I would like to share a few experiences of the full and rich life of one of our most highly accomplished local residents, Jim Clayton. He is returning to his first love, music, and will join the Union County Opry Band for a live performance this Saturday. Clayton’s uncle gave him his first guitar on his sixth birthday, and he was in love! As he grew older, he idolized Eddie Arnold and wished to be like him; but God had better plans.

Clayton grew up in West Tennessee, where his parents worked as sharecroppers, keeping only half of what they raised. Like many people around here, he grew up with plenty to eat as they raised food such as potatoes, corn, pork, etc.; but it was a tough life.

His first job right out of high school was working at a radio station. Clayton had never considered college growing up, believing it to be for preachers or doctors, not the average person. However, his friend and coworker persuaded him to enroll in pre-engineering at Memphis State. He transferred to the University of Tennessee to the Engineering program in 1953, fell in love with the local culture, and was here to stay.

Clayton worked his way through college, keeping a foot in the music industry by hosting a morning show performing on WIVK Radio. He also sold an old car and enjoyed the experience, so he began buying and selling used cars. Initially, fraternity brothers participated in the sales cycle until the Department of Motor Vehicles visited Mr. Clayton and informed him that he needed to get a place and a license, which he did.

In 1956 Clayton converted the Tillery Theatre into a car lot and was open for business. Clayton shared that his brother Joe better understood the car business, and they made a great team. Combining Joe’s knowledge of computers and Jim’s engineering, they formed an outstanding service department. They built the business together and promoted their cars with a variety show which included country, gospel, rock, and folk music. Their show, StarTime, gave many locals, for 17 years, a great opportunity to showcase their talents, some of whom went on to become recording stars who appeared on the Grand Old Opry! Kathy Hill was so wonderfully received at the age of 14 that at only 17 years of age, the Clayton brothers sponsored the Kathy Hill show.

The TV shows delivered a vast area audience and a constant flow of car buyers to the sales center. As Jim had enjoyed his small mobile home while obtaining his Electrical Engineering degree, the brothers opened a Manufactured Home Sales Center across the street from the car dealership in 1966. In the meantime, Clayton also obtained a law degree from the University of Tennessee. This business grew even faster, and soon there were dozens of Clayton Mobile Home sales centers throughout the southeast.

In 1966, ten years after opening their first car lot, they opened their first mobile home lot. As the businesses grew, Joe and his kids concentrated on the car business, while Jim and his sons specialized in the mobile home business. Eventually, it just made sense for Joe to take the car business and Jim to take the mobile home business, each happily keeping their strong suits. Clayton is happy to have settled here, stating: “This area is a wonderful place to build a business and build a life.”

In 1983 Clayton took the mobile home business public on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2003 old Warren Buffett purchased the homes business after reading Jim’s popular autobiography, “First a Dream,” which Jim authored for his family, customers, and the Clayton business staff. That 1.7 billion dollar sale came about because a University of Tennessee professor presented a copy to Mr. Buffett while conducting a field trip where the students got to spend a day with the business legend.

Prior to selling the home business, Clayton utilized his experience of providing loans to car and home buyers to successfully build BankFirst. Starting with a tiny, troubled Lenoir City bank and soon adding banks in Athens and Gatlinburg, Jim took BankFirst to the NASDAQ stock exchange. In 2002 the bank was sold to BB&T, now Trust Bank.

Now in retirement, Jim could not resist one last banking challenge. Learning First State Bank, in Henderson, was in need of capital, Jim purchased and rebranded the bank as Clayton Bank and Trust. Again, other banks in Tullahoma and Camden were added and organically grown in their respective markets. Clayton Banks were successfully sold in 2018 and are now FirstBank and Apex Bank.

When asked about the future of business and manufacturing in Union County, Clayton enthusiastically responded, “Very positive! This area has a wonderfully talented and dependable workforce, and we have jobs for all skill levels, including those wanting to enter the workforce fresh out of high school.” He is happy to know some of his new hires are still at Clayton’s from 30 years ago, other hires that have now retired thank him for the opportunity to comfortably retire after a rewarding career in their hometown as a result of the opportunity to participate in the Clayton Homes profit-sharing program.

Clayton’s advice to those who hope to follow in his footsteps: “Work diligently, be dependable, and you’ll be amazed at the opportunities in our area. This is a good place to live, an interesting climate, a great place to raise a family and build a career!”

Clayton’s love of music led to building skills that served him well throughout his career. All along, he used television and radio to promote his businesses, fortunate to have the expertise to produce high-quality shows at minimal expense. He shares: “God showed me a way to put it all together; it’s been a wonderful life!” Now, at 87, Clayton is having a blast practicing with the Union County Opry Band, stating they are such a fun group to work with.

Come out and join the fun of the first performance for 2021 this Saturday night at 7 pm!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/union-county-opry-band-w-special-guests-ji…