UTC Chancellor Steve Angle was the first person to sign the Quilt of Valor, which will be awarded later this semester to a veteran enrolled at UTC.
From the chancellor’s office, the quilt was taken to Chamberlain Field where, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, students, faculty and staff at UTC are asked to sign.
“I don’t want there to be any room on it when we’re done. I want to fill it up,” said Linda Hinkle, coordinator for Veteran Student Services at UTC.
Also signing the quilt in the chancellor’s officer were Executive Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Richard Brown, Chancellor Office Chief of Staff Terry Denniston, Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management and Student Success and Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Yancy Freeman and Dean of Students Jim Hicks.
While pieces of fabric for the quilt come from across the country, most of the actual stitching together was done by local quilters.
The first Quilt of Valor was awarded in November 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to a young soldier from Minnesota who lost his leg in Iraq. To date, 199,371 quilts have been given to U.S. veterans.