Two alumni of the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a University of Tennessee trustee are being inducted into the 2010 Junior Achievement of East Tennessee’s Business Hall of Fame.
Alumnus William “Billy” Carroll Jr., president and CEO of SmartBank; alumnus Tim Williams, co-founder and CEO of 21st Mortgage Corporation; and UT trustee Bill Carroll Sr. , chairman of SmartBank, will be inducted Thursday, April 8, at the Knoxville Marriott.
Carroll Jr. graduated from the college in 1990 with a degree in accounting. In 2007, Carroll and his father, Carroll Sr., founded and organized SmartBank in Pigeon Forge. SmartBank has now expanded to Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Knoxville.
Tim Williams earned an accounting degree from the college in 1986 as well as an MBA in 1993. 21st Mortgage is the highest volume lender in the manufactured home industry, with a portfolio totaling $5.6 billion. The company is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Co. and is headquartered in Knoxville.
Carroll Sr. was first appointed to the UT Board of Trustees in 2005, representing the First District. He serves on the board’s Finance and Administration and Trusteeship committees. He is a 47-year veteran of the banking industry, now serving as chairman of SmartBank.
This is the 22nd year for the Hall of Fame, which recognizes business leaders from East Tennessee who have shown an ability to buildbusinesses into an organization vital to the health and progress of the East Tennessee area.
The Junior Achievement of East Tennessee aims to prepare tomorrow’s business leaders through programs that increase financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurialism.