TENNESSEE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE HONORS BOYD FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Business Roundtable has recognized Knoxville entrepreneur Randy Boyd with its top award for civic engagement.
Boyd, chairman of Radio Systems Corp., received the Roundtable’s “Gordon Fee Leadership in Education Award” for his support of public education in the Volunteer State.
“We give this award from time to time to business leaders who have made significant contributions to improving public education in Tennessee,” said Charlie Howorth, executive director of the Tennessee Business Roundtable. “In 2014, we can think of no member of the statewide business community who’s more worthy of this honor than Randy Boyd.”
Boyd is the founder of tnAchieves, a nonprofit initiative that has provided last-dollar scholarships with mentor guidance to more than 3,200 high school graduates attending community college. He has spent more than a year as a full-time, unpaid special advisor on higher education to Governor Bill Haslam. In that role, he emerged as a leading architect of Haslam’s Tennessee Promise initiative to provide graduating high school seniors tuition-free access to community colleges and colleges of applied technology.
“I’m pleased to see Randy’s commitment to postsecondary access and success recognized by the Roundtable and other organizations that care about the future of public education in our state. Our entire state is benefitting from his leadership and vision,” Governor Haslam said.
Boyd is a member of Junior Achievement’s East Tennessee Hall of Fame. He previously was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southeast.
The Roundtable’s Leadership in Education Award is named for Gordon Fee, who has formerly held such positions as plant manager of the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge and President of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. Mr. Fee is a longtime Roundtable member and champion for public education.
The Tennessee Business Roundtable is the statewide organization of CEOs and business leaders committed to promoting sound public policies, especially in the areas of education and workforce development.
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