TennesseeGovernor Bill Haslam
A native of Knoxville, Governor Haslam earned a bachelor's degree in history from Emory University in 1976 and then began managing his family's business, the Pilot Corporation, a Knoxville-based petroleum company that includes a nationwide chain of truck stops and convenience stores. During his career with Pilot, Haslam helped the company grow from 800 employees to more than 14,000 and eventually became president and a director. In 2003 he was elected to the first of his two terms as Knoxville's mayor. As mayor he balanced seven consecutive city budgets and worked to recruit and retain jobs and to improve efficiency in government services. He also implemented several successful historic preservation initiatives and in 2008 was appointed by President George W. Bush to a four-year term on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Haslam was elected Tennessee's governor in November 2010. |
