Town of Greeneville Parks and Recreation has received one of the largest private donations to date for the department. Thomas Haire of Tommie’s Plumbing, and his wife, Renee Haire, presented a check on February 2nd, 2023 to Town of Greeneville officials for over $86,000. This generous donation will be used for the purchase of 18 state-of-the-art, wireless scoreboards for Greeneville Parks and Recreation facilities. While replacing many existing scoreboards that are up to 25 years old, some facilities, such as the forthcoming sand volleyball courts, will receive scoreboards for the first time.
Haire has a long history with Greeneville Parks and Recreation. He began by coaching leagues and stayed involved as his children joined teams. When they grew out of playing, he gave up coaching, but continued sponsoring teams of all ages and sports. He still sponsors at least three teams a year, and attends their games, even if he doesn’t personally know the players. As his grandchildren are now joining league teams, Haire has come full circle, taking up coaching again.
Coming back to coaching is bittersweet for Haire. He began coaching many years ago at the request of Lisa Fisher, former office manager for the department. Fisher passed away early this year in a vehicular accident. Haire was saddened by the loss of Fisher. He always imagined her being there to see this donation come to fruition.
Tim Bowman, Athletic Director for Parks and Recreation, stated, “We’re really appreciative of Tommie and his company’s ability to sponsor our teams and equipment. We value our relationship and look forward to partnering with him in the future.”
