In a cozy house on Alicia Street lives a true Tiger fan whose blood runs blue and white. This fan has devoted an entire room to his mementos, even tracking the Tiger's foot steps on the wall. Anfernee Hardaway's autograph hangs framed, along with a diploma and an 8 x 10 picture of Elliot Perry.
"He had determination and heart, and I admired the way he went out," said Darrin Devault, who looks for U of M memorabilia on the Web. Devault has collected a couple of hundred ball game programs, but his most treasured media guide is the 1963 edition.
"My friends get a kick out of seeing the room," Devault said.
Devault is from Brucetown, Tenn., 120 miles from Memphis, and graduated from Hollow Rock-Brucetown High School. Before attending The U of M he went to Union and Jackson State universities.
"I was on The Daily Helmsman, and I served as a basic news reporter, nightly news editor and managing editor," Devault said. Devault, 35 said his greatest U of M experience was living in Richardson Towers.
"It was a true community," Devault said. He said the small group of students living on a densely populated campus was really the neatest thing about the whole environment. He said there was always something to do.
"We rarely missed taco Tuesday at Varsity Inn," Devault said. Varsity Inn, or V.I., was located across from Wendy's on Highland. He said he and his friends hung out on the Highland strip and ate at R.P. Tracks -- where he still eats twice a month.
"R.P. Tracks has the best chicken sandwiches in the Memphis area," Devault said.
While Devault was a student at The U of M, he interned with the Student Press Law Center, where he was editor of the quarterly magazine. He had a rare opportunity while interning to cover the first high school newspaper censorship case. He was also chosen to go to Washington after the internship ended so he could cover the case when it went to the Supreme Court.
Devault went to work for the Dyersburg State Gazette right after graduating from The U of M in 1993.
"I walked in and they gave me a camera -- and I never did photography on The Helmsman," Devault said. Although Devault worked for the paper for five years, he eventually decided to go into public relations.
"I really didn't like the daily grind -- working nights, holidays and weekends," Devault said. He got a job with the Memphis City Schools, where he was a writer and photographer. In 1995, Devault took a job as The U of M alumni communication coordinator, and was the associate editor of the Alumni Magazine.
In 1997, He took another job with Memphis City Schools, where he handled media relations, wrote speeches, designed publications and maintained the content for their Website.
"I bought the domain name called see-Tennessee.com," Devault said. He left Memphis City Schools this summer to start his own company, called Devault Interactive. Devault visited all of Tennessee's 95 counties this year, and took photographs and information to put on the Website, to help viewers learn more about Tennessee.
"The last trip I took, I worked my way down the Appalachian Mountains, and it is amazing how far you can go and still be in Tennessee," Devault said.
He said he is going to have sponsors for specific subjects, like education, on the Website, which will be released at the end of this year.
Devault said he will finish his master's degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations very soon. He is working on projects for the future like a preps Website.
"The future is extremely bright for the journalism department, especially with the new Internet journalism courses," said Devault, who also teaches a media writing course in the department. Devault said when he graduated college he felt like he could do it, but he just wasn't sure. He said he really enjoyed his experiences after graduation.
"I really think it was a combination of the people and education that made a difference in my experience, " Devault said. He said Joyce Morrison, who taught media relations when he attended The U of M, was a big encourager. Devault said he sees that quality in all of the professors at The U of M.
