Justin Jacks, a wildlife officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, was one of four veterans working in state government honored by Governor Phil Bredesen in a ceremony held Tuesday at War Memorial Plaza.
Jacks served in the United States Navy from 1993-2003 aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier as an electricians mate during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He recently was selected as a wildlife officer and is assigned to the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area which encompasses 146,000 acres in portions of Anderson, Campbell and Scott counties.
Governor Bredesen joined officials from the Departments of Human Resources, Military and Veterans Affairs and members of the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard to honor Tennessee’s veterans working in state government. The observance paid special tribute to the veterans who have served in every conflict since the nation’s founding, as well as the service of soldiers currently serving at home and abroad.
Governor Bredesen also paid special tribute to those veterans who continue to serve by working in state government. Jacks was recognized with employees from the departments of Military, Correction and Safety. Remarks were also made by Major General Gus Hargett, Adjutant General of the Tennessee Department of Military and John Keys, Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner. Gov. Bredesen and Deborah Story, Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources, presented certificates to the four honorees. The 129th Army Band of the Tennessee National Guard performed.
A resident of Grainger County and the East Tennessee area for the past six years, Jacks graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Management. While at UT, he was a member of the Wildlife Society and served as president of the American Fisheries Society.
Jacks served as an intern for the TWRA Region IV Information and Education Division in 2008. He previously worked as a fisheries technician in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.