Gov. Bill Lee kicked off a five county tour of middle Tennessee Friday morning in Lewisburg.

Lee spoke to a standing room crowd at the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association about the accomplishments during his first legislative session in office and his goals for future sessions.

“I’m grateful to many, many people in this room,” Lee said. “It’s an honor to serve you.”

“I think I’m going to really like this job,” he added.

Lee briefed the audience on the initiatives passed during the session.

He discussed the long running strength of the state financially, recently ranked first in the nation by US News and World Report.

This year’s budget was able to add additional dollars to the state’s rainy day fund of more than $1 billion, but he noted that he wishes that more could have been added.

“Tennessee will continue to be a leader,” he said.

Lee touted the administrations education initiatives, including teacher raises and fully funded basic education plans across the state.

He discussed at length the criminal justice reforms which he emphasized during his campaign that focussed on reducing both incarceration rates and recidivism.

He pointed to the need to solve the issues of what he called a”fundamentally broken healthcare system,” particularly in underserved rural areas that have seen a rash of hospital closings this year.

This year, the state received federal health dollars in a block grant that the state hopes to be able to use to address some of the state’s health issues.

After taking some questions, Lee moved on to the next stop of the day, but with a promise to return.

“I love you and appreciate you,” said Lee. “This county has been very good to me and Maria.”