Todd Womack told members of the Chattanooga Civitan Club on Friday that his former boss, Bob Corker, Is "one of the most authentic people you’ll ever meet.”
Mr. Womack also discussed his new public relations venture in the luncheon talk.
Club members seemed to be very interested in the speaker’s stories about his time in Washington, D.C.. with Bob Corker as he talked about the man he worked with for over a decade.
His time with Mr. Corker "was a great honor and privilege,” he said.
He drew some laughs from the audience when he joked Senator Corker “has not watched one second of cable TV since leaving office.” No longer worried about his senatorial duties, Senator Corker has been focusing on his business ventures and “enjoying the freedom of being back in civilian life.”
Mr. Womack also made sure to highlight Bob Corker’s high character, saying, “He was involved in public service to have an impact on the community, and that was the only reason. It was to leave things better than he found them.”
He spoke about the less-publicized part of the federal government, where there is not much disagreement or arguing going on. For instance, he talked about former Senator Corker’s efforts to rid the world of slavery.
“We began to focus on this issue,” said Mr. Womack. “When I heard about that issue, I was shocked. I thought it was something that had been dealt with in the mid-1800s……you don’t read about this issue, because slavery isn’t something people disagree about.”
He also stressed the humanity of the politicians in the nation’s capital, saying, “People in Washington really want to make a difference.” Mr. Womack also recalled a memorable scene where he got to “watch Mike Lee and Bernie Sanders, who are diametrically opposed on the political spectrum, crafting some scheme together on an issue.”
Mr. Womack let the club know about his previous ties to the scenic city. He is what one would call a “Chattanooga lifer,” as he went to Chattanooga public schools and then graduated from UT-Chattanooga. After graduating from college, the speaker worked at Erlanger Hospital. He jokingly stated that the hospital was where he “learned about politics.”
He then moved on to the state of the Chattanooga community. He spoke of developing the city by adhering to the wishes of the residents. “We built our vision (for Chattanooga) around what the community wanted,” said the former aide.
He mentioned Hamilton County’s plan for improving the school system, including the new “Hamilton County Promise.” This new plan would allow any student to take up to five dual-enrollment classes, in order for students to get a head start on their collegiate education.
“We’ve had an opportunity to get immersed in our community. We have a great county mayor who has a great vision for our community,” said Mr. Womack.
Mr. Womack also spoke about his fairly new public affairs firm. According to the speaker, the firm does everything from lobbying for clients to helping people “navigate the process” of legal matters. When asked about what companies or clients he takes on, Mr. Womack grinned and said, “We are young and hungry, so we’ll take anyone.”
Mr. Womack said his firm has around 14 clients, including automobile manufacturer Volkswagen.
When one of the Civitan members asked him about his thoughts on the Volkswagen unionization vote, Womack stayed neutral. “Who knows what will happen in Volkswagen?” said Mr. Womack. He did say that no matter what the result ends up being, it would affect the local economy.