56 Notable alumni of
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University is 803rd in the world, 301st in North America, and 280th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 56 notable alumni from Middle Tennessee State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Amy Lee
- Occupations
- lyricistmusiciansingerpianistsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Amy Lynn Lee is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also participated on other musical projects, including Nightmare Revisited and Muppets: The Green Album, composed the soundtrack to the films War Story (2014) and Indigo Grey: The Passage (2015) with cellist Dave Eggar, and the song "Speak to Me" for the film Voice from the Stone (2017). She has also collaborated with other artists such as Korn, Seether, Bring Me the Horizon, and Lindsey Stirling. A classically trained pianist, Lee possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range.
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Sondra Locke
- Occupations
- film producerfilm actorscreenwriterdirectormodel
- Biography
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Sandra Louise Anderson, professionally known as Sondra Locke, was an American actress and director. She achieved recognition for her relationship with Clint Eastwood and the six hit films they made together.
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Hillary Scott
- Occupations
- songwritersinger-songwritersinger
- Biography
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Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell is an American singer and songwriter. She is the co-lead singer of Lady A, a country music group that was formed in 2006, and is signed to Big Machine Records.
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Julien Baker
- Enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University
- Studied literary studies and sound technology
- Occupations
- composersongwritermusicianguitaristsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Julien Rose Baker is an American indie rock singer and guitarist. Her music is noted for its moody quality and confessional lyrical style, as well as frank explorations of issues including Christianity, addiction, mental illness, and human nature.
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Chely Wright
- Occupations
- singer-songwriteractivistrecording artistmusicianautobiographer
- Biography
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Chely Wright is an American activist, author and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit, "Single White Female." She later became known for her role in LGBT activism after publicly coming out. She has since sold over 1,500,000 copies and 10,000,000 digital impressions to date in the United States.
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James M. Buchanan
- Occupations
- university teachereconomist
- Biography
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James McGill Buchanan Jr. was an American economist known for his work on public choice theory originally outlined in his most famous work, The Calculus of Consent, co-authored with Gordon Tullock in 1962. He continued to develop the theory, eventually receiving the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986. Buchanan's work initiated research on how politicians' and bureaucrats' self-interest, utility maximization, and other non-wealth-maximizing considerations affect their decision-making. He was a member of the Board of Advisors of The Independent Institute as well as of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a member of the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) and MPS president from 1984 to 1986, a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute, and professor at George Mason University.
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Albert Arnold Gore
- Enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University
- Studied in 1932
- Occupations
- lawyerpoliticianeducatorschool superintendent
- Biography
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Albert Arnold Gore, Sr. was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from the state's 4th congressional district from 1939 to 1953. He was the father of Al Gore, who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 until 2001, and held Tennessee's other U.S. Senate seat from 1985 to 1993. A native of Granville, Tennessee, Gore graduated from Middle Tennessee State Teachers College and taught school. From 1932 to 1936 he was superintendent of schools for Smith County. He attended the Nashville Y.M.C.A. Night Law School, now the Nashville School of Law, from which he graduated in 1936.
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Kevin Byard
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Kevin Leon Byard Jr. is an American football free safety for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Middle Tennessee. Byard was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2017, his second season in the NFL, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and the First-team All-Pro and was the co-leader for most interceptions throughout the season. Additionally, he led the NFL in takeaways with 10 (8 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries).
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John Peers
- Occupations
- tennis player
- Biography
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John William Peers is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles.
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Natalie Prass
- Occupations
- guitaristsingercomposersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Natalie Jean Prass is an American singer-songwriter from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her self-titled debut album was released on January 27, 2015, through Spacebomb and Columbia Records.
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Alysha Clark
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Alysha Angelica Clark is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted in the second round of the 2010 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars. In 2018, Clark won a championship with the Seattle Storm as they swept the Mystics in the 2018 WNBA Finals, and in 2020 won her second championship as the Storm swept the Las Vegas Aces. She was also League MVP in 2018 when her team CCC Polkowice (Basketball) of Poland in the Basket Liga Kobiet Basketball won that League's Championship. In 2019, she won a Ligue Féminine de Basketball championship with her French team, Lyon Asvel. She is known for her swarming defense and clutch shooting.
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Dave Barnes
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterguitarist
- Biography
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David Mckee Barnes is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released eight studio albums, including two Christmas albums. His most recent full-length album, Dreaming in Electric Blue, was released in 2020.
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Benny Cunningham
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Benjamin Corey Cunningham is a former American football running back. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State and was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
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Luke Laird
- Occupations
- songwriterrecord producer
- Biography
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Luke Robert Laird is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one Billboard singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Undo It"; Blake Shelton's "Gonna"; Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger"; Rodney Atkins's "Take a Back Road"; Eric Church's "Drink in My Hand", "Give Me Back My Hometown", and "Talladega"; Little Big Town's "Pontoon"; Luke Bryan's "I See You" and "Fast"; Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt"; Kenny Chesney's "American Kids"; Lady Antebellum's "Downtown"; and Jon Pardi's "Head Over Boots." He has also written and produced songs for Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Darius Rucker, and many others.
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Cliff Ellis
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Robert Clifford Ellis is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach at Coastal Carolina University.
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James Wade Jr
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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James Wade, known as Coco, is an American-French basketball head coach for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wade won the WNBA's Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards in 2019 and 2022 respectively, and led the Sky to their first WNBA Championship in 2021.
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Erik Walden
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Erik Lashawn Walden is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks. With the Packers, he won Super Bowl XLV in 2010.
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Vernice Armour
- Occupations
- helicopter pilotmilitary officer
- Biography
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Vernice "Flygirl" Armour is a former United States Marine Corps officer who was the first African-American female naval aviator in the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps first female combat aviator. She flew the AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and eventually served two tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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Bill Boner
- Occupations
- teacherpolitician
- Biography
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William Hill Boner is an American educator and former Democratic politician from Tennessee. He was the third mayor of the Metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County, serving from 1987 to 1991. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as the Representative from the 5th District of Tennessee, from 1979 to 1988.
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Bryce Brentz
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Bryce Everett Brentz is an American professional baseball left fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox. During the 2014 and 2016 seasons, he appeared in a total of 34 MLB games with Boston. He bats and throws right-handed, and is listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and 215 pounds (98 kg).
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Shawn Jones
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Shawn Jones is an American-born Kosovan professional basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for Middle Tennessee State University, where he was named the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2014.
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Bart Gordon
- Enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University
- In 1971 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- lawyerlobbyistpolitician
- Biography
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Barton Jennings Gordon is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He announced on December 14, 2009, that he would not seek re-election in 2010.
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John W. Hendrix
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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John Walter Hendrix is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as Commander, United States Army Forces Command from 1999 to 2001.
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Zac Curtis
- Occupations
- professional baseball player
- Biography
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Zachary Aaron Curtis, is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers.
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James Percy Priest
- Occupations
- teacherpoliticianjournalist
- Biography
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James Percy Priest was an American teacher, journalist and politician who represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives from 1941 until his death.
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Reggie Upshaw
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Reginald Eugene Upshaw Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Telenet Giants Antwerp of the BNXT League. He competed in college for Middle Tennessee State University.
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Jess Neely
- Occupations
- head coachAmerican football player
- Biography
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Jesse Claiborne Neely was an American football player and a baseball and football coach. He was head football coach at Southwestern University (now Rhodes College) from 1924 to 1927, at Clemson University from 1931 to 1939 and at Rice University from 1940 to 1966, compiling a career college football record of 207–176–19. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1971.
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Frédéric Niemeyer
- Occupations
- tennis coachtennis player
- Biography
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Frédéric Niemeyer is a Canadian retired, professional tennis player and was tennis coach at Tennis Canada for 10 years and he is now a freelance Tennis Consultant and Coach.
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John Wheeler
- Years
- 1970-.. (age 53)
- Occupations
- singersongwriter
- Biography
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John Wheeler is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. While he is best known as the creator and frontman of the internationally-known "rockgrass" band Hayseed Dixie, Wheeler also performs solo and has produced and performed on albums by many other artists. He is the second cousin of bluegrass music pioneer, Lester Flatt. An avid motorcycle enthusiast, Wheeler has ridden a motorcycle on every tour since 2006, logging over 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometers) across Europe and the United States.
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Josh Robbins
- Occupations
- talent agentHIV/AIDS activist
- Biography
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Joshua W. Robbins is an American HIV/AIDS activist, blogger, talent agent, writer, and social media marketer. His work has been featured on The Advocate, Human Rights Campaign, Healthline, POZ and a myriad of additional publications. Robbins was named to the POZ 100 List in 2013.
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Charles M. Robinson
- Years
- 1984-.. (age 39)
- Occupations
- video editormusic video director
- Biography
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Charles Mariano Robinson is a music video and commercial director, and musician. Robinson is known for shooting videos for artists such as Waka Flocka, Young Buck, and Shawty Lo.
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Rick Insell
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Rick Insell is the current head coach for the Middle Tennessee State University women's basketball team.
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Brice Long
- Occupations
- singer-songwriter
- Biography
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William Brice Long is an American country music singer-songwriter. Signed to Columbia Records in 2005, Long charted one single on the Billboard country chart that year: "Anywhere but Here", which was also released by Chris Cagle a year later. In addition, Long co-wrote Gary Allan's 2004 Number One single "Nothing On but the Radio", Jon Pardi's Number One single "Heartache on the Dance Floor" and Randy Houser's singles "Anything Goes" and "Like a Cowboy".
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Andreas Siljeström
- Occupations
- tennis player
- Biography
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Andreas Siljeström is a Swedish professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has a career doubles high-ranking of world No. 57 achieved in May 2012.
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Tim Blue
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Tim Blue is an American professional basketball player. He is mostly known for his stint with the Antibes Sharks of the French LNB Pro A. Blue usually played as power forward or small forward. In his professional career, he has played in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and France.
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Perrin Buford
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Perrin Buford is an American professional basketball player for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the B.League. He played college basketball at Middle Tennessee.
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Lisa-Marie Woods
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Lisa-Marie Woods is a Norwegian retired professional football midfielder and current assistant coach at Creighton University. She last played at Asheville City SC of the Women's Premier Soccer League as a forward. She has previously played for Asker SK and LSK Kvinner in the Toppserien FC Indiana & Ottawa Fury in North America's USL W-League as well as Kolbotn, Stabæk, and Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark's Elitedivisionen, BIIK Kazygurt in the Kazakhstani women's football championship, and Perth Glory in Australia's W-League.
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Bob Tillman
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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John Robert Tillman was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Boston Red Sox (1962–67), New York Yankees (1967), and Atlanta Braves (1968–70). He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighed 205 pounds (93 kg).
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Houston Fancher
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Houston Fancher is an American basketball coach, previously the interim head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team. Prior to that, he worked for four years at Tennessee, and the last two as the Director of Basketball Operations. From 2000 to 2009, he was the men's head basketball coach of the Mountaineers at Appalachian State University. His first two seasons saw his team go 11–20, and 10–18, respectively. The following season, 2002–03, his team went 19–10, and Fancher was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year. In the 2006–07 season, his squad won a school record 25 games, but failed to make the NCAA tournament, instead garnering Appalachian's first National Invitation Tournament (NIT) berth instead. On March 16, 2009, Fancher resigned as head coach following a disappointing 2008–09 season.
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Marynell Meadors
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Marynell Meadors is an American women's basketball coach at the college and professional level. She most recently served as head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association and was one of the original eight head coaches when the WNBA started in 1997.
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Rodney D. Bennett
- Years
- 1966-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- academic
- Biography
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Rodney D. Bennett is the former President of the University of Southern Mississippi. Bennett received his Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication, Master of Education, and Education Specialist degrees from Middle Tennessee State University and earned his Ed.D. from Tennessee State University in Educational Administration. Bennett served as Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Georgia, and in 2013 Bennett was appointed the 10th President of the University of Southern Mississippi. Shortly after his appointment, the Hattiesburg campus of the University of Southern Mississippi was struck by an EF4 tornado, which did not involve any loss of life due to a students' break for Mardi Gras holiday. In 2017, William Carey University, also located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was struck by a tornado, and Bennett's leadership in providing temporary space at the University of Southern Mississippi later resulted in him being honored with a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa, from William Carey. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa in 2019 at the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Brooke Barrettsmith
- Occupations
- pianistguitaristcomposersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Brooke Barrettsmith is a singer, songwriter, and musician originally from Spring Grove, Illinois. She was a former contestant of the reality television show American Idol during its 5th season in 2005–2006.
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Ashley Eicher
- Years
- 1980-.. (age 43)
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestant
- Biography
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Ashley Eicher is a host, producer, podcaster and storyteller. She is the host of Guest List Radio with Ashley Eicher on Apple Music. She is the co-host and co-founder of the All Our Favorite People Podcast with Ashley Eicher and Hunter Kelly. Conversations from the podcast have been featured on People.com, Billboard.com, ET Canada, CMT.com, PopCulture.com, CMA Close Up, Nashville Lifestyles and more.
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Janet Amponsah
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Janet Amponsah is a Ghanaian sprinter. She represented her country at the 2013 World Championships without qualifying for the semifinals. She won medals in the 4 × 100 metres relay at two African Championships and at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She was selected as Ghana's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and voted the 2015 Ghanaian Female Athlete of the Year. She missed the 2015 World Championships in China due to problems with her entry visa. At the 2016 Olympics, she competed in the 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay events.
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Rupert Smith
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Rupert McAdoo "Rupe" Smith was an American football and baseball player from Tennessee. Smith was the leading scorer on Dan McGugin's 1921 Vanderbilt Commodores football team which shared a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) title, and was retroactively selected for a national title by Clyde Berryman. Smith had previously played for the Middle Tennessee State football team.
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James Patrick Sutton
- Enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University
- Studied in 1939
- Occupations
- brokerpolitician
- Biography
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James Patrick Sutton was an American politician and a member of the United States Congress from Tennessee.
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Ken Roberts
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Kenneth Elwin Roberts is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies. He made his big league debut with the Rockies, on May 3, 2015.
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Tony L. Cothron
- Enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University
- Graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Rear Admiral Tony Lee Cothron was the Director of Intelligence for the Chief of Naval Operations and the 62nd Director of Naval Intelligence. He is currently a professor at Liberty University.
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Darren Jernigan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Darren Jernigan is a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 60th district. He was first elected in 2012, taking office in January 2013. Jernigan also served on the Nashville City Council.
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Doug Holder
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Doug Holder is a Republican politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing the 70th District from 2006 to 2012, and the 74th District, which included Englewood, North Port, and Venice in Sarasota County, from 2012 to 2014. He was a candidate for the Florida Senate in 2018 but lost in the Republican primary.
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Shane Reeves
- Years
- 1968-.. (age 55)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Shane Reeves is an American businessman, pharmacist and politician who is the State Senator for the 14th District of Tennessee, which is composed of Bedford County, Moore County, Lincoln County, Marshall County, and part of Rutherford County. Reeves campaigned as a conservative Republican in the Tennessee State Senate District 14 Special Election in 2018. The special election was mandated because of a vacant seat created by Jim Tracy's acceptance of Tennessee Director for Rural Development with the Trump Administration. Jim Tracy endorsed Shane Reeves. Prior to entering politics, Reeves co-owned Reeves-Sain Drug Store in Murfreesboro, TN, and after selling in 2015, he founded Twelvestone Health Partners in 2016.
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Mike Turner
- Years
- 1955-.. (age 68)
- Occupations
- firefighterpolitician
- Biography
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Mike Turner is a Tennessee politician who sat in the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 51, which is composed of part of Davidson County and includes Old Hickory. He is a member of the Tennessee Democratic Party.
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Nick Levay
- Occupations
- scientist
- Biography
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Nick Levay also known as Rattle was an American computer security expert and hacker. He was the Chief Security Officer at the Council on Foreign Relations and other organizations such as Carbon Black and the Center for American Progress. From 2018–2021 he was the President of the NGO-ISAC, an Information Sharing and Analysis Center nonprofit serving US-based non-governmental organizations.
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Lowell Russell
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Larry Lowell Russell is a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 21st district, encompassing parts of Loudon County and Monroe County.
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William Estel Potts
- Enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University
- Graduated with Master in Public Administration
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Major General William Estel Potts was a career officer in the United States Army and served as the 22nd Chief of Ordnance for the United States Army Ordnance Corps.
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Caia Morstad
- Years
- 1982-.. (age 41)
- Biography
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Caia Morstad is a Canadian athlete who was a competitive volleyball player and Calgary Stampede Princess. She has played volleyball for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, University of Saskatchewan Huskies, and the SAIT Trojans. She has also played beach volleyball, competing in the 2001 Canada Games, on behalf of Saskatchewan.
