Louis Gump

Johnson City businessman Louis Gump began his career as treasurer of two family-owned finance companies from 1963 to 1971. One was a consumer finance company and the other focused on commercial finance. In 1971, the family acquired Smith-Higgins, a wholesale pharmaceutical distribution firm, and Gump became president, devoting full time to its management.

Between 1971 and 1986, Smith-Higgins grew approximately 20 times in sales and expanded to cover a seven-state area. In 1983, the company was sold to Alco Standard Corporation, which traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and in 1985, Alco Health Services Division went public.

Gump held dual titles of president and chairman for five years. In 1986, he served as chairman of Smith-Higgins, working primarily on business strategy and asset management at the corporate level. In 1988, he resigned to start Impact Management, a company working primarily with owners and managers of closely-held companies and professional corporations to improve profits through improved business planning, better organizational design, and increased operational efficiency. Impact Management also conducts first-line supervisor training in principles of management.

Gump is a Certified Management Consultant and a member of the Institute of Management Consultants. He has taught college-level management courses and supervisor training classes, and has facilitated continuing education seminars and corporate planning retreats.

Active in civic affairs, Gump is a 2001 Tri-Cities Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureate. He received the 1998 Northeast Tennessee Philanthropist of the Year Award, and the 1992 Johnson City Medical Center “Spirit of Johnson City” Award. Gump has served as President of the Johnson City Public Schools Foundation, Chairman of the Northeast State Technical Community College Foundation Board, and as a member of the Duke University Talent Identification Program national advisory board.

Currently, he is a member of the Air Cargo and Trade Development Committee, the Milligan College President’s Advisory Council, and the Greater Tri-Cities Business Alliance. A member of First Tennessee Bank’s regional board, he is co-founder and past chairman of both East Tennessee Hospice and Hands On! Regional Museum. In the past he has acted as chair of the Johnson City Medical Center Hospital Board and as president of the Watauga Area Mental Health Board.

A faithful supporter of ETSU, Gump is a member of the Distinguished President’s Trust and the ETSU Foundation Board, as well as chair of the ETSU Roan Scholar Steering Committee, guiding the Roan Scholars Leadership Program he established. The merit-based program seeks, through an excellent educational opportunity, to keep outstanding young leaders within the region. He has spent over 20 years as the Foundation representative on the university scholarship committee.

In 1983, Gump was named ETSU Honorary Alumnus, and he received the ETSU Margin of Excellence Award in 2002.

Gump and his wife, Lucy, are the parents of four children: sons Louis, Jay, and Warren, and daughter Mary G. Fly.