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Marty and Brad Hurley |
It can almost be said that Brad Hurley has a one-track
mind, albeit a brilliant one. He's a self-confessed
workaholic, and his subject of interest is Tennessee. More
notably, he's passionate about Carroll County.
His knowledge is impeccable, the result of a lifetime of
learning. Mention his astuteness, however, and he's
instantly humbled, as selflessly he promotes the region
while working to build leaders for tomorrow. He is, in fact,
one of the county's greatest fans and he studies its
potential with an eye toward the future as president of the
Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of
the Hollow Rock-Bruceton Board of Education and a member,
past president, and Paul Harris fellow of the McKenzie
Rotary Club.
Born in Mayfield, Kentucky, he was four-years-old when, in
1964, he moved to Bruceton with his parents, the late Bill
and Carolyn "Boots" Hurley, and his brother, the late
William S. Hurley III, who was 12 years his senior. His dad
was a salesman of restaurant equipment and his mom gained
employment in the shipping office of the H.I.S. factory in
Bruceton the same year they arrived.
The rural community was also the home of his grandparents,
O.L. and Arta Reed. He recalls following after his
grandfather, playing in the garden.
"It was great, a true small town experience where everybody
knew who you were and you could cut through people's yards
to go from one place to another," Brad says thoughtfully.
"The city park was just a block away and we would cut
through Mr. Bell's yard and walk down to the park to play.
"It was a small community where, if you did something wrong,
it would be known at your house before you'd get there," he
continues, "But if there was an apple on the tree they
didn't mind if you picked it."
In high school, he was president of the student government
association, played baritone and drums in the band, and was
on the baseball team.
"I don't know that I did that good academically," he says,
although he confesses he was in the Beta Club. His plans
were to teach.
"If you look back at my family history, you'll see teachers
all across the generations of our family tree and my desire
was to be a teacher, probably to teach the first few years
in Nashville," he says. "I felt like I needed that urban
setting while I was still young."
At the University of Tennessee at Martin, he majored in
education with a social studies endorsement that would allow
him to teach history, psychology, sociology, and geography.
He decided to run for student government president and lost,
but was asked by the winner to serve on his cabinet.
The same year, he determined he would attain a law degree
through the University of Memphis Law School, passed the
required LSAT exam, and was accepted into the program. Some,
however, noticed his attitude was lackluster regarding the
pending appointment.
"I always did things just to meet the deadline, and that was
uncharacteristic of me," he says. "I was usually focused
like a laser beam."
Brad and "the boss",
granddaughter Mary Grace Frerking.
He chose instead, at the urging
of others, to make another bid for the presidency, and won;
the first person to be elected in a three-man race on the
first ballot.
The following year, in 1983, he accepted the offer of UTM
Chancellor Charles Smith to be his administrative assistant
and executive director of university relations.
"He was a great leader, a great mentor, and I was very
honored and humbled to have that experience," says Brad.
"That was one of those great experiences where I able to
learn a lot."
In particular, two opportunities come to mind that shaped
his future. One was his involvement with the Alpha Phi Omega
service fraternity's push for St. Jude, when members of the
fraternity for a full week during spring break pushed a
wheelbarrow from city to city collecting donations, ending
the push at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.
"It was an eye opening experience," says Brad, recalling the
reluctance of the Memphis newspaper to run a story until the
project was complete, fearing for the security of the
participants as well as the thousands of dollars being
carted by truck and wheelbarrow through the city.
Spending nights in schools and churches along the way, the
group suffered a setback when their truck broke down in
Memphis and they had to transfer some $10-12,000 in cash to
a wheelbarrow to continue the push as well as arranging to
have the truck repaired.
"It was hot and tiring," says Brad, whose job was to
maintain focus on the group's purpose: to raise money and
awareness for St. Jude Hospital. Nevertheless, he continues,
"It was a great experience; we dealt a lot with politics and
city governments."
Second, and perhaps his favorite responsibility, was
"airplane duty": accompanying guests on flights during
university-related events.
"I learned to ask questions," says Brad, sharing that his
favorite encounter was with "Roots" author Alex Haley.
Noticing Haley didn't use a prepared speech as he addressed
his audiences, he asked why he spoke 45 minutes at UTM and
only 20 at Ole Miss.
"He didn't use notes, he told stories," Brad expounds,
noting the Ole Miss crowd had seemed less interested than
the audience at UTM. "I learned from him that if you lose
eye contact with your audience then they're going to be
distracted. He could read his audience; when he had them, he
reacted to that. So it was really an eye opening experience
to be with him."
Brad and Marty on a trip to
Washington, D.C.
In 1987, when Smith moved from
chancellor to commissioner of the Tennessee Department of
Education, Hurley took on the role as his chief of staff
and, later, deputy commissioner.
"It was the most eye opening experience ever," says Hurley,
who had a role in the development of Governor Ned
McWherter's 21st Century Classroom program, including the
education tour that took place during 1990-91 as the
governor compiled information and statistics for use in
designing a feasible plan.
"The thing I remember is going to Hancock County in East
Tennessee, which was the sixth poorest county in the nation,
and listening to student government leaders say they 'hoped'
they could go to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville,"
he relates.
"Next, we went to Holston Middle School in Knoxville, where
UTK professors came routinely to give demonstrations. Both
were public schools. All of a sudden I realized that within
80 miles I'd seen both sides of education. It was one of
those experiences you never forget."
Brad and Marty visit St.
Thomas.
The McWherter plan was the
beginning of BEP (better education program, now called basic
education program) funding that was implemented in a
statewide attempt at making funding equitable among schools.
The overall program also made funds available for the
construction of needed school buildings, an initiative
Hurley says resulted in Carroll County schools being "second
to none" and allowing the low student to teacher ratios in
its elementary schools.
"Lots of good things happened," he says, including the
expansion of his own understanding and knowledge of
Tennessee, an education that continued when in 1994 he moved
to the Board of Regents as executive vice chairman as Smith
assumed the helm of the organization.
The Tennessee Board of Regents is the sixth largest public
higher education system in the nation, with 45 campuses,
over 182,000 students, and 13,000 full-time employees
located in 90 of the 95 counties in Tennessee.
The pace of each workday was so intense, Brad says, he
didn't have time to be in awe of the system. The hectic
lifestyle, in fact, is what eventually influenced him to
want to return to the rural environment of his childhood.
"I wanted to come home," he says. "I realized life is too
short and I wanted to take my experiences and use them in an
environment that wasn't as stressful."
He was about 35 years old when he became interim director of
the Tennessee Technology Center in McKenzie, where his goal
was to make the school more visible to its stockholders: the
community at large.
"It was a diamond that was hidden," he says. "We needed to
step out more to let people know what we had to offer."
He remained in the position a year, promoting the school's
attributes to students in grades K-12 and developing
partnerships within the community. He had been off the job
for a few months when an unexpected resignation at the
Chamber of Commerce opened the door to his current position
in January 1977.
"I was asked to stay there a year as interim director," he
says. "Now we've gone from '97 to the present... It's a
great job, a great county to sell and to market. There are
great people here, and you really do feel at the end of the
day that you can make a difference."
Hurley headed the chamber when, in 1998, Norandal USA Inc.
(a subsidiary of the Canadian company Noranda) decided to
build its new $240 million "Quantum Leap" plant alongside
its existing plant in Huntingdon. Norandal's commitment, he
says, is proof positive of the work ethic and readiness of
workers in Carroll County.
He's full of good news about the county, not the least of
which is an increased cohesiveness among its municipalities.
"Bethel College is an asset to the entire county," he says
as an example, ticking off a plethora of changes that have
increased the school's attractiveness, beginning with the
completion of College Drive.
"That was a big plus," he says. "It opened downtown and gave
Bethel room to grow."
The scenic route gave way this year to a multi-dimensional
building campaign with new facilities constructed for
tennis, track, soccer, and football. The school is also one
of two higher education facilities in Tennessee offering a
physician assistant program and recently instituted a new,
four-year nursing program.
Elsewhere in the county, Huntingdon's "Dixie Carter
Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center" is another
big draw as will be the 1,000-acre recreational lake being
developed in the Leach community.
He mentions, too, the fact that there are "two strong
hospitals" in the county and that Carroll County ranked
number one in the state and nation among Relay for Life
events in 2005.
"All those positive things, when you put them together, is
an engine (to attract industry)," says Hurley. "They'll pick
up on that that'll resonate with them. And part of our job
is to make sure people outside know that."
Along with the already existing Carroll County Airport,
transportation will soon be further enhanced by a major
slack-water port to be constructed at Cates Landing in
Tiptonville within the year, as well as four-lane access to
the proposed Interstate 69 freeway from Canada to Mexico
that will run from South Fulton to Dyersburg to Millington
and the nearly complete State Route 840 South that loops
beneath Nashville between Lebanon and Dickson, cutting
travel time to the Saturn plant in Spring Hill.
Another plus is Jackson's eastward growth with its proximity
to Lavinia, Cedar Grove, and Clarksburg.
"People begin pretty quickly to see there's a lot of good
things happening," he says. "When others are spinning and
selling, we try to put the beef on the table. And Carroll
County is halfway between Tennessee's two largest cities; we
have a great rural lifestyle with great urban amenities."
Hurley's grandfather was on the team that in the late 1930s
and early '40s brought H.I.S. to the county. For decades,
the company was the mainstay of employment in the county
before moving its operations to Mexico in 2000.
He notes, however, "The days of a company like H.I.S.
employing 1,800 people in Carroll County are over. Labor
intensive operations will be outside the U.S., so what we've
got to do is make small wins of 50-20-30-100 jobs, because
it all adds up.
Also among the challenges confronting the county today, he
says, is that most of the work performed with industrial and
retail prospects is done in secret.
"One thing you learn very quickly is that companies want
their privacy respected, so lots of work you do behind the
scenes is never, ever seen," he explains. "It's like
fishing, you've got to throw the line out time, after time,
after time before you get one."
And, he continues, economic development is not
instantaneous: it's a long-term process.
Hurley remains in the education business, as well, with
Leadership Carroll County adult and youth leadership classes
taking place at the Chamber of Commerce building in
Huntingdon.
"They help keep us solidly anchored in perspective," he
says, regarding the county's youth. "Really, we're doing all
this for their age; it's things they'll get the true benefit
of. The parks and schools we have today, we have to thank
people 20-30 years ago for their vision. We're really the
ones reaping the benefits. That's our challenge as community
leaders, to grow Carroll County so that they have
opportunities, but not to lose the things that make us
great, our rural values and rural lifestyle."
The subject of children gives pause to consider his own six
grandchildren who, Brad says, "are a great plus" to his
September 17, 2003 marriage to the former Marty McGuire, who
he first met in high school.
As Brad speaks about his family, his eyes twinkle and his
cheeks flush with color as a smile breaks across his
features, leaving no doubt that he is very much in love.
Marrying Marty, he confirms, "is absolutely the best
decision that I made."
He relates he was about 25 years old when, working at his
first job, a visiting faculty member told him, "Absolutely,
the most important decision you will ever make is who you
choose for your wife." Long a bachelor before marrying at
the age of 43, he adds, "It took me awhile, but when I did,
I made the right choice."
The transition from bachelor to married with children was
"very, very easy" thanks in part to Marty's children and
grandchildren, says Brad, who flushes again and grins
broadly as he admits Marty is two years older than he is, a
fact with which he apparently has quite a bit of fun at her
good-natured expense. Marty is manager of the Carroll County
Trophy Shop in McKenzie.
The couple's home in Bruceton has plenty of room for
visiting children and grandchildren, he shares. Marty's four
children--Amy Roberts, Tiffany Frerking, Bethany Rogers, and
Corey French--are spread between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, St.
Louis, and Bruceton, residences Brad identifies by where the
grandchildren reside.
Two, Mary Grace and Emma Frerking, live in Hopkinsville;
one, Lucas Shands, lives in St. Louis; and three are in
Bruceton: Colin and Dasha Roberts and Chloe Rogers. Brad has
his own naming system for the children, however; for
instance, Chloe is Chlo-meister, Emma is Eemo, and Mary
Grace is M.G.
Regarding outside interests, Brad says, "I love sports. I
officiate high school football and I've been doing that 20
years (in Martin, Dyersburg, and Paris.) So that's been
something I do enjoy very much, and I have served as
president of Little League in McKenzie and Bruceton."
A reader, he is currently engaged in two non-fiction
publications: the 9-11 Commission Report and The Survivor:
Bill Clinton in the Whitehouse, by John F. Harris.
He also enjoys helping Marty in her second vocation, hanging
wallpaper.
"I do help," he chuckles. "She has to do all the aligning,
but I know how to get stuff. It's a lot of time spent
together and it's time talking about things, not work stuff,
and that's fun."
Another pastime the couple enjoys is yard work. "That's fun;
with three yards to keep up, we have to love yard work,"
says Brad, recounting enjoyable times spent together working
outdoors.
In addition to the homes each owned when they married, Brad
cares for his grandparents' old homeplace that was built in
1922 and in which his mother was born.
He and Marty have done some traveling as well, to St.
Thomas, New Orleans, Atlanta, St. Louis, Gulfport, and
Biloxi. They just returned from New York City where they
celebrated their anniversary.
"That helps, to get away," he says. "I also enjoy taking
time to go to the park to swing the grandkids. That's fun
because, all of a sudden, you're pushing a swing, not
worrying about this problem or that problem. You come back a
little fresher and sharper.
"I'm very, very happy right now... I enjoy doing what I'm
doing and hopefully making a difference for the future. This
is the happiest time of my life and I'm enjoying every
minute of it."
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