About Chuck
Jenkins
Chuck Jenkins was born and raised in Loudon
County and, except for nine years living and
working in Washington D.C., is a lifelong
resident. He returned to Loudon County in
1993 to raise a family in the community he
has always called home.
Chuck’s formative years were built around
church, school, little league sports, and
Scouting. He has been known to say, he
learned everything he needed to know about
good citizenship and service to others while
earning his Eagle Scout badge.
Chuck graduated from Lenoir City High School
in 1978 and from UT Knoxville in 1983. He
enrolled in graduate school at George
Washington University and remained in the
nation’s capital to work in the “Reagan
Revolution” of the 1980s. He was a
writer/editor and publications manager for
the GOP’s Congressional Campaign Committee
and later moved to the Republican National
Committee, where he was a magazine editor,
then chief speechwriter. In 1991, he joined
the George H.W. Bush administration as a
communications manager in the Office of the
Secretary at the Dept. of Health and Human
Services.
After returning to LC in 1993, Chuck worked
in Oak Ridge for Bechtel, a DOE contractor
and the nation’s largest construction and
engineering firm. There he earned the
company’s coveted “President’s Award” in
1999 for his work in creating public
involvement opportunities for DOE’s
environmental cleanup program.
Jenkins and his wife Kim have two teenage
daughters, Taylor and Tori, They are members
of Crossroads Church of the Nazarene, where
Chuck leads the worship music and teaches
Sunday school.
Chuck is a 5th Generation Loudon Countian,
whose forbearers settled in the Cave Creek
community in the 1880s. His
great-grandfather Samuel moved to Lenoir
City and started a blacksmith shop near the
old “Jockey Lot.” His grandfather Lon was a
barber who owned and operated several
business on 5th Avenue and also helped found
the 1st Church of the Nazarene. His father
Buddy was a city alderman and later Loudon
County’s first Purchasing Agent, ably
serving in that position for more than 20
years. Chuck’s mother Betty was a
kindergarten teacher and later an employee
of Loudon Hospital. His
grandfather Charles Osborne was a carpenter
who worked at the LC Car Works and on
several TVA dams. An uncle, Ed Osborne, was
a well-known athlete, coach, and principal
at LCHS.
Civic Involvement
Closer to home, Jenkins has been involved in
a number of civic organizations and
initiatives. In 1995, he chaired the first
Lenoir City Charter Change Committee and
campaigned for passage of the resulting
ballot initiative. Jenkins has always been
active in local Republican politics,
managing local phone bank operations in the
1994 elections and rising to the party
chairmanship in 1996.
In
2000, Chuck was among a small group of area
leaders that conceived the Nine Counties-One
Vision initiative. During the program’s
“Visioning” phase, Jenkins chaired the
county’s Outreach Committee in preparation
for the meeting at Lenoir City High School.
That meeting drew more than 300
participants, the largest single meeting
turnout in the Nine-County region.
Jenkins was also a member of the 2001 class
of Leadership Loudon County.
In
1998, Jenkins made his first run for County
Commission from the 2nd District
and ultimately served two, four-year terms.
He was elected to a third term, but served
only a short time before accepting
appointment as Property Assessor.
Today, Jenkins serves on the boards of the
Boys & Girls Club of Loudon County, the
Loudon County Health Alliance (formerly the
Health Improvement Council), and founding
Steering Committee member of East Tennessee
Quality Growth.
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