Ep. 39 Mike Hammond: Superclerk

By day, Knox County Clerk Mike Hammond files, maintains, records, and preserves the records of the Knox County Criminal, General Sessions – Criminal, and Fourth Circuit Courts.  However, there is a lot to know about this interesting man that lies just under the surface. He is a superhero of sorts. He uses his powers during the day to help the people of Knox County, while holding one of the coolest side jobs in Knoxville at night. He’s also a member of the Country Radio Hall of Fame. Join host Dave Stripling as he sits down with Clerk Hammond to discuss not only how he’s able to help citizens leap tall obstacles, but also his memories of Lady Vols Basketball legend Pat Summitt, and how his 46 years in radio helped shape and inform what he does for the citizens of Knox County today.  This podcast is intended for all audiences.

Produced by David Stripling, Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts

Transcript

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;12;22
Voice Over
I respect you, I admire you, I look up to you and we all adore you. So congratulations. Let me present to you now the newest member of the country Radio Hall of Fame, Mike Hammond.

00;00;12;24 - 00;00;41;01
Host
That's Taylor swift. Yes, the Taylor Swift inducting my next guest, Mike Hammond, into the Country Radio Hall of Fame. After decades of accomplishment as a radio broadcaster from Fayetteville, Georgia. Senior forward number four Shaquilla Uno. And that's Mike Hammond, public address announcer for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. He's also the Criminal Court Clerk of Knox County.

00;00;41;02 - 00;01;03;20
Host
If you Google the definition of superhero, it says a character in a story or film who has an unusual strength or power and uses it to help people. Usually they also have a less powerful, normal guy alter ego, Clerk Mike Hammond is sort of an inverse of that. His day job holds the power to help the people of Knox County.

00;01;03;20 - 00;01;27;27
Host
While he has this alter ego that's always been, well, super cool. Since 2004, by day, Clark Kent or Hammond has been the mild mannered, everyday small town guy who has steadily served and helped the people of Knox County. First as County Commissioner representing the fifth district until in 2014, they elected him to Criminal Court Clerk, where he has served ever since.

00;01;28;02 - 00;01;59;23
Host
And by night, his booming voiced alter ego has rubbed shoulders with wonder women like Taylor Swift and legendary Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt. Now I say he's an everyday person by day but is criminal court clerk. He uses his powers to help regular folks overcome adversity and get back on their feet. And while those powers may not make him invincible like Superman in his job as public address announcer, he survived the legendary and dreaded Pat Summitt stare.

00;02;00;02 - 00;02;19;29
Host
Sounds pretty super to me. I'm Dave Stripling, Digital Media Producer for the Administrative Office of the Courts. And today I sit down with super clerk Mike Hammond on this edition of Tennessee Court Talk.

00;02;20;01 - 00;02;21;25
Host
Mike, thanks for joining us on this episode.

00;02;21;27 - 00;02;23;11
Mike Hammond
Well thank you. I'm pleased to be here.

00;02;23;12 - 00;02;28;17
Host
Let's start by explaining the audience. What, criminal court clerk does.

00;02;28;19 - 00;02;48;27
Mike Hammond
Basically, you collect the money and you keep the record. Now, we do a lot more than that. But that is the basic thing that we do according to the state constitution. Now, when we say keep the record, I believe that the, court clerk is the hub of the judicial system. Can you imagine going into a courtroom and not having the documents that you need to present your case?

00;02;48;29 - 00;03;08;09
Mike Hammond
Can you imagine if you have an appeal and the documents are not correct, or you can't find those documents, then everything grinds to a halt. And so we are the attorneys and the judges and the Da and the public. We are their best friend because we keep all those documents and we make sure that they are correct and that they are in order.

00;03;08;12 - 00;03;26;21
Mike Hammond
The other thing that we're charged with doing is collecting any court fees, fines, forfeitures and those kinds of things. And that's the challenge is because in these day, you know, in this day and time inflation, gasoline prices, food prices, rent, housing costs, you know, people are strapped and it's getting more and more difficult to collect those costs.

00;03;26;21 - 00;03;27;25
Mike Hammond
But we do the best we can.

00;03;27;27 - 00;03;32;28
Host
How do you get this job in a county? Are you hired? Are you elected or are you appointed?

00;03;32;29 - 00;03;52;05
Mike Hammond
This is an elected position. And so the Criminal Court Clerk in Knox County and the Circuit Court Clerk, there are two separate offices. Those are elected, the clerk and master who works with the Chancery Court is appointed by the three Chancery court judges. So every four years we're up for election and we go to the voters and say, okay, we think we've done a good job.

00;03;52;05 - 00;03;58;21
Mike Hammond
Now, what do you think? And hopefully they'll reelect us if they think we've done a good job or they'll kick us out. And but someone else. And if they think we didn't, well.

00;03;58;21 - 00;03;59;17
Host
How do you think you're doing?

00;03;59;19 - 00;04;06;14
Mike Hammond
Well, I think I'm doing great. Ha ha ha ha ha. I would hope that the, that the citizens would think that we've done a lot of things to improve the office.

00;04;06;16 - 00;04;26;14
Host
They truly have. According to his bio on the Knox County website, Clerk Hammond has overseen upgrades and technology has helped turn over $6.5 million to Knox County thanks to efficient fiscal operations. And he's helped oversee a pair of forward thinking initiatives that help citizens get their driver's licenses back.

00;04;26;16 - 00;04;44;15
Mike Hammond
We learned that when people needed to get their driver's license reinstated, that they were having a lot of red tape that they were having to to go through, and most people would just give up. They would say, well, I can't do it. I can't, I can't, I just can't get all the information. I feel like I'm getting stonewalled, etc..

00;04;44;17 - 00;05;02;07
Mike Hammond
Because everything had to go through Nashville and the Department of Safety. So we decided that we were going to see if we could do something about that. So we went to Nashville, met with the Department of Safety and we said, if we could do your paperwork and handle everything on our end and basically send it to you, what would you think about that?

00;05;02;11 - 00;05;26;08
Mike Hammond
Their eyes lit up and they said, we would love it. Well, we came back and decided that's what we were going to do. And so to date, we have 3500 people now that have had their driver's license reinstated. Another program that we have started doing just in the last year is community service. We have found that there are people who, you know, they can't pay their court costs or fines or whatever, but they're willing to do community service.

00;05;26;08 - 00;05;47;26
Mike Hammond
So we actually went to the legislature, and the legislature passed a bill for Knox County, allowing us to establish a community service program. So we now work with our judges and our people. We have 25 different nonprofit organizations and in the community that will allow these people to come work. And so, they've been able to just get their record clean.

00;05;48;00 - 00;06;06;20
Mike Hammond
And so when they come back, their record is clean. They they've paid their dues to society. The judges sign off on it. And in some instances, we can then help them get their driver's license back. And we've been doing it now less than a year, and we've already had 41 people who have come in and they have actually worked off their fines.

00;06;06;20 - 00;06;08;09
Mike Hammond
So it's a two pronged approach.

00;06;08;12 - 00;06;11;11
Host
It sounds like you're doing this with a big heart. You want to help people.

00;06;11;12 - 00;06;37;19
Mike Hammond
We do. And that's why we have taken the the onus off of the DMV and the Department of Safety. That's why when we went to them and said, we will do this for you, they said, great, we'll let you. And so, yes, it definitely helps the community. It helps the individual, helps families, because, you know, now they can drive to work or school or church or wherever, and they don't have to worry about getting stopped, because they're driving anyway.

00;06;37;19 - 00;06;54;04
Mike Hammond
And so we would much rather them drive legally than not driving illegally. And so this has been a program that's been hugely successful. And we're we're extremely proud of it. And we've had other counties come to us and say, what are you doing? Because we're hearing that you're doing these things with driver's licenses and we want to follow suit.

00;06;54;06 - 00;06;57;23
Mike Hammond
And I believe 3 or 4 counties have started doing the same type of program we're doing.

00;06;57;25 - 00;07;10;23
Host
Every superhero has an origin story. Clerk Hammonds was in radio broadcasting in a storied career that spanned 46 years, where he entertained and helped a lot of people, and it won him a lot of awards.

00;07;10;25 - 00;07;22;20
Mike Hammond
It's funny because, people will come in and say, well, gosh, you know, you should be on the radio. And I said, well, I was at one time, worked at K, here in Knoxville. And I was, I was on the air here for well over 30 years.

00;07;22;23 - 00;07;26;07
Host
You listed one station. How many other stations did you work for?

00;07;26;09 - 00;07;50;22
Mike Hammond
I started out at my hometown radio station in Churchill, Tennessee, when I was 15 years old. And, I would go and work after school and on the weekends. And then when I came to the university of Tennessee, I started working at WBIR Am and then segway over to WETE a.m.. And then I was hired at WIBK as the news director, and then I went into programing management and that kind of thing.

00;07;50;25 - 00;08;10;14
Mike Hammond
But I also worked in Nashville at WKDF. Then I went to Birmingham and, worked at Rock 92 and the sports jocks WJOX down there, and then came back to Knoxville to work at WIBK. And then during that time, the law changed and you could buy more than one radio station. And so the company bought a Newstalk station and a sports station.

00;08;10;14 - 00;08;20;25
Mike Hammond
And so I was able to work at those with the same company. So I've done a little bit of sports, a little bit of news talk and country music and rock radio and that type of thing. It's it was it was a fun career.

00;08;20;28 - 00;08;38;12
Host
During all that you received an Edward R Murrow Award in 1996. Was IT? and for anybody that doesn't know, it's prestigious broadcasting award, recognizing ethics, technical prowess and other things. What led to that nomination and ultimately to the award itself?

00;08;38;15 - 00;08;58;05
Mike Hammond
We had a series of tornadoes strike East Tennessee and in Knox County back in 96, I think we had five tornadoes that touched down in the area. Two, I think, struck Knox County. Or it may, but maybe it was the same tornado. I don't remember, but I was on the air 36 hours from the time that all of that started until it was over.

00;08;58;05 - 00;09;16;17
Mike Hammond
And, it did a lot of damage. I think five people were killed during the course of that. And so being on the air for 36 hours, you accumulate a lot of tape, you know, because we recorded everything. And so it was suggested to me, they said, you know, you really should send this out for some judging.

00;09;16;17 - 00;09;34;01
Mike Hammond
You know, for some award competitions. And so I didn't think anything about it. And so I said, well, okay, so a friend of mine got the tapes, came in, edited it, put together a presentation, and sure enough sent it to the Edward Our Murrow Awards. And we won a national award. And I got to go to Los Angeles and accept the award in LA.

00;09;34;02 - 00;09;55;16
Mike Hammond
And, I was there with ABC news and CBS and all, all of the big guys. And here was a little boy from Knoxville, Tennessee, up there, you know, getting the Small market award. But I felt just as important as they did because I felt like what I did was just as important as they did, even though they were doing these, reports on, in-depth investigations and all of this.

00;09;55;18 - 00;10;15;13
Mike Hammond
But I felt like being on the air for people during a time of emergency like that during tornadoes. And, gosh, people were calling in. We were putting people on the air like crazy. They were scared to death. They were in their basements. They didn't know what was happening. And, I felt like that just being on the air was reassuring to people because we were we were saying, it's going to be okay.

00;10;15;20 - 00;10;32;14
Mike Hammond
You know, this is what's happening. And, yeah, it was amazing. The next day, the phone was just ringing off the wall. People saying, hey, we heard you at 2:00 this morning. We couldn't go to sleep. Well, we had our battery powered radio and we were sitting around listening to you, and it really made you feel like you've done something worthwhile.

00;10;32;16 - 00;10;35;07
Host
And that comforting voice is always great when you're in a bunker.

00;10;35;07 - 00;10;36;06
Mike Hammond
Right? Exactly.

00;10;36;06 - 00;10;39;16
Host
Stuck. Is that where you learn to serve the community through radio?

00;10;39;17 - 00;11;02;24
Mike Hammond
Absolutely. Yeah. Because, you know, in radio you want to do, things for the community charity work. And so we did a lot of, fundraising for Saint Jude's Hospital for East Tennessee Children's Hospital and a variety of things. And, you know, when there would be a hurricane, for example, in Florida, we would do, clothing drives and money drives and food drives and water, those kinds of things.

00;11;02;24 - 00;11;21;07
Mike Hammond
And, there were several times where we would load up tractor trailer rigs and we would encourage people to come and bring water, and they would. And so we would just hook up those tractor trailer rigs and would send them to wherever. And then we would have some instances here in our own community, you know, there'd be a fire or there would be a tornado or be some type of, of disaster here.

00;11;21;09 - 00;11;44;09
Mike Hammond
And so we would, you know, get on the air and encourage people to give and encourage people to help. And, this is a very giving community. I have found that if you were on the air and you asked them, they would help. And I remember one time we had a snowstorm and it was, oh, I guess back in the early 90s when we had like 18in of snow and people were stranded and they were, you know, and we had an ice storm, too, a couple of years later.

00;11;44;11 - 00;12;04;13
Mike Hammond
But we found that when you went all the air and you said, hey, so-and-so out in dry, get pike needs, needs help, because they're stranded or or stuck. Sure enough, somebody call and say, hey, I'm just a half a mile down the way. I got a four wheel drive, I'm on my way. And it was just things like that that, you know, you were kind of directing traffic, so to speak.

00;12;04;16 - 00;12;06;16
Mike Hammond
But just helping people who really needed help.

00;12;06;20 - 00;12;23;22
Host
Now, you're a small town boy from Knoxville, but you're in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Tell us a little bit about that. You were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010 and introduced by a world famous artist. Now, tell us about that artist and what led to her being chosen?

00;12;23;25 - 00;12;43;11
Mike Hammond
Well, I started, I started at my hometown radio station in Church Hill, Tennessee, and, just developed a love for country music. And the first country artist I ever met was Tex Ritter and Tex Ritter, of course. At that time, he was running for the U.S. Senate, and he he was there as a politician, not as a country music star.

00;12;43;11 - 00;12;57;15
Mike Hammond
But, you know, I got to interview him. He was actually my very first interview ever. I was 15 years old, scared to death. Oh, and so, anyway, I'm talking to Tex Ritter, but I found out with him, all you had to do is just ask a question. He'd just kind of take off because he wanted to, you know, tell everybody what he was all about.

00;12;57;16 - 00;13;21;17
Mike Hammond
And so just just a great interview. So I got to, really, really got into country music. After that. And so it really segue right into my interest when I started working at WIBK because it was a big country music station, you know, on Music Row, had a had a big audience and, was just very, very much into the country music scene and spent a lot of time down on Music Row.

00;13;21;19 - 00;13;35;24
Mike Hammond
Well, because we were so close to Nashville, a lot of the artists would come by. And if they were driving through or if they were here for a show or whatever, they would come by and, sit and, you know, talk about their music, what they had coming up. We got to do interviews and those kinds of things.

00;13;35;24 - 00;13;55;21
Mike Hammond
So I got to meet a lot of artists. But I get a call one day from a gentleman named Scott Borchetta, and he said, I've got a new artist that I want to bring by to see you. She doesn’t have any music out yet she's only 15 years old, but we think we got something, and I'd really like to come in and play some of the rough music that she has now, but just give you a chance to meet her.

00;13;55;23 - 00;14;18;21
Mike Hammond
Because we're we're really excited about her. And I said, okay, what's her name? He said, well, Taylor Swift and I said, oh, okay. Taylor Swift never heard of her. He says, no, you haven't, but you will. And so I thought, well, they always tell you that. So sure enough, they came in with a bus and, she was on the bus with her mom, and, we brought her in and put her on the air, and we were her very first radio interview, I think.

00;14;18;28 - 00;14;36;12
Mike Hammond
And so, they didn't expect us to put her on the air because we're right in the middle of afternoon drive, which, if you know anything about radio, it's prime time. So we put her on the air and talk to her and ask her about her background and what she wanted to be. And all of this. And she actually had a song, that was a rough cut, and we asked if we could play it, and she said, sure.

00;14;36;13 - 00;14;50;23
Mike Hammond
Yeah. And so anyway, we, we played our song on the air and that was the first time one of her songs had ever been played. And so we developed a relationship after that. And every time she would come to Knoxville, she'd come out of the radio station and say hello to everybody and just very nice and very gracious.

00;14;50;23 - 00;15;06;15
Mike Hammond
And so if we were at a at an event that she was at, she would always make it a point to say hello. And so anyway, when I found out that my peers were going to induct me into the Hall of Fame, you you can select someone to induct you. And I thought, you know, I think I'll ask Taylor.

00;15;06;22 - 00;15;26;27
Mike Hammond
She'll probably say no, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. So anyway, I ask her people and I said, you know, I if Taylor's available. I said, you know, because of our relationship and, and all of this. And she had already become a worldwide star. And she was in Japan around the time. And I thought, well, she's in Japan, and so she won't even be here.

00;15;26;27 - 00;15;54;03
Mike Hammond
But I ask anyway, I get that phone call and they said, well, Taylor's coming back. You know, a couple of days before that. And she said she'd love to. And I went, oh, wow, Taylor Swift is going to induct me into the Hall of Fame. Now this is too cool. So sure enough, that night she came and was just very gracious and, gave a really nice remarks and talked about our meeting when she was 15 years old and, how how nice we were to her, put her on the air, played her music and all of this.

00;15;54;03 - 00;15;56;25
Mike Hammond
And, it was a special night.

00;15;56;27 - 00;16;24;21
Voice Over
So, Mike, thank you so much for giving me a chance to thank you for everything that you do for country radio and for the artists that you introduce and put on the radio for the first time. I respect you, I admire you, I look up to you, and we all adore you. So congratulations. Let me present to you now the newest member of the Country Radio Hall of Fame, Mike Hammond.

00;16;24;23 - 00;16;26;12
Host
Would you consider yourself a swiftie?

00;16;26;19 - 00;16;45;26
Mike Hammond
Oh, absolutely. You know, she she segue out of country music into the pop world, and she's done as everybody knows, she's done extremely well. She's a she's a anytime you say, okay, Taylor, everybody knows what you're talking about. And so but worldwide, I mean she can go anywhere in the world. Kind of like Dolly. You know, people know Dolly Parton.

00;16;45;26 - 00;16;57;26
Mike Hammond
Well, they know Taylor. And so, Oh, absolutely. I, I like her music some more than others, but my grandchildren, they think their granddad's cool. Because he's met Taylor Swift.

00;16;57;26 - 00;16;59;11
Host
Well, I think you're cool for that.

00;16;59;14 - 00;16;59;27
Mike Hammond
Thank you.

00;17;00;05 - 00;17;05;16
Host
So, public address announcer for the Lady Vols. What a dream job. How'd you land that?

00;17;05;18 - 00;17;24;24
Mike Hammond
That's an interesting story, because, back in 1987, I believe it was Pat Summitt and Joan Cronin who was the women's athletics director, would come by the station from time to time to do interviews. And at that time, Lady Vols basketball was nothing like it is now. You might be lucky if you got 200 people to come to a game.

00;17;24;24 - 00;17;45;03
Mike Hammond
And so it was growing in popularity. But it hadn't gotten there yet. And so they just happened to mention to me that they had a student doing their public address announcing, and they said, we'd really like to, you know, have some more professionalism in, in that. And, and they said, if you know of anybody that would be interested, we'd love to talk to them.

00;17;45;03 - 00;18;03;16
Mike Hammond
And I said, well, I said, you know, I really think I would like I would be interested in doing that. I said, I'd really like to audition. And they said, you don't have to audition if you want it, it's yours. So I went, oh, okay. Yeah. And so my first game, was at, the old, Stokely Athletic Center.

00;18;03;24 - 00;18;26;19
Mike Hammond
And sure enough, maybe there was 2 or 300 people at a game. And so then they built Thompson Bowling Arena. And so I got to do the very first basketball game period at Thompson Bowling Arena because they did a double header. They had women's basketball first and then men's basketball after that. So it was a packed house because people were there to see both teams.

00;18;26;21 - 00;18;43;09
Mike Hammond
And so I got to be on the MC for the very first basketball game at Thompson Bowling. And of course, you know, the popularity of women's basketball and Pat Summitt and national championships and, and the whole nine yards. So the agreement that I had with the Lady Vols was, I said, you know, I'll do it on a year to year basis.

00;18;43;09 - 00;19;00;23
Mike Hammond
And if you ever decide that you don't want me to do it, just tell me you don't want me to do it anymore. And I said, no hard feelings. I said, you know, things change. And I said, if I decide I don't want to do it, then I will let you know. Well, that's been over 30 years. And we have, managed to say, hey, let's do it another year.

00;19;00;26 - 00;19;09;27
Mike Hammond
And I'm really excited about this year. I hope I get to do it another year because of Coach Caldwell. I think she's got a very exciting brand of basketball to the arena that we haven't seen before.

00;19;10;00 - 00;19;19;04
Host
Now, public address is different than play by play announcing like you might hear on radio or television. Being a PA announcer is an art all its own.

00;19;19;07 - 00;19;40;15
Mike Hammond
Well you are, you're the voice in the arena. And so, you're not a you are a homer, so to speak. People know what that means, is that, you know, I'm there to to be a, a voice for the home team and make no bones about it. And if you go to any arena in the country, the public address announcer is going to be behind the home team.

00;19;40;17 - 00;19;59;00
Mike Hammond
I usually get to the arena about two hours in advance because I have to do a lot of scripts because there will be contests, there'll be presentations, there'll be a lot of things that are going on during timeouts, during a halftime, those types of things. And so I want to make sure that I know exactly what is expected of me.

00;19;59;05 - 00;20;25;07
Mike Hammond
And so, they open up the doors one hour before the tip off. And so if I get there two hours before that gives me an hour to go over everything with, with the folks who are there, the producers, and they'll tell me how how they want everything to flow. And so we will do that. And, then during the course of the game, my job is to, you know, talk about the scoring, the three point plays, the fouls.

00;20;25;09 - 00;20;48;10
Mike Hammond
And also, any anything that happens during the course of the game if there's a change or I've actually had them hand things to me on a napkin and say, hey, you need to do this. And so I'll look at it and I'll say, okay, we'll do it then. So, it's it's pretty intense because you have to watch the action, you know, because you want to make sure that you're, you're doing the right player with the right shot.

00;20;48;12 - 00;21;08;05
Mike Hammond
And they're calling the right fouls and, and the people who are going to the foul line and that type of thing. And so, and plus you have to keep up with the fouls, because in women's basketball, you know, in the quarters you do five fouls. And then after that, it's, you know, automatically a two shot, penalty.

00;21;08;08 - 00;21;28;09
Mike Hammond
And so, just keeping up with all that and you want to make sure that each player, you don't want to say, okay, so and so he's got four fouls when they've only got 3 or 2 or things like that. And, and you know, over the course of 30 years I've, I've made a few mistakes and I have miscounted a, a foul or I thought it was on number 31 when it was actually 32.

00;21;28;11 - 00;21;43;13
Mike Hammond
But I have people around me at the table that if I have a question or if I've made a mistake, they'll let me know very quickly and they'll say, mark a foul actually, on 32, that kind of thing. But it's, we have great camaraderie at what we call on the table crew.

00;21;43;14 - 00;21;48;06
Host
What's the most exciting part of being on the sidelines at Thompson Bowling?

00;21;48;08 - 00;22;13;26
Mike Hammond
Just watching the game and just seeing. And because I am where I am, I can hear both coaches. And so when they call a timeout, I can hear the lady ball coach. And you'll also hear the opposing team's coaches. And, that is probably the most exciting thing is, and particularly when you have a close game and you're watching, the coaching and you know, that they're watching every single, you know, play, they're watching every single player.

00;22;14;03 - 00;22;31;21
Mike Hammond
They're in their mind forming a strategy for what they want to do. And so probably the most exciting thing is, on games where it goes down to the wire and, you know, they call that play. And of course, when the Lady Vols win that euphoria, when the Lady Vols lose, that's, you know, okay, well, we did our best.

00;22;31;23 - 00;22;49;29
Mike Hammond
But we've, we've had more than our share in the arena of those kinds of games where the Lady Vols have pulled it out, you know, in the last seconds. And so it's really fun to do that and to be able to use your voice, to help with that excitement when that happens. There's there's nothing like it.

00;22;50;01 - 00;22;58;06
Host
Now, are you guiding the crowd just a little bit, or are you doing certain things to try to keep the crowd into it, or are you just reading the room and going along with them.

00;22;58;06 - 00;23;15;04
Mike Hammond
Basically reading the room? Because you know that when there has been a steal and they come down and they, you know, do it, and particularly when they go ahead or they tie the score, you know, the crowd's going to erupt. And so I give it a little extra because I know that, you know, the crowd is going to really be into it at that time.

00;23;15;04 - 00;23;35;21
Mike Hammond
So over the years, you, you, you tend to read the, the arena and you tend to read what's going on on the court. And you kind of know, and particularly when the other team calls timeout because of a run from the Lady Vols. That's, that's special because, you know, when you see that coach out there calling timeout and, and you give you that little extra, that's, that's a lot of fun.

00;23;35;24 - 00;23;44;22
Voice Over
At this time. They are presenting Coach Summit with a replica of the new court called the Summit.

00;23;44;24 - 00;23;50;06
Host
We've known, Pat Summitt pretty well. Do you have any fond memories that you can share with us?

00;23;50;08 - 00;24;11;26
Mike Hammond
She was, the thing about, I tell about Coach Summit is, she demanded excellence from everyone around her. It wasn't just the players or her coaching team. It was everybody. So if you were on the table crew. She wanted excellence. She wanted you to do your best. And she would let you know if you. She didn't think you were.

00;24;11;28 - 00;24;43;13
Mike Hammond
And so, she was very good about heaping praise, you know, if, if you did something well or whatever. There has been a couple of times I got the famous Pat Summitt stare. But she was just, very professional. Very, very, classy. I would say, I have absolutely nothing negative. I don't think anyone could say anything negative about Pat Summitt, just in the way she conducted a self, the way she conducted a self and really promoted women's basketball and basketball in general.

00;24;43;15 - 00;25;01;04
Mike Hammond
The way she conducted herself on the sidelines, she rarely got a technical foul. No. She did. Yeah. I think she got maybe 2 or 3 the whole time in 30 years. But, you know, she was able to hold her cool. And, I'll never forget, she like messing with the referees in, in a fun way.

00;25;01;07 - 00;25;18;06
Mike Hammond
And I'll never forget, the team was behind and they weren't playing good defense. And so, anyway, Pat called a timeout and went over the referee and said, listen, will you tell them to start playing defense? And then she just turned around. Well, of course, the referee just died laughing. But, you know, that's that's the kind of person she was.

00;25;18;07 - 00;25;27;12
Mike Hammond
You know, she was just, very, very jovial. But she wanted to win, though, make no doubt about that. No question about that. She wanted to win and she wanted to win championships.

00;25;27;14 - 00;25;31;07
Host
So I have to ask, what did you do to get the stare and how did it feel?

00;25;31;09 - 00;25;57;18
Mike Hammond
Oh, it was awful. We were it was Tennessee and Georgia, and at the time Shamika Holtzclaw was the star player on the team. And I want to say her number was, let's say 33. And so anyway, it's toward the end of the game. It's tight, it's close. And so anyway, referees call a foul and the referee flashed three three and I looked down.

00;25;57;18 - 00;26;21;05
Mike Hammond
I thought, oh my gosh, that's Shamika. She's fouled out. So I go on the PA and I said, foul's call on number 33. Shamika Holtzclaw. That's her fifth personal foul. Crowd starts booing and I'm wondering what have I done wrong? And then Pat jumps up and looks at me and gives me that stare and the people next to me and said, Mike, it was number 33 on Georgia.

00;26;22;18 - 00;26;36;16
Mike Hammond
So quickly I go back on the mike says, correction, that foul was on number 33 of so-and-so of the Georgia Bulldogs. And so anyway, you know, Pat, she she looked at me and kind of nodded and said, okay, you got it right, but don't do that again. I she didn't tell me that. I knew that's what she was thinking.

00;26;36;19 - 00;26;42;09
Host
Do you have a special introduction or style that you do for introducing the starting lineups in each game?

00;26;42;09 - 00;27;04;02
Mike Hammond
Yeah, we have they, they have a video that they use and they have fireworks on the court. And so as you're announcing each individual player, they will do fireworks and they'll show the player's picture up on the big screen and that kind of thing. And so for the starting five, you know, I will, I will do their names and I will draw out their names.

00;27;04;02 - 00;27;18;16
Mike Hammond
It's not like I would come in and say, okay, and now starting at forward number 33, Shamika Holtzclaw, I'll say, and now starting at forward number 33, Shamika

00;27;18;18 - 00;27;20;18
Host
Holtzclaw.

00;27;20;18 - 00;27;29;28
Mike Hammond
And the crowd goes crazy. And so I do that for each one of them. And I have a little bit of distinctive ones for each one, escorted by her father, Gary Thomas, and mother, Kimberly.

00;27;29;28 - 00;27;32;03
Host
James from Portland, Oregon.

00;27;32;03 - 00;27;38;00
Mike Hammond
Ladies and gentlemen, senior guard number zero, Jordan.

00;27;38;02 - 00;27;56;11
Host
Reynolds. And just right here that has my hair standing up on the back of my neck. I don't have a lot of hair. And it's standing. Who are your influences for that? Did were you influenced by any certain teams or anybody you saw growing up? And do you still go to games and say, oh, I like that technique.

00;27;56;11 - 00;27;57;03
Host
I like to do that.

00;27;57;03 - 00;28;23;13
Mike Hammond
Oh, absolutely. But I'll do a lot of times it's I'll watch the NBA or I'll watch college games and I'll find somebody that I think is really, really good and I might try to emulate something or pick up something that they do. The Chicago Bulls guy. To me, he was one of the best. And, I went to a couple of Atlanta Hawks games and but from time to time, I will just watch TV and you can hear the announcers, you can hear the people in the background.

00;28;23;15 - 00;28;33;02
Mike Hammond
And so, I will I will listen to them and I'll think, oh, I like that. Or I'll say, oh, I was even a little overboard on that one. That's okay. You know, because everybody has their own style.

00;28;33;05 - 00;28;38;21
Host
And, you mentioned other sports that you've done. Well, what other sports have you done public dress for?

00;28;38;21 - 00;28;56;20
Mike Hammond
I did men's basketball for ten years, and I was doing both men and women, and I just couldn't do both because it got very time consuming, because I have a family and kids and the whole deal. And so I gave up men's basketball, because I had such a Pat Summitt gave me my start and I thought, you know, that's to me that's a loyalty.

00;28;56;20 - 00;29;11;07
Mike Hammond
You know, she didn't have to, but she gave me my start. And so I feel like I need to see it through. And, I did men's for about ten years. I also did the orange and white football game for about four years. And so they would ask me to come in to the orange and white game.

00;29;11;07 - 00;29;31;00
Mike Hammond
And so, I was able to do a little bit of football and orange and white games a lot different than a regular game because, you know, the, it's it's just fun. And, if I messed up, it really didn't matter, you know? So. But that was good. I also did a couple of high school when my kids were in high school, they asked me if I could do some high school stuff, and I did a couple of high school.

00;29;31;05 - 00;29;45;10
Mike Hammond
Why did an entire season for my son? So when my son was at Bearden High School, I did one season of, of the the Bearden Bulldog football team. Then my daughter played basketball and I did their her senior year, when she was playing basketball.

00;29;45;13 - 00;30;05;04
Host
Clerk Mike Hammond can be heard every night the Lady Vols play at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville. And during the day, you can find him at the Knoxville City-County building. Calmly serving the people of Knox County and doing a super job at that for Tennessee Court Talk. I'm Dave Stripling.

00;30;05;07 - 00;30;13;23
Host
For more Tennessee court talk, check out tcourts.gov or search for Tennessee Court Talk anywhere you get your podcasts.