Business View Magazine | May 2019

217 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MAY 2019 and we have Volkswagen in Chattanooga,” he says. “GM announced that they’re letting a lot of people go in some of their plants, but I’ve been working with General Motors and Nissan and we want Middle Tennessee to be the autonomous vehicle capital and the first to bring this new technology to the automobile industry.” In addition to its automobile companies, other large area employers include: Ingram Content Group with 2,000 workers; National Healthcare Corporation, with another 2,000; Rutherford County Government and School System, which employs 6,000; Middle Tennessee State University, with the largest undergraduate population in the state, has 2,200 workers; and 1,500 people work at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Murfreesboro. Tourism is another major revenue driver for the County. “Tennessee has so many things to see,” says Ketron, who, before assuming the Mayor’s office was a State Senator from 2003-2018. “There’s the Great Smoky Mountains in the far east; and Nashville in Middle Tennessee; and then the Delta Country down in Memphis,” he notes. “Our tourism dollars in Rutherford County rank No. 4 in the state. We have a national battlefield here. And when I was in the State Senate, I passed a bill that created the Whiskey Trail, similar to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, that allowed whiskey distillers to grow. Prior to that, we only had three; now we have 43 in the Whiskey Guild and that creates an opportunity for economic development. They put some money in to create the Whiskey Trail so people can tour. Our vineyards are on the increase and the moonshine is legal.” The County Mayor’s office is responsible for organizing and coordinating County government activities and overseeing its day-to-day operations and the delivery of services to its citizens. Ketron says that the three most important issues facing the County, today, are solid waste, transportation infrastructure, and schools, because, with an average of 96 new people moving into the community, daily, the County RUTHERFORD COUNTY , TENNESSEE pictured above Mayor, Bill Ketron