Harold Coker graduated from Tennessee Tech in 1951 with a degree in chemistry. He began his career in the tire industry with B.F. Goodrich and then started Coker Tire Company in 1958 in Athens, TN and moved to Chattanooga in 1961. The company is now the largest supplier for collector car tires in the world. Harold retired from active participation in Coker Tire in 2004 but still serves as Chairman of the Board Emeritus.
In 1985, he served as President of the National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association (NTDRA) where he spearheaded the effort to get NTDRA into the government affairs arena and lobbied for bills like voluntary tire registration. He was instrumental in starting and raising money for the association’s political action committee (PAC) and spoke about the importance of government affairs to state associations nationwide. Harold was chairman of the committee to establish Money Express, a credit card exclusively for tire dealers nationwide. He also ran for Congress in 1988.