Where in the World is Smokey?

Smokey Visits France and Ireland

2009-08-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Courtney Holder is a UT Knoxville senior majoring in communication studies.

“I was able to spend last semester studying abroad in Chambéry, France, and, of course, I wanted to take Smokey along on some of my adventures!

“It was my first time out of the country and I was able to spend five exciting months learning, engaging and experiencing all sorts of new things!”

She sent two photos:

The first photo was taken at Mont Blanc.

“My university in France was located in the Alps region, so I was sure to take many opportunities to see the scenery and snowboard at several of the nearby ski stations. In this picture, I am with friend and fellow UT student -- Heather Bayko -- who came to visit while also studying in France. Among the beautiful landscape behind us, you can see Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. I guess you could officially say that Smokey has now been snowboarding in the Alps as well!”

The second photo was taken in front of the Cliffs of Moher.

“During a St. Patrick’s Day trip to Ireland, some other study abroad students and I took a six-hour bus ride through the countryside to the west coast and the spectacular Cliffs of Moher. It was well worth the view and wildlife we saw there!”

Military Coup Doesn’t Stop Smokey!

2009-08-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Cindy Stockdale is a 1990 graduate of UT Knoxville and now works as director of accounts payable in the UT Treasurer’s Office.

Her photo is from Roatan, Honduras.

“Even a military coup could not keep Smokey out! My husband, daughter and I went to Roatan on vacation. They went for scuba diving, and I went for snorkeling (and just relaxing!). One month before we were scheduled to leave the military threw their president out of the country! We saw a few of the troops at the airport when we landed but were not on the mainland so there was no other evidence of any problems.“

Hola, Volunteers!

2009-08-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Kim Hinchey, an interpreter at UT Knoxville, recently took Smokey to Tegicugalpa, Honduras.

“We were there to work with sign language interpreters to better provide services for the many deaf Hondurans,” she said. “We also visited Manos Felices (Happy Hands), a school for deaf children. While there, we worked with the teachers to help them enhance their teaching methods for deaf students.”

The first photo was taken in the Valley of the Angels and the other was taken at the school with maestros (teachers) Ramon and Anny.

“The people of Honduras were very gracious. Smokey and I have found a second home,” she added.

Too Much History to “Miss.’

2009-08-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Lauren Herbstritt, director of annual giving and alumni affairs at UT Knoxville’s College of Law, sent this photo taken in front of playwright Tennessee Williams’ house in Columbus, Miss.

“A few notable things about Columbus,” she wrote. “It has the most antebellum homes on the National Historic Registry in the country.

“It is also the birthplace of Memorial Day. Four young women went to Friendship Cemetery and decorated both the confederate and union soldiers’ graves. The union soldiers have since been moved up north, but the compassionate act is remembered each year with a candlelight tour of the cemetery.

“Columbus, Miss., is also home to Mississippi University for Women, the first, public all-women college in the nation.”

Herbstritt and her husband, Chris, a 2004 graduate of UT Knoxville’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource, visited Columbus for the annual Market Street Festival.

It’s all Greek to Smokey

2009-08-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

Craig Watts is a 1988 alumnus of UT-Knoxville. He now works as an environmental engineer in Charlotte, N.C.

He’s pictured at Aggelokastro (Angel’s Castle) on the Greek island of Corfu.

“The Aggelokastro was a fortress believed to have built in the 13th century to repel attacks from Venetians and African pirates,” he wrote.

UT's 'Where in the World is Smokey?' Completes Worldwide Trek

2009-08-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Click image to view larger

This summer, Smokey crossed the finish line in his worldwide trek called "Where in the World is Smokey?"

The "Where in the World is Smokey?" challenge debuted two years ago as a way to draw attention to Ready for the World: The International and Intercultural Initiative at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Smokey has visited all seven continents, 55 countries and now, after stopping in Mississippi, all 50 states.

Students, faculty, staff and alumni were offered free T-shirts to wear as they traveled. Participants then submitted photos of their adventures to UT. Hundreds of photos have been posted on the Ready for the World Web site and can be viewed at http://whereintheworldissmokey.blogspot.com/.

"'Where in the World is Smokey?' has been a huge hit with our university family and really helped us spread the word about Ready for the World," said Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Sarah Gardial. "Smokey has traveled the globe and given our university family a chance to share stories about their adventures—and also talk to people around the world about the great things going on here at UT Knoxville."

"Where in the World is Smokey?" concluded his global adventure this summer when Smokey finally visited his 50th state—Mississippi. (Submissions must be received by the end of this week to be posted on the Web site.)

The first person to submit a photo from Mississippi was Marshall Ramsey, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Ramsey is a 1991 graduate of UT's College of Business Administration and worked as a cartoonist for The Daily Beacon. His Beacon work earned him the John Locher Memorial Award, the top prize awarded to college editorial cartoonists.

After learning that his photo from Vicksburg—home of the Vicksburg National Battlefield—completed Smokey's worldwide trek, Ramsey created a special cartoon for "Where in the World is Smokey?"

"With 'Where in the World is Smokey?' wrapping up, now we're ready to take the Smokey program a step further," Gardial said. "In the next few days, we'll introduce a new challenge that capitalizes UT's volunteer spirit and also underscores this year's Ready for the World theme of 'Our World in Need,' with a special focus on the issue of poverty."

The goal of Ready for the World is to support the culture of diversity on campus that best prepares students for working and competing in the 21st century. The initiative involves increasing the diversity among students, faculty and staff; infusing the curriculum with international and intercultural perspectives; encouraging faculty to incorporate international and intercultural aspects in all of their courses; expanding study-abroad and work-study opportunities; and encouraging students to make these opportunities a key part of their UT experience.

Smokey Completes His U.S. Trek with Visit to Mississippi!

2009-08-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

Marshall Ramsey is a 1991 graduate of UT’s College of Business Administration. Once a cartoonist for The Daily Beacon, Ramsey is now a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist who works for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

The Ramsey family – Marshall and wife, Amy, and children, David, Daniel and Evan -- recently took Smokey to Vicksburg, Miss., home of the Vicksburg National Battlefield, lots of casinos and the Mississippi River.

Featured in the photos are the new and old Vicksburg River bridges, the Ramsey family in front the bridges, Marshall Ramsey in front of the Welcome to Mississippi sign, and a sign talking about the siege of Vicksburg.

Ramsey said his great-great-grandfather, J.C. Eckles, fought at Vicksburg before becoming a Methodist circuit rider in North Mississippi. He later moved to Maryville, where Ramsey’s family is from.

One Trip, Many Stops

2009-08-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

Dawn Blaylock is a 1991 graduate of the UT-Memphis College of Pharmacy. She did her pre-pharmacy work at UT Chattanooga.

Blaylock and her husband took Smokey with them on a multi-state vacation.

The first photo is from Spartan Municipal Stadium in Portsmouth, Ohio. It was home to one of the first NFL night games ever played (in 1930) and one of the oldest NFL stadiums still around. The Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit and became today’s Detroit Lions.

The second photo is from the AMA Motorcycle Museum in Pickerington, Ohio. The museum features motorcycles belonging to famous folks, including actor Tom Cruise and country singer Keith Urban. Also host to a display called Awesome-Ness showing the custom work of famed motorcycle builder Arlen Ness.

The third photo is of the Longaberger Baskets corporate office building, which looks just like a giant basket.

The fourth photo is of the Presque Isle Lighthouse in Presque Isle State Park, just outside of Erie, Pa.

The last photo was taken in front of American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

Lagniappe in Louisiana

2009-07-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Jessica Sanders is senior at UT Knoxville majoring in sociology with a minor in American studies.

She wrote: “I took Smokey on vacation with me to New Orleans, Louisiana. The picture is of St. Louis Cathedral in the historical Jackson Square.”

Both Sides of the Pond

2009-07-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Roseanne (Blakely) Adams graduated from UT Knoxville in 1976.

She recently sent photos from two different trips. The first photo was taken at Stonehenge in England during a church choir trip. The second photo was taken on Becket Mountain in Massachusetts, during a hike along the Appalachian Trail.

Statues, History and Big Wooden Shoes

2009-07-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Pierce graduated from UT Knoxville in 2003 with a degree in history. She teaches high school at Hardin Valley Academy in Knoxville.

“Every summer I take a group of students through the People to People Student Ambassador Program on trips around the world. The students are from all over East Tennessee,” she said.

She sent these three photos, taken during her 2009 People to People trip. The first is from the Manneken Pis Statue in Brussels, Belgium; the second is at Clara Marie Farm in Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the third is at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Soaring in the Thai Rainforest

2009-07-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

Benjamin F. Woods graduated from UT Knoxville in 1977 with a degree in sociology. Woods is finishing up a three-year assignment as an NGO Consultant with the Bangalore Baptist Hospital in Bangalore, India.

In this photo, Woods and his wife, Carolyn, are at Flight of the Gibbon, Chaing Mai, Thailand. At Flight of the Gibbon, visitors can take a zip-line canopy tour through pristine, 1,500-year-old rainforest.

Soakin’ Up Sun

2009-07-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Keith M. Jenkins received his bachelor’s degree from UT Knoxville in 1974. He is now a consultant in fire planning, preparedness and management in Asheville, N.C.

He sent this photo from a trip he and his wife took to the eastern Caribbean to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary.

“This photo was on Half Moon Cay with great weather and beautiful water,” he wrote.

Soaking up South American Culture

2009-07-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Boyles is the business office manager for the University of Tennessee Space Institute. She has been with the UT Space Institute since 1987.

“I took a trip to South America in March-April 2009 and visited Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil,” she wrote.

The first photo was taken at Machu Picchu in Peru.

The second photo was taken at Devil’s Throat at Iguassu Falls in Argentina. Iguazu Falls are one of the world’s largest waterfalls. They extend nearly two miles in a semi-circular shape. Of the 275 falls that make up Iguassu Falls, “Devil’s Throat” is the tallest at 80 meters. The falls are on the border of Brazil and Argentina are surrounded by two National Parks, both subtropical rainforests that contain many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.

“We took a boat ride under the falls, and we got soaked,” Boyles wrote. “What a blast!”

The third photo was taken on Sugar Loaf Mountain with Rio’s Copacabana Beach in the background.

Smokey Cruises to Canada

2009-06-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Mary Mahoney, is a 1976 UT Knoxville alumna and is now assistant director of UT Career Services.

She sent her husband, Ken, a 1974 alumnus of UT Knoxville, recently took a cruise through eastern Canada on Holland America’s Maasdam ship. They sent photos from their trip.

The first photo was taken in front of the government house in Quebec City, Canada.

The second photo was taken in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in front of the lighthouse in Peggy’s Cove.

“We had to stand in front of the lighthouse because it was so windy and cold you needed to use it as protection against the weather,” Many Mahoney wrote. “Temperatures dropped into the low 40s and strong winds made it tricky to walk on the rocks at Peggy’s Cove.”

Smokey on a Mission

2009-06-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Several UT students and alumni were part of a 14-member mission team to Budapest, Hungary, in May 2009.

“Our group from First United Methodist Church in Knoxville worked with Youth with a Mission in Budapest, and in this photo we are on the third-floor balcony of the YWAM residence in the city,” wrote Jamie Bouldin, who will graduate in August from UT’s college student personnel master’s program. “During the week we did a number of mission projects, in addition to just enjoying the amazing, beautiful city!”

Pictured, left to right, are: Chelsie Nunn, senior in art education/studio painting; Brandon Sneed, junior in mechanical engineering; Chelsea Highsmith, senior in accounting; Bouldin; Andrea Haney, 2004 psychology graduate; Ragan Oliver, sophomore in philosophy.

Smokey Runs for the Roses

2009-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Debbie Childress Youngman received her bachelor’s degree in education from UT Knoxville in 1970 and her master’s of library science degree in 1975. She is now the media coordinator for Dillard Elementary School in the Rockingham County School District in Madison, N.C.

She sent this photo from a soggy Churchill Downs where she attended the 2009 Kentucky Derby in May.

Smokey Visits the Big Easy

2009-06-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

Barbara M Piskur works in IRIS Administrative Support at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

“Here are my photos of Smokey in Louisiana--New Orleans, to be specific,” she wrote. “Last week I visited family. New Orleans is my home town. We played tourist by visiting Jackson Square and St Louis Cathedral, the French Market and a Cajun Zydeco festival. Smokey loved it all!”

Smokey in Afghanistan

2009-06-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Heather Drieling earned her master’s degree in material science in 2006.

She sent this photo of Smokey participating in Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.

“I was deployed with my Air National Guard Unit to Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan,” she wrote. “I brought Smokey along and one of my friends took this picture of me in front of the Camp Cunningham sign.”

Aloha, Smokey!

2009-06-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Pat Payne graduated from UT Knoxville in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She earned her master’s degree in planning in 1988 and now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Tom Payne graduated from UT Knoxville in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in business and now works part-time at a local cyber security business.

They sent these photos from a May 2009 trip to Maui, Hawaii.

The first photo is of Pat at the black beach at Waianapanapa State Park in Hana. The second photo is of Tom snorkeling at Molokini on the Paragon sailboat.

Smokey Cruisin' in West Virginia

2009-06-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey Powviriya earned his MBA from UT Knoxville in 2005. He is a material manager for the U.S. Air Force.

“This photo was taken on I-79 entering West Virginia from Pennsylvania, near Mount Morris, Pa., and approaching Morgantown, W.V.,” he wrote.

Powviriya earned his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University.

Smokey Goes to the Moo Fest

2009-06-04T05:53:00.000-07:00

Sarah Johnson graduated from UT Knoxville in August 2007 with a master’s degree in extension education. She’s worked with UT Extension for six years as an Extension Agent II. She is based in McMinn County.

In this photo, she’s at the National Moo Fest, in Athens, Tenn.

Smokey Studies International Business

2009-06-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

A group of UT students traveled to Bulgaria in May on an experiential international business class led by Associate Professor Detelin Elenkov from the College of Business Administration. This photo was just outside of Sophia, Bulgaria.

Smokey Cruises to Central America

2009-05-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Emily Williamson, of Cosby, Tenn., will be a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the fall of 2009. She plans to major in marketing and international business and minor in Spanish.

She went to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Guatemala during spring break 2009 and sent these three photos.

Smokey Finds Adventure in Alaska

2009-05-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Denis’ Thomas is a doctoral student and educational psychology instructor at UT Knoxville.

She wrote: “Smokey went with me to Washington state to visit my husband’s family in the Seattle area and then on to Alaska, where we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary.

“The first photo is on the ferry from Seattle to Bain Bridge Island. You can see the Space Needle in the background. Smokey also went whale watching and saw a pod of orca whales, bald eagles, seals and lots of other wildlife.

“The second photo is at Totem Bight Historical State Park, near Ketchikan, Alaska. Smokey learned about native culture, storytelling and met some very interesting people—even fellow Tennesseans. Ketchikan is a very dog-friendly town and surrounded by mountains, so he was right at home.”

Smokey Goes on a European Tour

2009-05-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Suzy Davis and her husband, Craig, and their son, Colin, have been living in Ehrendingen, Switzerland, for the past 14 months and are taking advantage of traveling around Europe.

Craig graduated from UT Chattanooga in 1998 with bachelor’s degree in business and 2004 with a MBA. Suzy graduated from UT Chattanooga in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary education and in 2008 with a master’s degree in education.

“We’re UT fans and just wanted to participate in taking Smokey on our travels,” Suzy Davis wrote.

She sent five photos. The first is from Vienna, Austria; the second from Prague, Czechoslovakia; the third from Paris, France; the fourth from Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the fifth from Zurich, Switzerland.

Smokey Sees Hurricane Restoration Projects

2009-05-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

Blake Reagan of Seymour, Tenn., earned his bachelor’s degree from UT Knoxville in 2004 and his law degree in 2006.

He is a contract analyst in UT’s treasurer’s office.

Reagan and his mother, Debra Reagan, who also works at UT Knoxville, at the Social Work Office of Research & Public Services (SWORPS), sent these photos from a trip to Louisiana in the spring of 2009.

“Recently, my dad moved to New Orleans for a job and he will be there for at least one year,” Blake Reagan wrote. “He’s working on some construction projects near New Orleans to help prevent major damage from future hurricanes.”

The first photo is of Debra Reagan near the Hurricane Risk Reduction Project construction site at the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal. This project is part of the closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a shipping channel from the Gulf of Mexico that carried a surge of water that broke a levee and flooded St. Bernard Parish and the surrounding area during Hurricane Katrina.

The second photo is of Debra Reagan standing near Lake Pontchartrain in Slidell, La.

Smokey Helps Out

2009-05-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Garrett Crawford of Cedar Hill, Tenn., is a senior at UT Knoxville majoring in electrical engineering.

He sent this photo taken at an elementary School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

“I spent a week helping out a missionary family at the Haiti Gospel Mission complex in Port-au-Prince,” he wrote. “Activities included building relationships with the local villages and helping with construction projects.”

Smokey Likes the "Oranger" Crowd!

2009-05-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

A group of Lady Vols fans from the Cornhusker State sent this photo taken in Grand Island, Neb.

“Given the fact that Nebraska is hugely agricultural, we just stopped by a local implement dealer and hopped on a tractor,” wrote Jane Thorngren. “We chose a New Holland tractor since we have a very large Case New Holland plant here in Grand Island.”

Pictured are front, from left: Tina Reichert, on tire; Gail Yenny and Julie Stutzman, holding sign; Kelly Clapp; Thorngren; and, in back, Stacia Mason and Linda Oakley.

“Our connection with Tennessee originally was through Lady Vol basketball. A couple of us went to the final four in Kansas City in 1998 and we were all fans at that time, but had no idea how hard the Tennessee basketball bug was about to bite,” she wrote.

“On return from this unbelievable adventure...people came out of the woodwork who had found out that we were Tennessee fans. From this point on, there were Tennessee parties and gatherings that would rival the ones that go on down in Knoxville. Everyone’s wardrobes have become a lot ‘oranger’ —if that’s a word.”

Smokey Tours the Iowa State Capitol

2009-05-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Johnathan Luster graduated from UT Knoxville in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. Originally from Church Hill, Tenn., he now lives in Portland, Ore.

“I work at Portland State University with New Student Programs. I will be coordinating new student week, family programming and helping to train the orientation staff,” he wrote.

Luster traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, for a wedding in the spring of 2009 and sent this photo of himself with his partner, Jason Luttrell, in front of the Iowa state capitol.

Smokey Goes Bird Watching

2009-05-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

Stephen Wust graduated from UT Knoxville in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in geology. He went on to earn his doctorate in geology from the University of Arizona.

Wust and his wife, Lee, live in Santa Fe, N.M.; he is on the faculty at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola.

Wust sent this photo from the Snake River Birds of Prey Conservation Area.

Bonjour Smokey!

2009-04-21T06:17:00.001-07:00

Polly Anna Harris received a master’s degree in mathematics degree from UT Knoxville in 1968, and she served as a part-time instructor of mathematics until 1995.

Harris took Smokey to the Eiffel Tower after cruising the Seine River from Normandy on the M/S Bizet.

Smokey Travels the Southwest

2009-04-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Christian Marin graduated from UT Knoxville in the spring of 2008.

“Shortly after graduation I took an impromptu road trip with a friend, going from Utah to New Mexico, Colorado and back to Tennessee,” he said.

He sent photos from three of their stops: Roswell, N.M; NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas; and Arches National Park in Utah.

Some people believe a UFO crashed in Roswell, N.M. in the 1940s and the space ship and alien bodies were recovered, and the U.S. military covered up the incident. Since then, Roswell’s UFO stories have become a famous part of pop culture, and the city hosts a UFO festival each July 4 weekend.

Arches National Park preserves more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches.

Since his trip, Marin has continued to be on the move: “After graduation I moved to the flat lands of Indiana. Currently I’m in Afghanistan, so surrounded by mountains I’m no longer homesick.”

He added, “I hope all is well in Knoxville, I miss it terribly.”

Smokey Explores the Middle East

2009-04-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Johnson is an alumna of UT Knoxville. She is pictured here with (on right) her brother-in-law, Dusty Johnson, also a UT alumnus and former UT baseball pitcher, and (on left) her husband, Casey Johnson, also a UT alumnus.

They are at the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman, Jordan.

“We, along with 34 other people from Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Knoxville, spent two weeks in Israel and three days in Jordan on a historical geography study tour with Jerusalem University College,” she wrote.

Smokey Hikes the Trails of Idaho

2009-04-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

Laurel Davidson is the daughter of P. Michael Davidson, professor of food microbiology and head of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Linda Davidson, vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs for the University of Tennessee.

“This picture of Smokey was taken at one of the entrances to the Boise National Forest outside Boise, Idaho, in April 2009,” Davidson said.

“I’ve lived in Boise for five years,” she added. “This picture was taken on the way to Bogus Basin, a favorite local ski area which is 16 miles outside and (at the summit) more than 4,000 feet above downtown Boise. During the spring and summer months, the Bogus Basin area and the Boise National Forest are home to many of my favorite hiking and dog-walking trails. I often enjoy taking my dog, Phoebe, who is also a big fan of Smokey.”

Smokey Cruises to Tortola

2009-04-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

Barry Huffstetler graduated from UT Knoxville in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He is now retired and lives in Coral Springs, Fla.

Huffstetler and his wife, Carol, sent this photo from Tortola, British West Indies, where they visited while on a cruise.

Smokey Gets Thirsty in Nevada

2009-04-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

Aimee Ruzicka graduated from UT Knoxville in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in history and in 1974 with a master’s degree in library science. A retired law librarian, she now lives in Nesquehoning, Pa., in the southern Poconos.

While traveling around Lake Tahoe in March 2009, Aimee and her husband, Richard, wandered into a town named Genoa. Genoa is the oldest town in Nevada, with the first settlers arriving in 1851. It was the setting for the movie “Misery,” with Kathy Bates and James Caan. During the movie shoot, the town’s population more than doubled, from 225 to over 500. Aimee is standing in front of the Genoa Bar and Saloon, Nevada’s oldest “thirst parlor.” It is heated with a wood-burning stove and in the winter local patrons often arrive with firewood to barter for a drink. Past imbibers include Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Carol Lombard, Clark Gable, Lauren Bacall, Richard Boone, Ron Howard, Red Skelton, Cliff Robertson, John Wayne, Johnny Cash, Clint Eastwood and every single Nevada governor. When Raquel Welch visited she was asked to leave her bra (there were many already hanging here and there.) She agreed but insisted that all the other bras be taken down, and they were. You can still see her black leopard print bra hanging on the antlers of one of the mounted deer heads.

Smokey Visits Two States at Once

2009-04-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

Aimee and her husband, Richard, were skiing in March at the Heavenly Ski Resort at Lake Tahoe. The resort is divided, half in California and half in Nevada, as is the lake.

In the first picture, with the help of the ski patrol, Aimee attempted to put her left foot in Nevada and her right foot in California.

The second picture is on Lake Tahoe, looking back at a portion of the ski resort. With the help of the captain and his GPS unit, Aimee said she attempted to have this photo taken at the moment the bow of the boat was in California and the stern was in Nevada.

Smokey Flies High

2009-04-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey Powviriya graduated from UT Knoxville in 2005 with his MBA. He is now a material manager with the U.S. Air Force.

He sent this photo from his visit to Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

Smokey Goes South of the Border

2009-04-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Aimee and her husband visited Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico in February. This village is north of Puerto Vallarta. This picture was taken beside a large water slide alligator which both kids and adults enjoyed as a way to “blast” into the swimming pool.(Smokey took a pass on this scary ride.)

Smokey's Livin' on Tulsa Time

2009-03-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey A. Nichols earned his doctorate in mathematics from UT Knoxville in 2008. He now lives in Knoxville and works at Oak Ridge National Lab on a post-doc research assignment in carbon-cycle research.

He sent this photo from a visit to Oklahoma in March 2009.

“The Council Oak is considered the birthplace of Tulsa,” he said. “It is the tree that is directly behind my head.

“I was born and raised in Tulsa until I was 13 when we moved back down the Trail of Tears to Alabama. For this recent trip we were returning home for my grandmother’s 90th birthday.

“I remembered going to this tree when I was a kid.”

Here’s a blurb about the tree taken from http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Tulsa-History.html:

“In 1836 Archie Yahola, a full-blood Creek, presided over the region’s first council meeting, held under an oak tree that came to be known as the Council Oak. The tree still stands in Tulsa’s Creek Nation Council Oak Park.

“The settlement convened at the Council Oak was first named Tallassee-Lochapoka, for the Alabama regions the Creeks had left behind; eventually it became known as Tulsey--or Tulsee--Town. The name Tulsa became official for the settlement in 1879 with the establishment of the post office, which also marked the beginning of Tulsa as an economic force in the area. When a railroad connection reached Tulsa in 1882, the town began to supply beef and other staples to the East, South, and Midwest. Ranching and farming--mostly by Creeks or Cherokees--flourished. Tulsa grew steadily and became incorporated as a municipality on January 18, 1898.”

The round apartment building in the background was in the 1983 movie adaptation of “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton. This movie featured several young actors including Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise.

Visiting a Former President's Childhood Home

2009-03-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sarah Gardial is vice provost for faculty affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has been UT since 1986 and previously was the associate dean for academic programs in the College of Business Administration and professor in the Department of Marketing and Logistics.

Gardial sent this photo of herself in front of former President Bill Clinton’s childhood home in Hot Springs, Ark. – which is also Gardial’s hometown.

Smokey Finds His Irish Side in Chicago

2009-03-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Holmes works in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at UT Knoxville. She also received her master’s degree in safety education from UTK in 1994.

She sent this photo from Chicago in March 2009.

“St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago is like Mardi Gras and New Year’s Eve rolled into one, and I was lucky enough to be there this year,” she wrote. “The highlight was watching the Chicago River, which runs through downtown, dyed green!”

Smokey Tracks Down North Dakota

2009-03-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

Paul Lies is a detective with the Fargo, N.D., Police Department. He graduated from Session Three of UT’s National Forensic Academy, which is a 10-week, in-residence training program teaching crime scene investigators to identify, collect, process and preserve evidence from crime scenes.

In his photo, Lies pointing to some money buried under about a foot of snow on the plains near Fargo.

Smokey Visits Uruguay's Oldest City

2009-03-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Perry Barker is a graduate student in the Professional MBA Program at UT Knoxville.

“The group recently visited Argentina for the program’s international trip and took a day trip to the Uruguay city of Colonia. Colonia is the country’s oldest city,” he said.

“The ProMBA program is a 16-month program for professionals with 10-plus years of experience. All students work full time while pursuing their MBA.”

Smokey Visits West Virginia

2009-03-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Emily Dent is a freshman in architecture at UT Knoxville. She sent this photo from the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston.

Smokey Sniffs Out the University of Wyoming

2009-03-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

Robert Ross graduated from UT’s National Forensic Academy Session XXI in July 2008. He is the detective corporal with the investigations division of the Green River Police Department in Green River, Wyo.

He sent this photo from under the scoreboard at War Football Stadium, University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo.

Smokey Tours Australia

2009-03-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Marie White has worked in UT’s Development Office for the past 15 years and currently works in the Office of Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs.

She sent this photo of herself taken in Melbourne, Australia, in February 2009.

“I spent three weeks visiting my pen pal of 52 years who lives in Vermont South, Victoria—a suburb of Melbourne,” she wrote.

They visited the University of Melbourne campus.

“Even though there are many newer buildings on the campus of the University of Melbourne, there are still many older buildings as is evident by the administration building that is shown behind me in photo,” she wrote. “The ‘uni,’ as the Australians call their universities, is very large and has a lovely campus. While on the campus there, I visited with Dr. Ross Coller, general manager of development. He had just recently spent a week at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He told me the UM enrollment is comparable to UT’s Knoxville campus.

“I also toured Tasmania—Hobart is an absolutely beautiful city—and many other areas in Victoria,” she wrote. “I thoroughly enjoyed the day spent at Phillip Island where I watched the Penguin Parade in the evening. Penguins are amazing to watch.”

Smokey Shares the Love in Colorado

2009-03-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

Luann Crussell Porter graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center with my Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1991. She is a senior clinical program manager with Express Scripts Inc.

She sent this photo of herself and children, Ben, 6, and Lily, 4, from Colorado Springs, Colo. They were visiting the Garden of the Gods with Pike’s Peak in the background.

Luann’s husband, Steve Porter (who took this picture), earned his bachelor’s degree from UT Knoxville in 1987 and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from UTHSC in 1991. He now works as a pharmacy director at a hospital.

The family lives in Centennial, Colo.

“We have lived in Colorado for 7 1/2 years now,” she wrote. “When we go to the Rockies games, we were Tennessee Orange to see if Todd Helton will notice us from first base!”

Luann adds that Ben and Lily “are HUGE Tennessee fans and one day hope to be students there.”

Smokey Visits the Wild Wild West

2009-03-02T13:06:00.001-08:00

Four UT alumni and employees recently helped Smokey mark Wyoming and Montana off his travel wish list.

Visiting the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, are, left to right: Donna Bradley, who received her master’s degree in agriculture extension education in 2005 and now works for UT as an extension agent in Hickman County; Nancy Rucker, who received her master’s degree in human resource development in 2000 and now works for UT as extension agent and county director in Cheatham County; Jill Martz, who received her doctorate in human ecology in 2004 and is a former UT Extension employee; and David Yates, who received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in 1987 and his master’s degree in agricultural economics in 1989 and now works for UT as an extension area specialist.

The same group visited the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Mont. In that photo, left to right, are Martz, Bradley, Rucker and Yates.

Smokey Reaches Out in Oklahoma

2009-03-02T10:36:00.000-08:00

Megan Fields, graduated from UT Knoxville in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication. She is now a public speaking instructor at UT Knoxville.

“I was in Bartlesville, Okla., because I serve as the Director of Development for a nonprofit organization called Nevus Outreach Inc.” The organization was founded by families affected by a medical condition called Large Nevi and Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis (NCM) to offer support and information to others who are similarly affected, improve awareness and education of the condition, and encourage and sponsor research that will lead to effective treatments and a cure. For more about the condition, see www.nevus.org.

“This picture was taken on the northern border of Oklahoma between Oklahoma and Kansas,” she wrote. “This is the ‘Welcome to Oklahoma’ sign when you cross into the state.”

Smokey Visits Arkansas and Takes a Side Trip to Oklahoma

2009-02-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Janet Smith is a UT Knoxville staff member working for IRIS Administration.

She recently sent photos from Arkansas and Oklahoma.

“The first picture is from Fort Smith, Ark.,” she said. “That is my hometown, and I went back to visit family. The Fort Smith Historic Site is the location of this picture. The park includes the remains of two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Judge Isaac C. Parker, known as the ‘hanging judge,’ presided over the court for 21 years.”

The second picture is from Pocola, Okla.

“This is on the outskirts of Fort Smith, Ark., and I went there just to take Smokey to Oklahoma,” she said. “This picture is a casino run by the Choctaw Indian Nation.”

Smokey Protects and Serves

2009-02-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

Lt. Steven McClanahan, financial crimes commander of the Little Rock, Ark., Police Department, is a graduate of the Southeastern Command and Leadership Academy (SECLA). SECLA is a leadership development program at the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center. LEIC is an agency of the statewide UT Institute for Public Service.

In this photo, McClanahan is standing in front of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock.

SECLA Classes and graduation are held at UT Chattanooga. More than 200 alumni of the program represent law enforcement from seven states. The program offers 12 undergraduate credit hours or six graduate level credit hours through UTC. Areas of study include leadership and management, emerging trends in law enforcement, ethics and integrity, risk management and liability, planning and budgeting, managing diversity and media relations.

Smokey Lectures in Denmark

2009-02-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

Tracy S. Parkinson, dean of the faculty at King College in Bristol, Tenn., earned his master’s degree from UT Knoxville in 1996 and his doctorate in 2003.

He sent this photo from Denmark.

“I am outside the College of Theology at Aarhus University,” he wrote. “I had just given a talk at the meeting of the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture.”

Learning About Kansas History

2009-02-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

Erin Cope graduated from UT Knoxville in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

Cope lives in Independence, Mo., and works in Lenexa, Kan., as a Development Review Engineer, doing new development plan review.

She sent these photos from Lenexa. The first one is at city hall; the second at the “Mother Lenexa” statue.

The statue, which sits on city hall grounds, is of NaNexSe (Lenexa), wife of Shawnee Chief Thomas Blackhoof. The chief and his wife had been educated in Ohio before they traveled to the Shawnee lands in present-day Johnson County, Kansas. The statue is dedicated both to NaNexSe and to Joan Bowman, mayor of the city during time of unprecedented growth and prosperity.

Mountain Climbing in Colorado

2009-02-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Brothers Chris and Daniel Brady went mountain climbing in Colorado and sent this photo of Chris atop Mt. Lincoln.

Chris Brady graduated from UT Knoxville in 2005 from the College Scholars program. He lives in Denver and works as an attorney. Daniel Brady graduated in 2006 from the College of Engineering. He lives in Los Angeles and works as an aerospace engineer.

“We are on top of Mount Lincoln in Colorado at 14,286 feet,” Chris Brady wrote. “It is the eighth highest peak in the state, and the 11th highest in the contiguous United States. It is located in the Mosquito Range, just west of Hoosier Pass, and is the highest peak in that range.

“We actually climbed three ‘14-ers’ that day, Mount Lincoln, Mount Democrat and Mount Bross.”

Smokey Cruises the Mediterranean

2009-01-30T13:11:00.000-08:00

Carrie White received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UT Knoxville in 2001. She is now a nurse at Baptist Hospital for Women in Knoxville. She and several other nurses from Children’s Hospital went on a Mediterranean cruise in October 2008.

“It was fun toting Smokey around Europe!” she wrote.

White’s first photo was taken in the city of Mdina on the island of Malta. The second was taken during a boat ride along the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The third was taken in Pisa, Italy, with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the background.

Smokey Honeymoons in Tahiti

2009-01-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Michael Drennon graduated from UT Knoxville in 2001 with a degree in animal science.
He sent this photo from Moorea, Tahiti, where he and his wife, Jennifer, were honeymooning.

Smokey Attends Salzburg Global Seminar

2009-01-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

Tracy Parkinson earned his master’s degree from UT Knoxville in 1996 and his doctorate in 2003. He is the dean of faculty at King College in Bristol.

“Here I am in Salzburg, Austria, outside Schloss Leopoldskron (known as the castle in the Sound of Music). I am attending the Mellon Fellow Community Initiative, ‘Colleges and Universities as Sites of Global Citizenship,’ held at the Salzburg Global Seminar.”

Smokey Hits the Beach!

2009-01-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Sarah B. Carpenter-Carlon and her sister, Laura Carpenter, sent this photo taken in July 2008 at Folly Beach, S.C.

Sarah Carpenter-Carlon graduated from UT Knoxville with a master’s degree in education in 2001. Laura Carpenter graduated with bachelor’s degree from the College of Communication and Information in 2005.

Both women live in Knoxville. Sarah Carpenter-Carlon teaches first grade at Halls Elementary. Laura Carpenter is a sales representative for UPS.

Smokey in Afghanistan

2009-01-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

Capt. Clay Dye, USMC HMM 365, a CH 46 pilot, sent this photo while he was on deployment in Afghanistan. The shot was taken somewhere in the Helmand Province, outside Kandahar. Dye—who is safely home now—is a 1996 graduate of UT Knoxville’s College of Communication and Information. He is the son of Hank Dye, vice president of public and government relations for the UT System.

Smokey Takes a Caribbean Vacation

2008-12-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

Ruzicka and her husband were vacationing in Curaçao in December 2008. The Smokey picture was taken in the waters of Playa Kalki near Westpunt, Curacao, an active snorkeling and diving area. Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three so-called ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), all of which are in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The total land area is about 171 square miles.

Researchers Take Smokey to the Great Wall of China

2008-12-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

Several UT Knoxville researchers were in Beijing Oct. 15-18, 2008, to take part in the second annual China-US Workshop on Bioenergy Consequences for Global Environmental Change at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. UT hosted the 2007 workshop.

In the first photo, (left to right) Randall Gentry, director of UT’s Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment (ISSE); Yuling Fu, research assistant for the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and ISSE Research Director Jie (Joe) Zhuang pose in front of the Beijing National Stadium, the Bird’s Nest, which served as the centerpiece of the 2008 Olympic Games.

In the second photo, ISSE Research Leader Mary English on China’s Great Wall. And, in the third photo, Kathleen Daumer Cusick, a doctoral student in UT’s Center for Environmental Biotechnology, poses on China’s Great Wall.

Finding the Scariest Scarecrow in Maine

2008-12-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

Ruzicka and her husband were touring New England in October and happened to stop in Ogunquit, Maine, during the annual fall OgunquitFest. One of the highlights of the festival is its scarecrow contest, where businesses and residences festoon their grounds with creative scarecrow decorations. This year they had a “green theme.” There was an extra prize for the greenest scarecrow.

“‘Green’ meant anything from the color green to something made of recycled materials or one that just had an environmental theme,” Ruzicka added.

Smokey Bleeds Orange!

2008-11-24T09:35:00.000-08:00

Paula Harris Morison graduated from UT Knoxville in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

She now lives in Knoxville and works for a Knoxville ophthalmology practice.

“Here I am, donating blood during orange/blue week prior to the UT-Kentucky game,” she wrote. “Medic needs all types of blood on a regular basis at all donation locations—especially during the holidays.”

Couple Visits Historic Covered Bridge

2008-11-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Aimee and her husband were touring New England in October and stopped in Brattleboro, Vt., at the Creamery covered bridge constructed in 1879 of spruce lumber.

Ruzicka wrote: “The bridge is 80 feet long but with only a 15-foot-wide roadway which can handle traffic just one direction at a time.

“Within the town of Brattleboro, once known for its variety of covered railroad and highway bridges, the Creamery bridge is the only covered wooden bridge to survive. The bridge serves a heavily traveled road which acts as a bypass route to the south end of Brattleboro. Consequently, the structure is threatened with destruction. The Vermont Division of Historic Sites is working to get the bridge placed on the National Register of Historic Places to save it.”

Vacationing in Greece

2008-11-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Polly Anna Harris, who received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Tennessee in 1968, recently visited Olympia, Greece, to see where the first Olympic Games were held.

Here, she is preparing the run the track. The starting block is the original stone.

New York City Media Tour

2008-11-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

Julie Monday is a senior in journalism and electronic media at UT Knoxville.

“This picture was taken in the studios of Good Morning America in New York City,” she said. “More than 20 students from the journalism department went to New York for a week in October 2008 to see how the journalism industry operates in the big city. We visited CNN, Real Simple Magazine, Fox News, Cookie Magazine, Rodale and more. I was on the Martha Stewart show, and I also got to sit in the audience on the Conan O’Brien show!”

“This Good Morning America picture was taken a little before Richard Simmons, the guest on that day’s show, came out to entertain the audience for quite some time before Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer came out,” she said. “Richard Simmons was cool, but Robin Roberts was even cooler, especially because she sang Rocky Top with us!”

Riding ATV's in Nevada

2008-11-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

Jessica Johnson graduated from UT Knoxville in 2002, with a master’s degree in social work. She now lives in Clinton, Tenn., and works as an investigator for the Federal Defender’s Office in Knoxville.

“My friend and I vacationed in Reno, Nev., and Lake Tahoe, Calif. I took Smokey along to ride ATV’s on Pine Nut Mountain in Minden, Nev.”

Fall in New England

2008-11-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

Aimee and her husband were touring New England in October and stopped in Portsmouth, N.H. They visited the lighthouse that protects Portsmouth Harbor at the mouth of the Piscataqua River.

Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, also known as Fort Point Lighthouse, New Castle Lighthouse and Fort Constitution Lighthouse, was first established in June 1771, making it the first light station north of Boston in the American colonies. Today’s 48-foot tower was built in 1878.

They also spent time at the home of the submarine USS Albacore. This is a special place, as it has a memorial garden that honors the 52 submarines and 3,505 submariners who were lost during World War II.

Vacationing Down Under

2008-10-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sarah Denton graduated from UT Knoxville in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in human ecology, focused on human resources training and development. She now lives in Los Angeles and works as a staff recruiter for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

“My picture is taken in Brisbane, Australia, at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary,” she said. “Lone Pine is the world’s first and also largest koala sanctuary. My boyfriend and I were visiting his sister, who was studying abroad at the University of Queensland.”

Sightseeing in Savannah

2008-10-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

Jane Ann Lane earned her bachelor’s degree from UT Knoxville in 1975 and her master’s degree in 1977. Her husband, Professor Clyde Lane, earned his bachelor’s degree in 1968 and his doctorate in 1971. He has worked as UT Animal Science Extension Specialist in Ruminant Nutrition for 35 years.

She sent this photo taken on the waterfront in Savannah, Ga.

Changing Lives in Nicaragua

2008-10-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

Joe and Sandy Barber live on their own tiny island, La Tiburona, in Granada, Nicaragua. They founded a mission there in 1993 to provide assistance to the impoverished fishermen and their families who reside in the islands of Lake Nicaragua.

Joe graduated from UT Knoxville in 1974 with a degree in architecture and Sandy graduated in 1975 with a degree in education.

“Joe was a member of the original technical-assistance program from the UT Architecture College who traveled to Nicaragua to help with rebuilding following the devastating earthquake in 1972,” Sandy Barber wrote. “He and I got married following my graduation and moved to a tiny island in Lake Nicaragua to begin our married lives. I wrote a book about that published by Thomas Nelson Publishers in 1985 called ‘It Began With An Island.’

“In 1993 we returned to Nicaragua. Using personal savings and rental income, we tried to help alleviate the extreme suffering among the fishermen and their families who reside on the 365 different islands in Lake Nicaragua.

“Since friends wanted to help us, we founded a non-profit agency called Families Involved Serving Humanity Inc. (F.I.S.H.). It provides educational, medical, emergency and pastoral assistance to the 3000-plus people who reside in those Islands. We built schools, a health clinic and recreational areas, and we provided roofs to more than 250 families who had no shelter. A church was born and we continue to provide school supplies, food, clothing, medicines, medical care, etc.

“We returned to the U.S. in 1997 to earn more money in order to keep it all going. We travel back and forth to oversee the work which is now supervised by Nicaraguans.”

“We plan to move back in a couple of years.”

The family chronicles their work at http://fishnicaragua.blogspot.com.

Couple Tours Capitol with Congressman

2008-10-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Debbie (Bryant) Sutton graduated from UT Knoxville in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and currently employed as an IT analyst in OIT Financial Systems.

“The week of Sept. 15-18, 2008, my husband, Lynn, and I visited Washington, D.C. and we were privileged to be led on a tour of the Capitol by our Congressman Zach Wamp (3rd district of Tennessee),” she wrote. “The Congressman’s staff provided a photographer who photographed us with the Congressman (and Smokey!) on the steps of the Capitol building.

“We wore our orange proudly as we toured the Pentagon, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, all the war memorials, museums and more. It was a very busy, exhausting, educational and wonderful week experiencing our nation’s capital.”

African Adventure

2008-10-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Martha Cline is a third-year veterinary student, due to graduate in 2010, at UT Knoxville.

“This picture was taken at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Botswana just outside of the capital, Gaborone,” she wrote. “I was in Africa this summer (2008) for six weeks working on a research project under the direction of Dr. Stephen Kania. I was actually working out of the University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science in Pretoria, South Africa.

“My trip to Botswana was a weekend excursion. We went to Mokolodi to meet Dr. Kyle Good who is the project veterinarian for ‘Cheetah Conservation, Botswana.’ She introduced me to two very tame cheetahs (obviously) who are used for educational purposes.

Touring Portland, Oregon

2008-10-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Frank Philips Harris and his mother, Polly Anna Harris, sent this photo from the Classical Chinese Garden in Portland, Ore.

Frank Harris is a 1977 graduate of UT Knoxville’s College of Arts and Sciences and a 1981 graduate of the College of Law. He is now an attorney in Marietta, Ga.

Polly Anna Harris received her master’s degree in mathematics from UT Knoxville in 1968. She is a retired teacher.

Smokey Visits New Zealand

2008-10-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Benita H. Moore received her master’s degree in business education from UT Knoxville in 1976. She now lives in Jonesboro, Ga., and is associate dean of the College of Professional Studies and professor of business education at Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga.

“My husband and I visited New Zealand in September 2008 to see our younger son, who is completing a study abroad program at Victoria University in New Zealand,” Moore wrote.

“I am at the Red Rocks in Wellington, New Zealand, on a very windy day. The Red Rocks are known for the red color in the rocks (from iron deposits) and for the seals that live in this area during a few months out of the year. Two of the seals are sleeping behind me on the rock.”

Performing Medical Missions in Jamaica

2008-09-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Julia Ladd graduated from UT Knoxville in 2005 with a degree in nursing. She now works at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. She sent this photo from the New Vision Home, an orphanage in Christiana, Jamaica, where she was on a medical mission trip.

Studying Journalism in Milan

2008-09-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Bridget Hardy is a senior at UT Knoxville. She is majoring in journalism. Her minor is theater. She sent this photo from Milan, Italy, where she is studying abroad for the fall semester 2008. She is standing in front of the famous Duomo, second largest Catholic cathedral in the world.

"I am very excited to explore a new country and to be out of the United States for the first time," she wrote on her Web site.

Working in Equatorial Guinea

2008-09-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

George Lang graduated from UT Knoxville with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1975 and a master's degree in engineering in 1976. He is construction manager for Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc.

He recently sent this photo taken near his office in Malabo on Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, which is in west central Africa. He is standing near a giant Ceiba tree with Mount Pico Basile in the background.

Checking Out the Casinos in Monaco

2008-09-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

Tina Richey received a master's degree in microbiology from UT Knoxville and is now a research associate in the human immunology and cancer program at UT Graduate School of Medicine. She submitted this photo from the Casino Monte Carlo in Monaco.

"Along with some colleagues, I was attending the World Molecular Imaging Congress in Nice, France, and we drove over to Monte Carlo," she wrote.

Spending a Month in New Zealand

2008-09-22T06:43:00.001-07:00

Patricia Pierce is a 1973 graduate of UTK with a bachelor's degree in education and played basketball for Joan Cronan in 1968.

"My husband and I traveled to New Zealand for 33 days in April and May 2008. We were celebrating our retirement. I retired from Vanderbilt University after almost 30 years and he retired from BWXT Y-12 after 38 years.”

She sent three photos from her trip: "The first photo was taken at a geothermal site on the North Island, just north of Taupo. The second was taken on the South Island at Milford Sound in front of Mitre Peak, which is part of the Fiordland National Park. The last photo was taken on a cruise ship to the Tasman Sea."

Touring through Canada and New England

2008-09-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

Rhonda Green is a senior administrative service assistant in UT's College of Pharmacy in Knoxville. She sent these photos from her trip to Canada and the New England in September 2008. In the first photo, she's at Peggy's Cover in Nova Scotia. The second once is at the University of New Brunswick in St. John. The third one is at Harvard University.

Climbing Mt. Fuji

2008-09-22T06:27:00.001-07:00

Rachel Geller is a junior at Robinson Secondary in Fairfax, Va. Her sister, Laura, is a freshman at UT Knoxville. "This summer I traveled to Japan, and I wore my Smokey T-shirt on Mt. Fuji." In this photo, she is with her tour guide, Akita-san.

Exploring Fort Shirley in Dominica

2008-09-22T06:22:00.001-07:00

Todd W. Hulsey graduated from UT Knoxville in 1994 with a degree in architecture. He is now TAC Project Manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Winchester, Va. In September 2008, Hulsey submitted this photo from Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean.

"The photo is taken at Fort Shirley where the first act of emancipation of slaves in the British Empire took place, with a plaque beside me commemorating it. The fort is located in the Cabrits National Park. The famous British American Architect, Peter Harrison, was responsible for several of the stately buildings still standing at Fort Shirley. The famous Dr. Lennox Honeychurch is overseeing the fort's restoration."

Presenting Research in Hong Kong

2008-09-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Smart graduated from UT Knoxville with a bachelor's degree in speech pathology in 2002. She now lives in Maryland and is an assistant professor at Towson University in the Department of Audiology, Speech Language Pathology and Deaf Studies. "My husband and I had the opportunity to live in New Zealand while I completed my post-doctoral research fellowship at The University of Auckland," she wrote.

Her first photo was taken in Sydney, Australia, in summer of 2008 (Australia's winter). "While on holiday, my husband Matt took this photo of me in front of the famous Sydney Opera House," she wrote.

The second photo is from Hong Kong, China. "I was actually in Hong Kong to present my research at a conference in June but managed to find some time to get out and see the city."

Vacationing at Universal Studios

2008-09-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Kristin McBryde Allen graduated from UT Knoxville in May 2003 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She now lives in Signal Mountain, Tenn., and works for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee in the Human Resource Organizational Development Department. She sent this photo from a vacation to Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., in September 2008.

Meeting Olympians in Kenya

2008-09-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

Paul Davis graduated from UT Knoxville in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He now lives in Meridian, Idaho.

"The past four years I've been an assistant professor of chemistry at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., but I just started a new job last week as a senior scientist at a scientific research company, Boise Technology in Nampa, Idaho. We've gotten a grant to study how to catalyze the breakdown of organophosphate pesticides -- they're model compounds for nerve agents, so the government is interested in how to protect people and decontaminate an area should there ever be a chemical weapons attack. I'll be using an ultrafast laser system to study how fast the pesticides break down and by what means the decomposition reaction occurs.

"Since I was in between jobs this summer and still collecting a paycheck from PLU, I took full advantage to have some fun and went to Kenya with Athletes in Action's Track and Field program.

"This photo was taken in the baggage claim area of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, just after I arrived for a three-week stint. Although I spent time at the Kenyan National Championships and Olympic Track & Field Trials in Nairobi, on safari in Masai Mara National Park, and at Kip Keino's Olympic Training Center up in Eldoret, getting to meet numerous Olympic medalists (and soon-to-be medalists), World Cross Country champions and former world record-holders along the way."

Traveling through the Midwest

2008-08-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Aimee Ruzicka graduated from UT Knoxville in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in history and in 1974 with a master's degree in library science. A retired law librarian, she now lives in Nesquehoning, Pa., in the southern Poconos.

Ruzicka traveled to Ely, Minn., for a family gathering in August 2008. Along the way, she snapped seven photos at interesting sites:

1) Boundary Waters Canoe Area is a 1.09 million-acre wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the area is known for its both canoeing and fishing. It is the most visited wilderness in the United States. Many of the lakes weave in and out of the U.S. and Canada.

2) International Wolf Center in Ely, Minn., advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wild lands and the human role in their future.

3) Traveling by boat is a popular way for tourists to experience the Wisconsin Dells, a 5-mile gorge on the Wisconsin River noted for its unique sandstone rock formations and tributary canyons. The cliffs, some more than 100 feet high, and canyons are closed to public to protect the area's ecology.

4) Lake Delton was a man-made freshwater lake in Sauk County in central Wisconsin. The lake is now a mostly empty lake basin because a portion of a county highway that forms part of the dike wall eroded in June 2008 under the pressure area flooding. Several homes were completely destroyed during this event.

5) Glensheen Historic Estate is an historic mansion on Lake Superior owned by the University of Minnesota Duluth. The mansion, built from 1905 to 1908, is on the National Historic Registry.

6) Moe's (almost) World Famous Diner in Osseo, Wisc., along I-94 in northern Wisconsin, is 1950s-style diner, complete with Formica tabletops, oldies on the jukebox and waitresses in poodle skirts. It's a fun place in the middle of a large corn field.

7) Vermilion, Ohio, straddles a river of the same name as it empties into Lake Erie. The city has a colorful past. The city was a popular drop-off point for illegal liquor from Canada during the days of Prohibition. A lighthouse has stood on this spot since 1847.

Scaling the Heights of Machu Picchu

2008-08-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Cassie McCracken Gokey graduated from UT Knoxville in 1999 with a degree in business administration. She is a retail sales leader with QTG Sales. She is also the UT Alumni Association Atlanta Chapter President. She sent this photo in August 2008 from Machu Picchu, Peru.

Visiting Kennebunkport and Niagara Falls

2008-08-25T09:07:00.001-07:00

David Jordan earned his bachelor's degree from UT Knoxville in 1986 and his MBA in 1994. He lives in Knoxville. He sent two photos in August 2008: "One is in front of George H.W. Bush's summer house in Kennebunkport, Maine. The other is in front of Niagara Falls. Specifically, the American Falls, though I was standing in Canada."

Summitting Mt. Katahdin

2008-08-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Jim Hendrix graduated from UT Knoxville in 1983 with a degree in business administration. He is the South Central Region manager for the Government & Public Safety Division of Motorola Inc. He sent this photo taken on the summit of Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine, in August 2008.

"This was the culmination of a 50-mile backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, completing the section called the 'Hundred Mile Wilderness.' We were literally in the clouds that day, but reached the summit with no incident. Mt. Katahdin is the Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. At this point in time, I have hiked the trail in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Maine, but still have a long way to go to complete the entire 2,000 miles!"

Traveling through the American Southwest

2008-08-19T07:37:00.001-07:00

Charlie Carr is a junior majoring in geography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He sent these photos from a family vacation through the western U.S. in August 2008. The first is from the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona; the second is from Monument Valley on the border of Utah and Arizona; the last is from the Grand Canyon.

Charlie especially enjoyed seeing the Petrified Forest, which he had wanted to visit ever since he saw photos of it in a school textbook. The highlight for his dad was seeing Monument Valley where so many Westerns were filmed.

Roaming the Black Hills of South Dakota

2008-08-19T06:42:00.001-07:00

Erik Ringnes graduated from UT Knoxville in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and in 1984 with a master's degree also in aerospace engineering. He now lives in Glendale, Ariz., and works as a staff engineer at Honeywell.

He sent these photos from a trip that he and his 14-year-old son, Austin, took to the Black Hills of South Dakota in August 2008. The first shot is from Mt. Rushmore and the other is at the Crazy Horse monument, just a few miles away.

Re-enacting Battles at the Michigan Air Show

2008-08-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

Arlene Nitsche of Nashville graduated from UT Knoxville in 1994. She is a stay-at-home mom to two children, ages 6 and 3. Her husband, Robert, is a UPS driver. Robert is not an alumnus. "He claims to be a Vandy fan but this house is orange and white. And the kids are starting to bleed orange too," Arlene Nitsche wrote.

She sent this photo of Robert wearing his Smokey shirt at the Thunder over Michigan Air Show held Aug. 9-10, 2008. "My husband is a World War II re-enactor and as invited to participate in the WWII re-enactment battles that took place during the air show. He is pictured in front of a WWII 57mm cannon and two Stuart tanks," she said.

Celebrating an Anniversary in Provence

2008-08-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

Marsha and Duane Grieve sent these photos from their trip to France during the summer of 2008. Marsha got her bachelor's degree in English from UT Knoxville in 1967 and now works part-time at the East Tennessee Historical Society; Duane received his bachelor's degree in architecture in 1969 and has been an adjunct professor at the School of Architecture.

"We were on a summer vacation trip to Provence and the French Riviera to celebrate a 60th birthday and a 36th anniversary!" they wrote.

Admiring the Giant Tortoises in the Galapagos Islands

2008-08-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

Daniel Shedd is a UT Knoxville sophomore studying chemistry. He is from Mt. Juliet. He spent June 25-Aug. 3, 2008, in the Galapagos Islands.

"This picture is with endemic giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands," he wrote. "I went to the Galapagos last year for 10 days with a church group, and I really wanted to go back," he said. "I stayed for six weeks this time, and while I was there I taught English-as-a-second-language classes in one of the elementary schools."

Visiting European Landmarks

2008-08-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

Lisa Haislip is a graduate student in teacher education at UT Knoxville. She sent these photos from a European trip she took in mid-June 2008. The first picture is from the remains of the Berlin Wall, the second is in Paris, and the third is at Stonehenge.

Kissing the Blarney Stone

2008-08-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

Roger Lee graduated from UT Knoxville in 1983 with a degree in computer science He now lives Orlando, Fla., where he is a senior software design engineer with Northrop Grumman.

"These pictures were taken in Ireland earlier this year where my wife, Terri, and I were vacationing for 10 days in May 2008," he wrote.

The first photo is from Blarney Castle, built about 600 years ago. Visitors venture to the top of the tower to kiss the Blarney Stone. Once you do that, legend says, you'll never again be lost for words.

The second photo was taken at the Great Skellig, an outcrop of rock rising more than 700 feet above sea level. An early Christian Monastery is perched on a ledge close the top.

The third is at Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland. It is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

Lee added, "My wife and I had a blast meeting folks in Ireland who were curious about the shirt."

Hitting the Beach in Delaware and Maryland

2008-08-05T12:13:00.001-07:00

Stephanie Kit is the associate director of career services at UT Knoxville. "When I saw that Smokey had not visited my home state of Delaware, I knew I had to take him on my family vacation to Rehoboth Beach," she wrote. "Delaware, known as the First State, is the second smallest in the nation but has beautiful beaches along with a very entertaining boardwalk. I also visited nearby Ocean City, Md. and snapped a photo there since that was also on Smokey’s to-do list."