Justin "Jet" Potter

Justin "Jet" Potter. . Justin Potter had a passion for Scouting that began when his son Jasan, Jr Wee-Buddy joined Scouting Jet (or "Pop" to his family) played a key role in the establishment of Camp Boxwell at the Narrows of the Harpeth and worked to involve underserved youth in Scouting He served as a Scoutmaster and was a member of the Middle Tennessee Council Executive Board for over 35 years. He supported the council generously in its earliest days with time, energy and dollars. , Justin "Jet Potter was born in 1899 in Smithville, Tennessee. He was a dynamic businessman who forged a coal company that grew into a multimillion dollar mining and fuel transportation operation, later increasing his holdings in fields ranging from publishing and insurance to chemicals and fertilizers. , Jet respected loyalty, integrity and devotion to duty in all his dealings. In one notable instance, Jet went on a business trip on one of his towboats. He left the boat for a side trip and returned as planned some days later, but looking unkempt and unshaven (as was his habit). The towboat guard refused to let him board, saying "Mr. Potter wouldn't have the likes of you on his boat. After confirming his identity and boarding his boat, Jet rewarded the guard for doing his duty despite the argument. , Jet was a man ahead of his time in recognition of diversity and race relations, as evidenced by his promotion of an African American man to foreman in a Kentucky coal mine in the 1940's. Despite protest from other miners, he stuck by his decision, saying "He's the best man for the job Jet was also a strong supporter of women-owned businesses, he provided venture capital to a female rela tive who opened "Helen's Dress Shop" in Nashville. He later said that she paid that loan back faster than any other he had made. , He was extremely loyal to friends, family and associates. During the Depression he bought diamonds for $100/carat to aid cash strapped friends. He later sold the stones from a shoebox for the same price to young men getting married. His loyalty extended to his community as evidenced in his chairing the "Smoke Commission" that addressed air pollution in Nashville. , Jet Potter had a keen sense of fun: he once booked the ballroom at New Yorke's Waldorf Astoria Hotel for "Pentateuch Beau a prize bull he imported to strengthen the cattle industry in Tennessee. Because the bull's arrival was delayed by US customs quarantine, the party became a "surprise party" in his friend John Amos's backyard. Mr. Amos was the most surprised person present. In another notable incident he once gave State Senator Thomas L. Cummings a wheelbarrow ride around the city's busiest block at high noon to honor a political bet he had lost. , In 1958 Jet sold his mining interests for an estimated $19 million. He made the sale contingent upon the first million arriving in cash before 8am the next morning-Labor Day, 1958. It appeared in a suitcase on his front porch as agreed. , Today's Jet Potter Service Center was made possible by Jet Potter's two daughters, Anne Potter Wilson and Valere Potter Menefee, , who have made outstanding contributions to Scouting in memory of their father.