Sam Furrow was born in Roane County, Tennessee in 1941. In addition to his two degrees from the University of Tennessee, Mr. Furrow is a graduate of Repperts School of Auctioneering and the Certified Auctioneers Institute of Indiana University. His current business interests include owning Furrow Auction Company, Mercedes-Benz of Knoxville, Land Rover Knoxville, Land Rover Chattanooga, Jaguar Chattanooga, and real estate development and investments.
Widely respected for his business acumen, Mr. Furrow serves on the board of advisors for AmSouth Bank in Knoxville and on the boards of directors of Goody’s Family Clothing, the Innovo Group, Inc. and the Knoxville/Knox County Public Building Authority.
Mr. Furrow also serves in numerous volunteer capacities. Currently he is chairman of the board of directors for Leadership Knoxville and for the Knoxville Zoo. He is a past campaign chairman and a past chairman of the board of the United Way of Greater Knox County. He serves on the board of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, the Beck Cultural Center, the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Knoxville, and Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Knoxville. He is past president of the Tennessee Auctioneers Association.
He is a member of the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. The National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service have both honored Mr. Furrow for his active volunteerism.
In 1992 Phi Delta Theta Fraternity recognized Mr. Furrow with the Fraternity’s Raymond L. Gardner Alumnus of the Year award. He was Bond #1 at Phi Delta Theta’s Tennessee Gamma chapter at the University of Tennessee. He has served the chapter as chapter adviser. He has also served Phi Delta Theta as a Province President and an Alumni Club President. Mr. Furrow became a member of the Phi Delta Theta Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2003.
He met his wife, Ann Baker Furrow, when she was the Sweetheart of Phi Delta Theta at Tennessee Gamma chapter. They have two children: Lee Ann Furrow-Tolsma, a graduate of Duke University, and Samuel Joseph Furrow, Jr., a graduate of Vanderbilt University.