Volunteer Spotlight: The Hanks

If you’ve been to a George Mason men’s basketball game, chances are you have seen people wearing and carrying all sorts of Green Machine swag. And, most likely, they have picked up that swag from John and Tammy Hanks.

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The Hanks have their table of goodies set up on the concourse of Eagle Bank Arena between sections 108 and 109 at every men’s home game. There you will find a large assortment of Green Machine items, from Doc Nix plushie dolls to Kukui nut necklaces. They are tireless volunteers for the Green Machine Ensembles and you won’t find more enthusiastic fans than the Hanks! John and Tammy have volunteered countless hours since 2007, raising money for the Green Machine. Each season, they debut new items such as scarves, pens, canvas totes and more to encourage donations to our organization. John and Tammy pay for the items from their own pockets and donate the proceeds to the Green Machine. 

John and Tammy are both employees of George Mason University. John is a Network Engineer in the IT department and has been at Mason since 1981. Tammy has been an employee since 1995 and is currently an Administrative Assistant in the Facilities office. They have one daughter, Christina, who attended Mason for her undergraduate degree from 2008-2012 and her masters from 2014-2015. While she was studying for her masters, she was in the tuba section of the Green Machine! Her participation in the band is not a coincidence – the Hanks met Doc while Christina was in the marching band program at Thomas Edison High School and he was the designer for the band’s show. Their friendship began there, even before Doc was with George Mason University. John and Tammy are grandparents of a one year old boy, James, and are soon to be grandparents to a baby girl, Cassie Sue, this May! 

 

If you find yourself at a basketball game, stop by and say hello to John and Tammy. You won’t regret it, they are two of the best people we know!