Horizon Award
o Elisha for the IPS Pinnacle Award
o Ronnie with the Five Franklins Award
o Sherri’s granddaughter, Karen, and Kay’s daughter, Alyssa, with their Mary and Jack Jinks scholarships

· Football game results from last night…
o The “Mocs” 66 (yes, that’s right. 66), the Shorter University “Hawks” 0 (yes, that’s right. 0) “Ouch” said Shorter!
o The Skyhawks 7, the Cincinnati Bearcats 28 (oops!)
o The Vols 20, the Appalachian State Mountaineers 13. Phew, I’m still trying to recover.
o Next Saturday night…NASCAR and college football collide at Bristol Motor Speedway. Just doesn’t get much better than that! Anybody going?

· So, what are my thoughts about the Family Campaign going on right now. Short and to the point. My decision to participate or not is my personal decision. If I participate, how much I give is my personal decision. If I choose to participate, what I direct my gift to is my personal decision. So, what are my decisions? I am going to participate again…for the fifth consecutive year. I’m even considering increasing my gift a few bucks…and MTAS / IPS will be the beneficiary…again. I’m following my heart. End of story.

· When we were all in kindergarten, elementary, junior and senior high school, did the school year EVER start before Labor Day? Always the Tuesday after Labor Day in Chattanooga, which made Labor Day itself one of the most anxiety-laden days of the year. How could you enjoy a national holiday knowing what you had to do the next day?

· Lastly, remember a few things…
o What each of you do every day for our customers and each other is recognized and appreciated. Really! It is!
o “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
o Everybody’s comedian, Bob Hope, once said, “If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play a game, it’s recreation. If you work at a game, it’s golf”. Very true, Bob. Very true.

· A long holiday weekend! Yee hah! I hope it’s comfortable for everyone.

Jim Thomas, Executive Director
(O) 615. 532.4950 (C) 615.972.9219

jim.thomas@tennessee.edu

www.mtas.tennessee.edu