The City of Smithville is set to honor yet another of DeKalb County’s famous residents by naming another alley as a tribute to the star. The move comes after another star was honored in the same manner.
At the regular meeting of the Smithville Board of Mayor an Aldermen on March 4, the board voted in favor of renaming the alley between Main Street and Market Street in honor of Aaron Tippin. John Anderson was honored in a similar way just 16 months ago when the former Walnut Alley was renamed in his honor.
The move came at the recommendation of Smithville Mayor Josh Miller. “Some of the business owners had come to me and I think it would be a good idea to dedicate this alley to Aaron Tippin, but we need to formally do that and get the appropriate signage. By this summer, maybe we can have a formal dedication observance,” said Mayor Miller.
Aaron Tippin and his wife Thea and family have made their home in DeKalb County for many years in the Dowelltown area, and he has owned businesses in the area.
He was born July 3, 1958, in Pensacola, Florida, but was raised on a farm in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, where he went to Blue Ridge High School. In the 1970s, he made a living as a singer, performing in various local bars. By the time Tippin was 20, he was working as a commercial pilot, truck driver and a pipe fitter.
In 1986, he moved to Nashville, where he eventually became a staff writer at Acuff-Rose. He competed on You Can Be a Star, a televised talent show on the former TNN (The Nashville Network). This led to him earning a song publishing contract in 1987. During this time he wrote songs for The Kingsmen, David Ball, Mark Collie, and Charley Pride.
On July 15, 1995, Tippin married Thea Corontzos at a Greek Orthodox ceremony in Nashville. Along with his manager, Billy Craven, Aaron and Thea Tippin created Tippin's company, Tip Top Entertainment. They later moved to Dowelltown, Tennessee.
Tippin also opened two hunting supply stores called Aaron Tippin Firearms: one in Smithville, Tennessee, and the other was run by his late father, Willis Emory Tippin, in Oak City, North Carolina.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Tippin is an instrument rated commercial pilot with single and multi-engine ratings. He also has private pilot privileges for rotorcraft-helicopter. He is a certified airframe and power plant mechanic, and is also a longtime bodybuilder.
Just a week after the events of 9-11, Tippin debuted his song, “Stars and Stripe,” to honor America during a ceremony at the DeKalb County Courthouse. He’s also known for his patriotism and support of American troops and over the years has journeyed to Iraq and Afghanistan to sing for the troops. In 1990 at the beginning of his music career, he went with Bob Hope to the Persian Gulf to entertain.
Smithville officials say a ceremony will be held for the renaming at a later date.
In other business, aldermen adopted a proposed rezoning ordinance on second and final reading involving a parcel of property on Kimberly Lane (Precision Concrete Walls) located across from the L.B.J. & C Head Start Center.
This property, currently zoned partially R-1 (low density residential) and C-1 (general commercial), will be rezoned entirely to C-1 (commercial) for the purpose of eventually building a multi-family dwelling. The action came following a public hearing, but no one came forward to oppose the rezoning. The Smithville Planning Commission had also recommended the rezoning.
Aldermen also approved the list of volunteer firefighters for the year as submitted by Chief Charlie Parker.
Firefighters listed are: Mackenley Turner, Joseph Taylor, Daine Powell, Max Lahoda, Jayden Mitchell, Eric Gaw, Ryan Evans, (career firefighter), Dylan Goodman, Tyler Cantrell, Mark Riggsbee (Auxiliary), Cole Wright, Dakota Nokes, Kayla Johnson (Auxilary), Andrew Cooper, Seth Wright, Kim Johnson, Dalton Roberts, (career firefighter), Bradley Johnson, Shawn Jacobs (Auxiliary), Becky Atnip, Cory Killian, Glen Lattimore, (career firefighter), Stephanee Tramel, James R. Hunt, Gary Johnson, William (Wink) Brown, Greg Bess (Photographer), Captain John Poss, Assistant Chief Jeff Wright, Deputy Chief Hoyte Hale, Captain Donnie Cantrell, Captain Danny Poss, and Chief Charlie Parker (career firefighter).
