Huntsville

For Amber Minor (Knoxville ‘18), Scott County’s UT Extension director, every day looks vastly different.

“One day I’ll be checking someone’s pressure canner lid so they can preserve food safely, and the next I’ll be teaching 4-H yoga,” she said. “It’s never the same and that’s what makes it so great: being able to help people in all different areas of their lives.”

When Minor heard about the “Everywhere You Look, UT” murals popping up in other counties around the state, she wanted Scott County to be next in the lineup—and she knew exactly the place to paint.

In 2013, the Scott County Farmers’ Market, a county building in Huntsville, swung open its barn doors. Today, it’s also home base for Scott County’s UT Extension office. Summers at the market create lively scenes: bustling with energy as customers visit with vendors who have all their colorful, fresh produce and goods lined up for sale. But when the market closes, the barn becomes a UT Extension hub—for education, opportunity and community assistance.

One of the office’s biggest tasks, Minor said, is fighting food insecurity. 

“UT plays a big role in addressing food insecurity, and a lot of that happens at the farmers’ market,” Minor said. “We bring in all these other organizations to help facilitate that. It all goes back to agriculture and food and providing it to the ones who need it the most.”

Minor, who has worked as a Scott County Extension agent for three years, has no plans of stopping that work soon. She’s set to complete her master’s in agricultural leadership, education and communication before the end of the year, so that she can continue her work with Extension.

“I just fell in love with UT Extension and the Institute of Agriculture, and their mission and vision,” she said. “I know that Extension is something I will want to continue to do until I retire.”

The 50-foot-wide mural—with its central location on Scott High Drive near the Scott County High School, the county justice center and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology—will stand as an emblem of UT Extension’s work in Scott County.

But it’s more than just a mural: it’s a message to the passing 1,600 daily travelers that rural counties not only matter to UT, they’re an essential part of the system.

“Oftentimes, rural counties can feel forgotten,” Minor said. “Having someone say ‘I want to show that we are here’ is meaningful. Being able to be a part of that, you get a sense of importance.”

For Minor, that’s what “Everywhere You Look, UT” is all about: recognizing the positive impact UT makes in every part of the state.

“It goes back to Extension; we are in every single county in the entire state,” she said. “We’re here to help, and we’re here to provide opportunities.”