Mayor shares Eastman memories at Kingsport Historical Society

KINGSPORT — Mayor Paul Montgomery spoke to Kingsport Historical Society members Wednesday morning about the history of Eastman Chemical Co. and his previous role with the company. Montgomery, a native of Glade Spring, Virginia, came to Kingsport at 22 years old after graduating from King University in Bristol, Tennessee. He worked for seven years at the Kingsport Press, later moving to Texas Instruments in Johnson City for a decade. "When you come from the country to the city, it's a drastic change," Montgomery said, "but I'm very thankful for the folks and men and women that helped me along the way there at Kingsport Press and as well as Texas Instruments." He joined the Eastman team in 1991, starting out in the distribution division and later advancing to the public relations department. His talk focused on Eastman spinning off from Kodak in the 1990s. Montgomery said through each of the major jobs he's held, he has seen companies go through recessions and multiple layoffs. During his time with Texas Instruments, Montgomery said there were about eight layoffs in 10 years. "When I chose [Eastman] Kodak as a place, I saw all my friends working there," he said. "The funny thing we said around the church is Eastman is a place people want to go to work and retire. There was not much thinking about layoffs or that sort of thing." Montgomery mentioned Earnest "Earnie" Davenport, who served as the first CEO of the publicly traded, independent company after the spinoff. "I remember working on a Saturday there," Montgomery said. "Mike O'Neill bought a napkin in when Earnie had actually signed it and said, 'It's done.'" He said some of his neighbors and friends were concerned about the future of Eastman without Kodak. Some planned to retire early with hopes of retaining their pension and insurance. Two other longtime Eastman leaders, Billy Dickson and Jimmy Tackett, were in attendance at Wednesday's event and shared their perspective. "I look back on my 32 years, I saw the birth of the company as kind of without the motive of doing that," Dickson said. "It was kind of like we were becoming an independent company all along." Montgomery emphasized the importance of strong economic development for the city's future. "There has to be constant thinking of what we need to do better, what we need to invest in or try to establish economic development," he said. "When I came to the city and went to work at Kingsport Press. Meade, J.P. Stevens, Mason Dixon, all these strong companies were here. Things change, and yet [we] constantly have to adjust." For more information about the Kingsport Historical Society, visit the group's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/p/Kingsport-Historical-Society-100086577316522/.