Wes Stowers and the Stowers Machinery Foundation and state Rep. Jerome Moon were honored by the Tennessee Board of Regents for their longtime support of Pellissippi State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville.
Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr. and TCAT Knoxville President Kelli Chaney nominated Stowers for the Regents’ Award for Excellence in Philanthropy while Wise nominated Moon for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy.
These awards honor individuals, companies and organizations who go “above and beyond” to donate their resources, finances and personal time to TBR colleges.
Stowers Machinery, a family-owned company founded in 1960, serves the construction industry. Its employees serve on advisory committees for the Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology program at six TCAT locations, and the company makes in-kind donations of equipment and components to enhance the program.
Stowers Machinery was a regional leader in establishing TCAT’s heavy equipment operator training program on Pellissippi State’s Blount County Campus, and the Stowers Machinery Foundation made a significant gift to help build the Bill Haslam Center for Math and Science on Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley Campus.
Jerome Moon
Moon has supported Pellissippi State for more than 30 years. As president and publisher of The Daily Times from 1984-89, Moon chaired The Fund for Blount County, which was a driving force behind the establishment of Pellissippi State’s first permanent Blount County Campus. He later helped raise the money necessary to purchase and remodel the former Bungalow School for the growing college. When Pellissippi State was ready to build a new campus in Blount County, Moon helped secure state funding for the project. Personally, Moon and his family have made significant contributions to college causes such as the Claude Moon Welding Scholarship, established in honor of his father, and the Claude Moon Welding Lab on the Blount County Campus.
Stowers was presented his award by Regent Miles Burdine on Thursday while Moon received his from Cris Perkins, Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Advancement.
Pellissippi State contributed information for this article.