Tennessee Education Lottery celebrates 14th anniversary

In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, file photo, Dwane Cole, left, the mayor of Munford, Tenn., speaks inside Naifeh's Grocery in Munford, Tenn. One of the winning Powerball tickets in Wednesday's record jackpot drawing of $1.6 billion was sold at the store. Rebecca Hargrove, president and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery, is second from right. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht) In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, file photo, Dwane Cole, left, the mayor of Munford, Tenn., speaks inside Naifeh's Grocery in Munford, Tenn. One of the winning Powerball tickets in Wednesday's record jackpot drawing of $1.6 billion was sold at the store. Rebecca Hargrove, president and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery, is second from right. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht)

By Staff Report January 17, 2018 2 min read

NASHVILLE – Happy Birthday, Tennessee Education Lottery.

Tennessee lottery officials this week are celebrating the games’ 14th anniversary, announcing the program has raised $4.4 billion so far for education programs along with a record-busting second quarter.

“We’re proud of the past 14 years,” said Rebecca Hargrove, the lottery’s president and CEO, in a news release. “The results we have achieved have funded more than a million scholarships and grants and now help make possible the Governor’s Drive to 55 initiatives along with so many other education programs.”

After years of political battles to change the Tennessee Constitution, spearheaded by then-state Sen. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, now a congressman, state voters on Nov. 2, 2002, approved a constitutional amendment permitting a state-run lottery.

A law was passed establishing the Tennessee Education Lottery, with the first tickets sold on Jan. 20, 2004.