OUR FLAGSHIP PROGRAM

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Rather than necessarily becoming bigger (which may in fact happen), how do we improve the quality of the city and the quality of life for all the citizens of the city in every part “north, south, east and west." To make Knoxville both unique in its offerings and solutions as well as make it known as one of the best places to live and raise a family. Rather than recruit more firms from out of state, how do we enable and support start-up companies to grow in Knoxville and then have them choose to remain in Knoxville. Sometimes, that simply means less is more in terms of reducing regulatory burdens that might make small start-up business focus too much of their time ticking boxes rather than growing their business.

Some of Knoxville's and Knox County's parks. Notably, Concord Park with 500 acres in total, much of it wooded with excellent hiking and mountain biking trails. It is roughly 2/3rds the size of Central Park in Manhattan! House Mountain is also not as well known as it should be. Lakeshore Park is well known in the community, but many visitors to Knoxville are pleasantly surprised by the size and scope of a park so close to downtown.

I would survey others and figure out how to create an even more positive view of Knoxville for those travelling through the city as well as enhancing the livelihood for Knoxvillians as well. Whether it is taking advantage of the riverfront in new and creative ways to enhancing the drive into and out of Knoxville are just two examples of making Knoxville better. For example, George Mack noted: "Lee Kuan Yew, the former leader of Singapore, used to obsess over the airport experience and the first few miles to the city. Why? It is the onboarding experience for talented future citizens. The airport drive and the airport experience is the first and last impression of a location. Ask any stand up comedian: People remember the beginning and the end." So how do we enhance the first and last impressions of those visiting Knoxville? On the other end of the spectrum, we need to continue to enhance the environment for Knoxvillians - the obvious ones are how to address the homeless / mental health challenges in the city as well as how to improve the quality of education in many parts of the city while providing an environment that provides a safe place for both students and teachers to continue the process of learning.

There are so many! But memories of what were and are no longer here today might be the family restaurants that have gone by the wayside. From Regas downtown to Long's Drugstore. From the Quarterback (first on the Strip and then off Papermill Road) to Brother Jack's Barbeque. And then there was the whole slew of restaurants along Cumberland Avenue “Sam & Andy's"; Ruby Tuesday's; Old College Inn; Regas on 17th; the Roman Room; Copper Cellar, etc. All those and more of old family-owned businesses are great memories of things that are now only in the past. I miss them!

The Bible; Washington's Crossing - David Hackett Fischer; The Victory of Reason - Rodney Stark

The mentor that influenced me the most was Roger Jenkins, former Dean of the University of Miami (Ohio) Business School. In 1982, Roger was the Associate Dean for Graduate Business at the University of Tennessee. I approached him to be my Advisor. While he could not do so officially, he was happy to do so unofficially as he was impressed that a freshman undergraduate would approach the Graduate Dean for advice. While I planned to get a summer job working in a warehouse, he pushed me to get a job relevant to my major and to do so outside of my comfort zone (e.g. Knoxville). He advised me, but made me do the heavy lifting - and so I ended up getting summer jobs on Wall Street for three summers (PaineWebber & Daiwa Securities). After three years on Wall Street after graduating the University of Tennessee, I was then set on going to Business School. He was instrumental in guiding me to attend the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College as he felt it was the best fit for my personality relative to the other schools in which I had been admitted (e.g. UCLA, Indiana, UNC, Duke). So my entire life would have been completely different if he had not encouraged me to stretch my vision and expectations of myself and to dive into exciting and challenging opportunities, knowing that at some point, I could return home (which I have recently done!).

I think it would be along the lines of what Roger Jenkins did to influence me. There is a giant world out there. Go and explore it. Find out what piques your curiosity and what areas motivate you to learn and grow. Don't be afraid to try something and either fail or discover that you really didn't like it nearly as much as you expected to. As Winston Churchill said, "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Go out and see and experience the world. There is nothing that keeps you from coming back to Knoxville, but don't limit yourself to a specific field or geographic location without at least learning if that might be the best place for you to be at a particular point in time.