MTSU faculty and staff took to WGNS Radio recently to share information about the upcoming Bleed Blue Blood Drive, a student-led effort to assist a local disabled veteran with housing and a professor’s new book about gangs in the military.

The details were shared during the Oct. 16 “Action Line” program with host Bart Walker. The live program was broadcast on FM 100.5, 101.9 and AM 1450 from the WGNS studio in downtown Murfreesboro. If you missed it, you can listen to a podcast of the show here.

Guests and their topics were as follows:

• Ray Wiley, associate director of MTSU Campus Recreation and longtime Red Cross volunteer, Diane Turnham, MTSU associate athletic director, and Sean Armstrong, regional business development manager with the American Red Cross, discussed the upcoming “Bleed Blue, Beat WKU” Blood Drive.

For an seventh year, the Blue Raider community will again be competing against supporters of our fellow Conference USA member Western Kentucky University during the “Bleed Blue” Blood Drive to be held Nov. 13-15 at the MTSU Campus Recreation Center.

Last year, WKU won the competition for the second time since 2010 with 414 successful donors to MTSU’s 404 donors. This year’s winner will be announced at the Nov. 17 game at WKU.

For more information, including how to make an appointment, go to http://mtsunews.com/bleed-blue-2017/.

From left, Sean Armstrong, regional business development manager with the American Red Cross, Ray Wiley, associate director of MTSU Campus Recreation and longtime Red Cross volunteer, and Diane Turnham, MTSU associate athletic director, prepare to discuss the upcoming “Bleed Blue, Beat WKU” Blood Drive during the Oct. 16 WGNS Radio “Action LIne” program with host Bart Walker. (MTSU photo)

• Dr. Joey Gray, associate professor in MTSU’s Leisure, Sports and Tourism Studies Program, and some of her students, discussed the “Bounce Back Golf Scramble” fundraiser set for Veterans Day on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Champions Run Golf Course in Murfreesboro.

Dr. Joey Gray

Students in MTSU’s Leisure, Sports and Tourism Studies Program are planning the golf scramble to raise funds for the Homes For Our Troops nonprofit organization, which builds accessible, mortgage free, homes for wounded veterans (post 9/11).

The MTSU students were able to pick the veteran they would support, and in this case the wounded veteran is former U.S. Army Sgt. Bryan Camacho of Murfreesboro. Camacho was first wounded in service (paralyzed from waist down) in 2007 while in Iraq. He then had an auto accident in 2014 and is now a quadriplegic.

Learn more about the event and Camacho by going to MTSU Bounce Back Golf Scramble: Benefiting Homes For Our Troops on Facebook (or search for @bbgolfscramble) or go to Active.com. For information, email Gray at joey.gray@mtsu.edu or call 615-904-8359.

• Dr. Carter F. Smith, a professor in the MTSU Department of Criminal Justice Administration, discussed his new book, “Gangs and the Military: Gangsters, Bikers, and Terrorists with Military Training.”

Dr. Carter F. Smith, a professor in the MTSU Department of Criminal Justice Administration, is shown at the Oct. 16 WGNS Radio “Action Line” program. (MTSU photo)

Smith’s book is based on personal experiences, historical documents, government reports and current events. He was in the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, commonly called CID, for more than 22 years, serving 15 years at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He identified the growing problem of street gangs and military connections in the early 1990s and later started the Army’s first gang and extremist investigations team.

Smith recently shared his expertise at one of the South’s premier literary events: the 2017 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. Learn more at http://mtsunews.com/smith-gang-book-fall2017/.

Students, faculty and staff who are interested in guesting on WGNS to promote their MTSU-related activities should contact Jimmy Hart, director of news and media relations, at 615-898-5131 or via email at jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu.