Paul Montgomery was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to represent the 1st Congressional District on the Tennessee Board of Regents. He is the first African-American to be appointed from the northeastern part of the state to serve. Montgomery currently serves as a vice president of Talent Management of Eastman Chemical Company, where he is responsible for global learning, staffing, work force planning, leadership and business development.
A native Virginian, Montgomery is a graduate of King College. He has worked for Texas Instruments as a production supervisor and as a manager of production planning. Prior to joining Texas Instruments, Montgomery worked for Arcata Graphics and the Kingsport Press.
With a strong commitment to the community, Montgomery has served as a member of the Kingsport Regional Planning Commission, as president of the Kingsport Board of Education, as president of the Kingsport Branch of the NAACP, as president of the South Kingsport Optimist Club, as a Paul Harris Fellow of the Kingsport Rotary Club, as president of the Kingsport Chamber and as chairman of the Tri-Cities All America City Partnership. He currently serves on the boards of the East Tennessee State University Foundation and Northeast State Community College Foundation. He has been recognized as one of the most influential African-Americans in Tennessee.
Montgomery was awarded the 2003 Baleh-Doak Character Award, the Emory and Henry College Outstanding Community Service Award, and was awarded the 2007 Distinguished Leadership Award by Leadership Kingsport.
He and his wife, Cherry, live in Kingsport and have two children, Christin and Curtis.
