"Building a Legacy of Service before Self" presented by Bill Sansom, Chairman and CEO of H.T. Hackney Co.

"When you have an opportunity to build it, you build it right." -Bill Sansom

Time is precious. Already, you probably have considered to what purposes you will invest your time in 2015. These decisions define us and those in our wake for better or worse. For Bill Sansom, who runs H.T. Hackney Co. and is responsible for shaping Tennessee and Knoxville for over 30 years in countless ways, the decision is simple. Sansom will give his time to serving and helping. As his friend and former boss Lamar Alexander said, "He's one of the most private public-spirited people I know."

Founded in 1891, H.T. Hackney Co. has been known for its century-old tradition of honorable dealing, insistence on integrity and reliability. Since taking the helm in 1983, Bill Sansom has built H.T. Hackney to be not only the largest private company in Knoxville (#109 in America according to Forbes) but also community conscious, proud of its roots, and motivated foremost to do a good job. With $4 billion in revenue, Hackney now employs 3,800 people and distributes 30,000 different products to over 20,000 retail locations in 20 states with trading partners, including General Mills, Kraft, Valvoline, Procter & Gamble, and Kellogg's.

In addition to his business success, he served our state as Commissioner of Transportation, Commissioner of Finance and Administration for Tennessee early in his career and later as Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Perhaps his greatest contribution in the public arena to date would be creating the right conditions for TVA to be more responsive and fiscally sound.

Join us on January 9, as we count the cost of what it means to build a legacy of service before self with one of Knoxville's most prominent businessmen. Bill will talk about his company, why he went into state government, community responsibility, his faith, and stewardship of time and talents.

Meet Our Speaker: Bill Sansom

William B. Sansom became the chairman and chief executive officer of the H.T. Hackney Co. in May, 1983.  Hackney is a diversified company involved in wholesale grocery, including a potato chip company, gas and oil, and furniture manufacturing.

Bill is a native of Johnson City and graduated from West High School in Knoxville.  After high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and then attended The Citadel where he received a degree in Civil Engineering.

He joined American Limestone Company in 1964 as an engineer, then in 1974 served as president of American Limestone until being named as Commissioner of Transportation for the state of Tennessee in 1979.  In July of 1981, Sansom was named as Tennessee’s Commissioner of Finance and Administration.  In 1983, he left state government to become chairman and chief executive officer of Hackney.  Hackney does business in 20 states with 3800 employees. 

Bill has been active in many organizations.  He was president of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Knoxville Community Development Corporation, president of Tennessee Business Roundtable, president of the Boy Scout’s Great Smoky Mountain Council and served for many years on the board of the Knoxville Zoo.  He has served as president of The Citadel Development Foundation and as a board member at Maryville College, Wake Forest University, and The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees for 16 years.  He has been on the board of the Oak Ridge National Lab, National-American Wholesale Grocers’ Association and the National Crushed Stone Association.

Sansom currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, having recently served as Chairman.  He continues to also serve on several additional boards, including two public corporations, Astec Industries and Mid-America Apartment Communities.  He is recently retired from First Horizon Corporation Board, and is a past member of the Martin Marietta Materials Board.

Bill and his wife, Elisabeth, are very active in their community and church, Cedar Springs Presbyterian.  They have a daughter, Kathryn, who has four children and lives in Knoxville with her husband, Tommy Eggleston.

Coffee, light breakfast, and TLC served.