Justin Tanner, Regional Mortgage Sales Manager at Wilson Bank & Trust
Interview by Brad Durham
Why are you in McMinnville?
I grew up here and went away to college at UT-K. Did not think I would move back here when I was in high school. My wife is from here, and around the time we started a family in Murfreesboro, I was looking to change to mortgage lending from real estate because it is a little bit slower paced.
Having small children, working 9-5 is a little bit better than running around 24/7 showing houses. I found out that a lot of my high school friends had moved away, started families and moved back.
McMinnville was a little different that we had thought. There was a focus on bringing the city up-to-date Bluegrass Underground was going on at the time. Just a lot of stuff happening…Collins River had just kicked off. There was a lot to do. Smooth Rapids had started and everybody was kayaking.
Hey, this is a good place to live, and we moved back. I took a position as a mortgage lender at Security Federal and stayed there for three and a half years.
I have always had pride in being where I was from. My dad was a football coach, and I have always had that Pioneer spirit. It is a great place to live. It is a beautiful place too. We’re surrounded by beauty, and not everybody has that. All those things together made it work for us.
What do you think when you reflect on McMinnville’s future? Positive? Negative?
I think it is very positive. I think that progress has continued. There are some drawbacks to that. We don’t want a chain restaurant on every corner. I like our identity of having local stuff like Collins River and Begonia’s.
I think we have been discovered by people moving from Nashville and out of state. I think people realize that when they move to Nashville it is as expensive as from where they came, and they work their way out to us.
I think we are a kind of jewel, a diamond in the rough. I think a lot of people feel that way when they come here. I speak to a lot of people through real estate that say that.
There are some drawbacks. We are a southern town and we have our values. Those are good, and sometimes people move here and don’t mesh with that. Some people have a problem with that and some don’t. I tend to fall on the side that it is good to a point, but we don’t want to forget who we are and where we came from. I think it is a very positive outlook for us, and I think people will continue to move here.
Do you think there is a difference between “McMinnville” and “Warren County?” Why or why not?
I do think the landscape is different here in the city than the country. The city simply by having more businesses and a central place like Main Street it leans more toward a tourism thing. We want people to come here so we make downtown look nice. We enhance things and advertise ourselves to bring people in.
In the county, people don’t necessarily want people out there. They are growing trees and farming. They might not want people going by their farms and houses on the river.
If you were mayor of McMinnville and had a magic wand, what three things would you change?
I don’t know if the mayor could do anything about this, but I wish there was some more beautification of other parts of the city than just downtown. I know it takes money and people working together. I think Terry Bell mentioned it in his campaign that we should be planting trees about on the bypass. We are the nursery capital and people may expect to see that, but that is not what we have.
I think the beautification of the city in general — if that is possible.
I would like to see trying two-way streets downtown and see how that works. It may give some businesses more exposure than they have right now. The far end of main street where Begonia’s is has sat dormant for so long. I think part of the reason that happened was because people did not always have to go that far sometimes. If they were not going to Sparta Street or Mt. Leo, then they went to where they were going and turned and left another way.
I think there is some infrastructure with roads. I think that as we keep having more people come to McMinnville, and as we ask them to join us, we are going to need good infrastructure. I am sure all of those things are on Ryle’s (Chastain) list to do.
What do you think unites us in McMinnville?
I think just a pride of being a part of McMinnville. I think the history sets us apart from other similar-sized rural cities. The school of photography, the Lively School. That was amazing that it was here. William Faulkner, prolific people like Tomas Savage that Savage Gulf is named after. Galligan and Newman’s office is in their family home.
We have a rich history of culture in McMinnville, and I think if people know about those things or not, it kind of permeates through the city, the community. We have been able to keep alive some of our relics like Main Street for example. Like Ben Myers saved the Hargrove building. That thing was about to fall over.
Having that mindset, that sense of rich cultural history and trying to maintain it. For me that is what brings us together and the natural setting.
We have a ton of civic organizations that people get involved in. To me, if you want to do something, if you raise your hand, you are going to be on three to four organizations. You can be as involved as you want to be. The availability of those things allows for the community to get together and work on things like Hark in the Park.
I am sure there are more things that unite us, but that is what comes to the top of my mind.
What do you think divides us?
There are some people who want to hang onto how things were 50 years ago and maybe wish things were the same as they were then. I am sure there is a valuable reason they feel that way. There are other people who would like to see more progress. That is one thing.
For example, the ice-skating rink is something that has its flaws, but it makes downtown nicer. It creates an experience that kids can have and it brings people downtown with their families. Some people think it is a waste of money. If you could use that money for something else, sure, but that wasn’t the case. They could only use it for things like an ice-skating rink. I think that is a kind of example, but not a great one. I think that is one of the things that divides.
You can say that nationally I guess…someone who is a traditionist versus someone who wants to progress in certain ways.
Do you agree with the direction and quality of education the Warren County public school system offers for our children? Why or why not?
I do. I agree with the direction and the quality. My wife works in the school system. There are a lot of challenges that people who don’t work in the school system have no clue about. It is really easy to say that teacher didn’t do this or that when they have 15 other challenges going on that day that no one has any clue about.
We have great teachers, and I think they do the best they can. I think the administration from Bobby Cox to the present administration have done great things. I think in general, yes.
I think if people who do have issues with it knew the amount of challenges that our teachers face in our local school system they would reconsider some of their thoughts.
Is McMinnville doing enough for people who are economically disadvantaged, or should the city be doing more? If not, what should the city be doing?
I think we do a lot. The city and the county support a lot of nonprofit organizations. They apparently have scaled that back this last time, but historically, they have done quite a bit. Again, I mentioned civic organizations, and not everything can be done by government, I think we have a good number of civic organizations who help people a lot. Hark at the Park is a good example, and what Lisa (Harvey) does there is amazing. She runs an after-school program for the McMinnville Housing Authority community. She puts in where she doesn’t have to. There are a lot of people in the community like that.
I don’t think we should do less, but I think we do a fair amount. Again, it is like the school system. There are definitely things in the community that I don’t know about. If I walked into Families in Crisis, they could tell me all those things they need and I might change my mind.
A little more wouldn’t hurt, but I think we do a good job of that.
What did I not ask you that you would like to comment about regarding McMinnville and its people?
I do wish that people would come together more than they do. You know being a city alderman, county commissioner, or educator, being a public servant of any kind is very tough, and you never get paid enough. I have done a lot of volunteering in different areas, and it is tough sometimes. We should voice our opinions about our government, and we should be fighting for our kids’ education. But I do think if people should put themselves in those public servant’s shoes and consider what they are getting from it. Teachers don’t get paid very much. City aldermen and County Commissioners don’t get paid hardly anything. They probably get more grief than thanks for what they do.
Put yourself in other people’s positions, like firefighters, police officers before you take a jab at them. If you do and they still deserve it, that is fine. A little grace goes a long way for public servants.
The next complete interview will feature Wayne Wolford.
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