Ex-Vol new head of Wesley House
By Jeannine F. Hunter
Knoxville News-Sentinel
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Former University of Tennessee standout athlete and NFL player Anthony D. Hancock is now the head of the Wesley House Community Center.
The 42-year-old Cleveland, Ohio, native assumed the role vacated by LeRoy Thompson in March. Wesley House, a ministry of the United Methodist Church, receives a third of its funding from the denomination. United Way of Greater Knoxville, individual contributions and grants also support Wesley House in Knoxville.
Hancock was a four-year letterman in football and three-year letterman in track at UT. He played five years for the Kansas City Chiefs before he retired from the NFL, returned to Knoxville and worked as district executive with the Boy Scouts of America for eight years.
"There I received my formative training for business management," said Hancock, who was a sociology major at UT.
"It was a valuable experience in helping me balance working with volunteers, staff and the community. It was always an opportunity that enabled me to better learn how to be a servant to others."
Hancock's next venture took him to UT's Center for Industrial Services as a marketing consultant helping small businesses develop connections with state offices. When the position was cut in December, he became a substitute teacher in Nashville and worked for the parks and recreation department. But he said he felt pulled to return to working in a community-based organization.
"I considered returning to school to get the certification for teaching full time," Hancock said, "because I wanted to work with children and help them be the best that they can be."
But then he saw an advertisement for the vacancy at Wesley House, and he applied for the job.
He recalled driving in for an interview and returning to Nashville that same day with thoughts about how he could serve youth if he returned to Knoxville. After a second interview, he said he felt more driven to "share the values that have always been a part of my life and have influenced me."
"I had parents who instilled values in my family and the coaches who I have worked with, as well as friends who have helped me. And I wanted to help others, particularly the youth who are facing many challenges these days.
"We are a ministry, but we are not intent on beating people in the head about the Bible, but we want to have the children who we serve and the elders that we serve and the families to see that there are practical ways that we can live and grow and develop as a community together."
Part of Hancock's vision for Wesley House includes buying nearby property to allow expansion and provide additional space for programming.
Hancock commutes between Knoxville and his home in Nashville, where his wife, Paula, and daughter live. Paula Hancock is a math teacher in Nashville. They have two children: Somer, 24, who lives in Washington, D.C., and Shauna, 17, a high school senior.
Hancock is a member of Knoxville's Foster Chapel Baptist Church and Lake Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, where he is a deacon.
Wesley House Community Center's upcoming activities will include the second annual Big Orange Celebrity Vol Golf Open. It will be held on Friday, May 30, at Willow Creek Golf Club in Knoxville.
More than 25 former Vols and allstar celebrities have been invited to help raise money for Wesley House's education and performing-arts programs.
Volunteers, sponsors and participants are needed for the event, which is organized on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, call (865) 524-5494.
Reprinted by permission of The Knoxville News-Sentinel Company
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