In 2002, Tom Peters, Executive Director of the Williamson County Chapter of the American Red Cross, pictured left with Mickey, talked to County Mayor Steve Gregory seeking someone to head up the Hickman County Service Center of the American Red Cross. Tom Peters was instructed to see Mickey Bunn at KIX96 - FM radio. For the "rest of the story", see Tom's story below.
Tom offered Mickey the job of heading up the Hickman County Service Center of the American Red Cross, which Mickey accepted. The Hickman County Service Center still has over 25 volunteers who operate shifts of 2 who carry pagers for a week at a time and are on call 24/7 to assist victims of house fires and other emergencies.
The Giant
The sun filtered
through the tall pine trees on the blanket of freshly fallen snow as my nephew
and I hiked along the mountain trail. While the trail had been obscured from the
snow, there was never any question of getting lost, as I had hiked this trail
many times in the past. While he was a strong boy for his age, the miles we had
covered since starting out in the early morning, along with the weight of his
backpack, had seemingly worn him out. His non-stop chatter that had filled the
air earlier was now replaced by a mixture, of grunts, groans, and some heavy
breathing as we wound our way up the mountain trail.
“Another 20 minutes and we’ll
be at the top,” I said to him as we rounded the bend in the trail. I heard him
exhale deeply. “Why did you want to come up here?” he asked. I smiled to myself
and answered, “Oh, it’s become sort of tradition with me. When I was your age,
my Father would often hike this trail with me. After he passed away, it became a
place where I often came to clear my mind and think … and now I just try to
visit the spot whenever I am up here visiting you and your family.” Not sure he
had really heard my answer, he quickly asked, “Well, what’s at the top?” “You’ll
see. Let’s pick up the pace, we’re almost there” I answered.
And then suddenly we had
arrived, not at the very top, but just below it. “This is it!” I said. We were
standing in a thick grove of pine trees. There must have been about a hundred of
them, each standing perfectly straight, the tallest trees in the area … reaching
up to the sky about 200 feet. “Is this really what we came to see?” my nephew
asked. “Yep,” I answered, “these trees are what I came to see.” He looked at me
as if he were saying to himself, “Yep, he really has lost it.”
We sat on a large rock …
along side the trail, breathing in the cold air and staring up at the trees.
“What do you think?” I asked. “You mean the trees?” he answered. “Yes!” I
answered. “They are giants!” he exclaimed. “You’re right! Have you ever known
any giants?” I asked. “No” he quickly responded, with a funny look on his face.
“Have you, Uncle Tom?” he asked? Holding back a large grin, I answered, “I have
indeed known some giants.” And then I proceeded to tell him about my friend in
Tennessee,
Mickey
Bunn.
“Well,” I began, “in my way
of thinking, giants do not necessarily have to be seven or eight foot tall … I
judge the size of people by the actions they take, their accomplishments, and
the way they live each day. Giants are people who make a difference.”
My young nephew, taking a
moment to gaze up at the towering trees and then looking back at me, took a deep
breath and asked,” And, this guy
Mickey in Tennessee is a giant?” “He is!” I said.
“Well, how has he made a
difference?” he asked. Sitting on the rock, circled by the giant fir trees with
the sun filtering down, the forest suddenly seemed like a cathedral and I began
to tell him why I considered my friend in Tennessee to be a GIANT.
I first met
Mickey, I told him, when I became the Executive Director of the Williamson
County Chapter of the American
Red
Cross, located in a small city called Franklin in Tennessee. One of my
responsibilities was to organize a neighboring county named Hickman. I explained
how I first drove to the community, with a map in hand, walking around the town
square, dropping in unannounced on local businessmen and town officials,
visiting schools, the police, and even an undertaker, searching for just the
right person to make my goal come true … and that goal was to build a core of
Red
Cross volunteers in town to deliver the mission of the
Red
Cross to the residents. Now, I must be honest. Some of the people I visited,
after hearing my dream, did indeed think I was crazy, but I was persistent and
knew the right person, the giant,
was out there somewhere
and he was. The name,
Mickey
Bunn, started to surface when talking to people and, in time, I began to
believe this guy just might be the giant I was searching for. Then, when I was
told this guy was as crazy as I was, to think that such a vision could come
true, I knew I had the right guy. And the rest is history, I believe another
well known giant by the name of Alexander the Great said, “We came, we saw, we
conquered (well maybe succeeded, might be a better choice of words) - or was it,
“Rome (Hickman) today, the world tomorrow.” Anyway we did it.
Mickey recruited a few other local giants and together they made it happen,
as my kind of giant usually does.
Mickey continues to do things on a regular basis making the world a bit
better each day. Whether it is connected to his work with his radio station KIX
96 FM, his work as an EMT, his work as an elected official for the county, or
his work with his church, his family, his friends known and unknown, you see,
this giant named
Mickey, is one of those people who it seems was put on this earth to help us
all. No job is too small or too big. This giant, with all the style of Joe
DiMaggio playing center field, simply steps up to the plate each day and gets
the job done.
I thank God for putting
giants like
Mickey on this earth,
Thanks
Mickey !
Sincerely;
Executive Director
American Red Cross
