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Beacon Center of Tennessee
| Beacon Center of Tennessee | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Top official: | Justin Owen, President |
| Founder(s): | Drew Johnson |
| Year founded: | 2004 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Promoted policies | |
| Governance, Education, Healthcare and Tax Policy | |
| Budget | |
| 2013: | $1,223,641 |
| 2012: | $481,990 |
| 2011: | $527,219 |
The Beacon Center of Tennessee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and policy institution based in Nashville, Tenn. It was founded in 2004 as the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. Beacon Center scholars research and advocate changes in education, healthcare, economic regulation and tax policy.[1] It is a member of the State Policy Network, a national think tank network.[2]
Mission
According to its website, the Beacon Center of Tennessee has the following mission:[1]
| “ | We empower Tennesseans to reclaim control of their lives, so that they can freely pursue their version of the American Dream.[3] | ” |
History
The Beacon Center of Tennessee, originally the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, was founded by Drew Johnson in 2004, who remained a part of the organization until 2012.[2] In 2007, the organization attracted media attention, including from the Washington Post, after releasing a report alleging that former Vice President Al Gore's home used more electricity than 20 times the national average.[4][2]
The organization's board of directors elected Justin Owen, who had been with the center since 2008, president of the organization in 2010.[5] According to The Tennessean, the center's "strategy on what issues to champion and how to successfully convey its message with lawmakers has changed under Owen's tenure."[2]
Work
The Beacon Center of Tennessee analyzes six main issues:[6]
- School choice
- Healthcare reform
- Hall income tax
- Corporate welfare
- Property rights
- Spending reform
Within those broad categories, the Beacon Center of Tennessee aims to use stories of particular Tennesseans to advocate policy change. In 2012, for example, a report entitled Splitting the Farm analyzed the Tennessee estate tax from the perspective of two Tennessean farmers.[7]
As part of its focus on spending reform, the center publishes an annual report entitled the Tennessee Pork Report that aims to identify what it perceives as waste, fraud and abuse in the Tennessee State Government.[8] The 2015 edition of the Tennessee Pork Report gave its "Pork of the Year" award to the project to re-design the state logo.[9]
Leadership
The following are the main staff of the Beacon Center of Tennessee:[10]
- Justin Owen, President and CEO
- Braden H. Boucek, Director of Litigation
- Lindsay Boyd, Director of Policy
- Sam Cosby, Director of Development
- Mark Cunningham, Director of Marketing and Communications
- Suzanne Michel, Director of Operations
The Board of Directors of the Beacon Center of Tennessee includes the following individuals:[10]
- John Cerasuolo, Chairman (President and CEO, ADS Security)[11]
- Joe Scarlett, Vice-Chair (Retired Chairman, Tractor Supply Company and Founder, Scarlett Leadership Institute)[12]
- Lee Beaman (Chairman and CEO, Beaman Automotive Group) [13]
- Jim Ethier (Chairman, Bush Brothers & Company)[14]
- Pat Shepherd (Co-founder, Avondale Partners)[15]
- Lauren Templeton (Founder and President, Lauren Templeton Capital Management, LLC)[16]
- Larry White (Retired Senior Vice President and CFO, CBRL Group, Inc.)[17]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the Beacon Center of Tennessee's revenue and expenses for the 2010-2013 fiscal years:
| Annual revenue and expenses for the Beacon Center of Tennessee, 2010-2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2013[18] | $1,223,641 | $1,079,678 |
| 2012[18] | $481,990 | $458,311 |
| 2011[19] | $527,219 | $536,835 |
| 2010[19] | $608,125 | $360,582 |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Beacon Center Tennessee. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- 501(c)(3)
- Nonprofit organization
- Tennessee Center for Policy Research
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Our Story," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Tennessean, "Beacon Center grows, helps defeat Insure TN," May 24, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Washington Post, "War on Warming Begins at (Al Gore's) Home," March 1, 2007
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Justin Owen named TCPR president," August 27, 2010
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Issues," accessed October 13, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Splitting the Farm," March 20, 2012
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "2015 Tennessee Pork Report," July 14, 2015
- ↑ WSMV.com, "New state logo named 'Pork of the Year' by Beacon Center," June 30, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Our People," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "John Cerasuolo," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Joe Scarlett," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Lee Beaman," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Jim Ethier," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Pat Shepherd," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Lauren Templeton," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ Beacon Center of Tennessee, "Larry White," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 GuideStar, "Beacon Center of Tennessee IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed October 13, 2015
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 GuideStar, "Beacon Center of Tennessee IRS Form 990 (2011)," accessed October 13, 2015
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