DIRECTOR - PRESIDENT

Bob Ravener graduated from the United States Naval Academy, where he earned distinction as a battalion commander, intercollegiate baseball player, and past president of his class. He served on active duty as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy before transitioning to a career in business. 

He earned an MBA at NYU and has served in executive roles in several top Fortune 200 corporations, including PepsiCo, Home Depot, Starbucks, and, most recently, Dollar General, where he was the Chief People Officer until his retirement in 2019. During his tenure with Dollar General, the company nearly doubled in size, expanding to 16,000 stores and employing approximately 140,000 people, while adding almost 65,000 net new jobs to the American economy. Additionally, Dollar General was selected as the number one training company in the world by Training magazine. Across three companies, Mr. Ravener initiated military hiring programs that, to date, have provided more than 150,000 veterans with employment opportunities since 2004.

Mr. Ravener has also served on boards and commissions at the national, state, and local levels, including the President’s National Hire Veterans Committee and the Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee for Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach, driving awareness and action on veteran hiring across corporate America.

He was the chairman of the Tennessee State Workforce Development Board, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Human Capital Advisory Council, vice chairman of the Franklin Civil War Historical Commission, and a member of the Franklin City Employee Pension & Trust Committee.

Today, Mr. Ravener is an author of two books and a consultant who is very active in his community. He has served on several non-profit boards, including past president of Friends of Franklin Parks, Franklin’s Charge, and past president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. He is a member of the Downtown Franklin Rotary Club, American Legion, and VFW, while leading a project to restore the historic local American Legion Post. Over the years, he has also coached over fifty youth athletic teams. He lives in Franklin with Lisa, his wife of over forty years, and has three grown children and four grandchildren.

DIRECTOR - SECRETARY

Melissa Alexander is a Tennessee native, born and raised in Williamson County, TN. She attended the original Bethesda Elementary school, Page Middle and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Page High School. She is a nationally recognized top Commercial Real Estate broker with 20 years of experience in industrial real estate. She resides in Brentwood with her husband and two children, one of which became a Covenant School mass shooting survivor at the age of 9. Since March 27th, 2023, Melissa has been advocating for common sense gun legislation in Tennessee and Washington DC. Her advocacy work, alongside other Covenant parents, has led to the passage of four state bills to help make our communities safer. In 2025 she was appointed by Lt Gov Randy McNally to the State of TN Child Fatality Review board. She has testified before the US House Oversight Committee roundtable and has been featured in the Washington Post, Newsweek, New York Times, Tennessean, Daily Beast, BBC, Economist, NBJ, CNN, NPR and two upcoming feature-length documentaries.

As a lifelong Tennessean and Williamson native, Melissa cares deeply for the community that shaped her. Growing up surrounded by the county’s rich history, strong schools and close-knit neighborhoods, she developed a genuine appreciation for the people and traditions that make this place so special.  She has seen Williamson develop from a small rural community, to one of the top growth areas both locally and nationally and is dedicated to ensuring it remains a welcoming, vibrant and thriving home for generations to come.

DIRECTOR

Steve Bacon is a long-time commercial real estate professional and community-focused leader based in Franklin, Tennessee. With decades of experience in real estate development and property strategy, Steve has played a key role in shaping thoughtful growth across the region. He is also an active Rotarian with a passion for service, preservation, and meaningful civic engagement. Known for his integrity and deep local roots, Steve continues to work at the intersection of business and community, helping create places that matter.

DIRECTOR

Daniel Klatt is a retired graphic designer, entrepreneur, and community leader with a passion for historic preservation. After attending the University of Colorado and the Colorado Institute of Art, he founded and ran successful design and advertising firms in Nashville and Franklin for over 30 years, restoring multiple historic properties along the way.

A founding member of Franklin’s Downtown Neighborhood Association, Daniel served two terms as a Franklin Alderman. He held leadership roles with the Franklin Housing Authority, Franklin Tomorrow, O’More College of Design, the Heritage Foundation, and several other organizations. His policy work has helped shape the city’s streetscapes, housing, and conservation efforts.

Daniel’s dedication to design, preservation, and community continues to leave a lasting impact on Franklin’s character and growth.

DIRECTOR

Logan Matthews is a 7th generation Tennessean and native of Franklin, TN. As Principal at Cooley Public Strategies, Matthews support clients by solving problems at the intersection of business, media, and government. With experience in government relations, advocacy, and strategic communications, he works to coordinate statewide and local community engagement campaigns with a focus on land use and infrastructure sectors.

Matthews has worked in technology startups, higher education development, and for multiple campaigns at the state and local levels, including on the re-election campaigns for former Tennessee House Finance Chairman and late Rep. Charles Sargent.

Passionate about serving his community, he previously served as Co-Chair of the PENCIL Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Board and as a 2024 U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Next Gen Global Leader and currently serves as Chair of the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center Ambassadors, on the Alumni Council at Belmont University, and on the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s Next Gen Board. Matthews holds a M.A., Economics from George Mason University and a B.S., Economics and Politics and Public Law from Belmont University where he was a member of the Men's Golf Team. He and his wife, Ashlynn, live in Franklin and attend Forest Hills Baptist Church.