[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12725]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MIKE BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2016

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, a long-time friend of mine and 
my family, County Commissioner Mike Brown, has recently left office 
after two-terms on the Knox County Commission.
  Not only did Commissioner Brown serve with great honor and 
distinction on the County Commission, he has served the community in 
many other ways throughout his life.
  I am sure that he will continue to help many people in retirement, 
because Mike Brown has always had a heart for service. But I can assure 
everyone that our Nation would be much stronger if we had more citizens 
like Mike Brown.
  I would like to call to the attention of my Colleagues the South Knox 
Shopper News which ran as a part of the Knoxville News Sentinel.


                        SOUTH KNOX SHOPPER NEWS

                ``BROWN CALLS RETIREMENT `BITTERSWEET'''

                           (By Betsy Pickle)

       County Commissioner Mike Brown has a lot of years invested 
     in Knox County--about 227 of them.
       Brown is a member of one of the First Families of 
     Tennessee. His Virginia-born Brown ancestors received a land 
     grant of about 600 acres in the Stock Creek area around 
     1789--well before John Sevier became a neighbor. At the time, 
     the land wasn't even in Knox County; it was part of Hawkins 
     County.
       So retiring after two terms on the commission has been 
     ``bittersweet'' for the former insurance agent. Last 
     Wednesday, on the day his service officially ended, Brown 
     said he'd already done some county business in the morning, 
     and he wasn't going to call it quits until 5 p.m. rolled 
     around.
       Brown himself grew up on Stock Creek Road with his younger 
     sister, Pat, and brother, Tom, both now deceased. He went to 
     Bonny Kate School when it was ``four classrooms, a lunchroom 
     and two paths down the hill to the little brown buildings.''
       He remembers spending time at his grandparents' place, 
     where he now lives with wife Jan. About 42 acres of the 
     original property remains in the family's possession.
       Taking care of the land is a passion of Brown, who's out 
     tending to his Muscatine vines when a Shopper reporter 
     arrives. He drives his Kubota four-wheeler out to his barn 
     for a photo session. It's his ``favorite toy.''
       ``I got it five years ago,'' the 76-year-old says ``I wish 
     I'd had it 10 years before that; my back and body would be in 
     better shape.''
       Tooling--pun intended--around his ``Country Cadillac'' is 
     his ``golf.''
       ``This is my relaxation. I throw my tools in the back and I 
     go around, and there's always something to do. I'll just 
     piddle all day long, and I'm in seventh heaven.''
       He loves fixing things--and plowing rows through his 
     blackberry field. But he's not a farmer--or gardener.
       ``I don't have a green thumb. My grandma did; my sister 
     did. Jan does. She's pretty good.''
       Aside from 11 years working in furniture sales in the 
     Midwest, Brown has always lived close to home. He loves the 
     land, and he loves its history. That's what drew him to help 
     start what's now called the South-Doyle Neighborhood 
     Association in 1973. He and D.J. Krahwinkel are the only two 
     left from the original group.
       ``It kind of died out for a while,'' he says. ``Any time a 
     situation came up, I was the only one for years and years 
     that went down to the County Commission or MPC to fight for 
     the community.''
       A little over 20 years ago, some neighbors started talking 
     about reforming the group, and Brown was ready for them. It 
     was then that he met Carson Dailey, his successor as Ninth 
     District commissioner.
       ``Being on the commission has been kind if a continuance of 
     this community work because now you're not only working for 
     you district, but you're working for the entire county with 
     legislative decisions,'' he says. ``I have learned a lot 
     about how government works, why it works that way.
       ``I've met some wonderful people. We have a great bunch of 
     leaders in the Knox County government from mayor on down.''
       Brown says there's been an entirely new attitude on the 
     commission since the infamous Black Wednesday, when the 
     (then) 19 commissioners met to appoint the replacement 
     officeholders and slipped term-limited politicos back into 
     jobs. Commissioners now zealously adhere to Sunshine laws and 
     avoid any appearance of violating them.
       During the private and public service, he's proudest of 
     having gotten a scenic highway designation for Gov. John 
     Sevier Highway, keeping the road as uncluttered as possible; 
     helping to organize Knox County's 225th anniversary 
     celebration; and working to get the Safety Center 
     established.
       ``I'd hoped we would have been able to get something inked 
     before I went out of the office, but it's close.''
       Even though he's off duty officially, Brown doesn't expect 
     to end his service to the community.
       ``I enjoy helping people.''

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