CL ASS NOTES
1960s
Dr. Elliott Tenpenny
Hal Hardin (’66), Nashville, was presented with the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award by the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Fellows.
Tenpenny (’05) was on the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City. Tenpenny, director of international health with Christian humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, led a 72-member team that opened an emergency field hospital in Central Park on March 31. The 68-bed facility had 10 ICU beds. Tenpenny, a Murfreesboro native, is a former medical missionary in the Congo.
1970s Jo Ann Campbell Jeffries (’70), Naalehu, Hawaii, published Puanani and the Volcano, a book about the Kilauea eruption on the Big Island of Hawaii and how it affected an elementary school girl. Joey Jacobs (‘75), was named chief executive officer of Quorum Health Corp., a Brentwood, Tennessee–based hospital operator. Jacobs is a member of MTSU’s Board of Trustees. Rex Gaither (’76), Smyrna, and Todd Spearman (‘02), Murfreesboro, were named the first assistant town managers of Smyrna.
1980s Warren Denny (’80), Nashville, was promoted to vice president of creative services for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Karen Gerson Duncan (’81), Tyrone, Georgia, published MyrtleKay Has Something to Say, a children’s book dealing with the topic of bullying.
Jessi Alexander Singer-songwriter Jessi Alexander (’03) is the writer of numerous chart-topping hits on country radio, including four No. 1 songs. One of those songs, “I Drive Your Truck,” recorded by Lee Brice, won Song of the Year in the 2013 Country Music Association Awards, 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 2013 Nashville Songwriters Association International Awards. Alexander’s career skyrocketed with her song “The Climb,” which Miley Cyrus recorded for her box office hit Hannah Montana: The Movie. Earlier this year, Alexander released her third studio album, Decatur County Red.
Meredith Gordon Meredith Gordon (’87) is a professional clown. A founding member of Humorology Atlanta, he has worked as a hospital clown at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for the past 20 years. In 2019, he went with Clowns Without Borders USA on a hurricane relief tour in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian. Gordon was one of only 10 artists nationwide chosen for the 2019 Tanne Foundation Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement in art, and the first to receive the honor as a clown. Summer 2020 51
