{"id":79308,"date":"2026-09-16T15:53:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=79308"},"modified":"2026-09-16T15:56:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:56:04","slug":"celebrating-service-employees-recognized-for-years-of-work-at-utc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/celebrating-service-employees-recognized-for-years-of-work-at-utc\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating service:\u00a0Employees recognized for years\u00a0of work\u00a0at UTC\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Three

Chancellor Lori Bruce (center) poses with 40 year UTC employees Jina Johnson (left) and Dr. Marcia Noe. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Jina Johnson graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1986. That same year, she began her career in human resources at UTC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Forty years later, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, she attended UTC\u2019s annual Service Awards Luncheon\u2014a Founder\u2019s Week event that celebrates faculty and staff anniversaries beginning at five years of service. This year\u2019s event honored 183 employees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent my whole adult life here when you think about it,\u201d said Johnson, who is still in HR as the payroll and records management specialist. \u201cI went to school here and now I\u2019m working here. I really feel like family here.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has flown by. It\u2019s a good feeling.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To kick off the ceremony, Chancellor Lori Bruce spoke to the <\/span>honorees<\/span> in the audience about what their service means to her and to UTC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to just say thank you to everyone in the room,\u201d Bruce said. \u201cThank you for what you do to make our University special and to make the student experience special, to serve our students and to serve each other.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UTC Student Government Association President Zachary Lewis also thanked the crowd.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for the countless hours you have spent leaning in, listening and truly caring for every single person on this campus,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cTo those being recognized today, thank you for your service, your energy and your dedication to UTC.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Two

Carole Geter (right) holds up a “Power C” with Chancellor Lori Bruce.<\/p><\/div>\n

Not long after Carole Geter began working at UTC, she had to step away for several months for <\/span>surgery<\/span>. She worried she might not have a job to return to.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, she said <\/span>human resources<\/span> and her supervisor worked with her through the situation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing I was most grateful about,\u201d said Geter, a senior custodian celebrating 10 years of service.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Geter takes care of Founders Hall, Race Hall and the Alumni House, where she interacts with the people who pass through the buildings each day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI get to interact with the students, the staff and my coworkers,\u201d she said. \u201cI take my job very seriously.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a decade at UTC, Geter said she loves the University and wants others to experience it as well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great environment,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get my grandbaby to come to college, and I recommend a lot of nieces and nephews to come to this college because it\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

\"An

Dr. Chris Smith<\/p><\/div>\n

Over her 25 years at UTC, Dr. Chris Smith has watched nursing education change dramatically. <\/span>She has helped lead that change<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith, now dean of the College of Nursing and the <\/span>University\u2019s<\/span> chief health affairs officer, watched nursing grow from a school into an independent college, while her own role has grown along with it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see where we\u2019re going to end up,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had an idea that we needed to be able to do more for our students.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The technology available to those students would have been difficult to imagine when Smith arrived 25 years ago. Simulation, she said, \u201cwas in its infancy.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She said the time passed quickly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the longest I\u2019ve ever been anywhere,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI can honestly say there\u2019s not one morning I\u2019ve gotten up and said I don\u2019t want to go to work. It\u2019s a wonderful place to work, and I have great faculty and staff that I work with. That\u2019s why I have lasted 25 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Two

Reuben Snow<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Jerry Ball<\/p><\/div>\n

Reuben Snow and Jerry Ball both reached the 30-year service milestone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Snow, technical director at McKenzie Arena and a Chattanooga native, attended UTC before beginning his career at the University.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt means the world,\u201d Snow said of reaching 30 years. \u201cBeautiful people. I\u2019ve seen them come and go, and I\u2019m still here.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ball, an electrician assistant in Facilities, Planning and Management, said his 30 years have passed quickly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels amazing. It flew by fast,\u201d Ball said. \u201cIt\u2019s good people up here, good community and good coworkers.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked why he has stayed at UTC, Ball responded: \u201cThe question is, why not UTC? The people are great. The facilities are great. The staff and faculty, they take care of each other. So, it\u2019s just like one big happy family.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2026 Service Award recipients are listed below, courtesy of the UTC Office of Human Resources.<\/p>\n

5-Year Service Awards<\/h4>\n