The one valuable lesson that I learned during my two-week absence is that time seems to go by too quickly when you are on vacation.

It seems just like yesterday when we were planning our long trip, and now it is over. I trust that everyone has been well during my time away, and we of course had a wonderful time on vacation. We made the trip to Disney World for our 2015 vacation, and it also marked my first trip to the land of Mickey Mouse. My wife made the trip when she was about 6 years old, but she basically counted it as her first trip as well. We enjoyed everything from the food and entertainment while we were in Orlando, but now, it’s time to get back into the swing of things.

We were running like crazy while we were on our trip and I always like to stay updated on everything back at home. I kept up with local news, and some people kept me updated with work-related issues. I know it’s supposed to be a vacation without work, but sometimes you just can’t escape your job no matter what you do.

We were visiting one of the parks close to the end of our vacation, and I mostly kept my phone on silent to try and enjoy our time away from home. I would usually check my messages when we returned to our resort later in the evening, but on this particular day I happened to check my messages. We were walking in one of the parks one afternoon when I received some very tough news.

I learned of the passing of basketball coach Tommy Matthews from Newton County Academy, and my heart just dropped. I was floored by the news, and it was tough to learn of something like this while you are on vacation. I know this is old news that happened over a week ago, but I haven’t really had the chance as of yet to really talk about Tommy.

I developed a relationship with Tommy while he was here at Meridian Community College as an assistant basketball coach under George Brooks. I also loved being around Tommy because he had a passion for the game, and the kids loved his presence on the bench at games. I also knew that Tommy enjoyed coaching, and his love for the game of basketball didn’t stop when he left MCC. I also laugh at the memories of Tommy announcing some of the MCC baseball games on the radio at one point during his time here at MCC. I always knew that he enjoyed that part of his time at MCC, and I guess he wanted to channel his inner broadcaster.

I worked with him on a couple of occasions on radio, and it was always a blast with Tommy. I followed all of the related stories that were published following the days of his passing, and every word was touching. I read every word of each story with a big smile on my face because I knew every single word from each person was true.   

I could tell that there was no doubt that his current players and students at Newton County Academy felt so much love for Tommy. I can say that we all loved Tommy at MCC, and his passing was such a tough loss for us as well. I have seen many coaches leave MCC over the years and move on to other opportunities, but they will always be part of the family. We all thought the world of Tommy, and I know that I speak for everyone on campus when I speak about him today. It is such a tough loss for his family, and my heart goes out to each of them this morning.

I am glad to be back with you and I wish I was visiting with you about a different subject, but I just felt led to visit with about Tommy this morning. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week as we gear up for Father’s Day next weekend, and as always, Go Eagles!

Robby Atkinson is the sports information director at Meridian Community College.