Lobbyist Anne Carr retiring after 37 years

Anne Carr, among the first women to become an active lobbyist at the Tennessee General Assembly, is retiring after almost four decades. She started with the Tennesee State Employees Association and continued through the founding of the firm Smith Harris Carr.

“After 37 exciting years of state government advocacy on behalf of really amazing clients, I’m hanging up my lobbyist hat,” Carr said in a Facebook post, mostly devoted to offering thanks to friends and associates (with a photo collection). “I’ve offered my personal thanks already to each of our clients, who trust us to find an ethical path through a confusing process in order to help them continue their missions of service.”

.. “And my fellow lobbyists – I will miss our day to day camaraderie! You understand the difficulty of finding a short answer to the question: “What is your job, anyway?” Good-bye and good luck.”

Carr was registered to represent 14 clients in 2017, ranging from airports to veterinarians with perhaps a focus in the health care arena but with a mix of others including Planned Parenthood, housing development authorities and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Personal note: Anne has always been about as astute and ethical a lobbyist that you will find, extremely knowledgeable about the legislative process and the people involved. A good-natured lady, always professional and courteous.