Dusty Dickey: Jack of all trades

7:53 a.m. July 30, 2025

HALEY PAYNE ROBERTS
MCO Senior Staff Writer

If I asked you to think of a great Jack Daniel’s tour guide, a teacher, or a DJ, I’d wager that three different names come to mind. For many, however, there will only be one – the one and only Dusty Dickey. No one embodies the phrase “jack of all trades” quite like Dickey, who has come to master all three of these professions.

A lifelong resident of Moore County, Dickey’s journey in education and entertainment began right here in Lynchburg. “I just completed 25 years of teaching at LES and 26 total years. I’m from Moore County. My mom has worked at the school since my brother started grade school. Neither one of my parents went to college, but I went to Motlow and started in the summer of 1989,” Dickey said.

Education wasn’t initially on the table for Dickey until after he graduated from MTSU and had already begun tour guiding. “I didn’t pursue a career in education at first; I was in Mass Communications at MTSU and graduated in 1994. I came back to Lynchburg and started as a tour guide at Jack Daniel’s in 1995,” he said.

“In the slow season, I started substitute teaching at LES. One of the ladies who was teaching suggested I go back to school and get my teaching certification. I only lacked about a year and a half, plus student teaching, so I ended up student teaching under Mrs. Becky Anderson and Mrs. Terry Davis.

‘You’ve got to have people to believe in you’

Outstanding role models and community encouragement spurred Dickey to take the leap into education, a decision that would lead to a fruitful and ongoing career. “One of the reasons I went back to school was because of my teachers, Lillian Phelps and Tommy Beavers. At first, I never thought I could pass the exams to become a teacher, but my family and the people in the community kept pushing me. You’ve got to have people to believe in you as well as you trying to believe in other people,” Dickey said.

Dickey never strayed far from Moore County, ultimately settling here after one year away. “I did that in the spring of 1999. There wasn’t a position in Lynchburg that year, so I taught at Flintville for my first year,” he said.

“Then, a first-grade position opened at LES, so I took it and taught that grade for four or five years. Then, I taught fourth grade, and I just completed my second year in third grade.”

Dickey now takes pride in encouraging his students, passing along the influence inherited from his own teachers. “When I went back to school, I wanted my students to see me as a guide or a motivator,” he said.

“I’d go to conferences or in-services where everyone thought I was a coach. I just always wanted the students to believe in themselves and wanted to give them words of encouragement. When I started teaching, I was working with people who were my teachers.

“Now, you’re looking at me and several others who are getting close to retirement. You know everyone that you work with, and everyone knows that their kids are taken care of.”

‘I get to meet people from all over the world’

Beyond teaching at LES, Dickey also serves as a tour guide at Jack Daniel’s Distillery. Fresh out of college, Dickey was quickly integrated into the tour guide lineup and hasn’t looked back since. “At the time, I guess there wasn’t a full-time tour guide position. I went back when they built the new visitor’s center. I still guided on the weekends when I went back to school. They’ve worked with my school schedule very well ever since,” he said.

Interacting with a diverse range of visitors is the most fun part of Dickey’s job, which he also twists into a lesson for his beloved students. “I get to meet people from all over the world, and I bring it back to my school lessons. Right now, I’m covering science and social studies for summer school. I recently had a group from Croatia on a tour, and I asked where they were going after they left Lynchburg. They were going to New Orleans and said that they were in a band,” he said.

“When we got to the end of the tour, they sang me a little tune, and I brought back a recording of it to school for my class. I told the kids about New Orleans, but I didn’t know much about Croatia. We’ve studied all of these countries and continents, so we looked up a video and learned about it together.”

This is not the only instance of Dickey bringing his experiences at the distillery back to his class.

“I took a poll in my homeroom one time and asked how many students’ parents or relatives worked at Jack. About half of them had relatives who worked there. We were working on vocabulary words like ‘export’ and ‘import.’ I brought that back into something they knew from home because Jack Daniel’s goes all over the world,” Dickey said.

‘I’ve always loved music’

As if all of that isn’t enough, Dickey also spends his time as a DJ at local venues and events. Music has a special place in Dickey’s heart, which he shows through his own musical hobby. “I’ve always loved music ever since I was very young.

“My maternal grandparents would take us to the Grand Ole Opry and other music events, and my cousin would take me to concerts. He took me to see Hank Williams Jr.,” Dickey said.

“Looking back, I can’t believe we were seeing people for like $12.50. My grandma would take me to buy albums, and I had a record player at her house. I bought some equipment during high school, and I used my graduation money to buy some more. I’ve loved all kinds of genres through the years. Now, I get to do it whenever I want to.”

Dickey’s multi-talented career has served Moore County well, and we will continue to appreciate his dedication to our children and to keeping us entertained.