The Gore Center cooperated with the office of
Dr. Barbara Haskew, Vice President for Academic Affairs at MTSU, in
mounting a conference on September 8 to kick off the Tennessee Legislative
History Project. The conference
theme was “Creating a Legacy: The Coming of Age of the Tennessee General
Assembly.” Moderator John
Siegenthaler was joined by former governors Ned McWherter and Winfield Dunn,
journalists Duren Cheek and Joel Kaplan, former State Representative and Senator
Anna Belle Clement O’Brien, and Congressmen Bill Jenkins and Bart Gordon.
The luncheon address was given by the Honorable Tommy Burnett.
Conference participants joined with the many people attending MTSU
Founders’ Day events to honor retired State Representative John Bragg.
Gore Center graduate assistants Holly Barnett and Rich Hutchins prepared
a six-panel exhibit on Bragg’s life. Gore
Center Director Dr. Lisa Pruitt researched and wrote the text of a commemorative
publication highlighting Bragg’s career as a legislator.
The conference kicked off a new, permanent program of the Gore Center: The Tennessee Legislative History Project. The Tennessee Legislative History Project seeks to preserve the history of the Tennessee General Assembly as represented in the papers of individual legislators and in their memories as captured on audio and video tape. The project also helps educate college students about the history of politics and public policy in Tennessee and promotes general civics education for the electorate on matters related to state government.
|
|
| John and Susan Bragg stopped by the Gore Center to take a closer look at the six-panel exhibit that was on display at the Tennessee Legislative Conference. |