In 1992, TGEF established a very select group of individuals known as the "Hall of Eagles." Some of the contributions that gained admission to this group include the development of product promotions, which was fathered by Ed Shull and Charlie Edwards; the development of a world-class golf tournament, which was spearheaded by Tommy Faulk; as well as the creation of the piggyback concept, which led to the induction of David James. The Hall of Eagles is to recognize people who through their efforts and/or ideas have raised over $100,000 for the foundation.
On April 16, 2009 TGEF inducted Rick Hardesty, Lewis Brothers Bakeries, into the Hall of Eagles at the Convention Awards Dinner. Rick has served nine terms as member of the TGEF Board of Trustees, including two terms as chairman. Rich began with the TGEF Trustees in 200 and completed his service that spanned 10 years at the TGEF Annual Meeting on April 18, 2009.
Serving as a volunteer board member with an organization is a commitment of time and effort. Rick has diligently participated in TGEF events and could always be counted on to attend all board meetings bringing outstanding ideas and leadership. During his tenure as a trustee, he saw the foundation grow from $118,000 in awards in 2000 to over $170,000 in 2009.
Rick is a great ambassador for the Tennessee Grocers Education Foundation and continues to play a critical roll in the middle Tennessee golf tournament as well as participating in tournaments across the state.
Thank you for your outstanding dedication and support of TGEF. With this induction, the Hall of Eagles now has 30 members.
1992
Ed Shull
David James
Tommy Faulk
Charlie Edwards
1994
Tom Krieger
Tom Hembree
1995
Andy Marshall
Dean Dickey
1996
Rick James
Steve Turner
1997
John Jones
David Franklin
1998
Dr. Joe Johnson
Mike Hayes
Eddie McMillan
Scott Means
2000
Mark Thompson
2001
Emerson Breeden
2002
Cliff Marshall Jr.
2003
Jim Woods
Johnny Bevill
2004
Danny Potter
Larry Croft
2005
Steve Trout
Wayne Miller
2006
Joe Wolf
2007
Barry Maddox
2008
Wes Ball
Bucky Slagle
2009
Rick Hardesty
