Remembering Franklin Smith

Remembering Franklin Smith

West Tennessee is home to one less statesman and friend because former Haywood County Mayor Franklin Smith passed away on Monday, April 24. In addition to serving as a Chairman of the Board for the SWTDD Executive Committee and a myriad of other roles in this region, Franklin should always be remembered as a champion of the Megasite -- the place that will soon be home to a bustling BlueOval City and many thousand high quality jobs and careers benefitting all the citizens in this region.

Though it couldn't be readily found an online, one way that Franklin kept the Megasite on the State of Tennessee's front burner was by supporting the re-election campaign of former Governor Bill Haslam. A definite Democrat, Franklin climbed aboard a bulldozer on the Megasite land and recorded a commercial supporting Republican Governor Haslam in his successful bid for a second term at Tennessee's helm -- because Governor Haslam promised to keep the Megasite a priority. Because Franklin, and a lot of other leaders, were willing to do what was required to keep West Tennessee's Megasite relevant, the region can now celebrating the forever impact jobs will bring to our quality of life for all those who live in West Tennessee.