Dig out your purple and gold for TTU Pride Days Aug. 11 - 24

COOKEVILLE (July 30, 2003) — Somewhere among the cardboard boxes of Christmas decorations, slightly used exercise equipment and outgrown children’s clothes may be some purple and gold Tennessee Tech University decorations you stored in the garage last fall.

And it’s time once again to dig those decorations out because August at TTU means more than just the beginning of another academic year — it also means it’s time for the annual TTU Pride Days celebration.

TTU Pride Days is a community appreciation event that began two years ago to honor the businesses and citizens who support the university, and it runs this year from Aug. 11 – 24.

"Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources this year to provide a variety of decorations because of recent budget cuts, but we will have a new batch of TTU Pride signs available for those who need them. Continuing the Pride Days campaign is important to the university," said Monica Greppin, TTU’s director of Public Affairs.

"After all, what better way is there to welcome new and returning students and faculty than to introduce them to the companies and people in our communities who support them?"

That means TTU Pride decorations should be up by the time residence halls open on Aug. 14 and classes resume on Aug. 18. And Greppin hopes participants will be creative in promoting the campaign by offering special TTU Pride discounts, making their own Pride decorations or reusing last year’s trimmings.

"It would be great if every business in town put a message on its marquee or window that says ‘Show your TTU Pride!’ and encouraged staff to attend sporting events, concerts, plays and other performances on campus," she said.

Each business offering a special for the event will receive a decal recognizing it as an "official TTU Pride Partner" and will be featured on the university’s TTU Pride web site. E-mails will be sent to students, faculty and staff encouraging them to do business with TTU Pride Partners. Participation is open to everyone, Greppin added.

"It isn’t just for alumni or students. It’s for everyone who lives in Putnam County and our surrounding communities, and it’s for those who live hundreds of miles away but still hold a special place in their hearts for Tennessee Tech University," she said.

A limited number of TTU Pride yard signs will be available again this year at the Roaden University Center information desk, Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, TTU Alumni Office and Leslie Towne Center/Chamber of Commerce by Friday, Aug. 8.

For more information about TTU Pride Days, visit the university web site at www.tntech.edu or call the Public Affairs Office at 931/372-3214.

 
--Tracey LeFevre
This information posted 30 July 2003