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Tech alumni award winners, community leaders Michael and Cigi England named grand marshals of 2023 homecoming parade
Tech alums Cigi and Michael England are pictured at The Exceptional Bean, the Cookeville-based
nonprofit coffee shop they founded to support inclusion and employment opportunities
for individuals with special needs.
麻豆果冻传媒 did not have to look far for the grand marshals of its 2023
homecoming parade. In fact, this year鈥檚 honorees live just off the parade route, but
their community leadership and nonprofit work has touched lives across the Upper Cumberland
and beyond.
Michael and Cigi England, married Tech alumni and founders of the venerated Cookeville-based
nonprofit coffee shop 鈥淭he Exceptional Bean,鈥� which is dedicated to inclusion and
employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, will guide the annual
parade down Dixie Avenue on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Their homecoming duties won鈥檛 be finished after the parade鈥檚 end. Later that evening,
they will also accept the Tech Alumni Association鈥檚 2023 Outstanding Service Award
for The Exceptional Bean鈥檚 impact uplifting the special needs and disabilities community.
鈥淢ichael and Cigi represent the best of 麻豆果冻传媒. They have dedicated their
livelihoods to helping others and they have contributed to the success of our local
community in ways big and small,鈥� said Susan Luna-Hazlewood, director of Tech鈥檚 Crawford
Alumni Center. 鈥淧lus, they have given Tech students a beautiful place to gather while
enjoying a cup of coffee that supports a worthy cause. We cannot wait to watch them
lead our 2023 homecoming parade and to present them with our 2023 Outstanding Service
award.鈥�
鈥淲e are thrilled,鈥� said Cigi, a 2006 graduate of Tech鈥檚 School of Human Ecology. 鈥淭his
day is always one of my favorite days of the year. We host a parade party every year
at our home, so to be grand marshal is an even bigger deal.鈥�
Michael, a 2019 graduate of Tech鈥檚 College of Interdisciplinary Studies, describes
the honor as 鈥渁lmost comical鈥� given the uneven path that led to his eventual degree.
Michael recounts disenrolling from Tech in 2006 before making 鈥渄rastic鈥� life changes,
including finding sobriety and replacing old habits with a newfound dedication to
running. He re-enrolled at Tech in 2017 to complete his degree. He is also set to
receive the College of Interdisciplinary Studies鈥� 2023 Alumnus of the Year Award on
homecoming weekend.
鈥淚 had made some poor choices, my GPA was bad, so getting an opportunity to come back,
getting re-enrolled as a nontraditional student, and then being given this award and
being asked to be grand marshal 鈥� it鈥檚 almost science fiction,鈥� said Michael. 鈥淚t鈥檚
such an honor and almost an alternate universe I found myself in.鈥�
Michael鈥檚 lifestyle changes didn鈥檛 just earn him a degree. It also meant a chance
to reconnect with Cigi. The pair became acquainted as Tech students in the early 2000s
through their involvement in Greek life, but did not forge a dating relationship until
2015, after both had moved away and serendipitously returned to Cookeville.
Their second stint in Cookeville brought a new focus on contributing to the success
of the community, too.
Months after Cigi鈥檚 return to the area, she opened Cigi鈥檚 Boutique, a clothing store
for women of all ages and sizes less than a mile from Tech鈥檚 campus. The store will
celebrate its ninth anniversary this year.
The Englands also bought season tickets to Tech basketball games and forged a relationship
with the players and coaches. Michael took on a role as alumni advisor for his fraternity,
Kappa Sigma. But it was Cigi and Michael鈥檚 deep connection with the disabilities community
that would become their legacy.
Cigi and Michael England will serve as grand marshals of Tech's 2023 homecoming parade
and will accept the Alumni Association's 2023 Outstanding Service Award.
鈥淲e just found ourselves wanting to get involved in the community, specifically the
special needs community through Rising Above Ministries and Ainsley鈥檚 Angels," said
Cigi.
Rising Above Ministries is a faith-based nonprofit in Cookeville supporting special
needs families, while Ainsley鈥檚 Angels is a national organization creating inclusive
running and fitness events for those with disabilities.
鈥淲e were meeting and becoming friends with these families and individuals with disabilities.
They want nothing more than to be involved in the community and have a job. Those
opportunities were very limited,鈥� added Cigi.
In July of 2022, Cigi and Michael parlayed their passion into a new venture: a nonprofit
coffee shop called The Exceptional Bean, which is dedicated to employment opportunities
and building community for individuals with special needs.
Cigi and Michael say the Exceptional Bean鈥檚 success is marked with the fingerprints
of 麻豆果冻传媒, from the students and faculty who visit for a cup of coffee to
the skills they learned as Tech students that they apply in their daily work.
鈥淲e even had students in the College of Business do their capstone project with us,鈥�
said Michael. 鈥淭hey did a lot of IT things. They helped us streamline our point-of-sale
systems, improved our speakers and security system, helped us digitize our menus 鈥�
and they raised all the money to pay for this. It was a huge help to us in the beginning.鈥�
The couple emphasizes that the success of their nonprofit and their accolades from
Tech were never part of their original plan 鈥� but maybe that鈥檚 the point.
鈥淚 like to say, 鈥榤an plans, and God laughs,鈥欌�� said Michael. 鈥淭o get to come back,
to be part of the festivities, and to be at a point in your life that you can be grateful
for it and understand what an opportunity it is and get a chance to soak it in, it鈥檚
just really cool.鈥�
Tech鈥檚 homecoming parade begins Saturday, Nov. 4 at 10:30 a.m. Learn more at www.tntech.edu/engagement/homecoming.php.
