In the late spring of 1996, a small group of interested parties gathered in the first meeting to discuss the possibility of a Nashville Chapter of Project Management Institute (PMI). With the wonderful support of the East Tennessee Chapter, nationally recognized for their programs and participation, a Request for Charter was drafted and submitted with 25 signatures. At the October 1996 International Symposium, PMI issued their 96^th Charter to Nashville, Tennessee. 

Renee Mepyans was elected as the first President. Bob Woolf designed a logo which features the Parthenon, Athens of the South, representing one of Nashville's most famous architectural landmarks. 

In January of 1998, Bob Woolf was elected President and another move was made to the Maxwell House Hotel in the Metro Center for lunch meetings. The Chapter participation grew significantly, averaging 25-50 at each meeting. In the spring of 1998, a program featuring Mayor Phil Bredesen drew 65 in attendance. The luncheon format was proven to be far more successful and continues to this day. Through the generosity of NORTEL, all Chapter Board meetings were held at their offices monthly and continue to this day  The first training class for preparation of members to sit for the highly respected Project Management Professional (PMP) exam was conducted. By the year-end, the Chapter enjoyed a 115% increase in membership with 110 members. The Chapter's crowning moment was in October, 1998 as it received the prestigious Chapter of the Year Award (chapters 1-3 years) in Long Beach, California at the PMI International Symposium.

In 1999 and 2000, Hardy Seaborn was elected to serve as President. . Chapter meetings were moved to the Wyndham Garden Hotel. During 1999, the chapter received the chapter achievement awards for membership growth for the region and sustained superior performance. The Nashville Chapter gave assistance to the formation of a chapter in Memphis also in 1999. As of December 2001, the Nashville Chapter membership reported 269 members. Attendance at Chapter meetings has steadily grown to about 100 attending.  Outgrowing the Wyndham Hotel, the luncheon meetings were moved to Holiday Inn Express on West End Avenue.

In 2001, Marsha Dollarhide served as President. The PMI Nashville Chapter received three awards -- Chapter of the Year Award (for chapters in existence for 1-4 years), the Award of Excellence in Education and the Sustained Superior Performance Award -- during the PMI Leadership Meeting held 10/31-11/03, 2001 at the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN. These awards were for efforts completed by the Chapter during 2000.

In 2002, Wesley Lankford served as President. The focus in 2002 was on enhancing project management educational seminars and events. Sponsorship was piloted with Athena.  Attendance at lunch meetings began to range from 100-125 members and guests during this period pushing the capacity of the Holiday Inn facilities.

In 2008, Laura Klepper was President.  The chapter leadership structure changed to include a new layer, recognizing the need for additional leaders.  The board's Directors became Vice Presidents, and the additional layer was designed to include directors reporting to the respective VPs.  The former Vice President position was changed to reflect the past practice of promoting that position to the next President.  PMI Global added a requirement for an annual scorecard from all chapters to capture metrics across the entire organization.  To cover that need, an additional position was added to the board (VP of Metrics) to replace the former VP of Publicity.  Recognizing that the membership was spread out across Nashville area, the chapter opened up the luncheons to other locations besides the Vanderbilt Holiday Inn.  The Millenium Maxwell House and the Cool Springs Marriott allowed some chapter members in those areas to attend for the first time. 

In 2009, Charles Lebo became President.  The volunteer structure continued to expand, as additional positions were added to promote chapter leadership development opportunities.  The 5^th annual Symposium took place at the end of April, under the guidance of Jennifer Schenck.  Rusty Thompson moved the chapter website to a new vendor and overhauled it to make use of new technologies.   To meet PMI Global's requirement for an annual scorecard from the chapter, surveys for each event and the annual chapter survey were aligned with similar questions.  The first annual scorecard was submitted and approved by PMI Global in September.  Stay tuned for more as we hit the final quarter of 2009...