Tommy Hailey
From 9-3-14
It's always very rewarding when a teacher or a coach has a student to excel. This success fuels the desire to work even harder to try and touch young lives.
We had a baseball player in our program who had a passion for sports, and used it to touch thousands of lives in his future endeavors. Tommy Hailey was an exciting high school baseball player, and was one who made all his high school teachers proud! He graduated from Newton Co. H.S in 1971, and after playing college baseball, he coached at Truett-McConnell College for 4 years.
Tommy felt that he owed something back to the many people who had touched his life, and had wanted to go "back home" & give back to the area which had meant so much to him. In July, 1989, he took over a struggling recreation program in Newton County, and his accomplishments were amazing! Part of his success came from the experiences which he had playing baseball & softball. During his adult years, he played on 3 National Championship softball teams and was recognized as 1st team All-American in 1993! (In 1992, he was inducted into the Georgia Softball Hall of Fame.) As a rule, recreation directors don't last too long at the job, because they have too many people to please. Tommy was able to rely on his experience & local reputation to do some amazing things for the Newton County citizens! Under his direction, there were 6 new parks built in Newton Co., including the award-winning Turner Lake Complex! His reputation for being fair helped secure several national tournaments that sometimes were so large he had to get neighboring counties to help stage the games. When he directed the Dixie Boys World Series in '93, '97, & 2002, they were so well-received that his name became synonymous with success! In 2005 he was inducted into the Dixie Boys World Series Hall of Fame. He brought 6 state softball tournaments & 4 World softball tournaments to Newton County. He had such a reputation in the southeast when girls or boys softball or baseball teams were looking for advice when hosting big tournaments, their first call would usually be to Tommy Hailey! Tommy was very proud when he was able to recognize two of his coaches who had touched his life. There was never a period when he didn't remember the ways in which Coach Billy Crowell was part of his life. It was especially rewarding to him when the softball complex was named after Coach B.C. Crowell. He was very proud when he spear-headed the movement to name the Turner Lake Gym after (long-time) coach, Ronald Bradley. No doubt, his long-time recreation career would not have been as successful without his lifetime mate, Holly, & they are nearing their 40th year of marriage! Thousands of people for generations to come, will reap the benefits of the efforts of a home-town boy who wanted to give back to his community, Tommy Hailey! Dedication of the Gym at Turner Lake.
