Shannon DeWitt, UT Extension Director for Union County, Is One of Three Statewide Winners of the TAAA&S Hicks Award

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture recognized some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual Awards and Promotions Luncheon held on the UTIA campus in Knoxville August 2, 2019. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by past faculty, alumni and friends of the Institute.

UTIA Senior Vice President and Senior Vice Chancellor Tim Cross hosted the award winners and praised them for their work. “The faculty and staff of the UT Institute of Agriculture are known on campus and throughout the state as dedicated, hard-working and knowledgeable experts who provide real-life solutions to challenging issues every day,” said Cross. “The awards presented at this ceremony recognize excellence in research, education, Extension outreach as well as service programs that benefit our stakeholders. They serve as our way to express our gratitude for a job well done.”

Shannon DeWitt, UT Extension director for Union County, is the winner of the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents and Specialists Award. The award is also named for Billy G. Hicks, dean emeritus of UT Extension. The other two winners are John Goddard of Loudon County and Laurie Mobley of Houston County.

“It is a great honor to receive the Hicks Award from TAAA&S,” DeWitt says. “I respect TAAA&S for the opportunities it provides for Extension agents to increase their knowledge and advance in educational programs to meet the needs of the people in our counties. I am grateful for those opportunities, and feel they were instrumental in helping me win this award. Thank you.”

DeWitt has split duties between agriculture and natural resource work and 4-H, and is in her 14th year of service with UT Extension. She’s noted for work in beef cattle and forage production and has consulted for the local farmers market.

4-H camp participation has gone up 500 percent under DeWitt’s leadership, and teaming with Tractor Supply Company, she helped secure more than $30,000 in camp scholarship money for her kids. DeWitt holds an animal science degree from the UT Herbert College of Agriculture.

“From the moment I first stepped on campus as a freshman in 2001, I’ve always felt the ag campus was home,” she says.

DeWitt and her husband have a one-year-old daughter, and she enjoys hiking, riding her Tennessee walking horse, and travel. She’s visited 34 states, four countries – and eight of the 14 football stadiums in the Southeastern Conference.

Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. ag.tennessee.edu.