[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 92 (Monday, June 3, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING WHITE COUNTY NATIVE KELLIE JOLLY HARPER AS LADY VOLS COACH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN W. ROSE

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 3, 2019

  Mr. JOHN W. ROSE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
recognize a true Tennessee Volunteer, a daughter of Tennessee's Sixth 
Congressional District, and the new Head Coach for the University of 
Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, Kellie Jolly Harper.
  Coach Harper represents the best of Tennessee. She is known 
nationwide for her grit and her relentless pursuit of victory. No doubt 
these traits were instilled in her first by her coach and father, 
Kenneth Jolly, and mother, Peggy Simpson Jolly, and honed into 
championship ingredients by legendary coach Pat Summitt.
  Coach Harper was raised in Sparta, Tennessee, a rural town in White 
County that has been and continues to be home to some of the hardest 
working people I have met. Her work ethic as a standout player for 
White County High School led to a starting position with the most 
prestigious women's basketball program of all time, the Tennessee Lady 
Volunteers. Before graduating from the University of Tennessee in 1999, 
Coach Harper ran point for three of Coach Summitt's national title 
teams, including a perfect 39-0 season in 1998. Even more incredibly, 
she achieved all this success after suffering an injury to her knee 
that would have been career-ending for most.
  Coach Harper is only the third Lady Vol head coach in the NCAA era of 
women's basketball. She returns to Rocky Top alongside her husband and 
Assistant Coach, Jon Harper, and their children, Jackson and Kiley. I 
have noticed her attention to her children throughout her start as 
Tennessee's Head Coach and I pray that she and her family enjoy a long 
and fruitful era in Knoxville.
  I believe in the great promise of the Lady Vols basketball program 
and know that with this homegrown leader, the team is in great hands. I 
wish my sincerest best to Coach Kellie Jolly Harper and the Tennessee 
Lady Vols. She has certainly made her hometown and region proud. 
Welcome home, Coach, and Go Big Orange.

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