Amanda Mathenia receives the Charles and Julie Wharton Award for Outstanding Extension Achievements
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrated the accomplishments of some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual awards luncheon. The 2026 ceremony was held on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on August 4. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the institute.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the celebration and praised the honorees for their devotion to the land-grant mission. “Our UTIA staff and faculty continue to overwhelm me with their enthusiasm and unparalleled expertise,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing Real. Life. Solutions. to the people of Tennessee. These award winners represent the efforts and accomplishments this past year that will most benefit all Tennesseans and society – impacts that will have lasting benefits through teaching, research and Extension for years to come.”
Amanda Mathenia, county director of UT Extension Perry County, is one recipient of the Charles and Julie Wharton Award for Outstanding Extension Achievements. Established by longtime supporters of the Institute of Agriculture Charles Wharton and his late wife Julie, and now supported by Charles and Lori Wharton, this award is presented to three UT Extension agents annually. These agents may conduct programs in any area, including agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, and resource development. Special consideration is given to those individuals who have demonstrated excellence in serving local needs for five years or more.
Mathenia has been with UT Extension for 18 years, and currently serves as the county director, agriculture and natural resources agent and the community economic development agent for UT Extension Perry County. In addition to assisting more than 200 producers annually, she was a key leader in the Buffalo River Blueway Project. This initiative installed 130 GPS markers along the shoreline of the Buffalo River, assisting first responders with locating potentially life-threatening water accidents.
“It’s an honor to receive the 2026 Charles and Julie Wharton Award,” says Mathenia. “For almost two decades, I’ve been fortunate and blessed to work with an outstanding team who have become family to me. My career has taken me across the nation, and I’m thankful to meet so many others passionate about agriculture.”
Mathenia is the recipient of awards from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, including the Distinguished Service Award in 2021 and the Achievement Award in 2017, as well as accolades from the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents and Specialists, including the Hicks Award in 2025 and the Early Career Award in 2012. She also was awarded the Tennessee Sheep Producers Association Extension Educator Award in 2023, the Tennessee Forestry Association Extension Agent of the Year in 2022 and the Tennessee RiverLine Extra Mile Award in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
In her free time, she raises beef cattle, sheep, miniature donkeys and other animals on her farm in Perry County.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.