Dedicating a lifelong career to Tennessee Wesleyan.

0:00Hello folks. Welcome to another episode of On My Mind. I'm Shelley Griffith and I could not be more delighted today than to have as my guest longtime friend Stan Harrison who's going to talk about career life in Athens work at Tennessee Wesleyan College Slash University. Stan, welcome to the program. Thank you Shelley. Good to be here. Well if you'll start out with where you born raised early family. Well that is itself is a story in that both my parents were from Green County Tennessee but at the time that I was born we were living in Morristown. The youngest of three children and my brother and sister had both been born in Greenville to a doctor that you're probably familiar with because of he was pretty famous around the state not only in medicine but also in

1:01education but my mother was very comfortable with him and wanted to go back to Greenville for me to be born and so Dr. Hal Hinder delivered me and so I actually was raised in Morristown so two or three days after being born in Greenville I moved back to Morristown and was there until time I went to college. And yes very famous gentleman outstanding position that's just a great guy all around and so you were there ready to go to college and that was. graduated high school in 1970 from Morristown West High School. They had split the high schools after my sophomore year. Morristown High School the first two years I was in school but then they built a new school split them into East and West and we had the option to stay at East if we had an athletic background which I did an athletic history but instead I chose to move to a new school

2:05and go to Morristown West. And from there college was that University Tennessee in Knoxville both my wife Debbie and I both went there she and I were high school sweethearts if you want to say so we didn't have our first date until the day after my last football game in high school was was actually our first date and so we had known each other since sixth grade when she moved to Morristown but didn't actually start dating until late November of 69 and then we have been together ever since. That's awesome. And you were playing football? Play football and baseball in high school yes. Well positions where you're playing. I was a fullback and cornerback on a football team fullback for one specific reason this was before the time of all kinds of signals been wigwaggan and

3:08audio communication with quarterbacks and so there were two of us at the coach trusted to get the right playing in from the bench to the huddle and so I was primary defensive player I was not especially was a defensive back but played fullback because I could block and I can get the right playing. That's awesome. Yes way before this technical stuff is taken over all these sports I agree. So at UT did you have any idea what you were going to study initially or just playing? Well yes initially I started out majoring in music with absolutely no background in music because I love for vocal music and I tried that we were on a quarter system at that time and it was very clear to me after one quarter that I was just too far behind in order to be able to do that and and I switched to education. Well but now folks I

4:12can tell you Stan's got a great voice so you just didn't want to pursue that. It was just too far behind in terms of reading music and the knowledge that I needed. So switching over to education at that point any particular area of education or just general education on education K through eight but knew that I wanted to be an intermediate grades fifth through eight I thought that's where a man at that time can make the most impact and so I wanted to be in the middle school classroom and that's why I chose to do that area. And as we've you know and others know my daughter Kara middle school teacher in the past that's special special folks for middle school it always has been in my mind so as you were wrapping up at UTK and you and Debbie were together there and then

5:13plans after that did you have a job lined up? I did not but there was a career failure that came to campus and that was interviewing potential teachers and I interviewed with the DeCab County in Georgia and I finished semester a quarter early I actually finished in March and the principal of rocket elementary school in Tucker Georgia had a position that was opening up in late March early April and offered me that position and so Debbie needed one more quarter of an internship at that time she was majoring in interior design that was her initial design degree was interior design and so she took an internship with a company in Buckhead and so we moved to Atlanta in March of 74 and not

6:15there a particularly long time I finished that school year and began the next one and Debbie had tired very quickly because they offered her a job after she finished her internship and got her degree but she tired very quickly of driving from Tucker into Atlanta to Buckhead with all the traffic and she decided she wanted to go back to school too this time to major in artiscaction and so I contacted the principal that I had done my student teaching with in Knoxville I did student teaching at Fairgate Middle School he was then the principal there but had moved the current's middle I contacted him and told him if he had something open for the next year to keep me in mind I'd love that Debbie's wanted to get back and we'd love to come back if we could and as it turned out he had a lady that was retiring at Thanksgiving she came back for she thought one more year but Thanksgiving was as far as she was going to be able to make it

7:18and so he offered me a position beginning Monday after Thanksgiving so I worked on Wednesday before Thanksgiving at Atlanta and we moved over Thanksgiving weekend I started to work on Monday at Carnes Middle School in Knoxville wow well goodness gracious I just picked her out hectic that weekend was oh my goodness and then you started up there you were teaching the middle school did you start staying coaching back then keep in mind keep in mind in the early 70's they were very few opportunities for girls and title nine was just coming into effect and so we needed to start a girls team at the middle school level we had a boys team and the principal knew I had an athletic background even though basketball was not my thing and he came to me and he said we're gonna start girls basketball would you be willing to coach it I said sure I'll do it and so

8:20I got into coaching because really because of title nine and the opportunities for girls and and I was the one person in the school who was willing to coach good for you 70 74 five that was 70 that was a follow 74 we started the team in 70 in the 75 76 year would have been the first year we had a team I was there seven years I taught I coach seven years at at current okay and then from that point the opportunity rose for Westland or was there a gap in there no the one the gap I came straight from from Carns the Tennessee Westland okay that in itself is another story please most people will remember Dr. George nap he at that time was a president of the college his daughter Nancy Bordenman taught at Carns Middle School with Debbie and I and the coach at

9:26Tennessee Westland Lynn Jared had just taken a position at North Georgia which was her alma mater but she was offered that position very late and so she left in August of 82 and coach farm needed to fill that position because we're starting on who's still on quarters at at Tennessee Westland at that time and so he needed to fill that position need to fill it pretty quickly and Nancy told her dad said well we've got a guy up here it's a pretty good girls coach that he might be willing to talk to you and I had actually been here Debbie and I came down and and did a panel discussion with education majors the year before that Nancy had spearheaded and brought a group of teachers down to talk to the education majors about about the education career and so I was familiar you're a little bit familiar with Tennessee Westland not a lot but a little and so coach farmers said well have you called me and let's set up a time

10:27and so from there I came down an interview with coach farmer you did not know coach farmer prior to that interview not before the day I walked in to his office okay okay he's needing to fill this position very quickly and so I thought it might be a good opportunity for me and so I didn't have time to get reference letters so I asked people to call coach farmer for a reference and two people called while I was sitting in his office we were I started the interview and somebody called and I could tell that it was one of my references we continued to interview and another one called and he told the second he said well I'm planning to offer him the job if people are quick call it that's coach and and for you folks out there I know many of you new coach farmer very very well I never remembered how you got the job and I can see his face say just

11:33quick call and take the phone off the wall to I have told people people asked often said how did you get from middle school to college yeah and when I tell people it was because because farmers desperate they think I'm kidding but I'm really not he needed to fill the position he needed to do it quickly and something about me he was willing to trust and give me an opportunity give me a chance he didn't tell me that he was planning to offer it to one of the person and if they didn't take it then he was going to offer it to me I've always had my suspicions that other person that day but but I don't know for sure that's which is that's one of those mysteries that are going on but at that point stand were you a bit nervous about the job oh tremendously nervous especially because Tessie Wesson wasn't known for their high salaries and so to come from coaching seventh and eighth grade girls to coaching college I took

12:37a considerable pay cut and so that was the first reason for me to be nervous the second was whether or not I was actually capable of coaching at the collegiate level having only coached at the middle school level before and do you remember I might be a crazy question remember you're very first collegiate game I remember first game I remember first practice because I ran one player off not intentionally but I was so afraid of not being tough enough because it now it's college you know you got to be tough I had workpap summit camps for years when I was in middle school had developed a very good relationship with Pat and and knew her style and so I decided I needed to be tough too and one of my favorite all-time players let me know oh a week or so after that they

13:37about all quit because I'm out I made them run that first practice but the one that left they say was a blessing and so it turned out to be a good thing good my first game was at shorter college in Rome Georgia and shorter had a gym on campus at that time that made James L. Rob on Tensey West End Campus look palatial yes it was a little cracker box it didn't see 200 people there were some steps that would go up to to locker room upstairs that people sat on the steps when it wasn't a flume in the bleachers and it was Pat I mean Pat but I remember we won that game 75 to 72 in overtime wow and that was my first ever contest at Tensey West I all my tribal up to that point had been within the county on a school bus and now I'm driving a van with a team in it

14:42and we had gotten to just short of the Georgia Welcome Center in Vicky Farrell sitting right behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said now remember we need to stop going to the bathroom every once in a while go and go and that's awesome and folks if you don't understand small college athletics stand can give you plenty of stories about having to do the van doing all these things stopping you know to eat at places that you know fast food stuff the whole business so that season now as you finished up your first season at West End what was your record I couldn't tell you the exact record I do know we won more than 20 games we did make the playoffs that year and we're really much more successful than than I had anticipated we might be but Leon had

15:47done an outstanding job of recruiting brought in some some good players good freshman that year and it was a good nucleus of players returning only one senior young lady out of flowery branch Georgia by the name of Ronda Jones Ronda was about six two and it played very little but she developed a lot in that last year and our relationship developed a lot as well because I was willing to put some trust in confidence in her and and she did a lot to to help us but it was a successful season overall and coach farmer was obviously happy it was made the right decision so you know what his one requirement for me was that I would sit on his bench during men's games for first two years and I learned more basketball in those two years than I learned all the rest of my time in either middle school or collegiate athletics because the coach farmer was that good a coach and that good of a mind basketball mind and but now help me a

16:53little bit you're you're sitting there you're coaching the women so you've got a game you're done you come and sit on his bench right and that's just set there just sit there and observe listen if he asked me a question I'd answer it but you knew coach farmer well enough to know that if he didn't ask you he didn't need to know exactly wow I mean I knew you did that but I just wasn't sure why oh oh my goodness gracious he knew I had a lot to learn well and and of course the famous towel I don't recall seeing you with a towel no eating a towel no no no I love nothing and it was he always had one slide over his shoulder yes and that you don't it gave me absolute and and folks for those of us who you know are in the community going to see the games it was always so exciting you know to watch and my memory fades at times but we helped some I guess medically with the

17:55girls Miller Jones and I did we not do that time I think and and saw some some outstanding basketball and more importantly the development in a community did it take you long stands to develop more community support after that first season you know where you see the people coming out and supporting the program it did take a while when when I first came the attendance at girls games wasn't you know immense we did have a few local players I mentioned Vicky Farrell she was from from Calhoun Janis Ren was from Charleston Charleston I was still in functioning at that time we did have a few local players and so we would get a few parents out English Cartwright had just come from Cleveland State and so we had some following but not a lot but as we became more

18:57successful we started to get more now the one game exception to that was when we would play Carcineman and the bleachers would be full for the women's game because of people who feared they would not be able to get a seat for the men's game and so so I was played before before four house when Carcineman came to town and it's so funny to think is all the way back to my college days in the 60s Carcineman was the rifle for the man I mean I guess you know of course today I don't get to go to as many games as I used to but watching this is amazing and were they pretty much your biggest trial or not necessarily they were they were they were at that time they were much better than we were to be quite honest it took us a little while to develop to get to the the point where we needed to be competitive with them but we had several good rivals within the

20:01conference because at that time Carcineman was in the conference with us along with Tuscalum and King Milligan who still is so Lee was at that time and so we had some some good rivalries but yes no question that Carcineman was our biggest. How many times did you take the things let's back up one step you coached a total of how many years it was 24 basketball 24 basketball okay and and we get into other duties in just say in those years how many times did you all go to the national seven times seven times good and and how far did you get we've got the sweet 16 three times okay good which I think is remarkable because nationally just some unbelievable talent as well teams that you could face was there ever anything is maybe an unfair question ever anything during a

21:04game that really could get under your skin I never really saw you angry I'd see you very animated but was there something at any particular points that would do that to you really get you frustrated with something other than referees you mean well I understand for sure good answers are good but from the team I mean I just and watching all these years I just felt you had been motivated into doing absolutely wonderful things played hard end to end you know 40 minutes boom just solid but was there anything that you can think that could frustrate you about a coaching career for quarter of a century no not really lack of effort would always be something that would frustrate me but very rarely that I have to worry about the amount of effort that that women would give now you you joined a pretty elite bunch tell the folks how many

22:10victories that you had during that time 510 I think total I know it was more than 500 I remember the 500 so that was that happened in the 24th year and I decided at that point it was time for me to to give up basketball anyway well that was my next question what brought you to that decision about ending that career just there was probably two main things I was tired each year got a little bit harder in terms of the last month of the season I got to the point where I sort of was counting down games that we had left and I knew that that was not the right attitude to have I need to be looking forward to the number of games that we had left not counting down how many and it was because of the grind at the level of Tennessee Westland especially at that time recruiting

23:13was done face to face very little recruiting's done face to face nowadays but I was on the road every Tuesday night in a high school somewhere I was on the road every Friday night in a high school somewhere we were playing at least two nights a week Saturday and either a Tuesday or Wednesday some weeks we'd play three games so there was it was five sometimes five nights a week but every week at least four nights a week and so over time I just got a little tire and number two the kids just changed I still had to passion to win and I'm not saying they didn't want to win because I think they did but they didn't take the losses near as hard as I did and I told everyone that when I came off I think it's time for me to give it up so I think the kids have changed too much that makes sense sure does and changed even more since you got it oh I'm sure so you retired in oh six I think oh six was my last year of basketball

24:21right and immediately started with coaching women's golf that same year at that time I was the athletic director and a young local man but then Bradley Sue a lot of people in there you will know Bradley and his dad Luke and Mother Branden Bradley was our men's and women's golf coach and Bradley left to take a position with Athens Federal in their computer department and so the president at that time indicated that we're not going to hire any more full-time golf coaches we'll just play somebody a stipend to do that Mike Poe was here and was coaching basketball Mike Poe was an outstanding coffer but had never coached women had no desire to coach women and so he indicated to me he said I'll be glad to take the men's team but I really don't think it's we fear the women or me if I took the women's team and so I made

25:24a decision which I could do as athletic director that I'd take women's golf and so the very next year after getting out of basketball I was back in the coaching and had women's golf team and and did that for 18 years hopefully not as intense with a number of matches versus games and all that I'm not near it's intense no 18 years go driving the van driving the van I did all the van driving up to the last tournament last day the last tournament and you were not paid by the mile you drove oh no fortunately oh my gosh that's while and remembering these folks and then who who was your assistant as you wrapped up women's basketball as Jeff Rice chef right coach Poe had been at David Crockett High School in Jonesboro coaching before he went to Science Hill he came from Science Hill in Johnson City to us but while he was at

26:27David Crockett Jeff Rice played for him played basketball for him in high school and he contacted me and said a heavy young man that I'd like for you to consider taking as a as a student coach and helping because he thinks he wants to coach one day and so Jeff came to school at Wesleyan and became my student assistant and did that for the four years that he was in school and Jeff hasn't left either he came here straight out of high school and he's still here amazing just wonderful so golf and then let's share with the folks because I'll tell you folks Stan has has been you know good solid Wesleyan you know through and through Wesleyan for life you know they talk about ball for life and all that but share with the folks from other positions that that you have come to hold at Wesleyan throughout this time though throughout the time

27:33that I was at Wesleyan I coached every year but one but I also held other positions you always had at least two jobs when I first came I taught health and physical education classes in 1986 then President Dr. Jim Cheek came to me and asked me if I would consider taking the Dean of Students position I had no idea what all that would entail I just knew it until to pay raise and my family needed to be a little more comfortable than what we wore at that time and so I accepted the position of Dean of Students and I was in that position for 10 years it was later elevated to vice president for student affairs but essentially the same job that's why he is still his vice president student affairs today after 10 years in that position Dr. James Dawson was the president Wayne Northley had

28:38been here and was athletic director and Wayne was leaving because his wife Lydia had taken position at Vanderbilt and Dr. Dawson asked me if I would consider moving from the Dean of Students position or VP for student affairs over to the athletic director position and I did that for 11 years so I was coaching and administrator for 21 years in those two positions I went from the athletic director's position to vice president for enrollment I was in charge of enrollment financial aid for seven years which time we were very successful in our recruiting we set some some Dean records they've now been broken but we set some attended records some enrollment records three times during the seven years that I was over there in that office not because of me but because the work of that staff that was over there and the outstanding job that they were doing I

29:44was in that position when I was asked to become the interim president which I did for 14 months that was the one year that that I did not coach I knew I could not coach it be president of the college and so that year coach RICE had taken basketball over for me and he also took women's golf that year as well that that was in the president's office and those and we can honestly say folks because I was on the board for roughly 20 years through a number of of changes and standard a remarkable job at that point because being an interim leader of a college is about as thankless as it can get pretty much and you don't have to comment on that but those of us on the board knew how hard you worked with that and and then as you go through these transitions you know finding presidents and doing all that and that's a whole other podcast we'll do at a different time but after that then you went back to what from the interim

30:51position for two years I began a position for Dr. Knowles that was the liaison between the college and hosting conference of the United Methodist Church budget constraints were such that they eliminated that position and so at that point I went to part-time and I just did women's golf did that until tell my retirement in G and your retirement June of this year this year June 30th 2025 congratulations thank you two months into retirement this is awesome and he'll have plenty to do tell the folks about family they've got grand-youngers I do got two children those two children were probably the main reason that that we were willing to to take the gamble and the risk to make the move because we

31:52really thought Athens was a much better place to raise our two children than the Knoxville small town environment and a school system with an excellent reputation and so it made it easy for us to make that decision in terms of the children a little harder for one than the other because Chris was just entering the third grade so he had a bit of a history but it was Jennifer's first year in school first year in kindergarten and so it was easy for her she hadn't been in school before so I had two children Chris and Jennifer Chris lives in Nashville he is chief a CEO chief executive officer for quorum health care they pretty big operation proud of him he's been extremely successful and they they've got hospitals in 14 different states and her headquartered in Brentwood Tennessee his four children Jacob just graduated with an engineering degree from the

32:57University Alabama Huntsville this past May but is continuing in graduate school working on a master's in analytics his next is Taylor Taylor is a rising junior at Samford University in Birmingham Todd is his next and Todd will be a senior he's a rising senior at prosperous year in academy in in Nashville area and his youngest is Cooper and Cooper's going into the seventh grade my daughter Jennifer is a teacher Jennifer stayed in Athens and teaches fourth grade at Athens City intermediate school she two has four children two sets of twins oldest two just graduated high school one will be a freshman at Belmont this fall and the other will be a freshman at each Tennessee State this fall it I think they're beginning to have a little bit of separation anxiety those two have been very close for 18 years and so I think it's

33:59going to be as difficult on them as is for their mother to be going off to school and she has a younger set of twins boys that are in eighth grade at Athens City Middle School wow goodness gracious she's she's an excellent mother and an outstanding teacher very proud of absolutely absolutely they were just a lot of that she's in in the system and then brag on Debbie some because she's been this whole time here oh Debbie's the the soldier behind all this so I mentioned all the travel I did I tell people all time Debbie did an outstanding job raising two children because I was absent quite a bit during during school year traveling around I would take Chris with me anytime that I could but she herself had an outstanding career in education she as I said indicated she's got several degrees she started out with a degree in interior design then went back and got a certification in art

35:04education taught art for a while then got elementary ed certification and taught was teaching middle school the very year that I decided to take this job she had decided to take a lead from teaching Debbie is an outstanding seamstress and while she was teaching was making custom drapery and so she decided to try to do custom draper full time and so she had gotten out of teaching at the same time that I came here and that's what made it extremely tough that's why she told me she said well you're going to need to drive back and forth for at least one year we need to make sure that financially this is going to work and that this is what you really want to do and so one year became two because it took us another year to sell our house in West Knoxville before we moved down here we didn't actually move to Athens until the summer of 1984 but soon after coming here she began substitute teaching she took an interim position in the

36:09library at north city elementary school and Luke Sue saw the value in her and offered her position teaching and in all Debbie was a teacher and principal after teaching for almost 30 years and she was principal for seven years at north city and then for came back out of retirement at Robert Green's insistence to be the principal at Eagle sign for three years and so she had well over 30 years of experience in the in the system herself and is still working in Athens City system she is helping coordinate special education in both the primary and intermediate school. I'm believe you talk about two folks that hard workers great families that's just a super story I mean to do that and for those of us that have known you all all these years since you came

37:12just fantastic stuff I'm I'm glad you're at that retirement place Debbie will get there you know that it's on point oh she's she's retired three times I know it's not permanent no that's what I'm saying she'll get the permanent retirement one of these days it'll hit and for all of us you know it goes through retirement I looked at it standing the other day the end of this September I will have been retired from medicine for 10 years an entire decade like yourself however there are many things that go on that you continue to do and and I've been blessed to help former patients you coordinate you know visits with docs that I've known things like that so you can stay active in the devil in it but not in an office setting so as you look at that so you will not be unretiring at this moment though absolutely not okay no I've got I've got plenty to do I had somebody asked me about Debbie's to do list Debbie is not giving me a to-do list honey do

38:13list I had a long enough list of my own of things that needed to be done around my house to be done around Jennifer's house and so the best part is I take them at my place good good which is the perfect thing and stands a pretty good country golfer too he won't remember this but I think I played in a force and with him a couple of times and he was so patient and kind with me I could kind of put some but the rest of the golf course was just totally useless and so I finally actually gave up in these tournaments even driving the ball there was no reason to even cast a drive and I just loved it it was one less stroke I had to worry about hitting doing something else but really really good with that now Stan I asked people this a good bit and have been doing this last few months when you look at your your lengthy wonderful career and go back say that that college

39:16student that you've been around these college kids the majority of your professional life they come here and they say well coaching I'm thinking about a career in education and I also may want to look at coaching what kind of advice do you sit down and give that student to look at you know kind of the the big picture of doing that these days in 2025 the only thing that I'm I ask that they make sure that that's really what they want to do that they have a love for for kids okay for the students that they're going to be coaching and a passion for for coaching itself I occasionally see what I think our teachers who don't really love kids if you don't love children you don't need to be in education and so they need to be in it for the right reasons and so I talk to them about about that very thing make sure that's what you've really got a passion for

40:20because the money's never going to be there the rewards come from for the growth that you see in the relationships that you develop with those young people that you coach and help and so make sure that that's where your passion really lies and that's really what you want to do and if it is then give it everything that you got outstanding advice I found out guys two years ago Stan I was talking to one of our city principals with with with our elementary program and she was telling me that the actual longevity these days for someone in say K through six maybe K through five is only around 10 years does that sound right make sure that that doesn't surprise me I didn't surprise I think there's there is quite a bit of burnout in teaching and I think a lot of it is being numbers driven you know everything seems to depend on test scores and growth and results rather

41:30than than what development the child has made other than just in test scores and that's something that we have learned comes from state level you know guidance and things and that that makes me sad when I see that I think about my kids growing up in the health and system and how wonderful so many of their teachers were all the way through what to make men county high had had great experiences there and it just really kind of saddens me to think that they forced that and to think that they would be changing careers what each 30 is 32 I mean you know they get out and do that you're not that if so tough well it's just been the life of a heavy with me and we'll get you back for a second cast as you get retirement under your belt for about a year and see what the differences could be you know at that point in time and I think the biggest thing you know that

42:34you look at like that and oh yeah I meant to ask because you still do things in the community though you're on some boards too right I'm still I just recently began my dabble in politics if you want to call it a dazzle because I did not campaign but yeah but I was elected to the Athens City School Board last November and so I'm in my first year on Athens City School Board and enjoying that experience very much well I'm excited to see you there and as an aside folks I was actually you know kind of working the election when Stan got elected I saw his name on the ballot and I said no no no this is not I understand Harrison because like you say you're dabbling and you you jumped in there didn't campaign a whole didn't have to because people knew you and then when I found out he got elected I was ecstatic to see that because we have an outstanding school board you know in both arms of city and county so yeah thank you for doing that it's

43:36and that that can be a very interesting concept as you look at that education in general that is David give you advice before boarding me no okay good should not probably have to do that and then we had you all had hired a young man that came back that I just had on podcast Joe Barnett and I also felt guilty and said on the podcast he was only a year ahead of my daughter Lauren should an owning back then because I thought I knew just about all the kids in that group and and did not but I was delighted to visit with him and talk about things that are occurring in the system itself so he was doing Joe doing that standing job really good to have him back in the community yes and he's got a real love and passion for for what he's doing well in that that's the thing I love love your comments you've got to have the passion for doing these things and passions are great words you got to have but anything else you want to say is we wrap it up I don't think so I do appreciate being here and I'm glad I could spend some time with him

44:40same thing always good to catch up glad to have you with us and and look forward to doing this again in the future and folks as I say to each and every one of you have a safe and healthy day and I'll see you further up the road and I'll see you further up the road