Two key players in Murfreesboro’s rise as one of the nationally recognized great places to live are hanging up their spurs.
David Baxter retired as fire chief last month, and as the year ends Dennis Rainier will relinquish his post at head of the award-winning parks and recreational department.
Both men oversaw operations that stand as examples of excellence for the state of Tennessee and indeed the southeast region and nation.
Baxter saw major expansion in the service area of the Murfreesboro Fire Department and even greater expectation in quality of service as the community grew at near break-neck speed during his 20-year tenure as chief and 31-year career as a firefighter here.
While the department earned a number of awards under his stewardship, most notable was the earning of a Insurance Services Office Class 2 rating, placing the Murfreesboro department among the top 1 percent in the nation for the level of fire protection offered in its service area.
Baxter’s management of training, staffing and resources – plus a true commitment to the people the department served as evidenced by firefighters walking through neighborhoods to make sure smoke detectors were installed – unquestionably produced a fire department, and the safety net it offers all of us, that was absolutely top-notch.
And, Baxter, upon leaving his position, seemed more proud than anything that no firefighter died in a highly dangerous occupation during his two decades at the helm.
Rainier started with the parks and recreation department when it was a fledgling organization and saw it become a shining star for Murfreesboro.
That couldn’t have been more apparent than the last parks and recreation board meeting when 11 of the 15 top state awards for recreation were presented to department staffers for an incredibly wide range of endeavors from children’s theater to the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon.
Rainier put together a diversely talented staff that offered gyms, pools, soccer field, baseball parks, a marvelous walking greenway system, tremendous facilities and outreach programs of all description.
As we collectively recognize more and more the importance of exercise to good health and wellbeing the payback from parks and recreation, and Rainier’s guidance it broadening its base, grows ever more valuable.
Baxter and Rainier are two examples of why Murfreesboro has been able to maintain and vastly enhance its quality of life even during a high-growth period.
They leave a legacy of excellence that will undoubtedly be emulated.
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