Pat Marsh, left, of the Celebration board presents Bailey Little with a plaque marking Little being named to the Celebration Hall of Fame. (TWHNC photo) [Click to enlarge]

Bailey Little of Shelbyville was among 13 new members inducted into the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Hall of Fame during a Feb. 23 dinner at Calsonic Arena on the Celebration grounds.

The hall recognizes both horse industry professionals and others who support the operation of the annual show.

"We are very happy to make honor this group for their participation and contributions to The Celebration," said board chairman David L. Howard. "Each one of these individuals is very deserving of the honor and we are proud to have them join our Hall of Fame."

Little, a member of the Celebration board, was honored for his years of service to the annual event.

Other new members included one that was honored posthumously: long-time owner / exhibitor Dr. Dan Bateman of Albany, Ga.

Other members of the Class of 2008 include:

Jean Baum, long-time owner / exhibitor, of Ixonia, Wisc.

Larry Bright of Tylertown, Miss., was honored for his quarter-century of work as the official organist of The Celebration.

Joe Dietz of New Castle, Ind., is a long-time owner of many successful horses, including 1981 World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse The Pusher.

Columbia, Ky.-based owner Tommy Grider has been a leader in the walking horse industry in his home state. His family has owned numerous blue ribbon winners at The Celebration.

Diane Gueck, a highly successful trainer from Sherwood, Ore., has been a leader in the walking horse industry in the western United States for many years.

Dr. W.H. Hill of Powder Springs, Ga., has been a long-time owner and exhibitor within the industry. He also won a blue ribbon at the age of 90 at the 2007 Celebration.

Bob Kilgore of Tuscaloosa, Ala., has been part of the ownership group of two different World Grand Champions. They include 1997 World Grand Champion, Generator's Santana, and the 2005 titleholder, Main Power.

Noted owners and exhibitors Floyd and Beverly Sherman of Dallas, Texas, have put quality horses in the show ring for many years. Mrs. Sherman has numerous World and World Grand Champion titles to her credit as an owner-amateur rider.

Charles Terry of Morristown has been a long-time owner of outstanding walking horses, including part-ownership in 2001 World Grand Champion, Pride's Jubilee Encore.

Columbia's Hoil Walker has been involved in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry for many years. The high point came in 1993 when his horse, The Touch, was crowned World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse.

"This class of inductees comes from all areas of the industry," said Howard. "It just shows the diversity of individuals that mean so much to our wonderful event."

Nearly 500 people, the largest gathering in the event's history, were on hand for the gala ceremony, including inductees and family members from coast to coast and abroad. The Celebration board of directors has the responsibility of choosing the inductees, but welcomes input from the general public for the next class of inductees, in 2010.

Bailey Little

Little was born in Sparta in White County and spent his entire childhood there. Little worked in the local movie theater from the time he was in seventh grade until his high school graduation. His leadership qualities also came to the forefront in high school when his classmates voted him senior class president.

After graduation, he continued his education at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, which was known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute in those days. He majored in accounting and graduated with a degree in business administration.

During that time, Little became a 50 percent owner of the new Tastee Freeze ice cream store in Sparta, giving him his first taste of owning, managing and operating a small business.

Little met Trena Wilhite in 1957. The couple was married in 1959 and have been happily married for 48 years. They have two married daughters, both residents of Shelbyville, and four grandchildren ranging in age from 13 to 21.

In 1960, Bailey and Trena Little attended the Celebration for the first time and haven't missed one since.

Little went to work for First National Bank, now known as Regions Bank, and became a fixture. He retired as a Senior Vice President in 2003.

Within the Shelbyville community, he has been a leader on all fronts. He has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Shelbyville since 1961 and has served as a deacon, elder, and trustee of the congregation in many different terms of service.

He has been the treasurer of Bedford County Railroad Authority since 1984, and in the 1960s and 70s, he served on the Industrial Development Board of the City of Shelbyville.

Little joined the Shelbyville Lions Club in November of 1961 and has been an active member for 47 years, serving as club president in 1968-69. As a Lion, he has sold the official Celebration program every year since 1961, and in the process, has met thousands of Celebration visitors. He's been on duty in sun, rain, wind, snow flurries, thunderstorms, and even the remnants of hurricanes.

Little was selected to become a member of the Celebration Association in 1975 and has been a loyal member of that group for 32 years, the longest tenure of any member of that group.

As a member of the association, Bailey was elected to the Celebration board in 1991 to fill the seat of retiring Board member Dr. Nathan Thomas. For the past 16 years, he has served on the Board in many different capacities, including chairman in 1998 and 99. During his years as chairman, the S.H.O.W. initiative was developed and put into practice. He has been a member of the Show Horse Support Fund and it's successor, the Society. All the while, he has worked tirelessly for the protection of the Tennessee Walking Horse.