Gary West will have been a member of the Rotary for 30 years in 2026. Still, his personal journey of challenges and triumphs shared in the Know Your Rotarian segment of a recent Bearden Rotary Club meeting allowed others to see Gary beyond the surface-level interactions, fostering a more profound connection.

Born in deep southern Georgia, Gary comes from a military heritage, with both parents serving in the military simultaneously: one in the Air Force, the other in the Army.

Wisely, he has lived in Knoxville most of his life, educated at both Tennessee Tech and the University of Tennessee.

After college, he and a coworker worked in outdoor labor before Gary’s desire for adventure and personal growth led him to a new direction, writing computer code in the Bay Area for a major telecom company.

This entrepreneurial spirit led Gary and his father to start their own business in the same field, primarily installing telecom equipment.  What seemed like a dream come true proved more challenging than they anticipated as they went months without any business coming their way.

Never questioning their decision, but holding to their work ethic, Millennium Technical Service (MTS) experienced rapid growth, eventually being named ‘one of the fastest growing Knoxville companies’ in 2000. Two other companies on that same list: Pilot and Radio systems (Randy Boyd’s company), which have grown into giants of their industry. After over 20 years of success, Gary retired as CEO and eventually left the company in 2023.

Gary is married to Patty, and they have two adult children plus two grandchildren who keep him busy.

In introducing Gary’s story to the Rotary Club of Bearden’s membership, Dick Hinton gave four facts about Gary, three of them true and one not.

Three Truths and a LIE

  • Back in the ’80s, Gary spent a year in the SF Bay Area writing computer code.
  • In the ’70s, he was on a bowling team that won the Knoxville City Bowling Championship.
  • Gary’s Bearden High School’s Track Team won the ‘75 State Track Championship. Gary was on the cross-country team that year, where he set multiple records.
  • Also in high school, he rejected joining Key Club and instead joined “Hi Y”, a group that was seen by many as “the trouble makers.”

The truth is that Gary did write code in the Bay Area, his team did win the Knoxville City Bowling Championship, and he rejected the Key Club to be in the Hi-Y. Gary says he was on the track team, but wouldn’t have set a record in cross country because he wasn’t fully committed to practice. In fact, he and a group of runners would wait behind the bleachers near the end of the practice run and then run out with the group that was ‘really’ running. The coach caught them because they ran out with the fastest group, and the coach knew they couldn’t have made that pace.

The Bearden Rotary meetings are very engaging, featuring timely speakers and the Know Your Rotarian segment, which brings the personal to the familiar. Watch for the Know Your Rotarian as a regular feature. The Rotary Club of Bearden meets every Friday, 12:15 p.m. for a luncheon meeting at Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike, 37919. All are welcome. Contact Joseph Pace with membership questions: here.

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