Billy Wagner is Tazewell’s “Main Street Man” on October 17
· Yahoo Sports
Tazewell’s Main Street has had its moments in more ways than one. The county seat, established in 1800, reportedly had its location decided by a fistfight. That is not always a bad thing — just ask NASCAR about the 1979 Daytona 500 battle between Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough that helped put stock car racing on the national radar.
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Recently, the town drew attention from across the nation and beyond when local high school Bulldog ace and later Ferrum College star Billy Wagner was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Reporters and other members of the media spent time researching Tazewell and telling the world a little about the community.
Now, in a splendid move to memorialize that achievement, a group of local committee members and supporters from a wide area have pooled their resources to establish Billy Wagner Park, which will feature an impressive statue of the famed pitcher along the main thoroughfare through town.
The event is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.
Tazewell Mayor Joe Beasley will welcome guests. The Wagner family, including Billy, his wife, Sarah, and their children, Will, Olivia and Kadon, is expected to attend, along with several relatives. That group will likely include cousin and friend Jeff Lamie, a two-sport all-state star at Tazewell High School.
Following the presentation of colors by the Richlands High School Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the national anthem performed by the Tazewell High School choir, the Rev. Nathan Thomas of Tazewell Today will give the invocation. Cara Spivey will then welcome regional guests.
The artists who designed and completed the statue, including Mariah Kirby Smith and Lynda Solonsky, are scheduled to be introduced by Charity D. Hurst, a committee member and former standout athlete at Tazewell High School. Hurst has also coordinated a well-known marathon-style race held in nearby historic Burke’s Garden.
Project director Brad Pyott, another key committee member and a longtime supporter of Bulldog athletics, will explain how the park began as an idea and has now become a reality thanks to the efforts of numerous dedicated people.
Several of Wagner’s former Tazewell High School teammates are expected to attend.
Erik Robinson, Wagner’s former roommate at Ferrum College and a partner in projects such as the Second Chance Learning Centers, will introduce the guest of honor. Robinson now serves on the Tazewell County School Board.
Wagner will then take the podium to share his thoughts with the audience, many of whom played on the high school Bulldog baseball team he led under coach Lou Peery. He will reflect on his journey from childhood to his professional baseball career.
The statue will then be unveiled, and the park will be formally dedicated, giving the public an opportunity to see Wagner and his likeness in its new home in the town where he grew up.
Finally, local Realtor and committee member Beth Pike-Clemons, who, like Wagner, will serve in the “closer” role, will conclude the Main Street festivities with remarks about the event.
Committee members include Lucy D’Amato, Larry D. Blankenship, Pike-Clemons, Hurst, Roger Pike, Leeanne Regon, Robinson, Spivey, Strong and John Thomas. Blankenship has been a dedicated supporter of Tazewell Bulldog baseball for years and played a key role in developing nearby Lou Peery Field, home of the Bulldogs. Roger Pike was among those who originally proposed the idea.
A good crowd is expected, and organizers are hoping for baseball weather.