Dr. Terri Hall, retired adult education instructor at Cleveland State Community College, recently took center stage – and earned the top honor - at the Seventh Annual Morning Pointe Foundation Seniors Got Talent competition in Chattanooga. 

At 73, Dr. Hall entered the competition on a whim and earned first place for her vocal performance of Georgia on My Mind.

The annual competition features contestants age 60 and older from across the Tennessee Valley and North Georgia.

The event raised over $45,000 to provide scholarship funds for students pursuing careers in nursing, social work, therapy and culinary arts at partner schools, including Cleveland State Community College. 

Proceeds also support free caregiver education programs for families caring for aging loved ones.

A New York native, Dr. Hall earned degrees from The City University of New York (CUNY) and Manhattan College. She has three master’s degrees – in elementary education, administration and supervision, and literacy - as well as a doctorate in early and middle childhood development. 
She served as director of an early childhood center, an elementary school principal and an associate professor of education for 30 years in New York.

In 2016, Dr. Hall and her husband retired and moved to Cleveland to be closer to her family. She soon realized that she missed teaching. She joined Cleveland State’s Adult Education Program, where she spent the next five years teaching basic education skills, English as a Second Language (ESL) and classes to prepare adults for the high school equivalency exam.

“I loved the program and the team at Cleveland State; they are amazingly dedicated,” Dr. Hall said. “I had great students, and I loved it. You always have a couple of students who need a little more support. When they work hard and succeed, you are so delighted for them. My passion has always been education and helping students achieve.”

While education has been a lifelong profession, Dr. Hall’s singing career didn’t begin until she was in her 50s. While on a cruise, her friends convinced her to enter a talent competition; she surprised both herself and her friends by placing third. A lifelong lover of jazz and the big band era, Dr. Hall has performed with the Scenic City Sound of Chattanooga LLC for nearly 10 years. She also sings with the Joe Chambers Trio at Portofino’s in Chattanooga every Saturday night.

“I always enjoyed singing. When I was younger, I didn’t think that I could sing because I wasn’t a soprano” Dr. Hall said. “Once you think that you can’t, you don’t even really try. Then, a teacher told me that I had a great alto voice. I realized that I could sing; I just couldn’t sing the high notes.”

Dr. Hall has also had success on the pageant stage. In 2017, she represented the Red Hat Society of Rhea County at the Tennessee Strawberry Festival, where she was crowned Queen of the Senior Division. She went on to compete at the state level, and was crowned Ms. Tennessee Senior America in 2018. Later that year, she was second runner-up in the Ms. Senior America pageant.

“In all honesty, I had no idea what pageants were,” Dr. Hall said. “Then, I realized, the things you learn being in pageants about poise and charm, how to carry yourself and how to address hundreds of people. I had lecture halls with students in front of me, but this was totally different.”

Today, Dr. Hall enjoys sharing her love of music with audiences throughout the region. She and her husband have five children and 11 grandchildren, who live across the country, and her family remains an important part of her life and her musical journey.

“It’s been very fun,” Dr. Hall said. “Thank goodness my husband likes music. He comes with me every time; he moves the equipment and sets up the sound system. He’s been great; I’m very fortunate.”