Alumni

Roy Jones ('63)

Roy Jones has served in a number of ministerial positions, including a 16-year stint as director of missions for the Cape Girardeau Association in Missouri from 1987-2003. Prior to that, he was minister of education at First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau; pastor of Oak Hills Baptist Church in Evansville, Indiana; and pastor of Smithfield Baptist Church in Kentucky. He also served overseas as a pastor to military families in Nuremberg and Stuttgart, Germany.

After graduating from Union, where Jones served as president of the Ministerial Association and Baptist Student Union and chief justice of the student court, he completed his Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1966.

Jones has participated in a number of mission trips and outreach efforts, including a position as the housing coordinator for the Community Caring Council in Cape Girardeau, where he helped dozens of low-income families get affordable housing with government grants.

Jones and his wife Janice, a 1964 Union graduate, have two children, Chris Jones and Marla Hamilton, and three grandchildren.

David Burke

David Burke was director of theatre at Union for 33 years. He directed more than 75 plays that included classics, moderns, comedies, dramas and musicals, by playwrights from Sophocles to Shakespeare to Simon and beyond. He was named faculty of the year in 1995 and was listed among Who's Who in Entertainment.

Burke is married to his wife Charlotte and has five grown children (two of whom graduated from Union) and two granddaughters. He retired in May 2019. He is currently an adjunct professor with Union's School of Adult and Professional Studies and oversees Union's theatre workshop program.

Jim Farmer

Jim Farmer graduated from Grove High School in Paris, Tennessee, in 1958 before earning his college degree from Baylor University.

He has been a bi-vocational pastor of Baptist churches in Henry County and surrounding counties, including Powell Chapel, Spring Creek and Friendship. He worked as a radio announcer in high school and college, a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the state of Tennessee, an agent/salesman for a financial services group, a vice president of a manufacturing company and county executive (now called county mayor) of Henry Country.

For the last 15 years of his career, Farmer was an employee of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, serving as director of the workers' compensation division and later as director of the Drug-Free Workplace Program.

Farmer is in his 40th season as the stadium announcer for the Henry County High School "Patriot" football team. He is an active member of First Baptist Church in Paris, where he serves as church moderator and, for more than 45 years, has taught an adult Sunday School class.

Stacy Aldridge ('03)

Stacy Aldridge is from Portageville, Missouri, and graduated from North Pemiscot High School in 1999. She attended two years at Dyersburg State Community College before finishing her college career at Union University, where she graduated with a degree in business administration, emphasis in management.

In April 2004, Aldridge accepted a position with FirstBank in Jackson, Tennessee. In her 15 years at the bank, she has earned numerous promotions and gained leadership duties in the bank. Currently, she serves as the bank operations supervisor and also helps with bank security issues. Her most memorable promotion came in January 2006 when she was promoted to head teller while at home on maternity leave.

Aldridge is one of the top mentor trainers in the FirstBank system. She trains each new head teller in West Tennessee, while also training new hires and those needing retraining. In June of 2019, she was invited to downtown Nashville's FirstBank office to speak to other operations supervisors from several states about mentor training.

She and her family are active members of Gospel Light Baptist Church in Jackson where she teaches a Sunday school class and is the church pianist. She and her husband Steven are the parents of Haley and Justin.

A. J. Massey ('04, '14)

A.J. Massey graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and returned to Union after several years building a career to complete his Master of Business Administration. Massey worked for Northwestern Mutual before beginning his banking career at Regions Bank. He later moved to Leaders Credit Union and is currently a vice president at The Bank of Jackson.

Massey is an alumnus of the Leadership Jackson class of 2009 and was awarded the Community Observation of Personal Excellence Award in 2015 followed by the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association of Leadership Programs. He was named one of Jackson's Finest Young Professionals by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 2011 and was recognized in the first class of The Jackson Sun's Forty Under 40. He is an active member of the Exchange Club, Jackson Young Professionals and the Jackson Chamber of Commerce.

Massey is a deacon and active member of Englewood Baptist Church. He has been married to Lauren, his middle school sweetheart, for nearly 15 years. They have two sons, Brooks and Wells.

Jared Myracle ('07)

Jared Myracle serves as the chief academic officer for Jackson-Madison County Schools. Jared is a Jackson native, having attended JMCSS schools and graduating from South Side High School. He attended Union University, earning a bachelor's degree in history and education, and later completed his master's degree and doctorate from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Myracle has served in various roles in public schools in Weakley County, Gibson County, McNairy County and Madison County, including classroom teacher, assistant principal, curriculum supervisor, assistant superintendent and chief academic officer. Prior to joining JMCSS, he helped launch Instruction Partners, a start-up non-profit organization that has worked with school districts across Tennessee and other states to implement high-quality curricula. He serves as an executive board member for the Tennessee Rural Education Association and is a published author (Common Core Standards for Parents, in the popular For Dummies series).

Myracle is married to Caitlin, who is a librarian at Community Montessori School in Jackson.

The Bob Agee Family

The Agee family has a Union legacy that goes back four generations. It began with Katie Lou Stewart Agee, who attended Union for one year in 1929 but had to drop out because of the impact of the Great Depression on her family. She was married to Edwin Leroy Agee, and they had two children — Bob (1960) and Betty. Her youngest brother Jonas L. Stewart graduated from Union in 1942.

Bob R. Agee graduated with a bachelor's degree in history and religion. He ran track and cross country for Union for four years and was inducted into Union's Sports Hall of Fame. He completed his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Vanderbilt University.

Agee served as pastor of churches in Kentucky and Tennessee and served on Union's Board of Trustees from 1973-1975 when trustees decided to relocate the campus to north Jackson. He began serving at Union in 1975 as dean and later vice president for religious affairs.

In 1982, Agee was elected president of Oklahoma Baptist University and served there for 16 years. Following his retirement from OBU, he served as executive director of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Schools and as an education professor at Union. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 1999. Agee and his wife Nelle (1976) have two daughters, Denise Allen (1981) and Robyn Hari (1986), and four grandchildren.

Nelle Hulme Agee completed her bachelor's degree from Union in art education. She taught art at Humboldt High School and in 1982 was selected by the Tennessee Education Association as Distinguished Classroom Teacher of the Year in West Tennessee. After moving to Oklahoma, she served as an adjunct professor of art history and humanities at Seminole Junior College. She earned her Master of Education degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and served as professor of art education, art history and humanities for nine years at OBU.

Denise Agee Allen graduated from Union with her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and business. She is the owner of D. Allen Designs, which specializes in women's clothing, accessories, home decor and gifts. Prior to starting her business, she served as senior partner and consultant with Agee, Stewart and Allen Development Services, as CEO of Girl Scouts of Reelfoot Council and with the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes. She and her husband Don have two children, Brooke Eastham and Natalie Allen, and are members of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee.

Robyn Agee Hari graduated from Union with her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. She is the managing principal of the Nashville office of Diversified Trust and serves on the Board of Directors for the firm. She previously owned a financial planning and investment advisory firm in Brentwood, Tennessee, and was a tax manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She serves on Union's Board of Trustees and received Union's Distinguished Achievement Award for Business in 2016. She and her husband Rod Hari (1985) have two daughters, Savannah Hari Alderman (2014) and Madison Hari (2021), and are members of ClearView Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee.

Carlo Spencer

John "Carlo" Spencer was born in Italy and lived in Germany the first eight years of his life. He grew up in a military family and spent time in Jackson, Tennessee, when his adoptive-father was overseas. Spencer graduated from Jackson High School in 1959 where he excelled in football. He attended Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship and received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M.

Spencer served a tour of duty in Vietnam, and upon his return home took a position as a plant engineer with Armour Food Company in Memphis and Kansas City. In 1979, he returned to Jackson for a job with Consolidated Aluminum Corp., where he stayed until retiring in 2003.

Spencer spent many years as a football, basketball and baseball official in local leagues and was also a member of the TSSAA Officials Association. In 1985, Union coach David Blackstock asked him to be the clock operator for the basketball teams. He is still doing that today. Spencer was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Union University Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

He and his wife Polly, who is a retired Union University employee, have three children who all attended Union University, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They are members of Ararat Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon.

Gene Hunt

Gene Hunt is housekeeping supervisor for Facilities Management at Union University. He came to Union in 2004 as housekeeping assistant supervisor and was promoted to supervisor in one year. He loves Union for the sense of community and for being a part of a family that works together in a Christian environment.

Hunt's philosophy is that when people come onto Union's campus, he wants them to be safe, for the campus to be clean and for them to always have some Christian fun while they are here. He gives credit to his hard-working maintenance team for working well together and upholding the standard of excellence at Union in all that they do.

In his spare time, Hunt's hobby is going to garage and estate sales. He has accumulated many collectibles and treasures that tell a variety of stories.

Hunt is a native of Jackson, Tennessee. He attended Jackson Central-Merry High School and Jackson State Community College. He is married to Ann, his wife of 36 years, and is an active member of the Church Street Church of Christ in Henderson. The Hunts have one son, Dale, who lives in Laurel, Maryland, and four grandchildren.

Health Care: Glynis Blackard ('09)

Glynis Blackard has been a registered nurse for 36 years. She attended Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and started at Baptist Memorial Hospital in the surgical-neuro intensive care unit. Her experience has included many years in peri-operative services, and she has been certified in post-anesthesia care, home health, pediatrics, case management, medical surgical nursing, cancer services, obstetrical services, staff development, clinical residency leader, cardiac services and chest pain coordinator, leadership and executive leadership.

Throughout her career she has continued her education by obtaining a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in nursing at Union University and a Doctor of Philosophy at William Carey University. In the academic realm, she has held positions as nursing professor, founding chair and founding dean.

Blackard is a published author and has contributed to nursing textbooks and nursing journals. She enjoys encouraging and mentoring students, faculty, nurses and nursing leaders. She and her husband Ronald have been married for 35 years and have two adult children, Candice and Andrew, both Union alumni.

Education: Norma Gerrell ('88, '05)

After graduating from Union with majors in music education and elementary education, Norma Gerrell began her teaching career as a first-grade teacher. She earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Memphis and then completed her Education Specialist and Doctor of Education degrees from Union.

In her 32-year education career, Gerrell has been a classroom teacher, principal, supervisor of curriculum and instruction, executive director at the Tennessee Department of Education and department chair in higher education. She currently serves as the director of schools (superintendent) for the Paris Special School District in Paris, Tennessee.

Gerrell has turned schools from academic failure to the highest performance and growth on the Tennessee Department of Education report card. In 2011, she was named the Northwest Supervisor of the Year.

She and her husband Carlton ('87), who is mayor of the city of Paris and executive pastor of Tennessee Valley Community Church, have two sons, Trey ('16) and Scott (a UU junior), who are fourth-generation Unionites.

Arts/Media: James Duke ('98)

James Duke is the president of Act One, Inc., a Christian community of entertainment industry professionals who train and equip storytellers to create works of truth, goodness and beauty. He is an accomplished filmmaker, educator and communicator.

As an independent filmmaker, James has 20 years of experience in film, television and video production. His credits include writing, producing and directing more than 100 award-winning short films, documentaries and theatrical productions. He has produced several feature films including "The Least of These" starring Isaiah Washington and Robert Loggia, and "Ragamuffin" about the life of singer/songwriter Rich Mullins.

Duke has served as the president and CEO of Updog Studios, a production company in Florida that seeks to create provocative, thought-provoking entertainment and commercial cinema. As an educator, Duke's passion for investing in and mentoring the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers has led him to create high school and collegiate-level curricula taught and fully accredited in schools both in California and Florida.

Duke lives in Los Angeles with his wife Samantha and their two young kids.

Church Ministry: Billy Joe Kennedy ('75)

Billy Joe Kennedy was born and raised in McNairy County, Tennessee. He spent two years in the U.S. Army, serving in Southeast Asia. Upon returning to home, he married his sweetheart, Sue Caperton. When God called him into full-time music ministry, he enrolled at Union University and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree.

Kennedy served as music and youth director at Rugby Hills Baptist Church in Memphis; Gravel Hill Baptist Church in Selmer, Tennessee; Morris Memorial Baptist Church in Moscow, Tennessee; and West Heights Baptist Church in Pontotoc, Mississippi. He served as youth, music and senior adult director at Hopewell Baptist Church in Savannah, Tennessee, for 37 years before retiring.

Throughout his ministry, Kennedy has directed community choirs, has sung at the governor's residence in Nashville and was the featured speaker honoring U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, William Kyle Carpenter. He served as music director for Pontotoc Baptist Association, Shiloh Baptist Association and the Tennessee Baptist Evangelism Conference.

He and Sue have two daughters, Michelle and Karen, both of whom attended Union, and four grandchildren.

Research/Sciences: Vickie E. Lynch ('77)

Vickie E. Lynch has led a distinguished career as a software scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for more than 40 years. She has made notable impacts and contributions in a wide range of disciplines including neutron scattering data analysis, diffraction and single crystal software, scientific workflows, high-performance computing, parallel 3-D fusion turbulence calculations, fractional derivatives, electric power grid modeling, self-organized criticality models and stellarator physics design optimization.

Lynch has more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of physics, fusion and crystallography, in addition to three books and 16 conference papers.

After graduating from Union with her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics, Lynch earned a Master of Science degree in applied mathematics from the University of Tennessee. She has received many recognitions for her research — including the 1988 Technical Achievement Award presented by the Association for Women in Science. Lynch has most recently become a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Government/Public Service: Tommy Hopper ('81)

Tommy Hopper has served as president of The Hopper Group, LLC, a political consulting organization, since forming it in 1993. The Hopper Group has helped more than 80 percent of its clients achieve victory while winning more than 200 local, state and national campaigns and causes.

In addition to serving as a general, media and mail consultant, Hopper has served as political director, executive director and chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party; state campaign manager for George Bush for President; regional field director and national political director for the Republican National Committee; and chairman of the Freedom and Free Enterprise Foundation, among other positions.

Ballotpedia named Hopper a top influencer by state, and Campaigns and Elections magazine included him in the "Influencers 500," the top 500 consultants in the country.

A resident of Jackson, Tennessee, Hopper has been married for 36 years and has one son.

Humanities: Graham Hillard ('02)

Graham Hillard is an associate professor of English at Trevecca Nazarene University and holds graduate degrees from New York University (Master of Fine Arts) and Trevecca (Master of Education). He has contributed fiction and poetry to numerous national literary journals, including The Believer, Epoch, Image, Notre Dame Review and Southern Humanities Review. A frequent contributor to National Review, he has also written for The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Oxford American, The Weekly Standard and other magazines.

Hillard has been a resident fellow on several occasions at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a Tennessee Williams scholar at the Sewanee Writers' Conference, a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists and a recipient of an individual artist grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and children.

Athletics: Kim DeMarigny ('91)

Kim DeMarigny is a high school mathematics teacher and head girls' basketball coach at Maine Township High School West in Des Plaines, Illinois. Her team won the state high school championship in Illinois in 2019 with a record of 35-0 on the season.

DeMarigny is a graduate of Christian County High School in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where she was a varsity basketball starter for three years and a varsity softball player for four years. At Union, she started on the Lady Bulldogs' basketball team for three years and was an NAIA Academic All-American in both basketball and tennis. She was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame.

She has been a mathematics teacher for 27 years at Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School in Fort Worth, Texas; South Point High School in Belmont, North Carolina; and now at Maine Township High School West, while also coaching volleyball, softball, soccer and basketball. She was named the Illinois 4A Girls Coach of the Year and the USA Today Girls Coach of the Year in Illinois in 2019.

Not-for-Profit: Whitney Morreau Zulu ('06)

Whitney Morreau Zulu is the founder and director of Impact One Initiative, a nonprofit equipping underprivileged schools in Lusaka, Zambia. Morreau graduated from Union University with a degree in social work and a minor in Spanish. During her time at Union, she discovered her passion for cross-cultural work on mission trips to Honduras and Ethiopia.

Morreau served as a journeyman with the International Mission Board in Tanzania for two years. She then returned to the United States to complete her Master of Social Work at the University of Georgia in 2010. Upon graduating, Morreau moved to Zambia where she continues to live today. She worked with two local NGOs before she began Impact One in 2013.

Recognizing the power of education to transform lives and the importance of locally-led solutions, Impact One comes alongside existing primary schools to equip the teachers and school leaders to provide quality education for thousands of children. Morreau's desire is to help the children discover their own passions and be equipped with the skills to fulfill God's plan for their lives.

In 2018, she married her husband, Mabvuto Zulu, and this year gave birth to their son, Ezekiel.