On November 16th, 2022 the world lost the light that was Brandon J. Gibson. His close friends rallied together to commemorate him in the most respectful and deserving ways possible. The city has declared June 8th to be Brandon Gibson Day, there will be an annual brunch event called Sundresses and Neckties, and the University of Tennessee now has an endowment in his name: The Brandon J. Gibson UT Knoxville Alumni Tri-star Scholarship.
Brandon was Knoxville’s unofficial mayor. While he was beloved in many different circles, his passion lay in music and theatre. If he wasn’t rehearsing for La Traviata, or learning lines for A Christmas Carol, or performing in Little Shop of Horrors, he was out on the town shaking hands and kissing babies. He was a singer, a wordsmith, a jokester, a confidante, and the very best friend I could’ve ever asked for.
Brandon attended Austin-East high school where he would be crowned Mr. Austin-East his senior year. He was well-respected even for someone not originally from Knoxville.
John Young, a VFL and dear friend of both myself and Brandon, proposed that we commemorate him in some way. We decided that one of the best ways to immortalize Brandon would be to create a scholarship in his name. John, who works for UT alumni affairs, contacted the Director of Alumni Student Recruitment and Scholarships and in just a short time we had our gift agreement ready to sign. Once everything went through we received the giving link to the website where people could donate. We hit our $12,500 goal on June 11th 2023 during an event dedicated to Brandon called Sundresses and Neckties at the Knoxville Botanical Garden.
The Brandon J. Gibson UT Knoxville Alumni Tri-star Scholarship benefits undergraduate students presently enrolled at or admitted to UT with preference to applicants who attended Austin-East High School, are originally from East Knoxville, and/or demonstrate an interest in the arts. Anyone who wishes to donate to the endowment can do so at https://giving.utk.edu/brandongibson
