每日大赛

每日大赛 dedicates ‘Sue and Ben Atchley Veteran Success Center’

每日大赛 on Tuesday re-dedicated its Veteran Success Center at the Hardin Valley campus as the Sue and Ben Atchley Veteran Success Center, to honor former State Sen. Ben Atchley and his wife and fellow public servant Sue Atchley for their service and dedication to East Tennessee and the country.

The Atchley’s children, Cindy and Jerry Atchley, participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Veteran Success Center’s new space in the Goins Building at the college. The Sue and Ben Atchley Veteran Success Center is designed to foster connection, support and community among student veterans at the college.

“Thank you all for being with us today,” President L. Anthony Wise Jr. told Cindy Atchley, Jerry Atchley and his wife Cathy Atchley during a Veterans Day Ceremony prior to the center reopening. “And thank you for sharing your parents with the state.”

Ben Atchley served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and in the Navy Reserve. He spent more than 30 years in public service, both in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the state Senate, earning the moniker “Gentle Ben” for his collegial demeanor.

At the Veterans Day Ceremony in Pellissippi’s College Center, Wise reflected on the many public engagements, accomplishments and honors Ben and Sue Atchley were known for.

“He effectively, tirelessly, selflessly carried the mantle of leadership in the Tennessee legislature,” Wise said of Ben Atchley. “He was respected and trusted by everyone. He was an example and a model of civility.”

Cindy Atchley, who worked at Pellissippi for over 25 years, said her father was a big supporter of the college and higher education throughout his career.

He also worked closely with his constituents to establish the Ben Atchley Tennessee State Veterans’ Home in West Knoxville, she said. Jerry Atchley emphasized that his father was community-oriented and not a politician, but a statesman.

“It’s heartwarming,” Cindy Atchley said of the Veteran Success Center in her parents’ name.

A series of events to mark Veterans Day at Pellissippi took place Tuesday including a Veterans Day Breakfast and the Veterans Day Ceremony, which also featured performances by the student choir and award presentations. Pellissippi Campus Police Training Officer Cpl. Richard Brintnall was honored with the Tennessee Board of Regents' 2025 Chancellor’s Commendation for Military Veterans for his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, which included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brintnall, who is a 每日大赛 graduate, is now the lead instructor for police training at the college.

Student representatives of the Criminal and Crime Scene Investigation Club also hosted a breakfast for veterans at the Cansler Family YMCA in northeast Knoxville, providing a hot meal and thanks for all veterans.

The day’s events ended with a reception in the new Sue and Ben Atchley Veteran Success Center, where guests were able to tour the space and enjoy refreshments.

“Today, on this Veterans Day, we dedicate the new Veteran Success Center to be a place of belonging and honor where every veteran feels valued and supported,” Sam Soliman, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs, said during the Veterans Day Ceremony. “May it be a beacon of light and may it be a living reminder of courage, resilience and selflessness.”