The people of UTC: Get to know 'Miss' Wanda Goins

Wanda Goins smiles while wearing a security uniform and reflective vest inside a UTC campus building.

Wanda Goins worked security at the Chattanooga Wellness Expo at the Wolford Family Athletic Center. Photo by Angela Foster.

“Miss” Wanda Goins moved to Chattanooga in 1974—four years after graduating from Dalton (Georgia) High School. At the time, she did not know just how much she would become ingrained in the community.

She began working at Erlanger Baroness Hospital that year and, since 1990, has also become a familiar face at Chattanooga Lookouts baseball games—where she is affectionately known as “Wanda the Program Lady.”

Goins joined the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1990 as an usher at McKenzie Arena. Today, she works security in the James R. Mapp Building while continuing to serve at campus events throughout the year.

On Tuesday, Aug. 18, Goins was inducted into the Bessie Smith Cultural Center Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the Chattanooga community. As she described what the honor meant to her, she became emotional, saying she was overwhelmed to learn she had been selected.

How did you get to UTC?

“My cousin, Fran, was working at UTC and came to my house one day. She said, ‘You want to make some extra money?’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t care.’ The Chattanooga Lookouts were still on Third Street then, and Jimmy Buffett was having a concert at the ballpark.

“I worked that concert, and I guess I was having so much fun because they asked if I wanted to keep working. I put in an application and started with the Lookouts. About two weeks later, I started working at UTC, and I’ve been here ever since.”

What was your first role at UTC?

“I started at McKenzie Arena doing what they called crowd control back then. Today, you’d call it ushering. I’d show people where they sat and help them get where they needed to go.

“Now I work security in the James R. Mapp Building, but I still work the arena, football, basketball, commencement—I still do everything.”

What does your role in the James R. Mapp Building entail?

“I make sure strangers don’t just come into the building. I watch the doors downstairs and upstairs, and if somebody needs help, I help them.

“I see a lot of people come through here every day and I enjoy talking to them.”

What has UTC meant to you over the past 36 years?

“It means a lot because even though it’s part time, it’s still a job, and I take my job seriously. I love UTC, and I just enjoy it.

“I’ve met so many students, faculty and staff over the years. People will come up and say, ‘Miss Wanda!’ and I’m trying to figure out where I know them from. Is it Erlanger? Is it UTC? Is it the Lookouts? It makes me feel good when they remember me.”

You’ve become well known throughout Chattanooga. What has it been like to have so many people recognize you?

“It really makes me feel good. People will say, ‘I remember you when I was a little boy,’ and I tell them, ‘You’re telling my age now.’

“I’ll have students here at UTC ask, ‘Didn’t I see you at the Lookouts game?’ I tell them, ‘Yeah.’ I don’t meet no strangers. I just enjoy people.”

Wanda Goins holds her Bessie Smith Cultural Center Hall of Fame induction certificate while posing with others and the Chattanooga Lookouts mascot at a baseball field.

Wanda Goins holds her Bessie Smith Cultural Center Hall of Fame induction certificate during a ceremony at a Chattanooga Lookouts game. Photo by Dixie Edmondson.

You were inducted into the Bessie Smith Cultural Center Hall of Fame. What does that honor mean to you?

“I didn’t know anything about it. They told me to come into a room at the ballpark, and I wasn’t paying attention. Then they started telling me they wanted to give me this award.

“I couldn’t even talk. They told me I deserved it and that everybody loves me and that I make Chattanooga special. I was just honored. When I got home that night, I couldn’t even sleep. Those were happy tears.”

What keeps you going and where does your positive attitude come from?

“People ask me all the time, and I tell them I’m not going to retire. I love my two part-time jobs. When the Lookouts are through, football season kicks in. Then you’ve got basketball and all the other events. I just enjoy doing it.

“I’ve just got to give God all the credit. I’ve been through a lot, but He always had my back. I worked three jobs for over 30 years while taking care of my mama after she got lung cancer. I got tired, but I didn’t give up. God saw me through it. That’s why I try to stay positive.”