University of Tennessee Athletics
From the Desk of Mike Hamilton
Dec. 12, 2003
It's December and we're all looking forward to the holidays. With school out for the semester, let's look back and see how our student-athletes have done in serving the community. The CHAMPS/LifeSkills Program is our vehicle for getting involved in giving back to the local area.
That brings us to Core Value #5: Represent our University, our community and our state in a positive fashion nationally.
Hardly a day goes by that some student-athlete or group of student-athletes aren't out somewhere in the community at a school, hospital or other community facility representing the athletics department in a positive fashion.
At the Mississippi State game Nov. 15, we honored the community service teams of the year, given annually to the male and female athletic teams who participate in the most community service events with the highest percentage of team participation. This year's teams of the year were the Lady Vol rowing team and the Vol basketball team.
The Lady Vol rowing team collectively participated in a variety of service events with 13 different community organizations and had the highest percentage of team participation for any Lady Vol sport.
The men's basketball team collectively worked with 12 different community organizations to volunteer their time in the community. The basketball team had the highest team participation of all the men's athletic teams.
Congratulations to head coaches Lisa Glenn and Buzz Peterson for their team's efforts in community service.
Three student-athletes were also honored, two from the men's side and one from the women's side.
Luke Hochaver is a sophomore pre-sport management major from Fowler, Colo., and a member of the Volunteer baseball team. During the 2002-2003 school year, Luke participated in community service events in a variety of environments, reading to children at Sarah Moore Greene Elementary School and helping with the "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" literacy event at Norwood Elementary School.
C. J. Watson is a sophomore member of the men's basketball team from Las Vegas and a sport management major. C. J. donated his time to a variety of events including a youth basketball camp at Johnson Bible College, patient visits at UT Medial Center and reading to children at Spring Hill Elementary School.
Former Lady Vol basketball player Kara Lawson is a finance major from Arlington, Va., who was an active volunteer at the Love Kitchen, West Hills Elementary, Sam E. Hill Elementary and with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
These individuals and teams have set a standard for involvement, and I am proud of them, as well as all of our student-athletes who do such good things in the community.
