Tech Kicks Off Year With 2nd College Town

Saturday’s second College Town Kickoff, representative of the importance of the city and Tennessee Tech growing together, according to Tech President Phil Oldham.

The all-day event will showcase the University to the community members and Cookeville to the students. Oldham said finding ways for Putnam County and Tech to embrace and celebrate each other is vital for both.

“The connection between Cookeville-Putnam County and Tennessee Tech University is so tightly engrained and Tennessee Tech wouldn’t be the same if it was somewhere else, and Cookeville-Putnam County wouldn’t be the same either,” Oldham said.

Oldham said the two groups help each other grow. He said Cookeville prospers when Tech is in full speed and Tech thrives when the city brings more jobs, retail outlets, and restaurants to town.

“It is a very synergistic relationship, I mean in fact, symbiotic in a lot of ways,” Oldham said. “We really make each other better and the way we all benefit, the way we all win is partnering, by working together and finding common goals, you know common opportunities.

College Town Kickoff will take place in the Downtown Cookeville area including Dogwood Performance Pavilion, West Broad Street at the Depot in front of Cream City, and Cedar Avenue. There will be carnival games, a Ferris wheel, zip line, community booths, food trucks, and a kids zone. The Westside Block Party will last from 11am to 6pm and the Concert at Dogwood Park will last from 6pm to 11pm. The event is free for all attendees.

“It’s a great time of year with welcoming you know roughly 3,000 new students to campus, whether they’re new freshmen or transfers or new graduate students,” Oldham said. “And really be able to showcase, how much fun it is and what a joy it is to live and peruse an education in Cookeville, Tennessee.”

Oldham said the event representative of the growing connection between town and gown. Both the city and county recently stepped up to help in remodeling Tucker Stadium. Tech working to bring the TSSAA Football playoffs back to the renovated the facility. Tech also leasing space to the city for expanded downtown parking.