Mining Company Branches Out into Recreation Coal Creek Company's Brent Galloway added a recreation and camping site on the mine's property.

Outdoor avocation: The Coal Creek Company's Brent Galloway.

Photos© Andrew Kornylak

When Brent Galloway was growing up in eastern Tennessee, he often rode his dirt bike on local mountain trails. This wasn't illicit behavior, per se, but it wasn't exactly sanctioned by The Coal Creek Company, the mining outfit that owned the land.

Fast-forward several decades: Galloway is general manager and chief forester at Coal Creek. He came onboard in 2009, after Coal Creek bought out his forestry consulting company. Galloway now oversees the Coal Creek OHV (off-highway vehicle) Area and Windrock Park, a recreation and camping facility on those same Oliver Springs mountains where he biked as a kid.