Lipscomb’s “now that you ask…” series ended with dialogue from a member of the same family that the series started with earlier this semester – the Haslam family. Gov. Bill Haslam opened up the series, and on Tuesday, April 17, the series ended for the semester with his wife and Tennessee’s First Lady, Crissy Haslam.
The dialogue was moderated by Tom Ingram, leader-in-residence for the Andrews Institue for Civic Leadership at Lipcomb. First Lady Haslam recounted her experiences growing up in Tennessee, being the wife of a mayor and then governor and working to affect change in the communities that she has been a part of.
Mrs.Haslam, who is one of the state’s leading advocates for better education, attended an all girls school growing up. She said benefitted from the school’s format.
“Yes, I enjoyed my time there because you had the opportunity to pursue whatever offices you wanted,” Haslam said. “You didn’t have that distraction of having guys there.”
After high school, Haslam attended Emory University where she majored in finance and marketing. Ingram asked Haslam how her ambitions in college shifted to bring her to her current position as First Lady of Tennessee.
“I had hoped to get a job in busines,s and I pictured myself working my way up in the corporate ladder,” she said. “But none of that really happened; I married Bill at 22 and couldn’t find the job I wanted after college.”
After graduating from Emory and marrying Bill Haslam, the couple moved to Knoxville in 1981. The state’s First Lady says life with a politician caused her to change her ambitions.
“At the time, I didn’t think of it that way,” Haslam said. “In some ways I think I did give my ambitions up, but looking back, I don’t think the ambitions I used to have were right for me.”
Haslam also reflected on her decision to leave the workforce and become a stay-at-home mom.
“It worked for me, but it’s still a hard decision for a lot of women,” Haslam said. “I think we still need to give each other grace and understand that just because we chose something, that doesn’t mean that it’s right for everyone.”
Bill Haslam decided to run for mayor of Knoxville in 2002, and Mrs. Haslam said she was not surprised with her husband’s decision at the time.
“He’d always been so involved in the community,” she said.” I knew he was passionate about Knoxville, and I didn’t think him being mayor would be that big of a change. It wasn’t as big of a change when he became mayor because we didn’t have to move. He did have a higher profile, but I thought the position suited him well.”
Haslam also reflected on her experiences in the local community. Haslam said she takes pride in volunteering, namely for an organization in Knoxville called The Love Kitchen.
The Love Kitchen is a non-profit started by two grandmothers who ran a soup kitchen totally on donated food and volunteer help.
“I took an afternoon bus route once a week to visit with people and deliver food to them,” Haslam said. “I felt like I was really able to connect with people in the time that we visited each week. I think it’s so crucial to put a personal face on a problem, and it makes you feel a lot more confident in the importance of what you do in the board rooms.”
The “now that you ask…” series will continue in the fall 2012 semester. For more information, you can visit leadingvoices.lipscomb.edu