Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Tom Gallaher grew up in Waynesboro, Tennessee hunting, fishing, raising bluetick and redbone coonhounds, and outdoor adventures a boy finds living in a town of fewer than 3,000.
His hometown is on the Tennessee border where his family farm sits a little to the south, 60 miles from any interstate, just north of Florence, Alabama, where the population hasn’t grown since Civil War days.
“My family history in Wayne County goes back to the early 1800s,” Tom explains. “Part of our 900+acre farm has been in the family since 1810. One parcel that dates back to the 1850s, from the maternal side, had gone out of the family for a generation or two. We were able to buy that adjoining parcel and bring it back into the farm.”
Tom, his wife, Caren, and children all love and enjoy the farm, and also feel the responsibility of its land stewardship. “We incorporated components of my great-great grandfather’s house into an 1820s era cabin we found in Virginia and brought to the farm and then wedded to a still-standing chimney that my grandmother said dated back to the Civil War.”
After undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Tennessee Martin College of Medicine in Memphis, Tom completed his general surgery internship and residency at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and plastic surgery residency at Vanderbilt. After serving as Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with a group in Fort Worth, he and his family returned to his home state and established Gallaher Plastic Surgery & Spa MD in Knoxville.
His 22-year-old practice now serves patients in Powell, Bearden, Tellico Village and at Gunrunner Medical Spa in Florence, Alabama. The practice Tom leads, with a staff of 30 is considered one of Tennessee’s premier plastic surgery and medical spa practices, providing a breadth of surgical, non-surgical and medical spa services to help their patients achieve their cosmetic goals.
Tom and his family lead busy lives in Knoxville, which means they don’t get to the farm as often as they’d like.
“Since it’s a working farm, a younger cousin, Lucas (everybody in Wayne County is my cousin in one way or another),” he laughs, “manages the farm. We raise cattle. We have timber and we just put in a truffle orchard that we hope to be productive soon.”
Currently, Lucas is fencing new pastures for 50 head of Belted Galway, an old Scottish breed often called Oreo cows for their color and markings.
“We are bringing all our cattle onto our land after having a lease agreement with a local farmer, so we can control the pastures. That’s why we started raising cattle – to know where our beef comes from and to control the quality of grass and hay and get away from herbicides.” The cattle are grass-fed and finished the last three months on Jimmy Red Corn. “It’s an heirloom corn that almost went out of existence, after traditionally being used to make whiskey, but now is making a comeback,” Tom adds.
The Gallahers are an avid outdoor and sports family by nature.
“Caren grew up with horses. Over the years, we’ve collected quite a few horses. I used to fox hunt and hope to again. Our daughters are both equestrians with hunter-jumpers. Our youngest daughter is a full-time assistant trainer and full-time online college student. Our middle child is taking a gap year, works in my practice, and helps take care of our horses. Our son, our oldest, is in college pursuing a career in sports broadcasting.”
Tom and Caren bought 14 acres on the water in a development in Louisville where they will soon break ground for their house and currently keep their retired horses.
“We stable three that were show horses on the horse farm in the development, as well as my wife’s horse that she’s had for 30 years. Originally a horse and tree farm, the development is now in a conservation easement surrounded by protected land,” Tom says.
Supporting each other to pursue passions is a family affair. Caren, who is a retired breast oncology surgeon, and Tom worked as a team for years.
“Caren would do the mastectomy and I would do the reconstruction. That’s how I spent most of the first half of my career – in reconstruction. It was a great working relationship, and we were grateful for the opportunity to serve folks and take care of them after serious health issues. But then, Caren retired almost ten years ago to homeschool our daughters so they could pursue the travel demands of equestrian sports, which makes traditional school tough.”
Another family passion runs full circle right back to their Waynesboro farm: the third annual Hog Creek Cotillion in November. Held on Hog Creek, which runs through the farm, it’s an all-day whole hog roast fundraiser with two or three bands, and food and beverages to benefit two of their favorite charities. Tunnel to Towers, the national foundation started in tribute to NYC firefighter Stephen Siller, that supports and helps families impacted by 9/11, first responders, and veterans to rebuild. Honoring these American heroes, the benefit takes place on Veterans Day weekend.
The second is Southern Foodways Alliance, a non-profit Tom and Caren were introduced to at a Blackberry Farm event.
“Based out of the University of Mississippi, SFA studies the foodways of the South, reaching back to the different ethnic influences, explores the history of craftsmen like pitmasters,” Tom says, “and maps the heritage of Southern food, recording oral history interviews and producing documentary films. We built a huge functional/party barn and a stage down by the creek for the entertainment, and put a ‘tiny house’ on the property.”
It’s an all-in family event with Caren planning and co-hosting, and his daughters scouting and booking regional bands from indie rock to Muscle Shoals soul. Music buffs just like their dad, last year they booked six bands in honor of their dad’s 60th birthday. It’s a true foodie day with Southern cuisine prepared by Chef Josh Quick from Odette, a bistro in downtown Florence. Last year Tom and Caren promoted the fundraiser to wide circles of professional and personal friends and over 150 attended. This year, Tom hopes to double the number of people who attend the benefit by offering tickets through a website and Instagram.
Tom Gallaher’s staff say it is a joy to watch their boss out of his scrubs and out of his element -- well, really in his element outdoors -- enjoying everything he loves and values: teaming up with his wife and kids on his two-century farm, hosting folks and their families spending the day in the beauty of a Tennessee fall, indulging in great food and live music, even grabbing some cool Hog Creek Cotillion swag. All in the service of benefiting worthy causes that help them in the work they do and the people they serve.
To learn more about Gallaher Plastic Surgery & Spa MD or schedule online appointments call 865-671-388 or visit gallaherplasticsurgery.com
For information to buy tickets for this year’s The Hog Creek Cotillion, follow updates on Instagram @thehogcreekcotillion
Hog Creek Cotillion is a Family Passion Hosted on the Gallaher Farm to Benefit Favorite Charities.