Ron Harr, president- and CEO-elect of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, has been here for many of the city’s big moments. He was here in 1969, when broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite called Chattanooga “the dirtiest city in America.” He was here in 1992, when the world’s largest fresh water aquarium opened its doors. And he was here in 2008, when Volkswagen announced it would be coming to the city.
“I saw Chattanooga when you had to turn on your headlights to drive down Broad Street in the middle of the day because of the pollution. And I saw the metamorphosis,” Harr says.
Each of those events shook the ground under Chattanooga and helped to define the city. Cronkite’s remark lit a fire beneath the feet of Chattanooga’s leaders; the Tennessee Aquarium put the Scenic City on the national map; and the VW announcement gave a town that was feeling the effects of a global economic crisis hope. Later, when the automaker launched operations in the city, it converted that hope into paychecks.
Big moments, all of them, and Harr’s soon-to-be-predecessor, Tom Edd Wilson, led the effort to make the last one a reality. But Harr is not feeling pressured to top the previous act. Rather, he’s looking forward to placing lots of smaller moments on top of the foundation Wilson and his team of about three dozen professionals at the Chamber laid.
“We send out announcements every day about ribbon cuttings. Each of those smaller moments are like bricks in a wall we’re building one brick at a time,” Harr says.
Under Wilson’s decade-long leadership, the Chamber worked aggressively to make Chattanooga a business-friendly environment. His staff labored to ensure the laws and the local infrastructure lined up with what businesses needed to operate, courted companies such as Alstom and Amazon, and then took care of those companies once they made the Scenic City home.
“The Chamber is not just about getting companies to move here. Upstairs, there are binders on a wall containing agreements we’ve made as a community with VW, and on which we must follow through,” Harr says.
The Chamber and the people of Chattanooga appear to be making good on their word. Amazon’s Chattanooga Fulfillment Center in 2011 set a company record for the number of transactions in a single year for a new facility. And VW is making Motor Trend’s 2012 Car of the Year - the Passat.
“We’re not only luring companies here; once they’re here, they’re successful. That’s the message we want to get out there,” Harr says.
The Chamber’s work with local schools has also helped to turn Chattanooga into a city in which business would want to set up operations. The goal on that front is to produce a well-trained labor force that’s ready to meet the demands of local employers. A program called Schools to Work provides students at different milestones in their education with training in business-related skills. And volunteers are going into schools and teaching young people how to interview for jobs.
“We have great schools, but people would leave and then never come back. I see that changing. My daughter’s friends are coming back, and my daughters would like to live here, too,” Harr says.
With things going well, Harr sees no reason to rock the boat. Instead, through his leadership, he hopes to maintain the course Wilson and the rest of the team have established.
“Tom was an agent of change. He changed the Chamber in significant ways by focusing on job recruitment and development, and by raising the money required to do that effectively. I am not an agent of change. And no big changes are necessary. Tom and his team have built up a great head of steam, and we’re going to follow through. The mission of this organization will continue to be bringing great jobs to this community,” Harr says.
Harr does have a few new objectives in mind. For one, he’d like the Chamber to figure out a way to package the city’s outdoor amenities with the benefits of having the speediest Internet in America, and in so doing, turn Chattanooga into a Silicon Valley of the East. But he says the city has only a small window of opportunity to make this happen.
“Our advantage of having the fastest broadband in the country is not going to last. Other communities are working hard to catch up. So, we need to take advantage of that while we can.”
Harr would also like the Chamber to look into creating even more opportunities for young entrepreneurs in Chattanooga.
Although Harr has the benefit of riding the momentum Wilson and his team have created, the task ahead of him is not easy. But as a former executive of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, his work history suggests he’s up for the challenge. Following stints early in his career in management and as an executive at BellSouth Telecommunications and other companies, Harr joined BlueCross BlueShield in 1995 as communications officer. In 2002, he became the CEO of the company’s Tenncare business, and five years later, he took over its human resources department. Harr retired from BCBS in 2011.
Moreover, Harr has paid his dues with the Chamber, most recently as chair of the board that oversees the business association. However, he says this affords him no special advantage. “There’s a big difference between coming in once a month for a board meeting and coming to the office every day. I have a lot to learn.”
Harr also currently chairs Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chattanooga and serves on the Board of Visitors for the University of Tennessee College of Communications and Information. Harr was the Susan B. Komen “Pink Tie Guy” in 2011.
As a local resident, Harr plans to continue to take advantage of the opportunities for recreation Chattanooga offers, such as its water and its scenic beauty.
“I maintain a boat. I love to take it through the lock and come downtown to Riverbend. It’s like having my own hotel room on the river. I am a little weird, though, in that I have a sailboat. I’m a little ADD, so I like to have ropes to pull.
“Water is a huge advantage of Chattanooga’s. Everyone would love to have our water,” he says.
Harr also loves photography, and calls Chattanooga “a great place” to take pictures.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and McCallie School, Harr is married and has two daughters, both of whom are grown and gone. “I’ll know I’ve been successful if there are jobs for my children in Chattanooga, and they want to live and work here,” he says.
Given what Chattanooga has accomplished since the day Cronkite made his infamous statement about the city, Harr believes that will come to pass.
“Look at what we’ve accomplished. Our ability to turn Chattanooga around is one of the great things about living here. When I first moved here, people didn’t know where Chattanooga was or even how to spell it. That’s not the case anymore. People are calling us. This is an exciting time for the city.”