University of Tennessee Athletics
Lettermen's T-Club to Honor Four Saturday
September 21, 2017 | General
Haslam, Irwin, Postell-Gee and Wilson to be celebrated
The University Tennessee Lettermen's "T" Club is officially honoring four distinguished members of the Volunteer family during its annual Lettermen's dinner Friday night, Sept. 29, at The Standard. Prior to that, a special on-field recognition will take place during this Saturday's Tennessee-UMass football game at Neyland Stadium.
The club is granting Honorary Membership status to Natalie Haslam, Joy Postell-Gee and Rita Wilson. Honorary membership to the "T"?Club may be bestowed on an individual for outstanding achievement reflecting favorably on the University of Tennessee and specifically its men's and/or women's athletic programs. Nominees shall not have been a letterman in any sport at the University of Tennessee and shall not have been previously awarded this distinction. The award is considered the club's highest honor.
The T-Club also is honoring football VFL Tim Irwin with the 2017 Service Award. The T-club annually honors members whose service to the University, the Athletics Department and the community has highly distinguished themselves.
NATALIE HASLAM*
Natalie Haslam was a former UT "Miss Tennessee" and was an Arts and Sciences graduate from of the University of Tennessee in 1952. She has served on numerous boards, been a member of the Tennessee Arts commission and president of the Tennessee Presidents Trust. She and her husband, Jim, have donated tens of millions of dollars to the university and its athletic programs over the years. However, Jim and Natalie Haslam's gift of $32.5 million in 2006, which represented the school's largest gift ever, was a shining light for Natalie. Part of this money was used to construct the new College of Business building, the James A. Haslam II Business Building, and part was used to construct a new building for the School of Music, which was named Natalie L. Haslam Music Center. The school of music teaches and trains the individuals that make up the "Pride of the Southland Marching Band" and pep bands that perform at many of the athletic events on campus. These musicians contribute much to the overall Tennessee gameday experience and are wonderful ambassadors for the university. Natalie's dedication to the arts, and especially to music, was a big factor in making the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center a reality.*Haslam's Honorary Member status will be celebrated during the 2017-18 basketball season; she will not be present for Saturday's on-field recognition at Neyland Stadium.
RITA WILSON
Rita Wilson, a 44-year employee of the Athletics Department, retired last June as Administrative Secretary for the Athletic Director. Wilson, a graduate of Oak Ridge High School in 1969, attended the University of Tennessee before embarking on her working career at UT. First, in 1970, as she served as secretary for Dr. Kirk in the Health and Physical Education Department before moving to athletics in 1973 as secretary for Assistant Athletic Director Jim McDonald (as well as secretary for spring sports). An extremely capable employee, Wilson soon became a fixture at all Tennessee track meets as the secretarial meet coordinator. In January of 1986, she accepted the move to Administrative Secretary for Athletic Director Doug Dickey and served in that capacity also for Mike Hamilton, Joan Cronan and Dave Hart until her retirement. One of her primary tasks, among many others during her role with the athletic director, was bowl game coordinator for UT's "official party." Her daughter, Jennifer, was a student assistant in the Sports Information office under Haywood Harris and Bud Ford from 1994-98. Rita, who loves to read and garden as well, has three grandchildren: Avan (10), Kearny (8) and Maeve (5) who reside in Atlanta with Jennifer and her husband, Chris Prindiville.
JOY POSTELL-GEE
There's no down time in the "spirit world" inhabited by Joy Postell-Gee. As coordinator of UT's Spirit Squad, she oversees the year-round activities of more than a hundred cheerleaders, dance team members, mascots, Smokey dog handlers and spring sports ambassadors. In addition to all the normal pressures of university life, Spirit Squad members appear at hundreds of events each year. Postell-Gee was hired in 1992 by Assistant Athletics Director Col. Gene Moeller as UT's first cheerleading coach. The job has evolved into a full-time position that oversees all aspects of the spirit program, which now includes the dance team as well. The cheerleading squad consists of 32 students, half of them female, half male, while the dance team has 18 members. Five additional squad members serve as mascots: Smokey, Junior Smokey, The Volunteer and understudy positions. Students also serve as handlers for Smokey the dog during public performances. Although the cheer team has posted several national runner-up titles, the mascot and dance teams have accumulated eight combined national championships under Postell-Gee's direction. Unmatched by any other NCAA spirit program to date, Tennessee in 2007 produced two national championships (dance and mascot) and a runner-up finish (cheer) in the same year. Postell-Gee earned a bachelor's degree in English from Western Carolina University and a master's degree in English from UT. Early in her career, she volunteered on the coaching staff at NC State, and then in Georgia, where she also coached high school cheerleading for seven years. Back in Knoxville, she worked at the Knoxville Gymnastics Training Center and started the first local all-star cheerleading team, the Knoxville Cheer Stars. She and her husband, Robert Franklin Gee, have a son, Robert.
TIM IRWIN - SERVICE AWARD WINNER
Tim Irwin, currently a judge for the Knox County Juvenile Court, was a standout offensive tackle for the Volunteers from 1978-80, earning first-team All-SEC honors in 1980. Irwin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee in 1980 and was selected by Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played pro football as an offensive tackle for 14 years, 12 of which were with the Minnesota Vikings, along with stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins. For a portion of that time, he also attended law classes and received his law degree, passing the bar exam in 1990 (he continued to play football through the 1994 season). Irwin began practicing law in 1990 and opened his own law firm in 2000, specializing in criminal defense, juvenile justice, personal injury and sports law. He was appointed to his current position of judge in the Knox County Juvenile Court in 2005.
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