Below is an open letter I have sent to Tennessee’s AT&T President Joelle Phillips regarding Sen. Mike Bell’s (R-Riceville) discriminatory legislation SB2566.

My hope is we will see an effort that was promised us in 2011 and like we are now seeing by AT&T and the Chamber of Commerce in the state of Kansas regarding a similar discriminatory bill.

In the meantime, learn more about what you can do from the Tennessee Equality Project.

——-

Joelle Phillips:

I would like to know where AT&T Tennessee stands on SB2566, a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Bell that would protect the choice of businesses to discriminate against legally married same-sex couples.

AT&T Kansas as well as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce are publicly working against a mirror of this bill in Kansas. You can read about their effort here.

In May 2011, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce expressed regret for pushing discriminatory HB600 after AT&T President Gregg F. Morton and nine other prominent job-creating members stood up and issued public statements of opposition to the Chamber’s bill. AT&T in particular made a promise:

While the timing of the announced change by the Chamber was not ideal, I believe their public statement sent a positive message to show that the business community stands against discrimination. AT&T does not support any laws, or legislative efforts, that discriminate against populations based on race, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and I know businesses across our state similarly oppose any form of discrimination.

That opposition should be clearly reflected by those who represent us in Nashville, and I am confident that this will be the case going forward. I know AT&T will work with NGLCC and other advocacy groups to oppose measures that we believe to be discriminatory against these populations, not only in the state of Tennessee, but also across the nation, and we will encourage the Chamber to adopt similar positions in the future.

You can read Gregg’s statement here. Tennessee Chamber President Deb Woolley’s contract was not renewed following what many viewed as her misuse of prominent national brands in support of discrimination. Will you issue a public statement regarding SB2566 and work against it as promised and as the President of AT&T Kansas and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce are now doing against a similar bill in Kansas?

——

UPDATE 2-18-14 11:45am: AT&T Tennessee President Joelle Phillips has responded saying that AT&T will stand up for their values and join the effort to stop SB2566. AT&T is the first of several major American brands and prominent members of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce to take a stand for equality.

Dear Mr. Grantham,

Thank you for contacting me about this bill. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention, and I appreciate your recognition of AT&T’s past work to speak out on discrimination.

As you noted, AT&T opposes discrimination against people based on race, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

AT&T’s position on discrimination is simple; we oppose it, and we don’t do it. AT&T is contacting members of the general assembly to communicate our concern that the bill conflicts with that position.

Joelle Phillips President – AT&T Tennessee
333 Commerce Street, Suite 2104
Nashville, TN 37201

UPDATE 2-18-14 2:18pm: I’ve reached out to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and other prominent members (Nissan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, KPMG, Embraer, Comcast, FedEx, and Pfizer) asking them to join AT&T and other Tennessee businesses in standing up for equality and fairness and stopping SB2566.

UPDATE 2-18-14 5:46pm: The bill’s Senate Sponsor, Sen. Mike Bell, has withdrawn his bill!

Read more from 2011:

• Why Gov. Bill Haslam should veto HB0600
• An open letter to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce
• A commitment to our better values
• Tennessee Chamber President Deb Woolley’s contract not renewed

Today marks the one year anniversary of Short Mountain Distillery opening its doors to the public and three years since the hard work began to make this day possible.

It was an exciting three years serving an extraordinary team as Chief Operating Officer during this time. I could not have written the business plan or built a distillery around making moonshine without the help of Cannon County voters in 2010. Building a heritage brand image around local moonshine culture would have never been a reality beyond the law change without the commitment and support of Billy Kaufman and his brothers Ben and David.

I recently left the distillery in February to pursue a project I hope helps save the planet, but I thought it was important to take this opportunity to highlight some of the first year successes we achieved as a team. The captioned slideshow below really helps tell this story using hundreds of photos I took. Here’s to many more years of making our whiskey heritage shine to the world from Woodbury, Tennessee!

Short Mountain Distillery’s first year by the numbers:

• we created several local jobs and saw over 15,000 visitors at the distillery in Cannon County
• we launched two products: Short Mountain Shine and Short Mountain Apple Pie
• we sold over 2,500 cases of moonshine now available in stores across the state of Tennessee
• Short Mountain Shine (105 proof authentic Tennessee Moonshine) won the Gold Medal in the International Review of Spirits Award from the Beverage Testing Institute
• we appeared in over 100 media pieces, including a three-part Discovery Channel mini-series How Booze Built America
• we surpassed every industry consultant’s benchmark for success and helped ignite an American moonshine revival

A three part mini series called How Booze Built America will air in a couple weeks on the Discovery Channel and features several folks and locations from the Middle Tennessee area. It’s hosted by Mike Rowe of the popular show Dirty Jobs.

Short Mountain Distillery was the site of a full day of filming back in June. Our upcoming release of Short Mountain Apple Pie Moonshine may or may not make an appearance, but I’m sure the effects will. Mike sat with our three living legends of moonshine at the end of a long day of filming and made sure close to a gallon of it got gone.

Several local Civil War reenactors from the Armies of Tennessee and Dr. Kristofer Ray of APSU will also help add some historic context to the story.

The role booze had in building our country is as evident in today’s recovery from the worst economic recession in American history as it was in our rebellious beginning. As I write some big checks to the federal government on the production and sale of our moonshine, I’m reminded of the role the Whiskey Tax played in paying for America’s Revolutionary War. I’m also reminded how down right pleasant the IRS is these days compared to our founding father George Washington who sent soldiers to make sure the taxes were paid… and how that very decision by our government helped create the illicit heritage of backwoods moonshine production we are only now beginning to revive.

In a couple of weeks, this is the story America will learn again thanks to the awesomeness that is Mike Rowe. Once the promos are posted, I’ll share them here. Several TV guide listings across the country have the first episode appearing at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, but local media reports Sept. 18. There is no information on the Discovery Channel website yet. I’ll post correct times once they are available.

UPDATE 9-12-11: A few more details appear in a newly posted “exclusive” from TV Guide. Discovery’s new three-part series How Booze Built America premiers on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 10/9c.

Discovery Channel issued the following release later this afternoon: Mike Rowe Puts On His Thinking Cap (and Drinking Shoes) in Discovery’s New Three Part Series HOW BOOZE BUILT AMERICA

In HOW BOOZE BUILT AMERICA, Mike Rowe will crisscross the country, stiff drink in hand and beer goggles firmly strapped on, to take an in depth and slightly unusual look at the story of our nation.  Between reenactments of actual historical events, and current day interviews with historians and experts, Rowe will make the case that alcohol is clearly one of the key ingredients that formed our culture and our country.

UPDATE 9-13-12: We posted the promo (above)

Today’s news that the head of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce is out is an opportunity for the state’s business community to choose the kind of leadership that reflects the business values and practices of our state’s very best job creators.

Deb Woolley, president and CEO, has left in accordance with the terms of her contract, effective May 31, according to the chamber. Wayne Scharber, the chamber’s vice president for environment and taxation, will serve as interim president amid the search for a more permanent replacement.

“We are going to build on the Tennessee Chamber’s 100-year track record of success, with new programs and fresh ideas on how better to serve Tennessee businesses and industries,” Bill Ozier, chairman of the chamber’s board, said in a statement.

In May of last year, Chamber leadership under President Deb Woolley came into question by state business leaders in multiple press releases from members like Alcoa, Nissan, FedEx, Comcast, AT&T, Embraer, KPMG, and UnitedHealth. The questions followed the Chamber’s promotion of HB600, a bill championed by back-benched politicians and lobbyists seeking to stop cities and municipalities from implementing the kind of nondiscrimination policies that separate the nation’s very best businesses from the mediocre. The bill embarrassed the state with national news portraying the bill and those promoting it for exactly what they are.

As the Chamber seeks the kind of leadership our state deserves, I hope it considers the important questions that were asked by business leaders, including Short Mountain Distillery in an open letter published in May 2011:

My concern is how the very best brands and job creating members were represented by the Chamber. What assurances do other businesses have that Chamber leadership will adequately represent the values of its best members? What can the Chamber do to ensure the values of the Chamber’s most valued brands wont be co-opted by personal political agendas causing members to issue embarrassing press releases to create distance from Chamber mistakes?

Today’s news hopefully begins answering these questions. Tennessee’s business community deserves leadership that lifts our state up as an example, not one that embarrasses our Governor and our state’s best business leaders with the values of our very worst politicians.

Homemade moonshine is often proofed by “checking the bead,” shaking it to see the size and duration of bubbles.

Most people around the world know Tennessee for two things: country music and whiskey. They kinda go together if you think about it. Since a change in state law allowed more distilleries, whiskey’s spirited cousin promises to put Tennessee moonshine on the global map.

Ole Smoky plans to open second distillery
Ole Smoky Distillery, a Tennessee-based moonshine distillery, plans to expand operations and open its second distillery in the Smoky Mountain town to meet the demand for its products. Ole Smoky co-owner Joe Baker said he and Chuck Edwards have purchased Legends Restaurant on the downtown Parkway and will make different spirits at that site.

More moonshine distilleries in the planning stages:

‘Full Throttle Saloon’ TV star plans to open distillery in Trimble
Ballard, the star of the wildly popular reality series “Full Throttle Saloon” on the truTV network and successful business owner, received permission from the Trimble Board of Mayor and Aldermen to open a 9,000-square-foot moonshine distillery at the eastern end of South Main Street, where a cotton gin once stood.

Tennessee has a few moonshines on the market in addition to Ole Smoky. Collier and McKeel’s White Dog is a traditional sour mash recipe of corn, rye and malted barley used to make their aged Tennessee Whiskey. Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee White Whiskey uses a recipe of a third generation Moonshiner that lived and distilled his moonshine whiskey in Cocke County. Corsair offers Wry Moon Unaged Kentucky Whiskey and Pumpkin Spice Moonshine and Prichard’s Distillery produces Lincoln County Lightning Whiskey.

At Short Mountain Distillery, we just received federal label approval for our first moonshine: Short Mountain Shine, a 105 proof authentic Tennessee moonshine. It’s made using a family recipe handed down for generations made with organic corn and spring water from our farm.

Bobby Self brought his combine and a couple of friends to the farm today and helped us shell about 300 bushels of our first organic corn. He had already finished his harvest, and like most neighbors he wanted to do what he could to help us get our first batches of whiskey and moonshine going at Short Mountain Distillery.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not humbled by how much people are connecting with what we’re doing on Short Mountain. They want to help because they want to see our country get back to work. They know we’ve gone out of our way to make sure our equipment was made by our friends and neighbors right here at home. They see our shared values and our determination in action. Most importantly, they see America’s story.

I want to invite you to connect with a growing community of neighbors and friends who are ready to help export to the world a genuine taste of Tennessee’s rich agricultural heritage. Join us on Facebook and be a part of our shared dreams and aspirations at Short Mountain Distillery.

We received a very nice reply from AT&T’s State President Gregg F. Morton to our letter to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce this morning and got permission to share a portion of it with you.

We have yet to hear from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce member services regarding our concerns as a prospective member.

Below is the kind of commitment we look forward to seeing in action as Sen. Jim Kyle demonstrates an equal commitment to Tennessee’s strongest business values by filing a repeal of HB600.

While the timing of the announced change by the Chamber was not ideal, I believe their public statement sent a positive message to show that the business community stands against discrimination. AT&T does not support any laws, or legislative efforts, that discriminate against populations based on race, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and I know businesses across our state similarly oppose any form of discrimination.

That opposition should be clearly reflected by those who represent us in Nashville, and I am confident that this will be the case going forward. I know AT&T will work with NGLCC and other advocacy groups to oppose measures that we believe to be discriminatory against these populations, not only in the state of Tennessee, but also across the nation, and we will encourage the Chamber to adopt similar positions in the future.

The Tennessee Chamber’s most prominent job creators FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer and United HealthCare all have since expressed far better values than those misrepresented by the Tennessee GOP in HB0600.

Also Read:

• Why Gov. Bill Haslam should veto HB0600
• An open letter to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce
• A commitment to our better values
• Tennessee Chamber President Deb Woolley’s contract not renewed

The following open letter was sent this morning to membership development and Board of Director members of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce from prospective member Short Mountain Distillery. Our letter repeats concerns posted publicly by Alcoa, Nissan, FedEx, Comcast, AT&T, Embraer, KPMG, UnitedHealth and other prominent business leaders.

As a small business owner in Tennessee, I’m very interested in what the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce can offer us as members. However, recent events involving your president, Deb Woolley, are a cause of great concern.

I’m referring to the Chamber actively lobbying Tennessee lawmakers for legislation (HB600) that does not represent the values and business practices of the Chamber’s very best known brands and job creators.

Since Friday, several of these members, including Alcoa, Nissan, FedEx, Comcast, AT&T, Embraer, KPMG, and UnitedHealth, learned of the Chamber’s support of HB600. Within weekend hours, these business leaders issued statements distancing their successful brands from the Chamber’s misrepresentation of their values to lawmakers, our governor and the voters of Tennessee. It should have been as immediately clear to Chamber President Deb Woolley that this legislation was bad for business.

Once these brands reiterated their strong and successful values in public opposition to the Chamber’s actions, Mrs. Woolley blamed activists for the united actions of the Chamber’s best members and then issued a statement of opposition to the legislation after Gov. Bill Haslam had already signed the bill.

My concern is how the very best brands and job creating members were represented by the Chamber. What assurances do other businesses have that Chamber leadership will adequately represent the values of its best members? What can the Chamber do to ensure the values of the Chamber’s most valued brands wont be co-opted by personal political agendas causing members to issue embarrassing press releases to create distance from Chamber mistakes?

The Chamber benefits from diverse membership and leadership that stands for the values that make its best members as successful as they are. I appreciate your understanding and any effort you make to address these concerns.

Sincerely,

Billy Kaufman, CEO
Short Mountain Distillery

http://shortmountaindistillery.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Short_Mountain
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ShortMountain
YouTube: http://youtube.com/user/shortmountainshine

Also Read:

• Why Gov. Bill Haslam should veto HB0600
• An open letter to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce
• A commitment to our better values
• Tennessee Chamber President Deb Woolley’s contract not renewed
• Learn more about Short Mountain Distillery’s core value in The Golden Rule: the foundational strength of an American brand.

Rep. Glen Casada was the Tea Party pick for House Speaker to lead their divisive charge through Tennessee government, but the state’s Republican Party wisely chose their best leader instead by electing the first female Speaker of the House in state history.

There is a reason Rep. Casada’s own party didn’t entrust him with that power, and it’s the same reason Gov. Bill Haslam should veto HB0600.

Republicans ran on a jobs agenda, but the video above clearly shows where jobs falls on the agenda of Rep. Glen Casada and how much time his politics takes away from serious issues. This session proved that point yet again to the voters of Tennessee.

Rep. Casada was so desperate to stop Nashville’s local city government from extending work place protections to its citizens that Casada convinced lawmakers that Tennessee’s most respected job creators wanted to defeat such protections as well.

Rep. Casada worked with friends at the TN Chamber of Commerce who willingly borrowed the prestige of some of their most innovative and successful brands creating jobs in districts across the state: FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer and United HealthCare.

But there was just one problem with that. As these brands are just now finding out this week, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce misappropriated and misrepresented their values to lawmakers, the governor and the voters of Tennessee. Here’s some of the statements released in the past few days:

Alcoa:

“Alcoa provides equal employment opportunity without discrimination and supports state and local legislation protecting the rights of all community members. We do not agree with the chamber on this issue and would ask that the governor veto the bill.“

FedEx:

FedEx did not lobby for SB632/HB600 – it is our policy not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. While FedEx is a member of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, we do not support every position proposed by the Chamber.

Nissan:

HB600/SB632 has become more closely associated with eroding civil liberties than fostering a strong business climate and this we do not support.

This is the kind of politics Rep. Glen Casada engages in. It’s the only kind of politics that makes good business distance itself from Tennessee, and it’s all that’s left for politicians who give up on serving their people.

Governor Haslam, don’t be the kind of governor that lifts up this kind of politics. Be Tennessee’s governor, and tell the legislature to focus on your jobs agenda by vetoing HB0600.

TAKE ACTION: use the following form to send a message to members of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.

UPDATE 5-23-11 12:34pm: KPMG is now the latest major job creator in Tennessee to join Alcoa, Nissan, FedEx and AT&T in calling out the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce’s misuse of their brands. Tell Gov. Bill Haslam to embrace the pro-business politics of our state’s very best job creators and stop legislative efforts to push them away.

KPMG did not vote to support the Chamber’s adoption of a policy to back this bill, nor do we support the legislation, the effect of which runs counter to KPMG’s policies, core values and our long-standing support for diversity in the workplace in all its forms. KPMG fosters an environment of inclusion and we encourage our employees to share their views, sexual orientation and gender identity, broadening everyone’s awareness of individual differences. We are proud of our record and the fact that Diversity Inc recently named KPMG the top firm for LGBT employees.

UPDATE 5-23-11 2:08pm: UnitedHealth is the latest job creator in Tennessee to distance itself from the TN Chamber of Commerce in an expression of their much better values:

UnitedHealth Group believes in recruiting and retaining a workforce that mirrors the multicultural communities we serve. A mix of different backgrounds and perspectives helps us develop strong products and programs our customers need. As part of that commitment, UnitedHealth Group supports and offers domestic partner benefits. We did not lobby for nor support Tennessee SB632/HB600.

UPDATE 5-23-11 4:00pm: Comcast issues statement opposing this law saying it “sends the wrong signal across Tennessee and around the country”

At Comcast, we believe it’s simple: discrimination is wrong. Our policy of non-discrimination provides the same protections to all our employees, whether in Tennessee or any other state. Consistent with that, we don’t support Tennessee SB632/HB600. Comcast agrees with the NGLCC, “No one should be judged by his or her sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace. In this delicate economic climate, diminishing the rights of LGBT people sends the wrong signal across Tennessee and around the country.”

UPDATE 5-23-11 4:29pm: Whirlpool joins Tennessee’s most successful companies in opposing HB600 and the values expressed by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.

Whirlpool Corporation opposes this legislation, which runs counter to our core values of diversity and inclusion. We are reaching out to the Governor’s office and the Chamber to inform them of our position.

UPDATE 5-23-11 5:27pm: Embraer “does not support the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce’s position.” Governor Haslam, let’s stand with the very best industries in Tennessee.

While we are members of the Chamber of Commerce, Embraer has not lobbied for the SB632/HB600 and does not support the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce’s position on this or any initiative that limits the principle of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

UPDATE 5-23-11 6:00pm: Gov. Bill Haslam has signed HB600, siding with a divisive political agenda over the pro-business values and policies of Tennessee’s best job creators. Gov. Haslam has chosen to lift a brand of politics in Tennessee that good businesses and the nation’s best job creators vocally oppose.

UPDATE 5-23-11 6:30pm: TN Chamber of Commerce President Deb Woolley issued the following statement well after the consequences of her decision to lobby against pro-business values and policies of Tennessee’s most successful employers. Woolley could have called the Governor herself and told him not to sign. She didn’t. The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce deserves a caliber of leadership that best represents the values and successful business practices of its very best members and job creators.

The Tennessee Chamber supports a standard regulatory environment at the state level as opposed to potentially conflicting local regulations covering employment practices. That principle was the only interest the Chamber had in this bill. Because HB600/SB632 has turned into a debate on diversity and inclusiveness—principles which we support—we are now officially opposing this legislation in its present form.

Adopted unanimously May 23, 2011

DEB WOOLLEY, PRESIDENT
TENNESSEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Also Read:

• Why Gov. Bill Haslam should veto HB0600
• An open letter to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce
• A commitment to our better values
• Tennessee Chamber President Deb Woolley’s contract not renewed