$4.7M Chamber building opens early, under budget

October 22, 2025 by G. Chambers Williams III

“What a great day for Anderson County,” Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Rick Meredith said as he kicked off the dedication event for the Chamber’s new $4.7 million headquarters on Friday morning (Oct. 17).

“Today we celebrate,” he said to the crowd of several hundred assembled in the parking lot outside the new building at 500 N. Charles G. Seivers Blvd.

He noted that the 7,450-square-foot building project was completed “two months ahead of schedule and under budget.”

“It was about three years in the making,” Meredith said. “Actually, it goes back about seven years. … And here we are. A little over a year ago, we stood right here and broke ground. And now we’re standing here – it looks great.

“We went through three different boards of directors to make this happen,” Meredith said. “Without them, I couldn’t do my job. …

“(And) as you know, we’re dedicating this building to a veteran, William ‘Bear’ Stephenson.”

Stephenson, a longtime Clinton real estate broker and auctioneer, donated $1 million toward the cost of the new headquarters – his entire life savings in his personal 401-k account.

On hand to speak at the event, Stephenson told the crowd: “Ninety-three years in the making, and it’s finally here. The chamber has a home.”

Construction was mostly completed on the new facility about a month ago, and the Chamber staff has been moving in and setting up the offices and assorted rooms since then.

“Since then, we’ve been working through our punch list and getting everything ready,” Meredith said.

The facility was officially opened to the public at the conclusion of Friday morning’s 10 a.m. dedication ceremony.

The 1.35-acre site for the building was donated to the Chamber in 2023 by Joe Hollingsworth Jr., CEO of The Hollingsworth Companies.

It was the second site chosen for the new headquarters. The previously selected site, on North Main Street at North Hicks Street, was sold by the Chamber to the city of Clinton after Hollingsworth donated the property on Seivers Boulevard. The city has since turned that property into a downtown parking lot.

The Chamber held a groundbreaking event at the new site on Sept.10, 2024. Then on Sept. 16, the city of Clinton issued a building permit to the Chamber for the new building.

It’s the first headquarters building ever built and owned by the chamber, which was started in 1931.

“I think Anderson County is too great to dream small dreams,” Hollingworth said in his remarks to the crowd at the dedication. “Think about that for a second – just what’s happened in the last two or three years. You have the announcements in Oak Ridge that will make Oak Ridge once again the nuclear leader of the world. …

“Sharing the blessings is important,” he said. “Bringing back the blessings that we’ve accumulated elsewhere is important. But it is consummated by this.”

Clinton Mayor Scott Burton also praised the Chamber’s efforts to create its new headquarters.

“When people are working together, anything can be accomplished,” he said. “ … We have this building – which is fantastic. What a gem that we have for this community. It was a smart and wise decision.”

Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter was the keynote speaker for the dedication.

““Congratulations to all of you,” McWhorter said. “This is a remarkable community partnership to come together, and it’s going to be significant for this community.

“I’ve been aware of this building and the vision behind it for a while,” he said. “What really struck me was Bear’s financial commitment to this, (and) Joe’s willingness to donate the land. Those things don’t naturally happen. It happens because you’ve got pillars in the community [who] care deeply about the community, and that’s what makes this so unique.”

Other officials speaking at the event included state representatives Rick Scarbrough and Ed Butler.

“You’ve got to have a vision, because when things are going [well], you don’t want people to become complacent, because you want to continue to thrive,” Scarbrough said. “And we have continued to thrive because of visions just like this.”

Butler added:

“It takes vision and leadership to get to where we are today. … Anderson County has modeled what needs to be done to be a successful county. And the folks [who] have served on the Chamber board and had the vision … have exhibited what it takes to be successful.”

The headquarters building is shared with the Anderson County Economic Development Association, which has its own suite of offices inside.

Association President Andy Wallace praised the Chamber for making the new headquarters a reality.

“Vision is the ability to see a mental image of a future goal, and that’s what we have here,” Wallace told the crowd. “ … Then you had Bear (Stephenson) and Joe (Hollingworth) step up to also see the vision. Joe stepped up with a vision to see it on this lot. Bear stepped up with the funding to help see it come through.”

The Chamber officially gave up the lease on the previous headquarters space at 245 N. Main St. on Oct. 1, in a building owned by Regions Bank, Meredith said.

“I think when everyone comes into the new building, they’ll be amazed how we’ve decorated it, and will be proud to have it in Clinton and Anderson County,” Meredith said earlier.

The building is divided into 14 rooms, including a large conference-boardroom, Meredith said.

There is also a coffee bar open for anybody using the building – members and guests, he said.

The new headquarters site is between O’Reilly Auto Parts to the north and Y-12 Federal Credit Union, across West Weaver Street, to the south. A digital sign board was installed at the exit from the 42-space parking lot, at the corner of Seivers Boulevard and West Washington Street.

The conference room has 1,200 square feet, and besides board meetings, there will be events for chamber members there, Meredith said.

“We probably will open it for community use after the first of the year,” he said. “But it’s not for birthdays or weddings; it’s more for the business and industrial communities, educators, corporate retreats, executive staff meetings. It’s not going to be a party room for the public. Some of our nonprofits will use it, too.”

Hollingsworth officially donated the land to the Anderson County Chamber Foundation, which is leading the fundraising drive for the new headquarters.

Meredith said the foundation has raised $1,175,695 in contributions from individuals, businesses and industries for the new headquarters.

Chamber hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Besides Meredith, there are two full-time employees – Jackie Patton, chief operating officer, and Marsha Stapleton, chamber coordinator.