Curb Records Founder to Address Commissioner’s Luncheon on Oct. 18, 2012

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced today that Mike Curb, founder and chairman of Curb Records, will keynote the Commissioner’s Luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 at the 59th Annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development. Hundreds of state and local officials, business leaders and economic developers will convene at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel for the event held Oct. 18-19.

“We look forward to welcoming attendees to this year’s Governor’s Conference, and I am very pleased that Mike will be joining us as a keynote speaker,” ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty said. “He is truly a visionary with five decades of experience as a successful entrepreneur, a highly respected government official – he was elected Lt. Governor of California and served as acting Governor – and, of course, he is a well-known philanthropist. Mike will bring a new perspective to economic development that our attendees will find helpful and practical in their efforts to encourage job creation in our state.”

Owned and operated by Curb since 1962, Curb Records has achieved 432 number one hits and is one of the world’s leading independent music companies. With a roster that includes some of the top names in Country, Christian and Pop/Rock music, Curb Records was named Billboard’s 2001 Country Music Label of the Year and Radio & Records’ 2005 Overall Gold Label of the Year.

As an individual, Curb has written more than 400 songs, and received countless music industry awards, including the prestigious Overall Producer of the Year Award from Billboard in 1972. Curb also serves as chairman of the Mike Curb Family Foundation and chairman of Word Entertainment, which was Billboard’s Overall Top Imprint in the gospel genre for 2006. Curb has been personally honored with stars on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame and on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“This year my company is celebrating its 50th year in the music industry and the 20th year since we moved to Tennessee,” Curb said. “Tennessee has welcomed my business, employees and my family and given us an environment to grow our business. I am impressed by the leadership of Gov. Bill Haslam and Commissioner Bill Hagerty and am proud to serve as Chairman of the Board of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission.”

Curb’s experience is not limited to the entertainment industry but also includes public service. Curb was elected lieutenant governor of California in 1978. During his four-year term, he served as acting governor for one year and guided the state through disastrous floods, fires and a threatened prison guard strike. Additionally, Curb was the national co-chairman of Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 presidential campaign and later served as chairman of President Reagan’s National Finance Committee during the president’s re-election campaign.

Curb has had an enormous impact on the state of Tennessee. In addition to Curb Records and the philanthropic work of the Mike Curb Foundation, he is also founder of the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University; the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University; a governing board member of Nashville’s Fisk University; endowed the Curb Institute for Music at Memphis’ Rhodes College; and is the current chairman of the Tennessee Film Entertainment and Music Commission.

For more information on the 59th Annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development, please visit www.tnecdcon.com. Online registration will be available in the coming weeks. For the latest Governor’s Conference news, like ECD on Facebook or follow @TNECD on Twitter. The official Governor’s Conference hashtag is #ECDGovCon.

Hotel reservations are available now and conference attendees are eligible for special room rate of $107 for a single and $127 for a double at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. These special rates are only available as occupancy permits or until 5 p.m. CST on Sept. 28. To make reservations call 1-800-327-6618 or 615-255-8400 and mention "Governor's Conference ECD" to get the discounted rate, or click here to make room reservations online.

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tn.gov/ecd. Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.

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Media Contact: Valerie Somerville, ECD
Office: (615) 532-1925
Email: Valerie.Somerville@tn.gov