Jonesborough

Mike and Terri Southerland may have never met had it not been for the bright orange University of Tennessee, Knoxville, hat Mike wore to a 1983 hot air balloon festival in Greenville, South Carolina.

The hat prompted Terri, who was attending Clemson University at the time, to tease the man wearing the wrong shade of orange.

“He told me he graduated from there and I said, ‘Oh gosh. Well, it was just so nice meeting you. I’m going to go over here for now,’” joked Terri.

But 39 years later, they added another UT emblem of significance to their lives: the 27^th mural in the “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural campaign painted in April 2022 on a barn at Triple S&S Farms Angus Beef, their fifth-generation Jonesborough farm. 

Mike, who graduated from UTK in 1980 with a degree in agriculture, and Terri, who graduated from UTK in 1998 with a master’s in special education, reached out about bringing a mural to a barn on their property after reading an article about the campaign in the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Tennessee Land, Life and Science magazine.

The Southerlands had already painted their own Power T on the property, and while they’re avid UT sports fans, they felt the “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural conveyed a deeper message: one of the entire UT System.

“This mural has meaning beyond our orange T,” said Mike. “We hope when people see it, they think more about UT for college studies and the resources that it provides in so many areas.”

Aside from his own college studies, Mike—who moved to Georgia to manage a dairy before serving as a state manager for the University of Georgia Extension for eight year—experienced that impact of UT through UT Extension’s resources when he returned to Triple S&S Farms in 2008.

Washington County is an area with a heavy concentration of family farms, and UT Extension’s presence is a welcome one.

“When there are issues on the farms, they call UT Extension.”

The program has also been impactful for other agricultural-based projects, like the Washington County Livestock Processing Center that Mike serves on the board of directors for.

Terri—a self-proclaimed “city girl” who grew up outside of Raleigh, North Carolina—enjoys her time on the farm, but her passion has always been elsewhere.

“I just drive by and wave at the cows,” she joked.

“Ever since I was 5 years old, I have felt called to be a teacher,” she added.

Her 35-year career as an educator and coach in various school systems across east Tennessee allowed her to instill her passion and the importance of education into the lives of countless children.

She also noticed the impact that UT students had on school systems.

“Whenever I got a student teacher from UT, I knew the difference. They were prepared, they were knowledgeable, they knew discipline and they really shined,” said Terri. “I never had to worry about them.”

Mike and Terri raised their own children—a set of triplet sons and a daughter, Mallory, who graduated from UTK in 2009—on the importance of agriculture and education, and, of course, a whole lot of UT love.

“We’re just so proud to be representing the University of Tennessee,” Mike said. “And I’m going to try to have my best cattle over near that mural.”

They hope that pride is evident to the 560 daily travelers passing by the 12-foot-wide mural at Triple S&S Farms.

It isn’t the first time UT has made an impact on their lives, and it likely won’t be the last.

“If he hadn’t had that orange hat on, I don’t know that I would have said anything to him,” said Terri.