Mayor Dean honored for impact on city at Nashville Business Breakfast
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Karl Dean likes a challenge.
As the outgoing mayor of Nashville, Dean is credited with leading the city through challenging times, including a recession and a historic flood, with a quiet determination and never-give-up attitude that poised the city for great growth during his eight years in office.
On July 28, more than 800 business leaders celebrated Dean’s leadership and contribution to the community at Lipscomb University’s Nashville Business Breakfast.
Dean, the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, was elected on Sept. 11, 2007, and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011. Nashville mayors are limited to two terms by law. Among his priorities have been to improve schools, make neighborhoods safer and to bring more jobs to Nashville. Another hallmark of his administration is to work to improve Nashville's high quality of life through numerous initiatives that promote health, sustainability and volunteerism.
“He was clear from the beginning—education public safety, economic development. He drilled those things over and over into those who were listening, and his sense was that if we focused on these basic priorities, good things would happen for Nashville. And he was right,” reflected Ralph Schulz, president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
During Dean’s term in office, the city received numerous accolades from a variety of media outlets and organizations. Schulz said that during Dean’s two terms 380 business expansions or relocation projects took place in Nashville, 32,000 new jobs were created, $3.6 billion in additional capital investments were made and 13.8 billion square feet of office or industrial space was leased.
“He took the oath of office just before the largest recession our nation’s history in the last 50 years,” said Schulz. “Some in the public arena said it’s time to entrench, but Karl Dean said there will never be a better time to be bold, to push Nashville’s economy forward. He started using a line in his speeches so often that his audiences could complete the sentence for him, ‘Nashville’s best days are still ahead.’”
Schulz recalled how that mindset helped Nashville recover from the historic 2010 flood during which the city incurred more than $2 billion in property losses.
“I don’t know how many of us believed his famous words at that time, but Mayor Dean showed us how well we were doing in the midst of adversity,” said Schulz. “He praised us for taking care of our neighbors and he put politics on hold. And he kept reminding us of a phrase that still remains on murals throughout he city, ‘We are Nashville.’ Think about how different our city would be today if we had taken a different path.”
HCA president and CEO Milton Johnson said the city will continue to grow in the future because of the foundation Dean has laid.
“At no time has this city flourish more than it has under Karl Dean’s leadership,” said Johnson. “His visionary approach has positioned Nashville for steady and sustained growth. The commitment of Mayor Dean to develop a business-friendly climate while maintaining the quality of life of all of our citizens will make Nashville an attractive destination for many companies for years to come.”
“People find leadership in many different ways,” said Gary Garfield, CEO and president of Bridgestone Americas Inc. “One of our countries early presidents defined it this way, ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, be more, you are a leader.’ I think this definition of leadership fits very, very nicely Mayor Dean and his tenure leading this city the last eight years. His vision and hard work have forever changed our concept of our city. He has left this city a better place than when he took office.”
Steve Turner, founder and principal of Marketstreet Enterprises, also acknowledged Dean’s contributions to the city.
“Over the past eight years we have seen incredible growth in our great city, and there is no doubt that it has been Mayor Dean’s vision and leadership that have helped bring much of this growth,” he said.
“You’re doing more good than you can possibly know,” Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry told Dean. “As we have heard from the testimonies and tributes of the business leaders here today, the reality is that this mayor has done more good than even what has been said here today will represent and he will ever know.”
Dean said he has enjoyed his collaboration with Lipscomb throughout his tenure.
“I am grateful to Lipscomb University for all the work it does to make this the best city,” he said. “Our partnership with Lipscomb has been one of the best things that we’ve worked on since I’ve been in office.”
The city’s success is a result of the efforts of many people, Dean said.
“I want to make clear that the success of the city is not something that I’ve done on my own,” said Dean. “The theme of today’s breakfast has been the smart collaboration creates bold opportunities, and that’s very fitting because it’s collaboration and teamwork that got Nashville where it is today. Collaboration will be absolutely critical in making it an even better city in the future. Partnerships and collaborations have been key to so many successful projects and initiatives in our city.”
Dean credited the mayors who came before him for laying the foundation for the success the city has experienced in recent years.
“Nashville has enjoyed many headlines and accolades in recent years,” said Dean. “The work that earned all of that praise began well before I took office. Nashville has been fortunate to have excellent forward-thinking mayors, Bill Purcell and Phil Bredesen. Each of them put their own unique stamp on our city.”
“We can’t rest on our laurels as a city,” he said. “We have to keep pushing forward. We can’t take our eye off the issues we have to hit every day—education, public safety and economic development. Nashville is strategically positioned for economics growth now and well into the future. We have the perfect equation on our side. Affordability plus high quality of life plus a talented workforce. We need to keep building on those strengths.
“I believe we have accomplished together a lot over the past eight years. I’ve never had a better, more satisfying or rewarding job, and I want to thank you and the rest of the voters in this city for giving me this great honor and opportunity to serve. My time in office is winding down, but I know this city won’t stop pressing ahead. Nashville’s time is now. We just have to seize it, believe it and have the confidence to keep investing in ourselves.”