Dr. Cary Harbrecht Biography
Cary Harbrecht was born January 1, 1941 in St. Paul, MN. As he grew up, he was an avid sportsman and played most sports in high school. Upon graduation he went to Anderson College where he met Sandy York. They were married in April 1960. He served in the U.S. Air Force. After his enlistment he attended the National College of Chiropractic where he was on the Dean’s List and graduated 2nd in his class. In 1970, he moved with his family to Lebanon to begin his Chiropractic practice where he served until his death June 20, 2001.
Cary quickly became indoctrinated into the community by becoming involved in various civic organizations, the 1st being the Lebanon Jaycees. He served as president of the Cumberland College Bulldog Boosters 1978-1979. He was very active in the Lebanon Kiwanis Club beginning in 1978 and served as Secretary, Treasurer and also as President during his time with the organization. He was awarded “Outstanding Leadership & Inspiration” as club President from 1982-1983 and also received an award for “Outstanding & Devoted Service.”
Cary became a member of the Wilson County Chamber of Commerce in 1972. There he served on the board of directors and as Vice President of Membership from 1984-1985. In 1986 he was awarded charter membership for contributing more than 150% of their chamber dues. He served on the General Service Committee and was founder and chairman of the Lebanon Wilson County Golf Tournament. The tournament was renamed the Dr. Cary Harbrecht Memorial Golf Tournament.
Cary was a member of Lebanon Breakfast Rotary, Toastmasters, and Leadership Wilson. He was involved in the American Chiropractic Association and extremely involved in the TN Chiropractic Association.
Even while serving in the civic community, Cary still enjoyed sports. He played a great deal of tennis, played on several ball teams and loved bowling. Once he felt he could not participate in tennis and softball like he did when he was younger, he fell in love with golf and played in all weather conditions. An outstanding attribute that Cary possessed was his great sportsmanship. While he was quite athletic and in the habit of winning, his attitude and demeanor was the same whether he won or lost. While the above partial list of achievements and awards could be considered impressive and speak of what kind of man Cary was, nothing was as important as the life he lived for Christ. A quote taken from his “Experiencing God “ journal after he died stated, “My burning desire is that people see Christ in me and have no doubt that I’m a Christian.” Taking a quote from Golden Nuggets and Silver Bullets for Living Life by John Grogan, “Dr. Cary lived life, loved people, laughed easily, and was the happiest person-based on inner peace-which I’ve ever known. He never took himself too seriously, but he took the reason for life very seriously.” This appeared in several syndicated newspapers. While Cary kept his journal private there are two more quotes taken from this journal after his death. The first was “I want to be known as a man of integrity who loves the Lord” and the other was “I want others to say ‘He was truly a man of God’.”
Cary loved Lebanon and the Chamber and was excited about the future of each. He would have truly felt humbled having his name associated with this golf tournament that benefits his beloved Lebanon and Chamber of Commerce.