Executive Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller, First Horizon
Search every verified Jeff Fleming interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote β each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Jeff Fleming, the former City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee, has been active in local history and religious speaking. In a series of history walks and presentations in 2021 and 2023, Fleming discussed the development of Kingsport, describing it as a planned town with a downtown originally set aside to support 50,000 people. He recounted that the city's infrastructure built during World War II used substandard materials due to wartime shortages, requiring later replacement. Fleming noted that Kingsport was named one of the Wall Street Journal and realtor.com's top seven emerging markets, which he said reflected the benefits of earlier planning. He also spoke about the redevelopment of historic sites, such as the Holliston Mills building into a community gathering place and the use of recycled brick from Kingsport Press in a public art piece. In a 2025 religious service, Fleming spoke about his personal background, recalling growing up in poverty and expressing gratitude for his current circumstances. He stated that "God's been mighty good to me" and urged attendees to "give God everything you've got tonight," while acknowledging that people need money for utilities and other expenses. Fleming also referenced the concept of salvation being free, saying "salvation cost but it don't cost you," and discussed the blood of Christ as a purchasing blood for the church.
“Anybody remember what peny is? I'm talking about extreme poverty.”
“I thank God right now for the shoes I've got on.”
“I remember what it was like growing up on the first day of school when I didn't always get a brand new pair of shoes.”
“I remember what it's like when a lot of people had kids driving nice cars and I was driving one that would just hope make it from from Mountain Star to town.”
“God's been mighty good to me. He's blessed me exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or think.”
“Would you give God everything you've got tonight? God knows you need money to pay Franklin Electric and Walmart, Russville Utilities and Piggly Wiggly down here at Red Bay and everybody else there for you to get by.”
“Lord, everything I've got is yours. And tonight, I want to acknowledge that. I don't want to go another step without you having your hand on my life tonight.”
“John B Dennis worked for Blair and Company, the company that financed Kingsport. They weren't just venture capitalists and investors in Kingsport; they were interested all across the country in any way they could make money and be good capitalists.”
“Kingsport was a national housing experiment, a test case for model housing to offset the overcrowded unsanitary conditions of big city tenants. The first national zoning ordinance was approved in 1916 in New York City, and that was the thought process of the day on how to make sure development was orderly.”
“The national and international trend was Garden Cities, started by Ebenezer Howard in Britain in 1898, aiming to fit people into housing with garden spaces, central parks, and streets radiating out from around it.”
“John B Dennis was a heavy hitter nationally, mentioned alongside JP Morgan and other finance kings of the world, showing his significant influence beyond Kingsport.”
“Much of the infrastructure put in town during World War II was made with substandard materials because all the materials were needed for the war effort, requiring millions of dollars in later decades to replace.”
“Kingsport was named one of the Wall Street Journal and realtor.com's top seven emerging markets in the nation, which speaks well to the plans put in place many years ago and the benefits still being reaped today.”
“The Kingsport Improvement Corporation was giving away free garden plots to both white and colored residents, showing that even back in 1917 they did not discriminate in sharing property.”
“The planned Negro Village, now known as Borden Village, was initially laid out but not built; instead, housing for the black community was focused along Sevier Avenue, Dale Street, and Myrtle Street south of Center Street.”
Kingsport Historical Society February 13, 2023 Jeff Fleming, KingsportSpirit.com, shares about the early neighborhoods ofΒ ...
Jeff Fleming is the recently retired City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee. He is a confessed history buff especially regarding theΒ ...
Jeff Fleming is the recently retired City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee. He is a confessed history buff especially regarding theΒ ...
Jeff Fleming is the recently retired City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee. He is a confessed history buff especially regarding theΒ ...
Jeff Fleming is the recently retired City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee. He is a confessed history buff especially regarding theΒ ...
Jeff Fleming is the recently retired City Manager of Kingsport, Tennessee. He is a confessed history buff especially regarding theΒ ...
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