By Bruce Dobie
August 01, 2006

Some two decades ago, Eddie Jones slipped his cigarettes into his coat pocket and turned out the lights to his Chamber offices for the last time. As the business organization’s longtime leader, Jones wanted to pursue other opportunities, including run for mayor. Watching him leave, many remarked Jones could never be replaced. They weren’t just being nostalgic; they were right.

Equally at home with the city’s moneyed classes as with the rougher underworlds across the river, Jones played the roles of diplomat, henchman, peacemaker, public relations impresario, and political strategist. In ways both magical and mysterious, he comfortably dispensed with the aims of the business community. His portfolio also included running Watauga, the city’s ultra-secret group of businessmen who were always up to something. In whatever he did, Jones rarely left fingerprints.

By the time Jones departed, the city had begun a slow and inexorable march into something more democratic and transparent. If Jones had to make five or six calls to the city’s decision makers to get the ball rolling, his successors had to make 100. The Chamber was having to readapt to a different Nashville, one roiled by increasing immigration, a more decentralized power base, and the sales of locally owned businesses. Watauga was fading out of existence; a Yankee (Phil Bredesen) was considering a mayoral bid. Would Martians be landing soon?

There were certainly ups and downs to this transformation. Jones was barely out the door when the Chamber hallways fell into a power vacuum. Soon, there was a power grab. As the dust was settling, the first director post-Jones — an intelligent and visionary victim named Keel Hunt — was shown the door.

The next director, Mike Rollins, was a shy fellow whose name recognition in the city never budged in the 12 years he was here. Rollins nevertheless tried to open up the Chamber to allow for new voices, pushed a vision for a strong downtown, and brought in his share of relocating businesses. If an introvert, he had the right idea.

Then, in a total about-face, the Chamber hired Mike Neal, a gregarious, back-slapping, and content-free executive. Upon introducing himself, Neal would often describe himself as a redneck from Louisiana, thinking that fit nicely in the city that gave the world Hee Haw. How little he knew.

Neal has announced he is moving to Tulsa.

For the next several months, Nashville will try to find a new leader for our Chamber. What should we want?

A new Chamber leader needs to understand the people, culture, institutions, character and power structure of the city. A new leader must have an ability to build public consensus through both public and private channels. A new leader should be able to develop an agenda that is both good for Chamber member businesses and for the city. After all, what’s good for the city should be good for our businesses.

But before we start the interviews, it would be nice to figure out how we’re going to get it right this time.