Welcome Shawn Jackson!

Next Week, UT Martin Head Football Coach Jason Simpson visits Rotary.

Before accepting his first head coaching job at Tennessee-Martin, Simpson was the offensive coordinator at UT Chattanooga, and was instrumental in the resurgence of the UTC football program, as they posted a 6-5 record in the 2005 season, their first winning season since 1997.

Before Chattanooga, Simpson coached at Texas State University. He coached quarterback, receivers and served as the team’s recruiting coordinator. As at UTC, Texas State posted their first winning season in 10 years with a 7-4 record for that year.

In his first year as Head Coach at UT Martin, the Skyhawks won their first OVC title and found themselves playing in the Football Championship first round. They posted a 9-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the OVC. This was the best record since 1988 when they advanced to the postseason play as a Division II team. The six OVC victories were the most for the Skyhawks since joining the league in 1992. Of the nine victories, five were on the road, and marked the first time they had won a game on the road since 1996.

Last Week, the speakers position was filled by one of our own, as Lee Fry of Dixie Gun Works gave us a brief, but informative history and current status of a business known World-Wide, for it’s products and services. Lee began by explaining how the late Turner Kirkland, founded the company, he said Turner bought a colt revolver for 75 cents while he was still in Boy Scouts, this gun is now worth Thousands of Dollars.

While selling jewelry out of the trunk of his car, Turner was also buying and selling guns, repairing guns and looking for vendors to furnish parts for the older guns, which people needed repaired. He said in 1954, Turner decided he had to give up the jewelry business and formed the what now is known as Dixie Gun Works, out of a garage behind his house.

Along about that time he found a company in Belgium who could build a replica gun to his taste, and ordered 100 of these guns, which later became the "Dixie Squirrel Rifle" he said. By the 1970’s, DGW had sold literally thousands of these guns.

In 1955 Turner moved out of the garage and into a building on Main & Fifth Street, in 1960, he built his own building, 12,000 sq ft. Then in 1968 built and moved into the present location, which contains 48,000, sq ft.

The present business consist of 3 parts, Antique Guns, Parts Business and Pioneer Press, which sells gun related books. He said the Antique Gun business represents less than 10% of sales today. Lee also explained the sources of their purchases of guns, and the outlets in which they sell their guns to the public, consisting of inter-net, gun shows and in store sales. Their current catalog consist of 700 pages and over 12,000 items.

Lee closed by saying "the business had several cannons displayed on their floor and all were pointing North", for some reason.

Aug. 22 - Jason Simpson, UT Martin Head Football Coach

Aug. 29 - Darren Bolin, UCHS, Football Preview

Sept. 5 - Will Wade, Commodities

Sept. 12 - Jimmy Williams, Cates Landing

Aug. 15 - James D. Kendall

Aug. 17 - Steve Goodrich

Aug. 20 - Terry Hailey

Aug. 16 - Barry and Janet Keathley

Aug. 17 - Art and Tammy Sparks

Aug. 18 - Dick and Katie Hall

Aug. 20 - Bob and Joyce Stephens

Aug. 21 - Jim and Sue Greer