Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee share a moment after Lee was sworn in as Tennesseeís 50th governor last Saturday inside the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville. Courtesy of Williamson County Herald
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee took the oath of office Saturday morning, offering in his remarks a message of unity and commitment, with emphasis on limited government and improved workforce development.
“I believe that education is more than a test score,” Lee said. “It’s about preparing a child for success in life. A resurgence of vocational, technical and agricultural education, and the inclusion of civics and character education, combined with reforms, will take Tennessee to the top tier of states.
“Government is not the answer to our greatest challenges,” Lee said. “Government’s role is to protect our rights and our liberty and our freedom. I believe in a limited government, that provides unlimited opportunity for we the people to address the greatest challenges of our day.
“Tennesseans, we stand in one of the great states in all of America. But out greatness has never come from what any one individual did. Our greatness has always come from the collective lives, service, commitment and sacrifice of those who came before us—because of what we have always done as a people together, in community with each other, in service to our state and to our neighbors.
“We are famous for our three grand divisions of East, Middle and West Tennessee, represented by the three stars on our flag. It is important however to remember that the blue circle around the three stars on our flag represents the unity of our state. I believe that Tennesseans have much more that unites us than divides us.”
Lee said he plans to hit the ground running. He held his first cabinet meeting Tuesday afternoon.
