Executive

The Tennessee Secretary of State's office is kicking off its second annual student essay contest to encourage students to be actively engaged citizens. The essays will focus on citizenship with length requirements varying by grade level.

The images are heartbreaking. For the last week, we’ve all seen stories coming out of Houston and the rest of the Gulf Coast showing the catastrophic mess Hurricane Harvey is leaving behind. As I write this, rescues are still underway. In fact, first responders and volunteers from Tennessee are in the Lone Star state offering their service to help others.

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett is proud to officially launch the state’s new online voter registration system. The system offers a convenient way for voters to easily register or change their address if they have moved. Counties across Tennessee can now securely receive voter registration information faster than using traditional paper registrations

Locating the land of an ancestor can uncover a wealth of knowledge. On Sept. 23, the Tennessee State Library and Archives will host a free workshop about land platting. It will be a basic review of the steps in locating the description of property in Tennessee and platting that description onto a map.

The number of new entity filings coupled with a historically low unemployment rate indicates Tennessee has a healthy economy, according to a report released by the Secretary of State's office. There were 9,524 new entity filings in the second quarter of 2017, representing a 6.8 percent increase compared to the same time last year. Initial filings have had positive year-over-year growth for 23 consecutive quarters. As of July 1, there were 267,143 active entities in Tennessee, representing a 3 percent increase compared to the first quarter of the year.

Photographs are a critical part of learning and understanding history. On July 22, the Tennessee State Library and Archives will host a free workshop entitled “From Farm Boy to Tomahawk Warrior: David Franklin Brock Korean War Photograph Collection."

Five Tennessee students received medals last week during the 2017 National History Day Contest. In all, 58 middle and high school students represented Tennessee in the competition, where students prepare documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances and websites with historical themes. The overall theme of this year's contest was “Taking a Stand in History.”

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is awarding more than $337,000 in library technology training grants to 45 public libraries across the state. The grants will provide libraries in the Tennessee Regional Library System state funding for new laptops, software and technology training within their communities. Each grant is matched with at least 10 percent in local funds.

Tennessee’s economy continues to grow with a robust start to 2017, according to a report released by the Secretary of State's office. There were 10,372 new entity filings in the first quarter of 2017, which represents an 8.7 percent increase over the same time last year. This marks the 22nd consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth. As of April 1, there were 259,282 active entities in Tennessee, representing a 5.2 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2016.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett would like to congratulate three administrators of elections who passed the state certification exam Tuesday, May 2, 2017.