Freedom Hall veteran Bobbie Shirley retires after more than 45 years – Johnson City Press (subscription)

Bobbie Shirley has been an employee at the Freedom Hall Civic Center almost as long as the venue has been open.

Initially starting as a clerk at the swimming pool in July 1975, Shirley worked at the center for more than 45 years before retiring this year as the venues director, a position she stepped into last year after former director Lisa Chamness retired. Before that, she filled multiple roles at Freedom Hall, which first opened its doors in 1974.

The Johnson City Commission issued a proclamation in her honor at a meeting in May.

Freedom Hall will not be the same without you, Commissioner Jenny Brock told Shirley at the time. Ive always known ... that if you wanted any information about Freedom Hall, or the history of Freedom Hall, you were the person who has it all.

When she first took a job at the center, Shirley had just graduated from high school and was looking for extra money. Before that, Shirley had volunteered at Freedom Hall as an usher for the first event at the civic center, a performance by comedian Bob Hope, in 1974.

Since officially joining the payroll, Shirley has worked in the venues ticket booth, at the concessions stand, as the administrative secretary and as the box office manager.

Shes also witnessed, and helped organize, hundreds of performances at the venue, a list that includes rock icons like Aerosmith, country music legends like John Prine and adrenaline-soaked spectacles like WWE wrestling. For Shirley, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Jones and Kenny Rogers were particular standouts. Depending on the act, she explained, planning events at the center can take anywhere from six to eight months or even a year.

But the best part about working at Freedom Hall isnt necessarily all the stars, Shirley said.

Its everybody that you work with, she noted.

The time shes invested at the center has allowed Shirley to develop strong bonds with co-workers, promoters and performers. Shes even watched some performers grow up.

You see people over and over again, Shirley said. You develop good friendships.

Shirley has also gathered a mountain of memorabilia over the years, a collection that includes mugs, tickets, photos, backstage passes, drumsticks, guitar picks and shot glasses. She usually tries to buy an item from every show at Freedom Hall and is more inclined to get something if she likes the artist.

Im trying to get smaller things now, she quipped.

Over the years, Freedom Hall has also encountered more competition. When it first opened, Shirley estimated, the civic center was one of dozens of buildings that size. Now, its one of hundreds.

We are not a tier-one market anymore, she said. Now, shows they do bigger cities. An artist can get a song on the radio and become an overnight sensation and then they pick and choose where they go to.

The center is, however, still plenty capable of drawing large acts.

Freedom Hall is a great place to see events, Shirley said. The acoustics are wonderful in here, and theres not a bad seat in the house.

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Freedom Hall veteran Bobbie Shirley retires after more than 45 years - Johnson City Press (subscription)