Committee backs bill to rename Selmer National Guard armory for Brig. Gen. F. Hawkins

The House Naming and Designating Committee voted 7-0 March 16 to send HB11764 — a bill to rename the National Guard Armory in Selmer, Tenn., for Brigadier General F. Hawkins — to the State and Local Government Committee with a positive recommendation.

Representative Gant, sponsor of HB11764, told the committee the change would honor a longtime Tennessee Guardsman. “Um, this bill names the National Guard Armory in Selmer, Tennessee to the Brigadier General F. Hawkins Armory, National Guard Armory,” Gant said, adding that Hawkins enlisted as a private in 1960 and retired in 1997 as a brigadier general.

Gant said the Department of Military will use funds already in its budget for signage so the renaming would not require additional state funding. “There is a physical note on it, but the Department of Military will use funds already in their budget for the signage so as to not require additional funding from the state,” he said, and then yielded back with a favorable recommendation.

Chairman Fritz praised the measure and the honoree’s career. “It’s an uncommon thing that someone go from private to general,” Fritz said, noting the bill’s write-up references Hawkins’s service with the 30th Armor Brigade and the armory’s location in McNary County.

With no opposition raised, the clerk opened the voice vote and recorded seven ayes and zero noes. The chair announced that HB11764 moves out to the State and Local Government Committee with a positive recommendation. The committee then closed the calendar and adjourned.

The bill will next be considered by the State and Local Government Committee; no further action or dates were announced in the Naming and Designating Committee meeting.