Meet Jay Robinson

Candidate for Meigs County Commissioner, District 5

Jay and wife, Amy, at a St Jude fundraiser

Although I was born in Cleveland, TN, I grew up in Mobile, AL where my mother and stepfather moved in 1977. Mobile was where I spent my early years, but East Tennessee was where I always felt at home, as I spent most of my summers with my grandparents, splitting time between Athens and Cleveland. This included weeks spent on “the lake” in Ten Mile, where my Aunt and Uncle had a cabin.

In 1989, I joined the United States Marine Corps as a reservist, and was later “activated” for Desert Storm. I spent the entire war at the Navy Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Dam Neck, Virginia, just outside of Virginia Beach. I spent 1994-95 on Marine Corps Base, Twenty-Nine Palms, California, where my second child was born. In 1995, my family and I moved to East Tennessee permanently. After the move back to Cleveland, and eventually to Athens, one of our favorite family activities was camping on the shore at that same cabin where I spent summers growing up. It was during this time that I set the goal of eventually living here.

Moving to Ten Mile

After my daughter was born in 2000, life and work eventually took me to Knoxville, where I lived for 17 years. The visits to Ten Mile became less frequent, but my goal of a place on the lake was still very front of mind. In 2016, my wife and I purchased our lot on the lake, directly across the cove from where my Aunt and Uncle’s cabin had been, and where I spent so much time. We started construction on our house in 2020, and moved here permanently in 2021.

Meigs County is a fantastic place to live, but has underutilized the magnificent resources available to us.

Work Experience

I am very fortunate to have been able to use the training I received in the military and turn that into a rewarding career. Consistently taking on increasing responsibilities and finding success in various manufacturing settings. In 2011 after leaving my position as as Maintenance Manager at Maremont, in Loudon, TN, I took a position as service manager for a company based in Elkhart, Indiana. We serviced Maremont and other customers within the same industry. Although I still lived in East Tennessee, I eventually became their Director of Operations. In 2017, I started RbSA Industrial. Located in Sweetwater, we service industrial manufacturing equipment all over the USA.

1989 – 1999, USMCR, Staff Sergeant (E6), Maintenance Chief, 4^th SCAMP, Mobile, AL
1995 – 2009, Automation Technician, Maintenance Manager
2010 – 2017, Service Manager, Director of Operations
2017 – 2026, Businesse Owner

Personal and Community Experience

Although the most recent part of my career has required a lot of travel, I have an intense sense of community and desire to give back.

While in the Marine Corps, I was active in organizing and participating in local USMCR Toys for Tots programs.
Fundraising activities for St Jude, benefitting children with cancer and their familes.
Family participation in the Tower of Toys, serving kids through The Boys and Girls Club of the Ocoee Region, including Meigs Co.
Alum and contributor to YMCA Camp Ocoee
I am volunteering at the Adaptive Water Ski Clinic to be held in Kingston on August 15.

Other Experience

Regular contributor to trade magazine, The Tube and Pipe Journal, where you can find articles I have written on subjects such as machine maintenance, safety, and improving production cycles
In 2022, after a long day driving to and from a customer location, I decided to pursue a Private Pilots License. I soloed in April of 2023, and passed my chekride in September of 2023. I now regularly fly my own plane to get to and from customer locations, as well as take my family on trips.
My work has created the opportunity for me to travel the world. I have made multiple visits to China, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, and Canada. These experiences have introduced me to other cultures, different work ethic, and created a sense of how to be competitive in a global economy.