The January ElderScholars meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in the Lookout Mountain Room of the University Center. The scheduled speaker is Joan Hill Hanks, born in Chattanooga, a graduate of Chattanooga High School and the University of Chattanooga (now UTC).
She and family have lived on Signal Mountain since 1960 where she has been active as a Girl Scout leader, president of Signal Mountain Community Guild, president of Signal Mountain Junior High PTA, and president of Garden Club of Signal Mountain. She is a charter member of the Signal Mountain Genealogical Society, and is a member of DAR, United States Daughters of 1812, serving as state president during State Bicentennial in 1996.
She went on three USD1812 Historical tours, first to Dartmoor Prison where 1812 sailors were held, Treaty of Ghent Museum in Ghent, Belgium that ended the war, and to Valparaiso, Chile, where 58 1812 sailors are buried after the battle of American ship defeated by a British ship.
She wrote the Official Bicentennial Rap 1796-1996 passed by State Legislature for students and citizens to learn Tennessee history, especially that we became the Volunteer State from the War of 1812. She also is in Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century, Daughters of American Colonists, and United Daughters of the Confederacy
In 2012 Middle Tennessee State University’s Music Department set up a new website called “Homeland” on all the Tennessee State Songs. Ms. Hanks is on this website and you can hear her rapping. You can also Google Joan Hill Hanks, click on Homeland, and hear her rapping.
In 2013 Ms. Hanks was presented the National Society U.S. Daughters of 1812 “Spirit of 1812 Award” medal for her study, and dedication to the preservation of the history of people; places, and events of the War of 1812.
The ElderScholars will meet for lunch in the University Center Cafeteria around noon. The official meeting starts at 1 p.m. Parking is free in any UTC lot. Be sure to place a letter on the dashboard indicating attending the ElderScholar Meeting.