Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 7, 2009
Tennessee Aquarium president and CEO plans to stay on top
David Laprad
Most of the data related to the renaissance of Chattanooga supports the theory that it began with the Tennessee Aquarium. The attraction’s president and CEO, Charlie Arant, agrees.
“Just look at the downtown area in the evenings; there’s a vibrant atmosphere that didn’t exist before the aquarium opened,” says Arant, who assumed his post in 1995. “There was nothing around here but old, boarded up warehouses. Big River Grille was a car barn. Over time, people came to town and
made investments, and now Chattanooga is an active, energetic place to be.”
Arant says he especially likes how adults and children alike can find something to enjoy in the Scenic City.
“You can meet your friends at a bar or take your kids to get ice cream,” he says. “There are four ice cream shops in the downtown area because people are here having fun. It’s a clean, safe place to be.”
That might be the case, but with competing aquariums in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga., how does the Tennessee Aquarium plan to stay at the top of everyone’s to-do list? Arant, the aquarium’s staff and its board of trustees have that matter well in hand.
“It’s vital that the aquarium stay competitive so we can continue to attract not just local residents but also our regional visitors,” says Arant. “We’ve got about 10 million people within a three-hour radius around Chattanooga. That’s our market.”
Item one involves running the aquarium as though it were a traditional business. While the Tennessee Aquarium is a private, not-for-profit company, it’s also a capital-intensive operation, so Arant says good business practices are a priority. “It’s quite challenging to provide the necessary environment for these animals, so we conduct our business as though we’re trying to make a profit,” says Arant.
The second entry on Arant’s checklist for keeping the Tennessee Aquarium strong is making sure there’s always something new and spectacular to bring people back.
Recent additions include the $30 million Ocean Journey building in 2005, which added a salt-water experience to the originally fresh water-only aquarium; penguins hit the scene in 2007; and in 2008, the aquarium added the instantly popular Jellies Living Art attraction, which features exotic jellyfish. As for 2009, the Tennessee Aquarium welcomed its first baby gentoo penguin in July.
“We’re constantly adding new experiences, new exhibits for people to enjoy,” Arant says. “We want people to come to the aquarium, have a positive experience, go home and feel like they need to come back to see all the things they missed their first time through.”
Arant also believes it’s important for the Tennessee Aquarium to work hand in hand with local businesses and organizations to create the best possible destination.
“We work closely with other attractions in Chattanooga, including most of the large hotels and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, not only to bring people to town but also to ensure once they’re here, they have a good time,” says Arant, who has nothing but good things to say about the aquarium’s partners.
“The aquarium is a big draw. And the Chattanooga business community has done a wonderful job of completing the experience. Hotels, restaurants, activities for kids and the downtown transportation system all work together to create a great downtown experience. We want people to go home and tell their family, friends and neighbors to visit Chattanooga.”
Although Chattanooga has received high marks for its decades-long makeover, Arant says renovation should be an ongoing thing, as new attractions will keep the broader downtown area feeling fresh and benefit everyone. To this end, he’s excited about The Majestic, the 12-screen movie theater currently under construction around the corner from the aquarium on Broad Street. The cinema will include, among other amenities, VIP rooms in which patrons can order wine and hors d’oeuvres. “It’s going to be a huge attraction to the downtown area. And when people go to the movies, they usually go out to eat,” says Arant.
Arant believes it’s just as important to involve the general public in any major endeavor, and attributes some of the aquarium’s success to its mass of local supporters.
“The local community has been very supportive of the aquarium,” Arant says. “We have about 18,000 families on our membership list, which means you can come to the aquarium many times throughout the year.
“So we have as many as 70,000 people from those families that are members, and they bring guests here because the aquarium gives them a sense of pride in their community. It helps people from out of town have a quality experience in Chattanooga.”
Finally, Arant says the achievements of the Tennessee Aquarium and its day-to-day operations wouldn’t be possible without its staff, which includes about 150 full-time employees and 500 volunteers, including about 200 dive volunteers from all over the Southeast.
“I can’t say enough about the people that work here,” says Arant. “Some of them have been here since before we opened. They take pride in these animals; they treat them as good as they treat their own children. In fact, the penguin keepers can tell you more about our penguins than some people know about their kids.
“And that’s what people come here to see. They come to see the animals, sure, but they also want to see that our animals are well cared for. We have them in a captive environment, but they’re in a captive environment in which they can prosper.”
While Arant can spin his chair around and see the Tennessee Aquarium from his office on Second Street, he makes a point of walking through the complex on a regular basis, just to make sure its visitors are enjoying themselves. And he rarely, if ever, hears a negative comment.
Which makes his good-humored complaint that the aquarium’s staff won’t let him roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty the only objection you’re likely to hear while walking through the complex.
“They won’t let me help! It’d be like I was messing with their kids. They take incredible pride in our collection,” he says.
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