Education Foundation benefits local students, honors past students

Established in 1999, the Cocke County Education Foundation is a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to benefit educational institutions and related activities.

In particular, it oversees more than 30 scholarships for local students and Cocke County’s Imagination Library program. The Foundation hosts Celebrate Our Success, a banquet at which selected alumni of Cocke County’s high schools—Cocke County, Cosby, Parrottsville, and Tanner—who have achieved high degrees of success in their chosen fields are honored.

Judge J. Kenneth Porter was the first honoree; others have been Dr.

Kenneth Olden, Rev. Benny Proffitt, Dr. Cliff Shults (deceased), Gen. Hubert Smith, Dr. Kathy Dykes-Sims, Jay Gaddis (deceased), Dr. Nathan Ford, Dr. Rob Kisabeth, Jimmy Franks, Esther Houston Vassar, Roger Butler, Rita Butler Layman, Dr. Gary Thomas, Dr. Janice Barnes

James C. McSween, Jr., Roy T. Campbell, Jr., Larry B. Blazer, Carrie Mae Dawson Caldwell, Ken Jenkins, Tippi Hampton, Freddy James, Jr., Dr. Charles Lindsey, Beth O. Freeman, Gordon Ball, and Dr. Patti Ketterman. Donations are both welcome and tax deductible. They may be mailed to the Foundation, 305 Hedrick Dr., Newport, TN 37821.