A ribbon cutting was held by the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce to dedicate a bench outside of the Coffee County UT Extension Office in memory of the late Dr. James Neel.

Neel was a graduate of the Coffee County Central High School Class of 1958 and went on to work for the University of Tennessee as a Professor and Head of the Animal Science Extension Department, Beef, Sheep, and Horse.

He was also integral in starting the Tennessee Cattleman’s Association and was a leader in the state 4-H Youth program.

Neel’s son David was in attendance at the ribbon cutting and noted that he had heard many times about how his father was “very sweet and a loving and caring man,” and that no truer words have ever been said.

“He had a heart for the youth and for education and loved helping out any way he can,” he explained. “The fact that we have a bench here in his honor really means a lot, and I know he would love it because I know if there’s one thing he would love to do, it would be to try and ease someone’s troubles, and so to be able to sit down and take a rest, that’s definitely what Dr. Neel would like.”

The bench was donated in Neel’s memory by the CCCHS Class of 1958 with contributions by Farm Bureau, the Cattleman’s Association and the Coffee Farmers Co-Op.

Fellow Class of ‘58 member Greta Ann Brown- Hinds- Dajani said that Neel was everything good that you’d want in a student and a friend.

“Jimmy really represented that part of us,” she said. “You do for each other, and you don’t look for somebody to take credit. You work together as a group, and I think we did that.”

The Clas of ’58 has taken on many philanthropic activities over the years, most notably restoring the old house spring house in Manchester and planting a tulip poplar tree in the courthouse yard to commemorate their 50th graduation anniversary.

Dajani explained that the class’s charitable efforts likely stem from their principal, Joe Frank Patch, who read Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If-” to the students.

The poem is written from the perspective of a father telling his son how to become a virtuous, resilient, and mature man, emphasizing self-control, integrity, and perseverance.

“I think that kind of stayed with some of us, and the other thing, President Kennedy was our president and he said “Ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for your country, and I think that too represented the things that we believe,” she added. “The Class of ’58 was a better class because of Jimmy.”

In addition to the bench honoring Neel, the Developing Champion Youth Endowment through the University of Tennessee Foundation, Inc. was established in his honor supporting youth livestock educational programs, something he advocated for.

“That’s what Dr. Neil embodied. One of things that we do in 4-H is we show animals, and we’re not here to build champion animals,” said Coffee County UT Extension Agent III and co-Director Amy Willis Prince referencing a personal philosophy of Neel’s.

“We’re here to use those animals to build champion youth.”