Ordinary people, Extraordinary impact

by ANNETTE JOYCE

“I think you need to give back to the community. That’s how my parents raised me and it’s just something I have to do,” Tim Frazier said.

A lifelong resident of northwest Guilford County, Frazier has established himself as a successful homebuilder, contributed thousands of hours as a volunteer fireman, is an avid supporter of Northwest High School (NWHS)’s athletics program and is widely known as an all-around nice guy.

Frazier, who volunteers as an assistant chief for Oak Ridge Fire Department, grew up in a family of firefighters.

“My grandfather, father and two brothers were all firemen,” he said. “My mother and sisters were members of the fire department’s Ladies Auxiliary. When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to become a fireman.”

Just before turning 16, Frazier officially joined his family at Colfax Fire Department. That was 46 years ago, and he has no plans to give up firefighting any time soon.

“Tim has dedicated countless hours of his time to many of the fire department’s projects and activities. The department benefits from this, as does the community,” said Ken Gibson, Oak Ridge Fire Department chief. “His construction knowledge is insurmountable to all, especially on structure fires.”

Besides handling the typical responsibilities of a volunteer fireman, Frazier has made himself indispensable as the department’s chief cook of its much-sought-after BBQ, which is sold annually as a fundraiser. He jokes that he’s the one who makes and guards the recipe for the “secret sauce.”

“(Tim) is known for entering the department with a whistle and friendly smile – and he can cook a mean pig!” Gibson said. “It will be a bittersweet day when he decides to retire from the fire service.”

In addition to volunteering with the fire department, Frazier has long been involved with Northwest High School. A 1979 graduate of the school, he played football and basketball for his alma mater – and drove a school bus. His late wife, Debbie, and their son, Parker, were also NWHS graduates, and Parker was an assistant football coach at the school from 2010 to 2020.

“That school means a lot to me, and it’s been good to a lot of people,” Frazier said. “I want to do what I can to help.”

Frazier and Debbie became involved in Northwest’s Football Boosters Club when their son started playing on the school’s football team. It wasn’t long before they realized some major facility improvements were needed, including a new concession stand and fieldhouse.

Frazier played a lead role in forming Viking Vision, a nonprofit organization originally dedicated to raising funds for building a new fieldhouse. Ironically, Guilford County Schools budgeted to replace the fieldhouse before Viking Vision was able to raise the money for that purpose – so, the nonprofit’s goals changed.

Over the years, Frazier has put together numerous golf tournaments and reverse raffles and sold countless numbers of raffle tickets to bring in money for other improvements to the school’s athletic facilities. As the owner of Tim Frazier Builders, he also volun- teered his skills and resources to build a new concession stand at the school’s football stadium.

“Our goal is to support as many boys’ and girls’ sports as we can,” said Frazier, who currently serves as vice president of Viking Visions.

To date, the nonprofit has provided funding to purchase weights for the fieldhouse, batting cages for the baseball and softball teams, constructed a storage building for equipment and has taken care of the various ballfields on the school’s campus.

For the last 20 years, Frazier has also volunteered to help maintain the ballfields by seeding, fertilizing and mowing. Just as with all his other volunteering, he doesn’t see it as a job – it’s just his way of giving back.

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Owner Laura Collins shared this photo of her pup, Zoe, hanging out in her favorite spot on the couch.

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Summerfield residents

Teri and Doug Quintel adopted Abby, a 11/2-year-old LabradorAustralian shepherd mix. Abby loves water – so much, in fact, she has even been caught sleeping in the bathtub! The Quintals said Abby has brought a lot of joy not only to them, but also to their neighbors!

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