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Gordonsville High School Graduate Shelby West has been selected as the Lite Rock 95.9/106-9 Kicks Country Dream Big Scholar Scholarship recipient for 2016.

West received a $1,500 scholarship toward higher education pursuits during a June 9 ceremony at DelMonaco Winery. All 13 monthly Dream Big Scholars were recognized for their achievements by representatives from the Tennessee Credit Union, Lite Rock 95.9 and 106-9 Kicks Country.

“Each of you has made a difference in your school and in your community, with your classmates, with teachers, with younger people who look up to you for guidance,” Stonecom President Larry Stone said. “And for the future of our region – and for your own future – those are the gifts that matter most.”

The award honors outstanding work in the classroom, leadership in school groups and organizations, achievement in extra curricular activities as well as work in the community. One student from an Upper Cumberland high school wins the award each month.

West was chosen by a panel to receive the scholarship. During her four years at Gordonsville High School, she not only maintained a top ten class rank, but she worked four years as a Beta Club member. West also earned softball district MVP, volleyball district MVP, and the Blue and White Club homecoming representative honors.

West also believes in giving back. She volunteers for the Backpack Program for the Needy of Smith County, and serves meals at the Ronald McDonald House. West teaches Sunday School at her local church, and also stays busy working at Hackett’s Drugs in Carthage.

“The past four years of my life have taught me major life lessons and these lessons have shaped me into the person I am,” West wrote in her scholarship essay. “I have learned how important it is to give to those who are facing hard times.”

West will attend Tennessee Tech University in pursuit of a pre-pharmacy degree. Her goal is to one day become a Pharmacist.

In addition to West, fellow Gordonsville alum Robin Anne Hord walked away from the ceremony with a $500 college scholarship. White County graduate Staci Dildine also won a $500 scholarship from the Tennessee Credit Union and Stonecom.

“We are so proud of each one of you,” Tennessee Credit Union Branch Manager Lauren Imes said. “Each one of you has shown amazing success in high school and we can’t wait to see where you go from here.”

This is the third year for the Dream Big Scholar Program. Nominations are now open for the 2016-2017 academic year. Parents, teachers, family and friends can nominate rising seniors at LiteRock959.Com or 1069KicksCountry.Com.

The Tennessee Credit Union has offices in middle and east Tennessee, including 1281 South Walnut Avenue in Cookeville. For 65 years, The Tennessee Credit Union has been helping members achieve their financial goals with products and services designed to exceed their expectations.

Stonecom owns and operates Lite Rock 95.9, 106-9 Kicks Country, Rock 93-7, and Cookeville’s News Talk 100.9/AM 1600. The company believes in community service and radio that focuses on the local community. In the spring of 2016, the National Association of Broadcasters recognized Lite Rock 95.9 as a finalist for the Crystal Award, the highest honor bestowed on commercial radio stations. Only 50 stations nationwide received the recognition.

Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart announced Friday that Tennessee football’s season opener against Appalachian State has been moved ahead two days to Thursday, Sept. 1. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and will air nationally on the SEC Network. The game marks the first-ever meeting between the Vols and Mountaineers.

Hart issued the following statement regarding the game’s new date:

“The conference approached me during our recent athletics director meetings in Jacksonville about a request they had received from ESPN to move our season-opening game to Thursday night on the SEC Network. I visited withButch Jones about it upon my return to gauge his interest prior to my conversations with appropriate campus personnel. He was very interested in making the change.

“This decision was not made in a vacuum. The collaboration that ensued included the Chancellor, Provost, our University CFO, Vice Chancellor for Student-Life and representatives from both University Development and the Tennessee Fund as well as key athletics department personnel. Challenges related to the implementation were identified and discussed at length over the course of several days. Academics was our collective primary concern. Our goal is to be able to do this with minimal impact to the class schedule.

“At the end of the deliberations all were supportive of moving forward with the game on Thursday night ahead of the barrage of games to follow throughout the Labor Day weekend. This change will also assist us with logistical considerations connected with the Battle at Bristol the following weekend which involves several of our staff who are assisting with that event.”

Click here to read the full article.

White County High School Senior Staci Dildine has been selected as the Lite Rock 95.9/106-9 Kicks Country Dream Big Scholar for May.

The award honors outstanding work in the classroom, leadership in school groups, and organization, achievement in extra curricular activities as well as work in the community. One student from a high school across the Upper Cumberland wins the award each month.

Dildine has a passion for helping peers who are struggling. She mentors those who need assistance with school work, or with things beyond the school walls in their personal lives. She also actively participates in Young Life, a Christian based club, and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America).

Dildine leads the Varsity Cheerleaders as captain for Football and Basketball season. She was recently nominated as an All American Cheerleader and had the opportunity to cheer at Disney World. Classmates at White County High School selected Dildine as Miss WCHS, Miss Senior Class and Football Homecoming Queen.

Community involvement ranks highly with Dildine, as she has been an active member of Crowns for a Cause for 5 years. This non-profit organization gives pageant queens the ability to use their title to help out in the community.

She also collects gifts for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital each year for Christmas. Other above and beyond acts of charity consists of visiting local nursing homes, and collecting items to send to our troops overseas.

After graduation, Dildine plans to attend the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga to pursue a career in Psychology, and will try out in the fall to continue cheerleading for the Mocs.

Lite Rock 95.9 Morning Show Host Sheila Scruggs visited White County High School and presented Dildine with a plaque. Dildine will join other Dream Big Scholars from the 2015-2016 academic year at a spring banquet where she could win a $1,500 college scholarship, or one of two smaller scholarships.

106-9 Kicks Country and Lite Rock 95.9 joined forces with The Tennessee Credit Union in 2014 to encourage rising seniors who want to Dream Big. Parents, teachers, and local residents nominate graduating seniors for the award.

The Tennessee Credit Union has offices in middle and east Tennessee, includind 1281 South Walnut Avenue in Cookeville. For 65 years, The Tennessee Credit Union has been helping members achieve their financial goals with products and services designed to exceed their expectations. To nominate a student to become a Dream Big Scholar, visit 1069 Kicks Country Dot Com or Lite Rock 959 Dot Com.

Brooke Bowden, a senior at Monterey High School, has been selected the 106-9 Kicks Country/Lite Rock 95.9 Dream Big Scholar for April.

The award honors outstanding work in the classroom, leadership in school groups and organization, achievement in extra curricular activities as well as work in the community. One student from a high school across the Upper Cumberland wins the award each month.

In addition to Bowden’s classroom success, she takes part in Beta and the National Honor Society. She also participates in FCLA, I Am Club, and Rotary. Students at Monterey voted Bowden Student Government Vice President.

After graduation, Bowden plans to pursue a profession in occupational therapy.

Lite Rock 95.9 Morning Show Host Sheila Scruggs presented Bowden with a plaque during a visit to Montery High School. Bowden will join other Dream Big Scholars from the 2015-2016 academic year at a spring banquet.

Lite Rock 95.9 and 106-9 Kicks Country joined forces with The Tennessee Credit Union in 2014 to encourage rising seniors who want to Dream Big. Bowden now could win a $1,500 college scholarship, or one of two smaller scholarships. Parents, teachers, and local residents nominate graduating seniors for the award at 1069 Kicks Country Dot Com or Lite Rock 959 Dot Com.

The Tennessee Credit Union has offices in middle and east Tennessee including 1281 South Walnut Avenue in Cookeville. For 65 years, The Tennessee Credit Union has been helping members achieve their financial goals with products and services designed to exceed their expectations.

The wait is over. After having announced their trade to the Rams, the Tennesse Titans have announced their 2016 schedule. Click here to see the rundown and history of the team’s matchups.

It’s been a long four years for Titans fans.

Mark down April 14 as a date when that might just change.

The Titans have won just 18 games since 2012. Go back another four seasons to find the last playoff berth. A myriad of reasons exist for this long seven seasons. Missing on Vince Young and Pacman Jones…two top six picks….hurt. So did the malaise that settled in during the final years of the Jeff Fisher era – too many in the organization got too satisfied. And the decision to hire Mike Munchak as head coach only exacerbated that. Munchak ranks as one of the better position coaches I saw during my time covering the NFL…..but he did not have the “it” factor to be a head coach. Jake Locker’s fragility and retirement could be a hallmark of the Titans’ drafts during this period….potential that for whatever reason did not work out. How many Titans picks of the last seven years did we say that about?

Maybe the tide turned April 14.

The trade announced Thursday morning with the Los Angeles Rams (doesn’t that sound weird) could just be the adrenaline shot the Titans franchise needs to get back into consistent playoff contention. The Titans got five top 80 draft picks for their number one pick (one of those picks will be somewhere in the third round next year). That’s a potential franchise-changing haul.

It comes at the right time for the Titans…their fans…the franchise. And it comes at the right time for this draft.

Covering the NFL Draft for Titans Radio for 17 years, it was interesting to learn how those who live the draft quantify the annual selections. I credit much of this learning to Mike Detillier, the author of the M&D Draft Report, who we had the pleasure to work with over the years. Some drafts are top-heavy, meaning franchise-changing talent in the top 10 or so positions. Some drafts are packed with consistent performers, meaning there may not be a lot of game changers at the top, but it’s build on quality players who will have long careers.

Look at the 2011 draft and top 11 picks like Cam Newton, Von Miller, AJ Green, Patrick Peterson, JulioJones, JJ Watt. Compare that with 2009 and late first and second round picks like Hakeem Nicks, James Laurinaitis, LeSean McCoy, Sen’Derrick Marks, Max Unger, and Connor Barwin.

2016’s draft looks like a 2009 kind of year. Simply, there does not appear to be an absolute game-changing player at the top of this draft. The meat here…is in the middle. The MMQB’s Peter King reported multiple general managers and scouts called players 15 to 60 on their draft board the same players. That is, they are solid NFL prospects. And how they will come off the board two weeks from today will depend on what teams like and what teams need.

And the Titans are heading toward the meat of this draft…its strength…with a lot of firepower. After the trade Thursday, The Titans hold six selections from pick 15 to pick 76. What if you could get that 2009 group of players with the first six picks of 2016? That’s a lot of quality talent. And for a team that needs help on the offensive line, at wide receiver, at defensive end, at linebacker, at corner, and safety….you need quantity AND quality.

The Titans got the chance to get that today.

So, if Jon Robinson and his scouting staff have done their work….and the players selected pan out (always a 50-50 crapshoot in the NFL)….this could be a franchise changing day for the Titans.

I bet I speak for a lot of Titans fans when I say…it’s about time.

Aiming to bolster their roster, the Tennessee Titans have traded their No. 1 pick of the draft to the Los Angeles Rams. In return, the Rams are trading several of their picks to the Titans.

Overall, the list of trades is as follows:

Titans receive from Rams:
1st round pick (15 overall)
2nd round pick (43)
2nd round pick (45)
3rd round pick (76)
1st round pick in 2017
3rd round pick in 2017

Rams receive from Titans:
1st round pick (1 overall)
4th round pick (113)
6th round pick (177)

Listen to Titans GM Jon Robinson’s announcement below.

Click here for more information regarding the trade.

Robin Hord of Gordonsville High School is this week’s Dream Big Scholar.

Hord has played for the Varsity Softball Team for 5 years, the Varsity Basketball team for 2 years, and is in the top 5% of her graduating class. Other accolades include being an active member in Interact, Science and Math Club, G Club, Spanish Club, FBLA, HOSA, and Outdoor Club.

Volunteering is important to Hord, and she does so with the Smith County Backpack Program and The Nashville Rescue Mission.

Hord received a nomination to American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Delegate, won the Southside Essay Contest in 2014, and is a member of the 2014-15 Smith County Youth Leadership.

Future plans for Hord include attending Cumberland University to pursue a career as a Pharmacist.

Hord is now eligible to win a $,1500 scholarship from 106-9 Kicks Country and The Tennessee Credit Union.

106-9 Kicks Country and The Tennessee Credit Union recognized Macey Sommer, a senior at Cookeville High School, as a Dream Big Scholar.

Sommer has been a member of the Cookeville High School Varsity Swimming Team for three years, USA Swimming for 12 years, has qualified and competed in state swimming all three years, is a holder of seven school records, is in the Top 5% of swimmers in the southeast, was inducted into the Southeastern Swimming Hall of Fame, and won leadership awards at the University of Tennessee Swim Camp.

Sommer has been nominated for academic recognition as a Congress of Future Medical Leader, nominated to attend National Youth Leadership Forum of Medicine, and won 1st place in the 36th Annual Reba Bacon Memorial High School Art Competition.

Sommer is involved in HOSA, National Honors Society, National History Honors Society, FCA, Habitat for Humanity, Young Republicans Club, Beta, Tennessee Scholars, Advanced Choral and YMCA. She is currently job shadowing a team of Neuro and Cardiac surgeons at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, and has completed 80 hours of community service.

Sommer plans to attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville to major in Biology under the Pre-Med program and then plans to attend medical school to pursue her passion of becoming either a neuro or cardiac surgeon.

Macey Sommers will now be eligible to win scholarship money from 106-9 Kicks Country and The Tennessee Credit Union.

Listen to the announcement below!