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TOP STORIES FOR
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2003
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Four County Bands to Become One for Inauguration |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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The Carroll County Combined High
Schools Band
Carroll County's four high school bands will unite for
governor-elect Phil Bredesen's inaugural parade on January
18 in Nashville. High school marching bands from Hollow
Rock-Bruceton, Huntingdon, McKenzie, and West Carroll have
joined efforts to create a nearly 200-member band to be
known as Carroll County Combined High Schools Band in
this unprecedented project.
The bands work many hours during August, September and
October perfecting a half-time field show and competing
against each other in local and state band competitions.
This is the bands' chance to work together for a truly
extraordinary event.
The idea was first presented to the band directors and
school principals by Brad Hurley, president of the Carroll
County Chamber of Commerce and McKenzie Banner editor Joel
Washburn who wanted to provide some symbol of unification
to a statewide audience.
"This is a prime and excellent example of working together
to make an impact and positive impression to the new
administration of the great State of Tennessee," said Brad
Hurley, who noted that the Chamber is constantly looking
for ways for the various communities to unite.
Respective band directors Keith Breeden, Corey Bridges,
Lisa Bryant, and Van Whaley have assembled a band
comparable in size to many university bands. The band will
perform a medley of Tennessee-related music as they march
down the street following the 11:00 a.m. inauguration. A
cascade of reds, blues, and maroons will be present as the
instrumentalists wear their respective school's uniform.
Members of the color guards will be dressed uniformly in
gray shirts and black pants. The four drum majors - Lorien
Pirtle, Drew Jordan, Kayla Bomar, and Chelsea Autry,
wearing their school's colors, will conduct the band along
the parade route. A special presentation banner reading
"Carroll County Combined High Schools' Band" will precede
the band.
In preparation for the big day, the newly formed band has
practiced at Huntingdon High School with percussionists
and color guards participating in extra work sessions. |
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Countian Named Commissioner of Labor |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development
James Neely |
Governor-elect Phil Bredesen has named James G.
Neeley as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department
of Labor and Workforce Development.
Neeley is a resident of Huntingdon and has been active
in a wide range of labor and workforce initiatives. He
was first elected President of the Tennessee AFL-CIO
Labor Council in 1979 and has served as the President of
the Council since that time, having been re-elected in
1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991 and 1995.
He is chairman of the Tennessee Council on Vocational
Education and chairman of the Tennessee Center for
Labor-Management Relations, a partnership with the Labor
Department, University of Tennessee, Middle Tennessee
State University and the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Jim, age 61, served locally as a member and chairman of
the Huntingdon School District Board of Education and as
chairman of the county Democratic Party. He previously
served as Commissioner of Labor during the Blanton
Administration, 1975 to 1979. He started his career at
the Publix Shirt Company in Huntingdon following high
school.
"Jim understands the challenges facing Tennessee's
working families and employers as we begin to turn
around the economy," Bredesen said. "He also knows the
importance of promoting a skilled, educated workforce to
help Tennessee attract new jobs."
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development has a
range of responsibilities, including administering the
state's unemployment insurance and workers' compensation
programs, coordinating job-training programs, tracking
unemployment rates, supplying employers with labor
market information and enforcing workplace safety
standards.
"It's an honor to serve the working men and women of
Tennessee as well as their employers," Neeley said.
"We'll work hard to help businesses and workers succeed
together."
Neeley is a Huntingdon native and a graduate of
Huntingdon High School. He attended the University of
Tennessee at Martin.
Jim and wife, Rachel have one daughter, Janis Hope
Turner, and two granddaughters, Sara Neeley Turner, age
22 months, & Mary Catherine Turner, age 6 months. Janis,
husband Michael, and girls reside in Covington. |
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Ben Gaines, Industrialist, Community Leader, Dies |
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Industrialist, Community Leader Ben M. Gaines, Sr. |
Noted industrialist and community leader Ben Marlin
Gaines, Sr., 80, died on Tuesday, January 7 at the
McKenzie Regional Hospital after a lengthy illness.
Services were held at the First United Methodist Church
in McKenzie on Saturday, January 11 at 2:30 p.m. with
burial following at Carroll Memorial Gardens in
McKenzie.
With the passing of Mr. Gaines, America lost one of her
greatest heroes: a peaceful man who nevertheless served
his country valiantly through many of the worst battles
of World War II, who came home to the woman who had been
his childhood sweetheart and who had waited as his wife
through over two and a half years of uncertainty, and a
man who - in the embodiment of the American Dream -
built a dynasty with the skill of his hands and the
sweat of his brow; a man who never rested on his laurels
but strived continually for more, and who gave
unselfishly of his wealth that others might achieve
their own dreams.
The son of Benjamin Franklin Gaines and Mary Idella
Williard, Ben Marlin Gaines was born May 12, 1922 in
Etta, Mississippi. Twenty years later, on October 15,
1942, he married the girl he had fallen in love with
when they were both just 13 years old, Miss Ludie
Montgomery, before sailing for foreign shores as an
enlisted member of the United States Army.
Ben was one of 175 original members of the 30th Infantry
Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division anti-tank unit, a band
of men united in an effort that cemented bonds of
brotherhood that have lasted over 60 years. While most
of the men were in their early 20's, they were a diverse
lot, coming together from large industrial cities, small
towns and family farms. Many were from Michigan,
Wisconsin and New York.
Together, the men stormed the North African beaches at
Casablanca on November 8, 1942, then embarked on a
31-month journey of nearly continuous combat that took
them through nine more campaigns in Tunisia, Sicily,
Southern Italy, Anzio Beachhead, Southern France,
Germany and Austria. By V/E Day - the date of Germany's
unconditional surrender - Ben was one of only 62
surviving original soldiers; the dead and wounded had
been replaced by 185 other soldiers, for an over 100
percent turnover that reflects the sacrifice paid by
brave men and grieving families.
Ben came home.
Although he had only a high school education, Ben knew
the value of hard work. After arriving home from his
regular job, evenings were spent upholstering furniture
in his garage for extra income. By the early 1950's, he
was building furniture for Kemmons Wilson's new chain of
Holiday Inn hotels. The furniture line could be
purchased by customers throughout the United States with
Holiday Inns everywhere serving as a showcase for the
Gaines products.
Gaines Manufacturing Company moved to McKenzie in 1958,
an enterprise that eventually blossomed into a
small-town dynasty requiring 700 employees prior to
Ben's retirement.
Carroll County became the focus of the nation when
company employees built the "world's largest sofa" which
measured over 35 feet long. The gigantic sofa traveled
about the country in a specially built trailer and was
featured on the popular television show "Candid Camera".
Building fashionable and functional furniture is a
family tradition that has continued with Ben Jr.'s New
Generations Furniture Company in McKenzie, however, Ben
Sr.'s entrepreneurial ventures weren't limited to the
manufacturing company. Among other projects, Ben was
involved in the development of a motel, bowling alley,
golf course, trucking company, Wal-Mart shopping
centers, and restaurant, as well as building go-carts.
Because of his many philanthropic endeavors and
community service, Ben was honored as the Carroll
Countian of the Year in 2000. An avid supporter of
Bethel College in McKenzie, Ben was instrumental in a
campaign that brought Bob Hope to the Bethel campus in
1975, an event that raised over $100,000 for the
college. The school's six-lane, indoor heated pool,
ranging from 3 feet to 12 feet deep, was named "The Ben
and Ludie Gaines Pool" in appreciation of the family's
generous contributions. Many scholarships have been made
available by the Gaines family for students attending
Bethel College. In recognition of the Gaines' unselfish
generosity, commitment and devotion to Bethel's legacy
and future success, the college in May 1997 honored both
Ben and Ludie Gaines with honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degrees.
Gaines Manufacturing Company was one of the first local
businesses to participate in the Chamber of Commerce's
"Partners in Education" program with local schools.
Mr. Gaines was a dedicated member of the First United
Methodist Church in McKenzie.
At the annual reunion of the Anti-tank unit, hosted this
year in October by the Gaines family, Ben and Ludie were
presented with a framed photograph of the group's first
reunion that was held in the Gaines' home 14 years ago.
The couple was also awarded a plaque for their
"generosity, guidance, Christian love and fellowship at
all our reunions, 1988 - 2002."
Adored by his family, Ben is survived by his wife of 60
years, Mrs. Ludie Montgomery Gaines; their children:
Patricia Gaines Kriebel and husband Robert of Franklin;
Jodie Gaines Johnson and husband Jeff of McKenzie; and
Ben Gaines Jr. of Jackson, and seven grandchildren:
Jennifer Johnson, Jessica Johnson, Jake Johnson, and
John Johnson of McKenzie; Ben Gaines III and Bailey
Gaines of Jackson; and Robert Scott Kriebel of Franklin;
sisters: Alvaree Sneed of Holly Springs, Mississippi and
Sibyl Garner of Corinth, Mississippi.
Cherished by friends and his community, Ben's enduring
spirit will continue to inspire others to greatness in
achievement and charity.
Honored and greatly missed by the remaining brethren of
the 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
anti-tank unit, Ben will be forever present in the
eternal bond wrought by each of the 360 men who fought
side-by-side in a brotherhood that endures into
eternity. |
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or Fax (731)
352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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