For

Immediate Release, For More Info, Contact:

Monday, March 6, 2017 Chip Saltsman, 615-500-2447
or John Crisp, 615-457-1479

Randy Boyd Running for Governor
Files Qualifying Papers; Announces Top Campaign Team

Knoxville, Tenn. - Randy Boyd, Knoxville businessman and philanthropist, former state Commissioner of
Economic and Community Development, and architect of the tnAchieves and Tennessee Promise
scholarship programs to help more young people go to college, confirmed today his plans to run for
Governor of Tennessee in 2018.

There is not a better time to live and work in Tennessee, but not everyone is sharing in that success. So
my campaign will be about expanding opportunities for every Tennessee family and community, Boyd
said. The opportunity for a better education - the opportunity for better jobs and a better opportunity
for everyone, regardless of where you live, whether youre from rural Tennessee, the inner city, or
somewhere in between. Thats how Ive tried to serve in the past, and that is my vision for an even
greater, more successful Tennessee.

Boyd, who is a lifelong Republican and a seventh-generation Tennessean, was raised in South Knoxville,
but has deep roots in rural West Tennessee. While building his business, giving back to the community,
and serving as a member of Governor Bill Haslams cabinet as ECD commissioner, and earlier in
developing the states Drive to 55 initiative and Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect scholarship
programs, he has taken a conservative, results-oriented approach to improving the lives of Tennesseans.

"Jenny and I are excited to launch this new adventure. Im not a professional politician. My background is
growing a small business. But I gained enough experience in Nashville to know how to get things done
there, Boyd said. While working in Nashville, I traveled to all 95 counties to make sure I was listening to
and in touch with what was on the minds of my neighbors. So the early days of this campaign will be a
continuation of that listening and learning process, and I could not be more excited about getting started."

Boyd officially filed his qualifying papers to run last week, and is already raising contributions to fund his
campaign. He also announced today an impressive group of state leaders and campaign veterans to help
run his campaign, including:

Chip Saltsman - Campaign CEO - who will manage and lead the campaign. Saltsman, a former chairman
of the Tennessee Republican Party, has a strong record of helping Republicans win elections in
Tennessee, especially in multi-candidate primaries. In 2008, he was the national campaign manager for
Mike Huckabee for President, who pulled a major upset in the Iowa primary, and then swept to victory in
the multi-candidate Tennessee GOP Primary. More recently, Saltsman led the campaigns of Tennessee
Congressmen David Kustoff in West Tennessee, and Chuck Fleischmann in East Tennessee. He has also
held top campaign posts with U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,
and other top elected officials in Tennessee. Nationally, he is a frequent contributor and commentator for
CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and other media outlets.

Scott Niswonger - Campaign Treasurer - Niswonger is executive chairman and founder of LandAir
Transport, Inc., and chairman emeritus of Forward Air Corporation, both in Greeneville, Tenn., and he
serves on the board of directors of First Horizon Corporation, the parent company of First Tennessee
Paid for by Randy Boyd for Governor, Scott Niswonger, Treasurer 1
Bank. He is also the founder and chairman of the Niswonger Foundation, focused on educational
programs, scholarships, and other charitable activities benefitting Northeast Tennessee, is the leading
benefactor of the Niswonger Children's Hospital in Johnson City, and is an active contributor and
supporter to numerous other organizations and charities all across the state.

Culver Schmid - Campaign Legal Counsel Schmid is the managing shareholder in the Knoxville law
offices of Baker Donelson, and a leading business attorney with more than 30 years of experience focused
on commercial transactions including real estate development and finance, business acquisitions, secured
lending, commercial and residential condominium law, municipal corporations and administrative
law. Founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, and long-time Tennessee GOP leader
Lewis Donelson from Memphis, Baker Donelson today has 800 attorneys connected across 24 offices.

Alice Rolli - Senior Advisor - will oversee several operational components of the Boyd campaign. Rolli
first started working in politics in 1995 when she was appointed as a page by Congressman Ed Bryant and
later for U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. In 2002, she worked for the legendary fundraiser Ted Welch
to help elect Lamar Alexander to the U.S. Senate, and in 2014, the National Journal listed her as the only
woman in the country to run a campaign for a Republican U.S. Senator, when she served as campaign
manager for Senator Lamar Alexander.

John Crisp - Communications Advisor - will help support the campaign with messaging and
communications. Crisp is the President and CEO of Crisp Communications, a full-service advocacy, media,
marketing and special events firm in Nashville. A veteran of more than 40 campaigns in Tennessee and
across the country, Crisp is a former top aide to Lamar Alexander, served as a campaign consultant to
former Congressmen Zach Wamp and Bill Jenkins, and he helped coordinate the 2012 Presidential
campaign of Mitt Romney in Tennessee, with Romney winning 60 percent of the vote in the state.

Bonnie Brezina - Political Director an expert at grassroots organizing for winning Republican
campaigns, Brezina most recently served as campaign manager for newly-elected Congressman David
Kustoff from Memphis, and she also led the first winning campaigns for State Sen. Ed Jackson in West
Tennessee, State Sen. Mark Green in Middle Tennessee, and State Sen. Richard Briggs in East Tennessee.
Brezina also spent a year as Gov. Mike Huckabees Iowa State Director in his 2016 presidential campaign,
and she worked for Zach Wamp during his 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

I could not be more proud to have such an impressive group of top leaders and campaign veterans to
help guide my campaign. And I look forward to soon announcing several other top leaders who will be
leading our statewide finance effort, Boyd said. These folks, and the thousands of other professionals
and volunteers we hope to attract, will help me spend the next 20 months listening and learning about the
concerns and dreams of Tennesseans, as I get to know voters in all 95 counties across our state.

Boyd is the founder and chairman of Radio Systems Corporation, headquartered in Knoxville, with over
700 employees worldwide and with offices in seven countries. First started out of the back of Boyds van,
the company today produces over 4,600 pet products under brand names such as Invisible Fence, PetSafe,
and SportDOG. It is a privately held corporation with revenues approaching $400 million. Boyd is also
owner of Boyd Sports LLC, owner of the Tennessee Smokies Baseball team, the AA affiliate of the Chicago
Cubs, and the Johnson City Cardinals, a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Boyd and his wife Jenny have been married for 32 years and have two children, Harrison and Thomas, a
daughter-in-law Lindsey, and a beloved dog, Oskar. They reside in Knoxville and are members of Erin
Presbyterian Church.

For more information about Randy Boyd and his campaign for Governor, please visit RandyBoyd.com -- or
like him on Facebook at RandyBoydTN, or follow him on Twitter @RandyBoyd.
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Paid for by Randy Boyd for Governor, Scott Niswonger, Treasurer 2