People

BANKING

First Tennessee recently hired Steven E. Kitts as senior vice president and relationship manager in the bank’s commercial banking division.

Before joining First Tennessee, Kitts served as senior vice president and senior credit officer for American Trust Bank. He serves as president of the Downtown Exchange Club in Knoxville and is active with the East Tennessee Foundation, the American Cancer Society and the Knoxville Area Urban League.

Kitts received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in 1978 and completed the Louisiana State University Graduate School of Banking program in 1989. He has been a member of the Knoxville community for more than 40 years.

Mountain Commerce Bank (MCB) has hired Stephanie Davenport, a native of Morristown, to its team. Larkin will provide investment and financial planning services at MCB’s Morristown office. She was previously with the investment firm Hilliard Lyons. Larkin is a licensed financial consultant and producer for life, health and variable insurance, in addition to being a fully registered general securities representative and investment advisor.

Larkin received a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2003. She serves as president-elect and public affairs chairman of the Tennessee Federated Women’s Club Some Sala Circle Morristown Chapter, and is also an ambassador for the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce.

BUILDING SUPPLY

ABC Supply Co. Inc., has named brothers Eric and Adam Watson as branch managers of two stores in the Knoxville area.

Eric Watson has been named branch manager of ABC Supply’s Knoxville store on Royal Crown Drive. Adam Watson has been selected to succeed his brother as branch manager of the company’s Talbott store on W. Andrew Johnson Highway.

ABC Supply is the largest wholesale distributor of roofing in the U.S. and one of the nation’s largest distributors of siding, windows and other select exterior building products.

Both brothers are natives of Albuquerque, N.M. Eric Watson joined ABC Supply in 2007 at the company’s Lynchburg, Va., branch and has held a series of progressively more responsible positions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a minor in business, from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Adam Watson also joined ABC Supply in 2007 and previously served as delivery service manager and assistant manager at the Knoxville branch. He received a bachelor’s degree in organizational management, with a minor in marketing, from Tusculum College’s Knoxville campus.

ENGINEERING

Ben Redmond, the munitions response director for CH2M HILL, a global full-service engineering, procurement, construction and operations firm, has received the Life Time Leadership Award, at the Bi-Annual UXO Forum 2009. This award is the highest award that the munitions response industry can bestow. The award recognizes significant contributions made by individuals to advance the image and professionalism of the National Association of Ordnance Explosives Waste Contractors (NAOC), the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) industry and/or service to the community in support of the munitions response industry. Two awards are made annually to on person in industry and one person in government. Redmond received the industry award, while U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd OR) received the government award.

The Leadership Service Award recognizes the significant contributions made by an individual whether within NAOC or outside the organization to improve the NAOC and the munitions response industry. The award is based on performance in three categories: leadership, professionalism, and community service. Redmond is the first person to be selected for the industry award that is not retired and stated that he was, “overwhelmed and honored to be chosen for this award.”

Redmond is a past three-term president of NAOC and has served nine terms on the board of directors. He has testified before Congress twice in recent years as an industry expert for the munitions response industry.

GOVERNMENT

Mike Arms, Knox County chief of staff, has been elected president of the Association of Tennessee Valley Governments (ATVG) at the association’s October annual meeting in Gatlinburg. ATVG is a not-for-profit, public interest advocacy group focused on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and local governments in TVA’s service region. Arms has served as ATVG’s vice president for the past two years.

ATVG represents nearly 1,000 local governments within TVA’s seven-state service region. The organization also closely monitors TVA-related issues in energy, environment, reservoir management and economic development that have both direct and indirect impacts on local government.

Arms currently serves on the board of the East Tennessee Economic Council, Technology 2020, East Tennessee Development District and the Valley Corridor Summit. He also represents Tennessee on the National Association of County Officials Economic and Community Development Steering Committee. Arms is a Certified Public Administrator and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee.

HEALTH CARE

J. Rod Gimbel, M.D., a cardiologist with East Tennessee Heart Consultants, is the first physician in the Knoxville area to implant a new pacemaker with wireless technology that can notify physicians of changes in their patient’s device or medical condition.

Gimbel is an electrophysiologist who specializes in pacing and heart rhythm disorders. He has implanted two of the state-of-the-art wireless pacemakers in patients at Mercy’s Baptist Hospital West. The pacemakers are used to treat bradycardia, which is heart rate that is too slow.

Seven Chattanooga-area Alexian Brothers Senior Neighbors Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) volunteers are among an elite group who gave over 1,000 hours during the year to help others. They are: Marilyn Carpenter, 1,007 hours; Jim Rogers, 1,034 hours; Patty Parks, 1,127 hours; Elizabeth Spreha, 1,251 hours; Susan Brandenburg, 1,697 hours; Pauline Stratton, 1,761 hours; and Kathleen Trew, 2,387 hours. RSVP volunteers received free membership if over 55, on-the-job training at the agency or organization where they are placed, several recognition events each year, supplemental insurance while on duty and limited reimbursement for mileage and meals.

HOSPITALITY

The Chattanoogan, Chattanooga’s AAA Four Diamond-rated upscale hotel, has hired Andrea Bridger, as sales manager. She is responsible for overseeing sales initiatives for the government and association markets, and bringing meetings and retreats, executive development meetings, planning conferences and seminars to the Benchmark Hospitality International property located in downtown Chattanooga.

Bridger has more than 11 years of sales experience in the meetings industry, most recently as an account manager with Helms Briscoe in Chattanooga. She also spent two years as a corporate sales manager for Sheraton Read House Hotel, where she was responsible for managing new and existing accounts.

Bridger worked for five years as a marketing special projects manager with Tandus, a floorcovering manufacturer in Dalton, Ga. Prior to that, she was an account executive with Liaison Corporate Planning Services in Chattanooga. She also worked for five years in the insurance industry.

A graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, Bridger earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration/hospitality business.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Dr. J. Michael Pemberton, Ph.D., CRM, has retired from the University of Tennessee’s College of Communications and Information as a professor of information sciences after 32 years, and is now active full-time in his consultancy business, Information Management Associates (IMA). Founded several years ago, IMA is staffed by Certified Records Managers (CRM).

Pemberton is an internationally recognized writer, presenter and editor. He has written 72 publications, reviewed 65 works and made 98 invited presentations on topics in information management. While at UTK, he created the records management program that saves the university nearly $300,000 annually. Pemberton and his associates have created and led records management programs in the private and public sectors that are considered exemplary models in their industry. Additional past work has included Knox County government offices, Oak Ridge Schools and various universities across the county.

LAW

The Fellows of the American Bar Association Foundation has announced that three legal professionals in East Tennessee have been elected to membership in the Fellows. The new East Tennessee Fellows are: Douglas A. Blaze, dean, University of Tennessee College of Law, Knoxville; Sarah Y. Sheppeard, partner, Sheppeard, Swanson & Mynatt, PLC, Knoxville; and Justice Gary Reagan Wade, Tennessee Supreme Court, Knoxville.

The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation is an honorary organization of lawyers, judges and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession. Membership in the Fellows is highly select, and is limited to the top one-third of 1 percent of legal practitioners in the 50 states.

The American Bar Foundation is the nation’s leading research institute for the empirical study of law. An independent, nonprofit organization for more than 50 years, and the ABF has advanced the understanding and improvement of law through research projects of unmatched scale and quality on the most pressing issues facing the legal system in the United States and the world.

The 2009 members of the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society from the Knoxville area are: E. Riley Anderson, Oak Ridge; Martha S. L. Black, Maryville and Penny J. White, Knoxville. The TSCHS is dedicated to honoring the justices who have served on the court and to preserving the history and records of the court.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Ackermann PR announced that Shane Rhyne has been hired as the company’s digital communications associate. Rhyne has a background in print, broadcast and digital media which will help the Ackermann expand the company’s offerings in digital and social media.

The Ackermann PR digital and social media division has represented a rapidly growing segment of the firm’s work during the past quarter. In recent months, the firm has added a significant number of new clients, representing a wide variety of industry sectors including tourism, hospitality, entertainment, sports, health care, manufacturing and nonprofit.

Rhyne is a steering committee member of the Knoxville Social Media Association and an active community blogger. He has previously worked as the public relations and marketing director of the East Tennessee Historical Society, and as an online community manager with E.W. Scripps’ branded social network for pet enthusiasts. In addition, he has worked as a radio news journalist and station manager, and as a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers, as well as on a project with the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alex Haley to document the author’s childhood.

Rhyne is a native of Clinton, Tenn., and studied journalism and broadcasting at the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

RESEARCH

Sophia A. Kitts has been promoted at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) from project manager to representative for business development. The business development group works to add value to ORAU strategic growth initiatives through business development leadership, project management, technical expertise and process knowledge.

Kitts will conduct corporate market research and analysis, coordinate and support long-term direct sales projects and manager customer response projects through the recruiting and integration of resources to form teams that conduct studies and analyses. She will also assist the vice president of strategic development, Tony Lester, in planning, conducting and following through with new, large-scale business opportunities.

In her 20-plus years with ORAU, Kitts has worked as a research reviews project manager with ORAU’s Scientific and Technical Peer Review Programs, where she managed panel meetings, conferences, program reviews and workshops and was responsible for customizing materials to fit individuals clients’ needs. She also served as project manager in the ORAU Albuquerque office, where she was in charge of hiring new staff, refocusing the office after Sept. 11, 2001, managing a successful transition to a new contractor and established rapport with federal clients. In her spare time, she managed the successful 2007 election campaign for the American Chemical Society’s president, including the Web site promotional plan and marketing strategy.

Kitts holds a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and anthropology from the University of California-Berkley, and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Memphis. She is an active volunteer with the American Brittany Rescue.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Jon Lomax has been named director of U.S. Cellular’s Knoxville Customer Care Center. His responsibilities include managing day-to-day operations of the center, which employs approximately 400 associates.

Lomax has been with U.S. Cellular for more than 10 years. He began his career serving as a customer service supervisor in Knoxville and continued to grow within the company. Lomax then served as a customer service manager in Tulsa, Okla., returned to Knoxville as manager of order processing and the technical team. Since December 2007 he has been serving as retail area sales manager in Bloomington, Ill.

Lomax replaces Max Sampson, who has transitioned to the director of U.S. Cellular’s Customer Care Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Lomax received his bachelor’s degree in management from Kaplan University.