It was an easy yes for Glenn Thackston when asked if he would consider serving on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee 4-H Foundation. Glenn’s roots run deep with family in the agriculture field, and he became involved as a 4-H’er at an early age.
“We had a very strong 4-H program where I grew up in Cumberland County,” he says. “My dad was the county Extension agent and so I was exposed to it naturally. Both of my grandparents were farmers and I always loved going there and spending time on the farm with them in the summers. We lived in a rural neighborhood but had the benefit of having some land behind our house. Dad has always had a huge and beautiful vegetable garden, and we also had a pole barn with some fenced-in acreage. We had some steers and sheep, and I showed them in 4-H shows in the spring and summer. As a 4-H’er, I was also a member of our county livestock judging team and the plant and seed identification teams.”
He has many great memories of those experiences.
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“I was also a member of our county 4-H land judging teams,” he says. “We either won or were runners-up in the state and got to go compete at the National Land, Pasture and Range Judging Contest in Oklahoma. We were the Southeast region champions, and that was a big thrill for a 16-year-old group of boys.”
In addition to serving on the judging teams and showing livestock, Glenn became involved with the 4-H leadership and citizenship programs and the grounds programs.
“I was painfully shy and bashful in my early youth,” Glenn says. “I was encouraged to pursue public speaking as a way to battle and overcome that shyness and build speaking skills and self-confidence. It helped me tremendously, and it’s something that I still see the benefits of to this day. One of the foundations behind 4-H is leadership and citizenship, and it felt like a duty to become prepared and able to speak to a group when called upon.”
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
“I enjoy being outdoors, and my love of home grounds came from my dad,” he says. “He always had a great-looking yard, and I helped him on numerous landscaping projects growing up. I think his pride and love of landscaping and home grounds rubbed off on me and so that was why it became my main project within 4-H.”
Glenn has worked with Learfield/The Vol Network since 1996 and is grateful for the many experiences and lessons learned while in 4-H, as they have prepared him for his role now as executive director.
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“Our office manages and oversees the multi-media, marketing and advertising assets for University of Tennessee Athletics,” Glenn says. “My primary responsibility is on the revenue and sales side of things, managing a number of our partnership agreements and generating new partners. I also oversee the Vol Network’s radio operations and affiliate relations. In many ways, it’s been a dream job for me and my experiences with 4-H definitely helped me get to where I am today. 4-H probably modeled and prepared me as much or more than any other group or association I was involved in.”
In May, Glenn celebrated his one-year anniversary of serving on the Tennessee 4-H Foundation board, and his goal as a board member is simple but strong: to give back to an organization that gave so much to him.
“Tennessee 4-H was very important and a formative part of my youth development and growth,” Glenn says. “Personally, and professionally, I owe a lot to my 4-H experience and to the agents, leaders and volunteers that took time to invest in and encourage me.”
When asked to serve, Glenn says he felt like it was his duty and obligation to give back and support an organization that he believes in and that has meant so much to him and many of his friends.
“Tennessee has a very proud and strong 4-H tradition, and we want to see that continue and grow,” he says. “I feel strongly that it’s a strong fabric within our state and one of the things that makes Tennessee and its people so special.”