The Advisory Council Meeting took place at the Corporate Offices of Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee to much success. With a crowd of over 50, including Advisory Council , Intra-State, Emeritus Members, and staff.

The meeting resulted in 11 motions, approving the induction of two new Emeritus members, Stephenie Robb and Eileen Wallach as well as updates to the Tennessee State Plan to be published and distributed soon, to name a few. Joseph Williams introduced himself to the Advisory Council, as the Director of External Affairs in the Governor’s senior staff. On behalf of the Governor, he addressed the Gubernatorial appointed Advisory Council acknowledging that this is important issue on a personal level for the Governor and as the Governor of Tennessee. He appreciates the continued efforts of TSPN and the work they continue to do across the state and already have done in conjunction with this administration. To find out more about the meeting, view the minutes from the meeting on our website: http://tspn.org/mission-and-structure

At the Advisory Council meeting in February, the council motioned to support a record number of legislative efforts for the Network. The Tennessee Higher Education Suicide Prevention Task Force is actively working with the General Assembly to pass legislation on prevention/ intervention/ postvention plans in Tennessee Higher Education Institutions. The Adivsory Council motioned to support three resolutions, an amendment to the existing Ken and Madge Tullis Act, as well as new legislation titled the Red Flag Bill:

Please do not hestitate to reach out to your Regional Director with any questions about the above and how you can support these efforts!

West Tennessee held a Trainer Appreciation luncheon on February 21st at Le Bonheur children’s hospital with Crestwyn Behavioral Health providing lunch for us this day. Our trainers are daily giving of their time and energy to educate community members about prevention efforts. We wanted to celebrate with them and thank them by having a trainer gathering. Michael Burnham, Mindfulness at Methodist provided a stress reduction activity leaving us with a message of having a mindset of gratitude. He suggested to write in a journal three positive things that happened at the end of each day and reflect on the good things happening around us. It was a successful event and a time for connecting and supporting each other. We do hope to make this apart of a regular time in West Tennessee.  

Get to Know Your Leaders Across the State!

TSPN would like to thank those that make suicide prevention possible in Tennessee. We are going to begin this with Advisory Council, Emeritus Member, and Staff highlights. Nothing we do at TSPN is possible without the dedication of these individuals and their continued time and commitment to TSPN and suicide prevention, and for that we must thank you! Email them and thank them for what they do!

Thank you to all those who have donated time and funds to TSPN!

We can not do it without you!

Thank you for Volunteering Your Time and Expertise:

~ Women Veterans of America  ~Nora Fielding ~  Covenant Health ~Peninsula~

~Park West Hospital ~Paula Terry ~Dr. Ken Tullis ~

Thank you for supporting TSPN Monetarily:

~Jeff Shepard~ Jessica Rosenbaum-Miller~ Lori Alice Parks~ Aram Jazab Ferdowsi~ Melissa Bins-Dubs~ Sumita ChakrabortiGhosh ~ Tasha French Lemley~ Beth Cockrell~ Susan Stuart Evans~ Patricia Bushart Merrell-Chuck Merrell ~ John Newman~ Betsy Nelson Atkin~ Alisha Braham Staggs~ Susan Harris~ Michele Graves Miller~ Alan Maness~ Angela Hughes Crocker~ Julie Ross~ Brenda Whalley~ Jennifer Chism-Blackwell~ Young Kim~ Wendy Lee Williams~ Nicole Cortez Jones~ Bill Hamilton~ Bobby Henson~ Josh Stephanie Englert~ Ronald Walker~ Angela Haney~ Lewis Shepard~ Kevin Pauley~ Kandi Kelley Collins~ Jan Baker~ Jinni Esslinger~ Kevin Mooney~ Kathy Haney Williams~ Randall Lynskey In Memory of Michael Tawzer~ Susan Wilensky~ David Thacker In Memory of Vincent Paul Little~ Marcia Heintzelman~

Field Placement Students with TSPN:

John Bazzano, Austin Peay State University ~Tiffany Stinson, University of Tennessee ~Keri Frantell, University of Tennessee ~Crystal Perry, Union University ~Brittany Maldonado, Austin Peay State University ~Amanda Parker, Columbia State Community College ~Grace Perry, Trevecca University ~Joanna Hernandez, Trevecca University