TOMMY

Tom’s moved his burden of foam —
Both into and out of the Dome:

Truck ’em around
Stack ’em up, lay ’em down. . . .

Tom, time to rest — come on home

He’s up in his office each night
Then he’s up with the dawn’s early light

Keeping us going . . .
And growing . . . and glowing

Keeping us shining and bright

He helped with Utopia . . . . And then
He rescued and glorified Henn

He ran Personnel
And much more as well —

Tom is our man among men

In June and July, ’93
He ran our big group in D.C.

Foam by the acre
T-shirts to each taker

Glory days! . . . He was something to see

This man of both brains and of brawn —
His attention helped bring us the dawn

There’s nothing he lacks —
And at night, to relax

He’s out and he’s mowing the lawn

He was raised on a Michigan farm . . .
Strong of character . . . and strong of arm

The lessons he’s taught us —
As a bonus, he’s brought us

His solid Midwest strength and charm

His duties are many, and various
He’s overseen dozens of areas!

From rides with Security
To food supply purity
From his talks at events
To our dollars and cents
From budgets, POs
To where cable goes
From reports to Trustees
To his big ring of keys
From inspiring staff
To his Michigan laugh
New York renovations
Greenhouse creations
Sustainability, Lean —
He’s our man on the scene
Name someone who’s stronger
Or one who works longer —

He’s the leader who’ll guide us and carry us

He does all he does with such grace
And perfection . . . and passion . . . and pace

From studying spreadsheets
To ordering bed sheets

Tommy’s all over the place!

Tommy’s a can-do kind of man
If someone can do it, Tom can

He gets the job done —
He makes the job fun —

Make Tommy a part of your plan

Tommy has organizing power
We see it at work — by the hour

It’s pure knowledge based —
Bevan’s trust is well placed —

Tom’s helping Fairfield to flower

He’s the one to whom so many go
With issues and tales of woe

The man they confide to
And look as a guide to —

Mr. Steady, as all of us know

Whenever we’ve wanted jobs done —
When they’re big — and we’re under the gun —

By now we’ve all learned
It’s to Tommy we’ve turned —

Tommy is second to none

Of reality, Tom is the knower
Of bliss, he’s the brilliant bestower

This management master
Looks deeper, thinks faster . . .

And at dusk he’s that man on the mower

Heroes in books stay in books
For real-life heroes, one looks . . .

We look, but not far
For here, where we are,

Is our real-life hero, Tom Brooks

How can we ever repay him?
With what brilliant jewels array him?

We only say thank you . . .
And thank you . . . and thank you

And garland, and wreath, and bouquet him

August 3, 1997 and 2016