Hank Dye: Gifted Leader, Devoted Volunteer

Hank Dye likes to echo a bumper sticker phrase he spotted once at a local library: “I wasn’t born in Townsend, but I got here as quick as I could.”

Henry C. Dye was born in Portland, Tenn., and his life path has been aiming east over the years. The youngest of four children, Hank studied journalism at the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, where his loyalty to the Vols and Lady Vols began.

Hank married Margaret in the late 1960s, and they spent 45 years in Nashville, where they raised their two sons, Clay and Andrew. Hank was a founding partner in Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence Public Relations, which grew into one of the largest PR firms in the South.

Hank spent a lot of time outdoors with his boys — fishing, canoeing, camping. The family also made a lot of memories in the mountain home built in Townsend by Margaret and her two sisters. The Dye family has now grown to include Clay and his wife, Shelley; Andrew and his wife, Jessica; and six grandchildren.

After the PR agency, Hank moved back to Knoxville, where he served as Vice President for Public Relations and Government Relations at UT. He served through three different university presidents, offering counsel, media training and the common-sense guidance for which Hank is known.

“MyMtns”

When Hank fully retired in 2012, he and Margaret moved to Townsend, and they both became actively engaged with the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. They wholeheartedly embraced its mission to ensure that the next generation of students would be connected to the outdoors. Margaret became an engaged volunteer, and Hank accepted the call to join the board, putting his management and strategic planning skills to good use. Currently, Hank serves the Tremont board as an ex officio member.

Hank has covered thousands of miles hiking through the Great Smoky Mountains Park – or, as he calls them, “MyMtns.” Sometimes he walks with friends, sometimes alone. You can see him in Cades Cove often, working as a volunteer ranger to wrangle the bears and the tourists in Cades Cove, which welcomes 2 million visitors annually. He says, “I hike the mountains every day I can, thanking the Lord for His grace and mercy.”

“I choose a rounded rock that has been my seat before and settle in to just sit and listen and breathe. Above the steady rumble of the creek, I can make out a couple of birds singing away. I’ll just assume they are one of the multiple varieties of warblers that abound and call it good. The woods are thick here with a plethora of tree varieties. The sunlight is dappled as it breaks through and finds its way to scattered places on the ground. After sitting a spell, I scramble down the bank to the water’s edge and pick another rock for a better vantage point. Immediately I spy a nice pool at the end of a gentle rapid and imagine a Parachute Adams at the end of a line, drifting slowly toward a fine Brookie that surely must be loitering there. I am truly blessed to be out here today. And I don’t take that lightly.”

— From the musings of Hank Dye, Oct. 10, 2018

Setting the Stage for Tremont’s Future

Hank serves on the Townsend Community Plan Advisory Committee, giving back to the community he now calls home. His familiarity with the land and people of Townsend was instrumental in securing the 194 acres that are currently being developed for Tremont’s second campus.

“Hank found the land, had close relationships with the landowners, helped to tell our story, and has been essential to this journey,” says Catey McClary, Tremont President and CEO.  “He is an authentic, genuine, caring person. He’s a good listener, so measured, so gifted with words.  The fund we are establishing in his name is our way to honor his many contributions and his value to Tremont and its mission.”

“I’m so proud of my husband,” says Margaret. “He has always used his gifts professionally, and now he applies them to where he can help here.  He has a heart for the next generation, helping them learn to respect the land, forests, and animals all around us. The woods are definitely his happy place.”

“I have always felt surely God must more readily hear prayers sent up from the high points of My Mountains. I regularly continue that practice, just in case.”

— From the musings of Hank Dye, Oct. 10, 2018