Clay Walker, CEO of NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership of the Tri-Cities region, is elected as the 2017 chair of the board of directors for the Tennessee Economic Partnership (TEP), the statewide public-private partnership that markets the state of Tennessee as a premiere place for business. Mr. Walker brings more than 20 years of experience in economic development, including principal of his own consulting firm, vice president of the 45-county regional organization West Kentucky Corporations and head of multiple communities’ economic development organizations.
Brian Hercules, senior vice president of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, is elected as the partnership’s 2017 chair-elect. Three new board members are added for 2017: Rachel Buchanan (Blount Partnership, director of economic development), Stephen Crook (Highlands Economic Partnership, vice president of economic development) and Andy Lawson (Tennessee Valley Authority regional specialist and Tennessee Economic Development Council president).
The complete 2017 Tennessee Economic Partnership Board of Directors is as follows:
· Chair: Clay Walker, NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership
· Chair-Elect & Treasurer: Brian Hercules, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce
· Past Chair: Mark Herbison, Greater Memphis Chamber
· Secretary: Charles Wood, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
· Marketing Committee Chair: Wil Evans, Maury Co. Chamber & Economic Alliance
· Investor Relations Committee Chair: Doug Lawyer, Knoxville Chamber
· Rachel Buchanan, Blount Partnership
· Stephen Crook, Highlands Economic Partnership
· Mike Evans, Clarksville-Montgomery Co. EDC
· Lindsay Frilling, Obion Co. Joint Economic Development
· Jeff Hite, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
· Matt Largen, Williamson County Office of Economic Development
· Charly Lyons, Tennessee Central Economic Alliance
· Allen Neel, East TN Economic Development Agency
· Mike Philpot, West Tennessee Industrial Association
· Heidi Smith, Tennessee Valley Authority
· Kyle Spurgeon, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce
· Commissioner Randy Boyd, Tennesseee Department of Economic & Community Development (ex officio)
· Allen Borden, Tennesseee Department of Economic and Community Development (ex officio)
· John Bradley, Tennessee Valley Authority (ex officio)
· Andy Lawson, Tennessee Economic Development Council President (ex officio)