A young man is curled up in the corner of a room built entirely of cinderblock. His body is draped in a monochromatic jumpsuit. And though it is the middle of the day and the sun is shining brightly over his building, the atmosphere around him is dark, cold, and dreary. As he shuffled on his cot trying to get comfortable, a maddening “drip, drip, drip” filled his ears and tortured his mind. The water faucet, less than a foot away from his head, was his final straw. “Anywhere but here,” he whispered to himself. “I wish I were anywhere but here. Something has to change.”
Just as that last word exhaled out of his mouth, the sound of footsteps approached. They stopped right at the threshold of his jail cell. A kind-looking woman with white hair and perfectly round-rimmed glasses stood before him. Reaching out, she gifted him an item. She might as well have given him the master key to life, because her gift to him was the gift that kept on giving. That day, it changed the course of his life for the better.
The woman in the perfectly round glasses is a face many of us know and love. She has been a staple at almost every local community event, fundraiser, or outreach. Our fair lady is the lovely Dot Watson. Watson is a Tullahoma native through and through. She was born in Tullahoma on August 2, 1939. As many young adults do upon graduating high school, Watson moved away to continue her education at Transylvania University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and secondary education. While there, she also met her husband, Tom. Dot and Tom traveled the world, as Tom was in the United States Navy. They moved more than 20 times between 1962 and 1992. During those years, Dot earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) degree from Salve Regina University. She also earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Health Care Administration from Central Michigan University. Amidst attending school and raising babies, Dot worked as a school teacher and a registered nurse.
After Tom retired from the Navy, the two decided to move back to Tullahoma and enjoy the small-town life once again. It did not take much time to settle before Dot reconnected and put herself to work. Dot has been a community activist her entire life, engaging the world around her wherever she and her family lived. The number of committees she has served on, organizations she has founded or supported, and the sheer number of well-deserved awards she has received would genuinely make anyone’s head spin. Her fantastic work with Partners For Healing even resulted in her being honored on ABC’s “Live with Regis & Kelly” show in 1996. But what connects Dot to a man in a jail cell?
Dot’s most recent work has been with the Coffee County Literacy Council (CCLC) and The Book Shelf. The Literacy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1988. The Tennessee governor at that time, Ned Ray McWherter, said we needed to work on literacy in the state of Tennessee. Therefore, a literacy council was founded in each of the counties in Tennessee. The purpose of the many councils throughout the state was to help people get their high school equivalency diploma, making them more desirable for hire. Having more educated people also results in a more efficient workforce across Tennessee. The CCLC provides classes to help adults study and prepare for the General Educational Development Test, more commonly known as the GED. Several years ago, the Tennessee State Legislature decided to replace the GED test with the High School Equivalency Test (HiSet). Since the switch, Coffee County has led our region with the most HiSet graduates. One may be wondering, “How does Dot’s work with the literacy council connect her with someone behind bars?”
Two years ago, the CCLC began offering classes within the Coffee County Jail. Dot and the other council members asked John Nicoll to partner with them. Nicoll, the public defender in Coffee County, knew how important it was for incarcerated individuals to re-enter society with credentials and life skills that would aid them in re-entering the workforce. Since the start of the program, over 100 inmates at the Coffee County Jail have taken the test and earned their high school equivalency diploma. This service that the CCLC provides helps inmates leave with a boosted sense of confidence, purpose, and hope as they reintegrate into society. The CCLC also oversaw a collaboration between the Tennessee Valley Woodworkers and local inmates. This project resulted in a new library for the Coffee County Jail.
Last but not least, the CCLC operates The Book Shelf store, previously located inside of Northgate Mall. The new location for the book store is found in Tullahoma’s downtown area behind Sherwin Williams. The Book Shelf is the fundraising arm of the Literacy Council. Proceeds from the store are used to promote adult education in the county. An example of what funds may be spent on is purchasing computers to help aid students in their studies as they prepare for the HiSet exam. The Book Shelf has two part-time staff members but is run mainly by selfless volunteers with a passion for education, similar to Dot Watson herself. -GN
