Bill and Crissy Haslam
Bill Haslam is the former governor of the State of Tennessee. First elected in 2010, he was re-elected in 2014 with the largest victory in modern Tennessee history.
Under his leadership, Tennessee became recognized as a national leader in education, economic development, efficient and effective government, and fiscal strength.
During his two terms as governor, Tennessee students were the fastest improving in the country in academic achievement and high school graduation rates reached an all-time high. Tennessee became the first state in the nation to offer high school graduates and adults two years of community or technical college free of mandatory tuition and fees as part of the governor’s Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs.
Approximately 450,000 private sector jobs were created during his time in office, and Tennessee’s unemployment rate reached the lowest level recorded in state history.
Haslam proposed and implemented significant legislative initiatives, including working with the Tennessee General Assembly to simultaneously pass the largest tax cut in Tennessee history and improve the state’s transportation infrastructure. His administration right-sized state government while building a customer-centric approach, cut more than $575 million in recurring spending, balanced the budget every year, more than tripled the state’s savings account and helped the state earn a AAA bond rating.
In 2003, Haslam ran successfully for mayor of Knoxville and was re-elected in 2007. As mayor, he balanced eight consecutive city budgets, tripled the Rainy Day Fund, focused city government on providing services in an efficient manner, helped found key education initiatives and recruited and retained thousands of jobs to Knoxville.
Since leaving public office, Haslam has returned to the private sector and continues to be engaged on many local and national issues. He is currently the chair of the Young Life board of trustees and serves on the national board of directors for Teach for America. He was a lecturer at Vanderbilt University during the fall 2019 semester.
Haslam and his wife, Crissy, have been married for 38 years and are blessed with three children and nine grandchildren.
Crissy Haslam
Crissy Haslam is the former First Lady of the State of Tennessee.
Her priorities as First Lady focused on encouraging parent engagement in education and reading proficiency for children. She delivered this message through the First Lady’s READ20 Book Club, encouraging families to read together for 20 minutes each day. Crissy also created the READ20 Book Patrol, a partnership with law enforcement across the state to provide books to children in low-income communities. She also frequently traveled the state with the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation in support of Tennessee’s Imagination Library.
In addition, Crissy was a champion of several other children’s causes in the state, including the TNFosters campaign and Building Strong Brains: The Tennessee ACEs Initiative. She co-chaired the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet. Crissy has been recognized by numerous organizations for her work on children’s issues and other public service.
Since returning to Knoxville, Crissy has remained engaged in local and statewide initiatives and currently serves on the board of directors for The University of Tennessee Medical Center, Dollywood Foundation, Tennessee Kids Belong, Knoxville Education Foundation and Redeemer City to City.