Haslam College of Business - UT Alumni Honored at Annual Haslam College of Business Gala

The University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business toasted the achievements of three alumni and one corporate partner at its tenth annual Alumni Awards Gala on November 9.

Approximately 350 alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the college attended the celebration. The event included cocktails and a silent auction followed by dinner and the awards presentation.

This year’s awardees included:

Mason Jones (HCB, ’04, Law, ’07) garnered the Outstanding Young Alum Award. Since co-founding Volunteer Traditions in 2010, a company that designs classic apparel conveying a love for Tennessee, Jones has returned often to campus to speak with students. Additionally, Volunteer Traditions recently helped design special edition shirts for incoming Haslam freshmen, and Jones established a scholarship at Haslam for students from his hometown of White House, Tennessee.

Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee was recognized as the 2018 Outstanding Corporate Partner for its support of the college through the Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee Insurance/Risk Management Lecturer Endowment, which helps recruit outstanding insurance and risk management faculty to Haslam.

Ed Pershing (HCB, ’74) received the 2018 Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. An accounting major, Pershing co-founded the accounting consulting firm Pershing Yoakley & Associates in 1983. Today, PYA is the ninth largest privately owned healthcare management consulting firm in the country.

Mack Dove (HCB, ’58) was given the 2018 Distinguished Alum Award. Dove, a logistics major, joined his family’s business, AAA Cooper Transportation, after college. He helped grow the company into a multinational business, which now employs 5,200 people and operates a fleet of 2,600 tractor units and 6,000 dry trailers, with more than $500 million in annual sales. Dove and his wife, Nancy, have given back to the college in many ways, including funding three endowments.

Full profiles about each recipient are available on the college’s alumni and giving website and will be published in the forthcoming winter issue of Haslam Magazine.

All proceeds from the Gala benefit the College Fund for Haslam Business.