Among the nation’s top realtors, Donnita Hill to speak at Leaders for Life program Monday

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – One of the region’s most successful business women throughout a 38-year career in real estate in the Upper Cumberland, Donnita Hill will be the featured guest speaker Monday night at Tennessee Tech for a presentation on women in leadership. 

Hill will speak to Tennessee Tech University’s female student-athletes in the Dr. M. Dianne Murphy Endowed Female Student-Athlete Leaders for Life Program.

Her presentation, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in the Don Ervin Auditorium on the first floor of Johnson Hall.

Born and raised in Buffalo Valley, Tenn., and the youngest of seven children, Donnita graduated from Upperman High School in Baxter in 1966, and received a bachelor’s degree in business from Tennessee Tech in 1970.

She created the first Real Estate Team Concept in Middle Tennessee in 1988, a system that has produced more than $400 million in real estate values sold in Putnam County. The “Hill Team” runs a state-of-the-art real estate office with the latest technology currently needed to effectively match buyers and sellers.

Hill is an active member of several local and national organizations, including the Women’s Council of Realtors (WCR), Council of Residential Specialists (CRS), Better Business  Bureau (BBB), Home Builders Association of the Upper Cumberland, and Star Power Real Estate Consultants. She is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and Luxury Home Specialist.

She served as Director on the Better Business Bureau Board and sat on the board of the Cookeville Regional Foundation. 

Hill’s success in her field speaks for itself. She has been ranked No. 1 out of 365 real estate agents by the Upper Cumberland Real Estate Board for 34 consecutive years, and has ranked among the top one percent of all real estate agents across North America.

Winner of the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics in 2006, she was also nominated for the same honor in 2013 for ranking among the Top 10 in Middle Tennessee, the only realtor in Tennessee to receive that honor.

Real Trends magazine listed Hill winner of the “Biggest of the Best Award” for Realtors, and the Upper Cumberland Commerce Association named her Best of Cookeville: Real Estate Broker/Agent in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

In 2013, Hill was the featured cover agent for Top Agent Magazine for the United States.

In 2006, Murphy announced the establishment of the Dr. M. Dianne Murphy Female Student-Athlete Leaders for Life Program at Tennessee Tech. The program provides mentoring and networking opportunities for female student-athletes at Tennessee Tech with successful female role models. The Leaders for Life Program features keynote addresses by women in the sports industry and women in leadership positions, as well as social networking opportunities.

"This program targets the common challenges facing women today," said Mark Wilson, TTU Director of Athletics. "Tennessee Tech Athletics is excited about promoting the importance of women's athletics and providing outstanding opportunities for leadership development in its female student-athletes.
       
"We're extremely grateful to Dr. Murphy for her support of this program and her commitment to our student-athletes," he said.
              
The Leaders for Life program at Tennessee Tech is the second leadership lecture series created by Murphy through charitable gifts. In 2005, she endowed the Dr. M. Dianne Murphy Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Management at Florida State University. Murphy earned a Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1980.     

"The Dr. M. Dianne Murphy Female Student-Athlete Leaders for Life Program is providing a permanent legacy to one of the University's most accomplished alumni," Wilson said. "Our female student-athletes benefit tremendously from the Leaders for Life Program.

RECENT SPEAKERS in the Dr. M. Dianne Murphy
Leaders for Life Program at Tennessee Tech

Spring 2011 / Dr. M. Dianne Murphy
Spring 2011 / Dr. Lanise Rosemond
Fall 2011 / Beth DeBauche
Spring 2012 / Natalie Ivey and Kristen Schabert
Fall 2012 / Pam Kilday
Spring 2013 / Donna Lopiano
Fall 2013 / Joetta Clark Diggs
Spring 2014 / Kathleen DoBoer