By Louie Graves
News-Leader staff
The new president of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce looks forward to a year of community service along with traditional events of the chamber.
Optometrist Aaron Tollett is the 79th person to serve as president of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce.
Previous presidents have worked in a judge’s robes and a pharmacist’s smock, but Tollett is the first to wear scrubs to work. His are black, he says, because of the orange and black theme of his business.
He is a 2012 graduate of Nashville High School who spent four years at Arkansas State University and a further four years at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis.
His wife, Lisa, is director of rehab at the Springs of Mine Creek nursing and rehab center. They have a son, Rhett, 2, and are expecting a daughter in July.
Tollett’s brother Tyler is a pharmacist, and his business is located two blocks north on Main Street.
The new chamber president says he will continue the chamber’s notable projects such as the Peach Blossom Festival and Stand Up for America.
New will be a project connected with the Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024. The chamber is pairing with the City of Nashville to promote a “Fun Glow Run” at dark in the city park.
Other than that, he says the chamber hopes to continue serving residents, businesses and industry in the community. A part of that will be a salute to longtime Husqvarna employees during the chamber’s annual awards banquet.
The all-male tradition of chamber presidents was ended in 1997 with the election of Deb Kinkade. She served a term, then a year later she stepped in to fill the vacancy when a vacancy was created by the serving president moving from town.
Although the chamber was organized here in 1921, there were apparently some years in which it was inactive. Photos of past presidents line a wall in the back room of the chamber’s office on Main Street.
The new president says he thinks a trend has begun with young people anxious to get involved in community service such as the chamber.
Presidents and their years include:
1921-24 Bert Johnson
1925-30 George E. Bell
1931 Bert Johnson
1938-39 Glen Wallace
1940-41 Rex Ramsay
1942 Cecil Callaham
1944 Forest Wilson
1945 R.M. Stuart
1946 Bob McClure
1947 Boyd Tackett, H.A. Firmin
1948 Nathan Coulter
1949 Dave Ryan
1950 Hearn Latimer
1953 Frank Elder
1954 Louis “Swampy” Graves
1955 Bobby Steel
1956 Ralph Wilson
1957 Jack Rorex
1960 Jay Toland
1961 Deward Sharp
1962 Lester Stueart
1963 Neely Cassady
1964 Don Coulter
1965 Bernie Kreul
1966 David Pile
1967 Edgar McCrary
1968 Pat Honeycutt
1969 Al Backus
1970 Ralph Wilson
1971 Ronny Blakely
1972 James Chandler
1973 Dale Hamilton
1974 Edwin Dale
1975 Bruce Anthony
1976 Joe Branch
1977 Pete Gathright
1978 David Boden, Roy Reaves
1979 David Pile
1980 Kenneth Wilson
1981 Louie Graves
1982 Price Kreul
1983 Rick Castleberry
1984 Herschell Teague
1985-86 Mike Reese
1987 Larry Teague
1988 Dennis McBride
1989 Wendell Hoover
1990 Jerry Jacobs
1991 Sammie Cox
1992 Don Cooley
1993 Greg Tate
1994 Mike Kinkade
1995 Rob Hainen
1996 Donnie Parrish
1997 Deb Kinkade
1998 Roger Cox
1999 Roger Cox, Deb Kinkade
2000 Price Kreul
2001 Sheila Kreul
2002 Floyd Clark, Jr.
2003 Don White, Sr.
2004 Tina Chism
2005 Ronny Woods
2006 Earl Sanders
2007 Cary Lott
2008 Charlie Peek
2009 John Gray
2010 Rusty Hagler
2011 Dena Tollett
2012 Tim Pinkerton
2013 Wendy Haddan
2014 Mary Woodruff
2015 Ouida Terrell
2016 Noelle Couch
2017 Will Martin
2018 Bill Craig
2019 Tammy Gibson
2020 Loren Hinton
2021 Mark Dale
2022 Carlos Martinez
2023 Michelle Boone
2024 Aaron Tollett
