Like me, I’m sure that you have often heard the ubiquitous phrase: “They said.”   Quite often the person citing “they” is hard pressed to name the actual source that said something, anything or, even nothing.

As the effort to educate Middle Tennesseans about  the benefits of the proposed Music City Center moves forward, we might lapse into the “they said” trap without actually knowing the “them.”  Fortunately for us, “they” are real folks, volunteers who are giving hundreds of hours to shape the future of Nashville. And I mean giving literally, because they are getting paid zero, zip, nada for their efforts.  Why?  Well, we’ll get to that in a moment.

“They” started by serving on the Music City Center Committee, selected by Mayor Bill Purcell to study and recommend whether Nashville needs more convention center space and after a 15-month effort, recommended a new 1.1 million square foot convention center with a price tag of $455 million.

But, again, who are “they” and why did “they” give their time to this study and the resulting coalition to implement the center? Let’s take a look at the three main leaders:

Marty Dickens—Came to Nashville in 1999 as head of BellSouth Tennessee; born in North Carolina, degrees from East Carolina and Georgia State universities.  Community/civic involvement includes: past chair of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce as well as the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, board of directors of the YMCA, the Boy Scouts and Belmont University.

Randy Rayburn—Came to Nashville in 1975; owns Sunset Grill, Midtown Café and Cabana’s restaurants;  Milan, TN native,  University of Tennessee graduate. Community/civic involvement includes: Taste of Nations, Nashville’s Table, boards of Nashville Symphony, the Belcourt Theature and the Nashville Convention Center.

Ralph Shultz—Came to Nashville in 1996; president and CEO of Adventure Science Center; Louisville, KY born, Chattanooga raised, University of Tennessee graduate. Community/civic involvement: Leadership Nashville, Leadership Music, the Domestic Violence Intervention Center and Nashville Youth Leadership.

Now that you have more concrete information about the “they,” let’s go back to why.  With more than full-time responsibilities and presently involved in an indefatigable number of other community projects, why, indeed, did these people add to their already full plates?

“First, we couldn’t turn down Mayor Purcell when he asked us,” Dickens said.

“Then, the more we got into it, we quickly realized that this was a crucial decision in Middle Tennessee’s future.” While they were all quick to note pertinent facts and figures, Rayburn summed it up in terms most important to taxpayers: “The best thing is that folks outside of Nashville will pay the tab.”

Their passion for their subject shows through, even as they deflect credit to the dozens, and now hundreds, of other volunteers who have given, literally, as many hours as they have. That would be a lot, because between the three of them, one can easily tabulate 1,500 hours of free consulting labor on behalf of our city…and, the meter is still running.

But so far, these three convention-center musketeers have taken the lead and the majority of the heat in the court of public opinion.  Folks, you may be for the Music City Center or you may have changes that you think should be made or you may be against it completely, but please appreciate the time and effort that your neighbors have freely given.

As they have said in many different ways, they love this city.  So, while no good deed may go unpunished, in this case, at least when you hear someone say “they said”…well, you’ll know who they’re talking about.