Randy Smith: A Remembrance Of Shorty

We lived in Whitwell, Tn., for 25 years before moving to Chattanooga in 2000. We made a lot of friends and I still cherish the time my family spent there. I was reminded this week of one of my very favorite people I have ever known in my 72 years on this planet. Dennis Brandon was the epitome of community service. "Shorty" as he was affectionately called by practically everyone who knew him coached girl's fast pitch softball when other folks in the Sequatchie Valley worked tirelessly to hang on to the slow pitch game. He took girls who wanted to play fast pitch to Chattanooga for years to play and develop their skills.

He was one of the hardest workers in the Ketner's Mill Festival each year as money was raised for Crossroads Park. He was an umpire for both youth games and high school contests as well and his peanut butter balls he made frequently were heavenly. I can't remember any time he failed to bring them to ball games he was coaching in. He handed them out to his players and their parents following each and every game. He was the public address announcer for Whitwell High School football games for years and each Labor Day when the entire community would gather for a parade and later a festival to raise money, Dennis would dress up in his clown suit and ride his tiny motorcycle in the parade.

He was genuinely the kindest person you could ever imagine. I read a story this week on Facebook that tells you exactly the kind of person he was. He was umpiring a high school game in Jasper as Marion County High was hosting a team from Chattanooga. Some of his calls in the game were not very popular with the visiting fans and they let him know about it for the entire contest. When the game ended, some of those fans followed him to his car in the parking lot and continued to berate him unmercifully. There was no argument. He never responded in a negative way and when the angry fans had finished their admonishment, Dennis reached in his car and passed out fried pies to each and every one of them. He also told them, "God bless you and have a safe trip home."

Those angry fans dropped their jaws and just looked at each other, not really knowing what to do or say. They were flabbergasted. Dennis Brandon silenced his critics without using a single harsh word. He was the perfect example of what Jesus would have wanted us to do.

I loved Dennis Brandon from the first day I met him. I wrote about him when he passed away in 2017 and I immediately thought the park in his hometown of Powell's Crossroads should be named in his honor and so did a lot of other people. He loved the people in his community almost as much as they loved him. He was the kind of person you will never be able to forget. I know I never will.