Growing up in Detroit, Tom Hagerty dreamed of watching baseball in sunny Lakeland, Fla. That dream came to fruition in 1998 when he moved to Lakeland. Tom has a passion for the Detroit Tigers, the Lakeland Flying Tigers and all things Detroit. His interests include reading, writing and photography.
Tom has more than 20 years of experience in communications and media relations for private and not-for-profit organizations.
Tom graduated summa cum laude from Seton Hall University with a BA in English. At Seton Hall he completed a four-year liberal arts honors program and received the English Medal for academic excellence. He parlayed these accomplishments into a fellowship from The Ohio State University, where he earned an MA in English, focusing on rhetoric and linguistics. More important, according to Tom, he played on a championship intramural basketball team.
Tom plays basketball regularly and has coached youth basketball and tee ball. In his travels across the United States and Canada he has seen baseball games in close to 50 major- and minor-league stadiums.
An avid photographer, Tom regularly contributes images to the LakelandLocal.com. He has had his photos published in several publications, including The Detroit News, The Ledger, The News Chief, The Polk County Democrat and The Michigan Catholic.
Tom and his wife have two daughters, four cats and a guinea pig.