Lee Ann Hayes is a sky-diving grandmother who enjoys the backseat on their motorcycle. She’s been to 26 states and back – so far – and maybe adding Arizona and the Grand Canyon at Thanksgiving. In six days, she will turn 63 with zero plans to slow down.
Lee Ann Hayes
This 5-1 lady is full of passions – God and their church, family, friends, fun with two granddaughters every chance she gets, her work, loving and enjoying every second of her life, helping anyone who needs help, and baking and cooking.
We present her to you today because of her job at the Knoxville Fire Department (KFD) headquarters. Hayes is this week’s “Our Town Hero” – but she’s not riding on a fire rig as a first responder/ emergency services professional. She knows many of them, but she’s one of the behind-the-scenes wheels helping KFD operations run smoothly.
Lee Ann Hayes honored as 2025 KFD Civilian of the Year, award presented by Mayor Indya Kincannon and Chief Stan Sharp.
A few days ago, the city of Knoxville and the KFD surprised and honored her with the 2025 KFD Civilian of the Year employee award, presented by Mayor Indya Kincannon and KFD Chief Stan Sharp. And Sharp really knows her. Hayes is the chief’s executive assistant as of this past January, walking into the position held for 35 years by Vicky Dalton, who retired at the end of 2024. Right after Hayes began this new job, she thought, “What have I gotten myself into here?”
Here is how Hayes was described during the ceremony: “Lee Ann exemplifies the administration’s core values through her unwavering integrity, servant leadership, and dedication. Her positive attitude, exceptional work ethic, and willingness to go above and beyond make her an essential part of the team and a true asset to the department’s mission.”
Born and reared in Hamblen County, graduating from Morristown West High School in 1981, she and husband Wilburn (“Junior” to her and others) have lived in Washburn on their family farm throughout their 40-year union. Their son, Christopher, wife Tabitha, and their 11-year-old twin daughters – Mollie and Katherine – live next door. Christopher is an electrician and the pastor of a small Kentucky church in Ewing, and Tabitha homeschools the girls while working part-time at the Washburn Library. This past Friday evening, she and the family celebrated the twins’ 11th birthdays.
Three years after high school, she was working at the Hamblen County Co-Op in the office, and the second day there, she met the man who ran the co-op’s mill – and that would be Wilburn. “He had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen and was just real nice,” she says. “He took me to Long John Silver’s and a movie in September 1984 on our first date.” In seven months, they married.
Before meeting her husband, Hayes worked college into her life – graduating from Walters State Community College in Morristown with an associate degree in business administration (1983). After her marriage, she began taking classes at the University of Tennessee. She wanted to teach in elementary school. “But life and a small son named Christopher came first,” she said.
Their Washburn farm and home adjoins her mother-in-law’s (Tracy Hayes) 135-acre farm on the side of Clinch Mountain, and a walk to the top isn’t far away. “We walk up there and you can see as far as you can to the Smokies and Kentucky, and the leaves are very colorful right now,” she said. “It’s so peaceful there.”
Prior to joining the city of Knoxville, she spent 14-½ years at the Witt Water Utility in Morristown as its office manager. “I did it all – payroll, taxes, dealing with our customers, and making sure everything got done. I had one co-worker, and she worked the drive-in window for those paying their bills. When she was off, I did that too.”
Hayes joined the KFD in November of 2020 as the accounts payable manager after working at the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) in its inspections unit. She was a senior accounts manager and did administrative work as well from June 2019 and into December 2020.
“The fire department is a wonderful place to work with good people, and I really love my job. The chief is a good boss,” Hayes said. “Things are constantly changing here every day. The stations are always busy. I’m learning the job as I go, and I stay busy working on a lot of different things and events. And if someone in the office needs help on anything, I help.”
Life for the Hayes family changed six years ago when her husband, now 66, had to medically retire. A 48,000-pound log loader at Clinch River Hardwoods accidentally rolled over him from the waist down, crushing his hips and legs. His recovery was a long one, during which he survived two strokes. His farming ended. They sold their cattle. She had to take two months away from work with the Head Start program to care for him day and night.
Here are a few more Hayes highlights:
- In June 2016, at age 51, she celebrated her 50th birthday by tandem skydiving from 13,000 feet with a company in Dandridge. She and an experienced skydiver jumped together, and she says that as they left the airplane, she thought, “What am I doing? But I was not scared at all, and when it was all over, my husband and I celebrated at Cardin’s.” Cardin’s Drive-In was a hugely popular spot in the Carter community for 60 years before closing in 2019.
- Their first motorcycle was a Honda Gold Wing, the machine that took them to the 26 states. They were a major part of what then was called the local chapter of the Honda Gold Wings Road Riders Association, and for many years, Hayes was the chapter director. Today they ride on a Gold Wing three-wheeler, and Hayes wants to get her motorcycle driving license soon.
- Their “little country church home,” as she calls it, is in Bean Station at the Noeton Primitive Baptist Church. They have been members there for 34 years, and both are deacons. And she does more than just a little cooking for church events, too. She’s known for her Honey Bun cake, and reading the recipe, it must be delicious.
- In addition to caring for her husband and her mother, Molly, now 86, Lee Ann also supports her mother-in-law, who turned 90 last week.
Retirement will come sooner than later, and she’s gearing up for it. There will be no sitting in a rocking chair for her!
“Life has been good to me and our family, and well, it’s still good, and I love every minute of it. And when I do retire, I’ll make sure there’s never a dull moment. We’ll travel, I hope, and I’m planning to get back in that airplane and skydive again. Once that parachute opened, it was so quiet. Just the wind. The sights and sounds of floating up above were incredible. I’ll do it again in a heartbeat!”
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California, and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.
Aubrey’s Restaurants sponsors our Town Hero.
