Randy Smith
Whitwell, Tn., lost another icon last week. Dennis Brandon passed away at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy of helping others that will never be matched. He worked tirelessly at the Powell's Crossroads Park, whether it be on the lawn mower, coaching or umpiring, working the public address system or even working in the concession stand. Dennis was always there whenever and wherever you needed him.
I first met him at the Whitwell Labor Day parade in 1974. Labor Day has always been the town's biggest celebration of the year and for years and years, Dennis Brandon dressed up as a clown, complete with a white face and big red nose.
He always rode what appeared to be a motorized tricycle in the parade, but the kids loved him. Generations of kids mind you because he considered it his duty to make them all laugh.
Dennis was also a softball "guru". He coached girls fast-pitch softball for years, taking his teams to Chattanooga to play when Whitwell's "softball gods" refused to recognize fast-pitch in their rec leagues. He knew the game was changing and in the 1980s Whitwell High School adopted fast-pitch as a varsity sport. He knew that if Whitwell was to be competitive, they had to transition to the fast-pitch game. He and I together brought in Dixie Youth Girls Fast-Pitch Softball as a rec sport in the 1990s.
When coaching was no longer his calling, he turned to umpiring. He was a TSSAA official for many years, always fair and always up on the rules. In fact, he only retired a few years ago. He was always so good at knowing just what to say and when to say it, when someone needed an encouraging word. He was also an excellent cook. Once when a new restaurant opened in town, the crowd was so big that the new owners got behind and almost panicked.....until Dennis showed up in his apron and took over the kitchen. His specialty was his candy. His peanut butter balls and coconut balls would absolutely melt in your mouth they were so good. And he made them often, even handing them out to players following games that he umpired. He always had a few of them for his special girls which could be any girl he ever met. He loved them all. He once gave my daughter Christi a homemade taco after one of her games.
He was always a fixture at Ketner's Mill in the fall. Selling his candy to help raise money for the park, and working tirelessly in the kitchen preparing the food. He always had a knack for knowing what needed to be done.
That sense of service to others will be greatly missed in the Whitwell community. One of Whitwell's football coaches recently offered this story about Dennis. When the team bus was loaded and ready to leave, Dennis would suddenly appear at the door of the bus and pray for a safe journey for the team. He prayed for God's protection from injuries as well, but just the fact that he always showed up to pray for those athletes was so indicative of his love and commitment to others. I hope that someone else will step in and continue Dennis Brandon's work as a tireless servant for others. That wonderful community needs it, we all need it. But I will tell you this......filling those shoes will be a very difficult thing to do. The people in the Powell's Crossroads area need to do the right thing and name that park after Dennis Brandon. In a very small way, that would be a way to say thank you for all the years he spent making things better.....for a lot of people.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for 30 years. He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga television for more than a quarter-century. In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith. They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.
He can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com