The 2019 Tennessean of the Year is Tennessee Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk.
Strunk assumed the role of controlling owner of the team in March 2015. She also serves as the co-chairman of the franchise’s Board of Directors.
In her time as controlling owner Strunk has transformed the franchise through her vision, commitment and decisions that have set the team on an ascending trajectory. She hired Jon Robinson as General Manager and Mike Vrabel as head coach, while also installing Steve Underwood to the position of President and CEO. Additionally, she has annually committed significant resources to upgrade Nissan Stadium and the team’s practice facility, Saint Thomas Sports Park. Strunk also continues to grow the administrative staff for the franchise with significant additions across different departments. All those changes translated to success on the field as the Titans went from a three-win team in 2015, to 9-7 records in the past three campaigns and a playoff win at Kansas City in 2017. The playoff victory was the first for the franchise since 2003, and the three consecutive winning seasons are first in the “Titans” era (1999-present).
In the spring of 2018, she collaborated with Nashville city officials to secure the 2019 NFL Draft for downtown Nashville. By any measure, the 2019 NFL Draft was the most successful in NFL history, drawing a record 600,000 fans to downtown Nashville over the three-day event and setting television ratings records. The Draft resulted in $224 million in economic impact and $133 million in direct spending for the Tennessee economy, which were both NFL high-water marks. In June, Strunk was honored by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame as the “Tennessean of the Year,” for her role in bring the NFL Draft to Nashville and her work to transform the franchise to a consistent winner.
One of the daughters of Titans franchise founder K.S. “Bud” Adams, Jr., Strunk was raised on football and is proud of her father’s role in founding the American Football League as well as the decades of leadership he provided not only to the Titans franchise, but also to the National Football League. Her goal is to build upon that legacy and establish the Titans as one of the league’s elite franchises.
An independent businesswoman for more than 30 years, Strunk is the owner and president of both Kenada Farms and the Little River Oil and Gas Company. She has been significantly involved in the family’s farming and ranching businesses, including serving as the vice president of Bud Adams Ranches, Inc. These ventures provided her valuable knowledge about customer service as well as the opportunity to manage a diverse range of employees and business operations, and these experiences have shaped her management style.
Engaged in the process of improving all aspects of the franchise, Strunk has the best interest of the football team and the fans on her mind as she makes her decisions. As evidence of that engagement, the Titans have become one of the best home teams in the NFL, posting a 16-4 home mark in the last 20 games leading into the 2019 season.
In 2016, Strunk was appointed to the NFL’s Hall of Fame Committee. Her appointment continues a family legacy, as her father was a long-time member of the committee. Additionally, in 2017, Strunk was named to the Board of Trustees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2018, she added an appointment to the NFL’s Super Bowl and Major Event Advisory Committee.