Annual awards highlight day-long festivities celebrating the impact of agriculture in Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture honored alumni and supporters at Ag Day 2026, an expanded reimagining of the annual fall event celebrating the economic, education and human impacts of agriculture on the state of Tennessee.
Janet Bigelow and George Ewart, both from Knoxville, were this year’s recipients of the Meritorious Service Award, and Will Mayfield of Pulaski received the Horizon Award. Brenda Dykes, administrative assistant in the Department of Animal Science, received the Keith and Hollianne Carver Customer Service Award, an honor established last year. Keith Carver, UTIA senior vice chancellor and senior vice president, presented the awards during a special ceremony on Friday, October 2.
About 1,200 alumni, friends, retirees, faculty and staff gathered on the agriculture campus for Ag Day, which showcases the departments and programs that support our state’s top economic driver and educates future leaders. Ag Day is a yearly event now held on a Friday before gameday.
With the theme of “Bigger and Better Than Ever Before,” Ag Day festivities included live animal exhibits, educational hands-on demonstrations and games and introduced a new evening event, Ag Day After Hours headlined by singer-songwriter Mark Taylor, in the UT Gardens.
About the winners
Bigelow has served on the board of the UT Arboretum Society since 2013, the last 10 years as president. The UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge, a part of the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, includes more than 2,500 plants and trees and hosts some 30,000 visitors a year, who come to stroll the grounds or attend one of the annual events, such as the Butterfly Festival in the fall or the spring plant sale. She has led projects such as the bench plaque program, the auditorium sound proofing retrofit, Harold Elmore Holly Collection and Monument expansion and trail sign refurbishment. “Janet and her husband, Tim, have generously donated to the arboretum and continue to serve its mission with their kindness and time,” Carver said. Bigelow, a retired teacher, earned two degrees in French from UT Knoxville.
Ewart, founder and principal of GAE Architecture + Design, is co-owner of Knoxville’s Dead End BBQ. He was instrumental in helping create the UTIA Smoking School six years ago and has served as its resident pitmaster since the program began. This year’s school had 135 participants from 22 states and one foreign country, who learned skills in smoking brisket, ribs, chicken, and even cabbage. He gives seminars on carving and cooking meat and food safety. Ewart serves on the UT Knoxville Alumni Board of Directors, past chair of the UT Chancellor’s Associates and received the UT Alumni Service Award in 2022. “George is a huge supporter of UT,” Carver said. “He gives the gift of experience and knowledge and uses delicious food to bring people together.” He is a graduate of the UT College of Architecture.
Mayfield, a fourth-generation farmer, manages the Mayfield Angus and Mayfield Grain farm in Pulaski. He oversees a registered Angus herd and provides seedstock to the surrounding area while also working as a cooperator with the RA Brown Ranch in Texas to market registered bulls. The farm also grows corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, strawberries and watermelons. Mayfield currently serves as vice chair for international trade for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and is a member of the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association legislative committee and the board for the Tennessee Beef Cattle Improvement Association. He is a recipient of the UTIA Young Alumnus Award and received honors from state and national organizations. “We’re proud of Will’s leadership and interest in promoting and protecting the cattle industry,” Carver said. “We honor him with this award as being one of our state’s top young leaders in agriculture,” Carver said. Mayfield earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from the UT Herbert College of Agriculture.
The customer service award recognizes a UTIA employee who goes beyond their duties and takes pride in fulfilling the institute’s mission with hard work and a great attitude. In the Department of Animal Science, Dykes specializes in student support and recordkeeping. She was previously honored as the February winner of the monthly UTIA High Five Award, whose recipients are nominated by peers.
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.