City to Name Building to Honor Late Councilman David A. Shepard

The Dickson City Council has voted to name the building that houses the Senior Activity Center in honor of the late David Alan Shepard, whose legacy of public service includes being a city councilman, state representative and county commissioner. At its June 5 meeting, the council approved Resolution #2023-15 to designate the building at 100 Payne Springs Road as the David A. Shepard Building. The city purchased the former Dickson Athletic Club in December 2020 and remodeled it to be the new City of Dickson Senior Activity Center that opened in October 2022. A Hickman County native, Shepard served on the Dickson City Council 1977-89 including 10 years as vice mayor, served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 69th District 2000-16 and was elected to the Dickson County Commission from the 9th District in 2018, where he was serving at the time of his death Feb. 4, 2021, after a battle with cancer at the age of 73. In addition to his elected service, Shepard was a decorated Vietnam War veteran, served 22 years as a clinical pharmacy specialist with the Veterans Administration Medical Center and, along with wife Martha, owned and operated Dickson Apothecary and other independent pharmacies in Middle Tennessee. Councilperson Jason Epley (1st Ward), who chairs the city’s Naming Committee, said a petition was submitted by the members of the Reynolds Potter Ragan Vandivort law firm to honor Shepard by naming a city facility after him. After consulting with Shepard’s family and Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr., the committee unanimously recommended to the council that the senior center building be named for him. The motion to approve the resolution passed 6-0-1 with Vice Mayor Robby Harmon (2nd Ward) absent and Councilperson Stacey Levine (3rd Ward), who is Shepard’s daughter, abstaining. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” an emotional Levine responded after the vote was followed by a round of applause. “On behalf of my family, thank you so much. It’s really an honor. Thank you.” Mayor Weiss said the senior center will continue to be called the City of Dickson Senior Activity Center and the building will be designated as the David A. Shepard Building. The mayor said a grand opening for the senior center will be scheduled sometime this summer and the tentative plan is to hold a dedication ceremony for the building around the first anniversary of the center’s opening near the end of October. The resolution states, “Appropriate memorialization of Mr. Shepard’s legacy of service be placed and displayed on or within the building so long as it shall bear his name.” “I will always cherish my time working with David on city projects, but most of all will miss his friendship and spending many hours on the golf course together,” Mayor Weiss said in a statement following his passing. “He will be remembered as a great community leader, but most of all as the perfect example of a son, brother, husband, father and grandfather.” Born in Hickman County to M.O. and Patricia Shepard, his family moved to Dickson when his father was named University of Tennessee extension agent for Dickson County. He graduated from Dickson High School in 1965 and attended the University of Tennessee Martin where he played baseball. After graduating in 1969, he served in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star with Valor. Following his service, Shepard attended UT Pharmacy School in Memphis, where he met Martha Frazier and they married in 1974. They bought the former Hamdorff Pharmacy in Dickson in 1981 and opened Dickson Apothecary. He became the first certified clinical pharmacist in the Veterans Administration medical system. He received the Tennessee Pharmacy Association Bowl of Hygeia for Community Service in 1998, was the TPA Outstanding Pharmacist of the Year in 2000, received the TPA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012, the TPA Barbara McAndrew Herald Award in 2016, the Court-Appointed Special Advocates Champions for Children Award in 2017 and the Dickson County Good Scout Award in 2019. Shepard served on the boards of directors for The Bank of Dickson, Dickson County Community Clinic, Clement Railroad Hotel Museum and The Jackson Foundation and was appointed to the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees by Gov. Bill Haslam in 2017. He participated in medical mission trips to Belize, Guatemala and Haiti. In addition to his wife, Shepard is survived by three children, Chris Shepard, Stacey Levine and Ben Shepard; six grandchildren and five siblings. The city is still putting some finishing touches on the building and at its June 26 special session the city council approved a bid of $11,940 from Nashville Tent and Awning to construct a cover at the entrance. https://dicksoncountysource.com/city-to-name-building-to-honor-late-councilman-david-a-shepard/?feed_id=23027&_unique_id=64a5b1d03c912