Tom Edd Wilson, former president of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, longtime civic leader, banker and noted fundraiser for community causes, died Saturday at his home on Signal Mountain.
Just last week, Wilson was among the group of dignitaries breaking ground for the new children's hospital at Erlanger after leading a fundraising drive that raised $20 million for the project.
"He's been involved in so many organizations in town over the years, and every one of those organizations has benefited from his leadership and involvement. He left them better than they were when he came on board," said state Rep. Patsy Hazlewood. She was the chamber board chairwoman when Wilson was hired and worked closely with him over the years, as well as serving together as elders at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church.
"He had a lot of talent and a lot of skills. He was really a master of structuring, organization, and being able to look at what needed to be done, working out a structure, and finding the right people to work the strategy to meet those goals. He made Chattanooga a better place for all of us," Hazlewood said.
Wilson, a graduate of the University of Tennessee and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, was named chamber president and CEO after retiring in 2001 from a 35-year career in the banking industry, where he rose to become president of Bank of America's East Tennessee region.
In 2006, Wilson was named Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year. In 2011, he became one of only two Chattanoogans who have received the Boy Scouts of America National Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. This national award recognized Wilson's lifetime of achievement in business, community leadership and philanthropy. Only one out of every 1,000 Eagle Scouts achieves the designation.
In the same year, Wilson won the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga Distinguished Service Award. The award acknowledged his role in raising some $27 million over several years for a chamber economic development fund and for helping bring some 13,000 jobs to Chattanooga. That included his service on the team that wooed and won the Volkswagen assembly plant at Enterprise South industrial park.
"He was a crucial part of the whole process," said Frank Brock, who interacted with Wilson as a leader of the Brock Candy family and former president of Covenant College. Brock said the two served in the Bible in the Schools program and were Rotary Club members together.
Not only that, Brock said, Wilson "just completely remade the Chamber of Commerce into an important part of the remaking of Chattanooga.
"He wasn't someone who sought glory, he just worked behind the scenes, did what needed to be done, didn't care who got the credit. He's exemplary of the kind of leadership that made Chattanooga the place so many people want to come to."
Wilson retired as chamber president in 2013 and that same year was nominated to the Erlanger board of trustees by County Mayor Jim Coppinger.
"I'm going to miss him," Coppinger said.
"He was just a go-to guy for leadership, someone who had that credibility, someone you would go to who could stabilize a situation, whether it was the Erlanger board or the recruitment of businesses.
" He came to my office frequently. What I respected the most about Tom Edd, he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear, he told me the way it really was. That was so valuable. He was someone I could always count on to give me the truth about how the community felt, especially the business community."
Sen. Bob Corker, former Chattanooga mayor and businessman, said Wilson will be missed.
"Whether through his time as president of the Chamber of Commerce or most recently his service on the Erlanger Board of Trustees, Tom Edd Wilson helped make Chattanooga a better place to live, work and raise a family," Corker said via email. "He had a tremendous impact on our community, and I am saddened by his sudden loss."
Wilson's family includes his wife, Barby; three daughters and seven grandchildren.
Arrangements will be announced by Heritage Funeral Home & Crematory, Battlefield Parkway.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said Wilson's contributions will endure in the city.
"From his time leading the Chamber to his heart for community service, Tom Edd was dedicated to improving Chattanooga, and he will be missed. His family is in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."