TWU Announces 2019 Additions to Board of Trustees

Tennessee Wesleyan University welcomed five new members of the Board of Trustees this fall. The Board is tasked with leading the institution to accomplish its mission.

Joining the Board in 2019:
Rev. Chris Black – Provisional Elder of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church
Alan Guy – Former President/CEO of Covenant/Ft. Sanders Health System
John W. “Johnny” Holden, Jr. – Founder of Pioneer Credit Company
Rev. Dennie Humphries – Retired minister in Holston Conference
Claire Tucker – CapStar Bank President and CEO

Rev. Christopher E. Black is a Provisional Elder of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, and is the Associate Pastor of First UMC of Oak Ridge. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Director of Congregational Care and Discipleship at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, and as the Student Associate Minister at First Centenary UMC in Chattanooga.

Rev. Black grew up as a member of Fountain City UMC in Knoxville, and graduated from Central High School in 2004. He is a 2008 graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan University, where he earned a bachelor’s History with a minor in Religion. While at Wesleyan, Chris ran Cross Country, served in student government (SGA) representing various groups including his own senior class in 2008, and sang in the college choir for 2 years. He received his Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2015.

Alan Guy served 15 years as the President and CEO of Covenant/Ft. Sanders Health System in Knoxville. In his time at Covenant, Guy saw tremendous growth in the system’s assets, market share, as well as in the organization’s vision and the building of an internationally known cancer center.

Since 2000, Guy has served as a coach and consultant in areas of healthcare and strategy, executive search, and client/customer retention, working with clients like TeamHealth, McKesson, Morrison Management Specialists, Bell South and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee.

Guy received his MBA, Healthcare Administration from George Washington University, and has served as board member for several organizations, in areas including healthcare and higher education.

John W. Holden, Jr. is the founder of Pioneer Credit Company. Holden served Pioneer for 40 years in roles of President, CEO and Chairman of the Board. In 2014, Pioneer Credit merged with Warburg Pincus’ Mariner Finance, and he currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Executive Consultant of the company.

Prior to the founding of Pioneer, Holden worked as Senior Vice President of American Credit Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina for 14 years. He has also served in various capacities within the national financial services community, including Chairman of the Board/Independent Section for American Financial Services Association (AFSA), AFSA Board of Directors member for 30-plus years, Tennessee Consumer Finance Association President, Georgia Industrial Loan Association President, Mississippi Consumer Finance Association President, and Kentucky Consumer Finance Association Board Member.

Holden is also well known for his involvement in the Boys and Girls Club in Cleveland, Tennessee. In his role on the board of the Boys and Girls Club, he was instrumental in driving capital campaigns, with particular skill in obtaining grant monies.

Rev. Dennie Humphreys is a 1973 graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan University – then Tennessee Wesleyan College. After his time at TWU, Humphreys completed his Master of Divinity from Emory University.

Rev. Humphreys’ ministry career includes pastoral and administrative duties. He is a retired minister in the Holston Conference, where he served as a board member from 2009-2013, in which time he was the pastor of Keith Memorial UMC in Athens.

He has previously served as a District Superintendent and Director of Clergy Services, and now serves Bybee United Methodist Church in Bybee, Tennessee in retirement.

Claire W. Tucker serves as CapStar Bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer, after leading the founding of CapStar in July 2008.

Tucker started her banking career in 1975 at First American National Bank and advanced to the office of President of Corporate Banking by 1996. When the bank was sold to AmSouth in 1999, she was Senior Executive VP responsible for all commercial banking activities in six southeastern states and New York.

She was appointed by the Federal Reserve Bank for the Sixth District to a three-year term as chairman of the Sixth Federal Reserve District Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC). Tucker is a board member of Ingram Entertainment and she recently chaired the board of the Nashville Ballet, Nashville’s Table and St. Luke’s Community House.

A member of the Leadership Nashville class of 1996, she is a graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan College and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.