2018 Republican candidate for Governor and longtime Knoxville entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist Randy Boyd visited DeKalb County Tuesday morning stopping in at Angie’s Diner where he talked issues with a small group of people around a breakfast table.
Boyd, former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, told WJLE that he has been in all 95 counties and has returned to most of them since starting his campaign for Governor.
“In that job (commissioner), I visited all 95 counties. We either gave grants or brought jobs to pretty much every community across the state. Being commissioner also taught me how to sell our state and how to recruit businesses to our state. In my two years as commissioner I managed to bring 50,000 new job commitments to our state. I know something about the people and about bringing jobs to the people in our state,” said Boyd.
As he travels the state, Boyd said he wants to find out first hand what’s on the minds of Tennesseans.
“I have been to over 80 counties already since I started campaigning about four months ago but I consider myself right now in governor training school and the best way to learn to be the next governor is to visit communities and to listen,” he said.
Boyd said one of his goals as governor is to help bring economic prosperity to areas which are still struggling.
“I was chairman of the Rural Task Force. The focus there was on helping our rural communities succeed. Even though this is the best time in the state of Tennessee’s history (overall), it’s not for a lot of our rural communities. We want to come back and make sure that our rural communities have the same opportunities for success that other places do”.
Asked why voters should choose him over other candidates running for governor, Boyd said its because he is a conservative businessman.
“I don’t believe there is anyone more conservative than a small businessman. When you struggle to create a business, you know what it means to be conservative. I am not a professional politician. I am a business person and an entrepreneur. I started my own business so I know what it means to be innovative and to start a company. I know what it means to make a payroll but I have also had some public service experience. As the governor’s special advisor on higher education, I created the Tennessee Promise that sends every kid to technical and community college for free and as commissioner I managed to recruit 50,000 new jobs to our state so I think you get the best of both. You get somebody who is not a politician but one who knows how to create jobs in the private sector and who also knows how government works to get something done once in office.
Boyd announced Monday that his first campaign finance report will show his campaign collected more than $4.3 million in total contributions from donors in all 95 Tennessee counties in just four short months of campaigning.
A successful entrepreneur, business and philanthropic leader, Boyd is the founder and chairman of Radio Systems Corporation, which is headquartered in Knoxville. First started out of the back of Boyd’s van, the company today produces over 4,600 pet products under brand names such as Invisible Fence, PetSafe, and SportDOG, with more than 700 employees in 7 countries and annual revenues of $400 million.
Boyd previously served in Governor Bill Haslam’s cabinet as the state Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, and earlier while serving as the Governor’s Special Advisor on Higher Education was the architect of the state’s Drive to 55 workforce development initiative, and the tnAchieves and Tennessee Promise scholarship programs to help more young people go to technical or community college tuition-free.
Boyd is also owner of Boyd Sports LLC, owner of the Tennessee Smokies Baseball team, the AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, and the Johnson City Cardinals, a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Boyd and his wife Jenny have been married for 32 years and have two children, Harrison and Thomas, a daughter-in-law Lindsey, and a beloved dog, Oskar. They reside in Knoxville and are members of Erin Presbyterian Church.
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