James Powell

After a childhood spent on a 110-acre farm in rural Cub Creek, Tennessee, he won a Sears & Roebuck scholarship, allowing him to become the first member of his family to attend college. At the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, he met Sandra Pless and they were married after his sophomore year.

Powell joined a family member in the steel business, and in 1969 he began his own company with three employees and a 30-ton crane. That company grew and diversified many times over the years. Today, the diverse Powell interests include crane divisions, a steel erection sector, coal processing, an industrial division, and Decanter Machine operations, with offices across the Volunteer State, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

A member of the Tennessee Business Roundtable, he has held many positions, both regional and at the state level, with the Tennessee Associated General Contractors, among his many professional and civic interests.

Determined to assist others, just as he was aided by Sears & Roebuck, Powell devotes a great deal of attention to education. An avid supporter of ETSU and a member of the Distinguished President’s Trust, Powell is past president of the ETSU Foundation and currently serves on its board of directors, was named Honorary Alumnus in 1979, and received the George L. Carter Award in 1997. He is also a member of the ETSU College of Business Board of Advisors. Even the new Charles C. Sherrod Library owes much of its beauty to Powell Construction.

The Powells have endowed over $1.5 million to ETSU in music, athletic, business, and technology scholarships, and hundreds of students at several universities have enjoyed higher education opportunities thanks to the Powell family’s scholarships.

The Powells have three sons, James, Jr., Michael, and Jeffrey.