Member Murfreesboro City Council and Owner of Price Paving Company, LLC

Whatever T. Kirt Wade does, he brings an immediate sense of passion, along with a willingness to listen and serve. Lurking behind the quick smile is a keen understanding and a witty sense of humor. Since 2006, when he moved back to Middle Tennessee, he has been involved in the Rutherford County community, beginning with the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and then moving on to city government.

“I grew up in Trenton, a small town in northwest Tennessee. My dad was a City Councilman, and my mom was the Deputy County Clerk,” explained Wade. “Growing up in a town of 4,000 people, everyone knew each other. It was a great place to be raised and learn the value of family and hard work.”

Wade moved to Murfreesboro when he learned how quickly the city was growing; it made him want to be involved and help shape the city for the future. His parents always stressed that to make a difference in the community you must be involved at some level. He initially chose the Rutherford County Chamber of Chamber because it gives a person the opportunity to understand and gain knowledge of what’s going on in all of Rutherford County and Murfreesboro.

“Sitting on the Board of Directors for Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce gave me great insight into the work that goes on here in our city,” said Wade. After attending Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, and finishing up two needed courses online through California Southern University before online classes were everywhere, Wade received a degree in Business Management. His parents owned the dry cleaners in his hometown, and he aspired to become an entrepreneur.

“God has a strange way of making things happen in our lives,” said Wade. “I worked for UPS almost 11 years and left to pursue another opportunity at The Maxwell House. After my first year there, I exceeded the corporate goals and achieved an excellent sales record. Opryland Hotel got word of my abilities and called me, offering a promotion with their Executive Sales Division. There I specialized in the Sports Market.”

Wade left Opryland Hotel after the Jacksonville Jaguars recruited him to work as their

Manager of Team Operations for five seasons in the National Football League. He packed

up his life and moved to Florida. While there, he had the opportunity to utilize his skill set in operations and leadership. He was responsible for the travel budget, training camp, team hotels, team meals and team travel. While in Jacksonville, Wade became involved in the community through the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Gator Bowl Transportation Committee and on the Logistics and Operations Team for the Super Bowl XXXIX Host Committee.

When he got to Murfreesboro, one of the first people he met was Blake Smith, owner of Smith Design/Build. Smith suggested that Wade join the board of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. Soon, Tommy Bragg, then Mayor of Murfreesboro called to recruit him to the Murfreesboro Planning Commissions where he became Vice Chair. This led to Wade making the decision to run for Murfreesboro City Council.

Wade loves that Murfreesboro is a big and growing city, but also a close-knit community. His goal is to continue to be part of the team managing the growth, because growth keeps coming. For more than 30 years Murfreesboro and Rutherford County have seen above average growth, but the pandemic brought even more. According to 2024 estimates, about 50 to 60 people are moving to the area every day.

“As we look at the growth of our city,” said Wade, “we want to manage our growth and control it. We have some key developments going on now in our city that will reshape it for the future. We look forward to the Keystone project that will reshape our downtown, Trader Joes entrance into the market and the Clari Park development on Medical Center Parkway.”

Like many communities in the Middle Tennessee area, Murfreesboro is dealing with the issues tied to the massive growth, including traffic. While Murfreesboro has worked hard to develop a strong relationship with Tennessee Department of Transportation, projects at the state level move slowly. And the biggest traffic issues are on state owned roads like TN-99, TN-96 and Thompson Lane. Ten years ago, there were discussions of widening Thompson Lane, and it is on the books to begin in 2026.

Because streets can only get so wide due to the availability of land, cities are looking at other options, like the development of mixed-use developments where people can walk to work, shop, dine and find entertainment. Both the new Clari Park and Keystone projects are aimed at not only creating attractive areas to live and work, but to get cars off the road.

“We do not understand mass transit down here in the South,” explained Wade. “It has the connotation that only the poor use it, but in large cities ALL people use mass transit. We need to get some of the cars off the road. If we had mass transportation that could get people into Nashville in 15 minutes, wouldn’t they take it?”

Mass transportation plays a crucial role in supporting the growth and development of our city. Mass transportation reduces traffic congestion by providing an alternative to individual

car usage. Traffic is the number one concern among the citizens of Murfreesboro. Our Council and City staff are always looking for opportunities for better traffic patterns.

He and his other council members try to listen to the community and learn the new things the community wants, like Trader Joes. While there are economic factors required by companies like Trader Joes, and J. Alexanders, another request from local residents, as opportunities arise the council tries to take advantage of them. However, it doesn’t always work out. Like the One East College development that dug into the ground, but never rose out of it.

The city is now in the process of trying to buy back the land where that development was supposed to happen. The hope is to turn it into a parking lot for much needed downtown parking and a small park.

“We’ve done some good things,” said Wade. But he does not intend to rest on his laurels, he’s making plans to write this next act.