Mitt Romney Announces Tennessee Finance
Leadership Team
Boston, MA -- Mitt Romney
announced today that well-known Tennessee leaders and national
Republican fundraisers Ted Welch and Jim Haslam will lead fundraising
efforts as state chairs for his presidential campaign in the state.
Romney said Haslam and Welch will be joined by a group of other top
Republican fundraisers who will serve as State Co-Chairs for Romney’s
presidential campaign in Tennessee.
That leadership team includes: Brad Martin, former chairman and CEO of
Saks, Inc., from Memphis; Orrin Ingram, President and CEO of Ingram
Industries, Inc., from Nashville; Joe Davenport, president of Porter
Management Company, from Chattanooga; and Jimmy Haslam, president and
CEO of Pilot/Flying J, from Knoxville.
“No one has done more to provide resources necessary to build a strong
Republican party in Tennessee, and to help elect so many of our
nation’s top leaders than Jim Haslam and Ted Welch,” said Mitt Romney.
“And when you have behind you those who helped elect Bill Haslam, Lamar
Alexander, Bob Corker, Howard Baker and Bill Frist, as well as
President Reagan, and both Presidents Bush, you can’t do any better
than that. So I am deeply honored and thankful to have their full
and active support.”
State Vice Co-Chairs heading up the regional efforts include:
Randy Boyd, founder, chairman and CEO of Radio Systems Corp., from
Knoxville; Jerry Sink, senior vice president of CBL &
Associates, from Chattanooga; Bob Rolfe, managing partner of West
End Holdings, LLC, from Nashville; and Todd Watson, with Armstrong
Relocation in Memphis.
The Romney campaign said even more finance leaders will be announced as
fundraising events are scheduled and the campaign progresses across the
state.
Background
on Jim Haslam and Ted Welch:
Knoxville Business And Philanthropic
Leader James A. “Jim” Haslam II Is The Founder And Chairman Of Pilot
Corporation. The father of current Tennessee Governor
Bill Haslam, Jim Haslam has chaired successful Tennessee fundraising
campaigns for Howard Baker, Lamar Alexander, Bill Frist and many
others. In 2000 and 2004, he was a “Super Ranger” which consisted
of finance leaders nationally for the presidential campaign of George
W. Bush. Nashville Business Leader And Real
Estate Developer Ted Welch Has A Long And Successful Career In Raising
Money For Republican Campaigns And Conservative Causes. He
is a former National Finance Chairman of both the Republican National
Committee, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He
has also chaired fundraising efforts for former U.S. Senator and
presidential candidate Howard Baker; current U.S. Senator, former
Governor and presidential candidate Lamar Alexander; and he served as
the national and regional finance chairman for the Bush/Quayle
presidential campaigns in 1988 and 1992.