MAN OF THE YEAR

40 BAINBRIDGE LIVING / Winter 2021

Serving on multiple boards, while juggling a demanding job and coaching kids on Little League, Bert Hines has done it all, instilling in everyone the importance of giving back to the community.

Kiwanis Club’s Man of the Year is an award given to an individual in the community, who has devoted their time to improving the lives of those in the community, specifi cally the lives of children. Th is year featured three nominees: Ladaric Jones, Dr. Landin Marzolf and Bert Hines, with Hines being named as the recipient.

Hines grew up in Bainbridge with his grandmother operating the Eastside Grocery Store.

“My grandmother wanted to help people,” Hines said. “I have people come up to me and tell me all the time that if it wasn’t for my grandmother they wouldn’t have eaten that week.”

Hines went on to explain that his grandmother would let people get the food they desperately needed and pay her back when they could.

Because of the impact she had in the lives of others, Hines was inspired and wanted to live a life that served others in some capacity as well.

He now serves as President of the Touchdown Club, which he has done for three years.

Hines has a lot of love for the Touchdown Club, because he knows it goes toward helping kids, who may not get anything else.

“Th e money we raise goes toward pre game meals, post-game meals, meals they need to eat during the week and helps them get the things they need to be successful,” he said. “It’s fun to watch them and interact with them; I get to know a lot of them in that position, and they end up knowing me by name.”

Hines always reminds the players that anything they need, to just call on him.

“I do see it as a form of giving back, but it’s something I really enjoy,” he said.

Hines also sits on the Youth Advisory Board at First National Bank.

“I think it’s important for those kids in high school to get to see how things in the fi nancial world work,” he said. “I think the schools do a great job, but I think there’s things these kids need to see in order to prepare them for the real world.

“I’ve helped teach some business and fi nancial education classes,” he said. “I just want to prepare them on how to open up a bank account and how to take out money in their name.”

When Hines isn’t with the Bearcat football team or Youth Advisory Board, he can be found at the Gilbert H. Gragg Library, sitting on the Library Board as Treasurer.

“I’m a reader and I think it’s good to have a strong library in the community that kids and adults, whoever, can go and check out books and be exposed to diff erent things,” Hines said. “I believe in reading and I believe it keeps your mind sharp.”

Hines also spends his free time with the Recreation Department, serving as a Little League coach.

“Of course with Brooks (my son) coming up, I coached with the Rec. Department and I enjoyed it; I loved it,” Hines said. “It was fun to see kids who may not have played before or were just learning. I loved seeing the progression.”

Hines went on to also be a volunteer coach at the YMCA in basketball and eventually coach the All-Star Baseball team, where his team placed 3rd in the state.

“Th at year, I asked Kevin Dowdy with the radio if they could mention it, but they encouraged me to come on instead, and then tons of people showed up and rode it out with us for the rest of the tournament,” Hines said.

Hines still coaches his son’s travel ball team out of Th omasville, while supporting his daughter’s ambitions as well.

“In my opinion, kids come fi rst,” he said. “Although I coach my son’s travel ball team, when it comes to middle school baseball, I holler for every kid in the lineup; these kids have earned the right to be there, so why not make it fun for them?”

Hines doesn’t see any of these community endeavors as a task, though, saying he participates in things he thoroughly enjoys doing.

Hines believes this also stems from him working at a community bank.

“We are a community bank and I take the community part of that very seriously,” he said. “You have to give back to your community; you have to fi nd things that get you excited or that you’re passionate about and be involved in those.”

Hines said if it wasn’t for the community, who put so much into him, he wouldn’t be who he is today. For that reason, he is grateful and thankful to be nominated for Kiwanis Club’s Man of the Year.

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