CARVER SAYS EXPRESSING GRATITUDE IS PART OF FESTIVAL CELEBRATION
MARTIN, Tenn. — The annual Tennessee Soybean Festival creates opportunities for community
celebration. University of Tennessee at Martin Chancellor Keith Carver also sees the festival as a time for
expressing gratitude, which was the focus of remarks he made as keynote speaker for the 24 th annual
Tennessee Soybean Festival Mayor’s Luncheon held Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Boling University Center’s
Duncan Ballroom.
A capacity crowd of guests, elected officials, area pageant royalty, and agriculture, business and
industry representatives, among others, attended the luncheon to celebrate the festival, which runs through
Sept. 10 in Martin and is sponsored in part by the university. Carver and his family also served that evening as
grand marshals for the festival parade that began at the university and continued through downtown Martin.
Carver told the audience about a conference he attended earlier this summer in San Diego, Calif., that
brought new college presidents and chancellors together from around the country. The conference resort where
he stayed was designed for the optimum guest experience, including the best room accommodations, numerous
amenities, and carefully manicured grounds and water features. The immaculate resort grounds particularly
impressed Carver, but it wasn’t until later in the week that he encountered a grounds worker trimming shrubs.
He thanked the worker for his efforts to help make the resort a special place and continued on his way, but the
worker caught up with him and offered his own gratitude.
“Because of you and your friends that are at this conference and your willingness to be here, I have a
job, and I’m grateful for that. And I'm able to provide a paycheck and a living for my wife and our four
children. And my wife works here, too,” the worker said to Carver. “She’s a cook, and this resort and our
livelihood depend on people just like you coming and staying here.”
Carver was touched by the worker’s gratitude, which he related to the festival and the people who
work to improve life in the region. “When you think about the Tennessee Soybean Festival, it’s truly a
celebration. It’s a celebration of agriculture. It’s a celebration of art and music. It’s a celebration of great
traditions that we have in this town and this county and region.
“But it’s also a convening place, and we celebrate culture, and we celebrate legacy and all the good
things about Martin, Weakley County and West Tennessee. But I think it also should be a reminder for us of
how grateful we should be to be a part of this area. We celebrate the festival one time a year, but really, daily
we should reflect on the things that we’re proud of that make us grateful that we live in this region,” he said.
FESTIVAL, PAGE 2
Carver expressed appreciation for the area’s educational opportunities and for the teachers and
educators who are shaping the next generation. “These folks are investing in our city, in our county, in our
future,” he said. “They are leading the way to educate our next great senator, our next governor, our next
doctor, our next mayor, and our future is truly in their hands.
“We also should be grateful for agriculture, whether it’s the food that we have on our table here today
or what we’re going to eat tonight or tomorrow,” Carver continued. “Whether it’s the clothes that we have on
our back, and even bigger than that, the number of jobs that agriculture and agribusiness brings to this
community and this region. It’s astounding. So we need to be grateful for agriculture.”
Carver also thanked elected officials, ministers, churches and the “countless numbers of volunteers
who give countless hours of their time to invest in making life easier for others.”
“And finally we need to be grateful for just the community pride, whether it’s local basketball games,
whether it’s cheering on your favorite team, whether it’s a fundraiser for a local school or a good cause, our
communities rally here,” he said. “Our community answers the bell of service. Our community cares, and for
that, we need to be grateful.”
Carver closed by challenging everyone present to personally seek out someone who is making the
community a better place. “And I want you to tell them how grateful you are for them and how thankful you
are that they’re investing in this community,” he said.
The gratitude theme was evident throughout the event with the recognition of several individuals and
organizations for both service and community beautification. Among the recognitions were presentations for
the newest member of Tennessee Soybean Festival Hall of Fame and for the “Big Bean Award,” both of which
honor outstanding service to the festival.
Martin alderman and festival chair David Belote named Paul Tinkle, president and general manager of
Thunderbolt Broadcasting, to the festival’s hall of fame. Martin Mayor Randy Brundige then presented the
“Big Bean Award” to Trevor Bonnstetter, CEO of West Kentucky & Tennessee Telecommunications
Cooperative. Additional information about the festival is available at tnsoybeanfestival.org.
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MARTIN, Tenn., Sept. 6, 2017 – SOYBEAN FESTIVAL MAYOR’S LUNCHEON FEATURES UT
MARTIN CHANCELLOR – Dr. Keith Carver, UT Martin chancellor, was the keynote speaker for the 24 th
annual Tennessee Soybean Festival Mayor’s Luncheon held Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Boling University
Center’s Duncan Ballroom. Carver spoke about the importance of expressing gratitude to those who make life
better for others. Carver and his family also served that evening as grand marshals for the festival parade that
began at the university and continued through downtown Martin.