Emily Job

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain PC (LBMC), has added Emily A. Job in its Chattanooga office.  She has joined the accounting firm in a staff position in the tax services department.  Her previous experience includes working as an accounting analyst at Ace Hardware.

Job is a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is currently pursuing a master’s of accountancy.  She is a member of the Optimist Club and will be serving on the Ronald McDonald House Fall Festival Committee.

LBMC is one of the South’s largest accounting and business consulting firms, with more than 400 employees.  The firm has offices in Chattanooga, Nashville (Brentwood) and Knoxville.

BANKING

The Tennessee Bankers Association (TBA) recently conducted the 2010 session of The Southeastern School of Consumer Credit (TSSCC) with 14 bankers completing requirements for graduation.  The annual program was held at the Owen Graduate School of Management on the Vanderbilt University campus.  This year’s graduates included Will McCampbell, who is employed by BankEast in Knoxville.  Additionally, he was the top honor graduate for 2010, with a score of 100.

The TSSCC is one of four Southeastern schools sponsored by the TBA.  The Southeastern School of Consumer Credit is an intensive one-week school that exposes students to the major issues consumer credit managers face on a day-to-day basis.  The TBA conducts the school annually in cooperation with bankers associations in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.  Over 1,600 students have graduated from the program since its inception in 1987.

Delegates of the Young Bankers Division of the Tennessee Bankers Association (TBA) have elected new officers and directors for 2010-2011 during their annual Leadership Convention last month.  The convention also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Young Bankers Division.

Two executive officers have been chosen from the East Tennessee region.

Gregg Ketterman, vice president of National Bank of Tennessee-Newport, has been selected to serve as vice president.  Wes Farragut, vice president of Mountain State Bank-Sevierville, will serve as immediate past president.

One delegate has been selected to serve on the board from East Tennessee.  Bo Blanken is a loan officer for Citizens Bank and Trust of Grainger County-Rutledge.

Traci Todd, senior vice president/director of lending at The Peoples Bank-Knoxville, will continue to serve her term on the board.

Two East Tennessee board members completed their terms and rotated off the board.

Ketterman and Monte McBee, vice president for Peoples State Bank of Commerce-Dunlap were both honored at the convention for their two years of service to the Young Bankers Division.

EDUCATION
Douglas Horne, founder of Horne Properties in Knoxville, has bee-n appointed to serve on a new national high school achievement commission that aims to increase awareness of 12th graders’ academic preparedness for higher education and job training, keys to success in an increasingly competitive economy.

The National Assessment Governing Board, an independent bipartisan body that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), named Horne to its NAEP High School Achievement Commission.  He will join eight other commission members in studying and disseminating results of the Governing Board’s program of research about preparedness in reading and math.  The research is conducted in connection with NAEP, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” the only continuing, representative assessment of what the nation’s students know and can do.

In addition to Horne properties, which owns real estate nationwide, Horne founded Republic Newspapers Inc., in 1988.  In 1997, he founded Horne Radio Inc.  Horne is a University of Tennessee board trustee and serves on the board of Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse Christian organization.  He formerly served on the advisory board of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and is a current member of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, the University of Tennessee Alumni Association and the International Association of Shopping Centers.

ENGINEERING

Gerald Stump

Gerald Stump, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Wilbur Smith Associates in Franklin, Tenn., has been named chairman of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

Elected by the ACEC Board of Directors, Stump will serve as chairman during the 2010-2011 term.  ACEC is the Washington, D.C.-based business association representing approximately 5,500 independent engineering companies throughout the U.S.  The Council is a federation with 51 state and regional chapters.

Stump has served in several ACEC leadership positions, at both the state and national level.  He is an ACEC Fellow, a former ACEC vice chairman, a past co-chair of the ACEC-PAC Champions Committee and a former member of the ACEC/Tennessee Board of Directors.

Stump is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers.
He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee and earned a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Louisville.

HEALTH CARE

Jerry Rudd has been hired to serve as administrator of the Smoky Mountain Lodge, a 29-bed adult residential facility on Sevierville, Tenn.  Smokey Mountain Lodge is owned by Pasadena Villa, offering high quality clinical services within a physical environment that promotes health, well being, recovery and personal motivation.

Rudd brings more than 16 years of experience to his new position in a variety of roles and settings that have included psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals, residential treatment and extended care facilities.

Smoky Mountain Lodge offers a variety of therapies treatment of thought disorders, mood disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome and social and interpersonal deficits.  George Kachmarik serves as president and clinical director of the facility.

Nestle Nutrition Institute (NNI) has announced the recipients of the Enteral Nutrition fellowship.  The inaugural class of six fellows will receive intensive training in nutritional therapy as an integral part of trauma, surgery, gastroenterology, endocrinology and critical care specialties at some of the nation’s leading medical centers.

In Knoxville, Dr. Christy M. Lawson, a first year fellow at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, has been selected for the 2010-2011 class.  She specializes in surgical critical care, and has experience working on nutritional management for intensive care unit patients.

This new initiative is designed to help better integrate enteral nutrition therapy into medical practice, improve patient outcomes and manage chronic diseases in clinical settings.  NNI is committed to supporting, training and building a nationwide network of physician nutrition leaders working to advance clinical nutrition knowledge.

Parkridge Hospital has announced the winners of its 2009 Frist Humanitarian Awards, which re presented annually to an employee, a physician and a volunteer at each of the Parkridge Hospitals.

Volunteer recipients were Mary Rook from Parkridge East and Rita Salloga from Parkridge Medical Center.  Employee recipients were Kay Neal from Parkridge East Hospital, Leslie Whittenburg, an oncology nurse from Parkridge Medical Center and Terry Davis, a mental health technician in the Child and Adolescent program at Parkridge Valley.  Physician recipients were Dr. Hal Hill from Parkridge Medical Center, Dr. Michael Seeber at Parkridge East Hospital and Dr. Susan McGuire from Parkridge Valley Hospital.

Each of the honorees received a certificate and a cash award.  The Frist Humanitarian Awards were created to recognize one employee, one physician and one volunteer at each HCA-affiliated facility that demonstrates extraordinary concern for the welfare and happiness of patients and the community.  The awards are given annually in recognition of the humanitarian spirit and philanthropic work of the last Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., a founder of HCA.

Local recipients of the award are considered for the national 2009 Frist Humanitarian Award.  The national Frist award is the highest national honor an employee or volunteer can receive within HCA.

Honorees are recognized in the spring with a reception at the company’s Nashville headquarters.

Matt Fox

Darrell Moore serves as president and CEO of the Parkridge Health System.  Richard Bracken serves as chairman and CEO of HCA.

Alexian Brothers Senior Ministries has announced that Matthew Fox was recently named president and chief executive officer of Alexian Village of Tennessee.  Fox comes to Alexian Brothers Senior Ministries from Brookdale Senior Living, in Austin, Texas.  His positions with Brookdale included regional sales director, regional vice president of operations and executive director for three continuing care retirement communities.  Prior to his work at Brookdale Senior Living, Fox held the position of executive director for two Life Care Services retirement communities.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southeastern Louisiana University.
John Turongian serves as vice president for Alexian Brothers Senior Ministries.

REAL ESTATE

Southland Realtors Commercial Group has announced that Solange Velas, senior investment specialist, has successfully obtained her CCIM designation.  She joined the firm in 1997, is a licensed real estate broker, and has specialized in the sale of investment property since 1984.

A CCIM designation is one of the highest awards that can be obtained

Scott Krueger

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

U.S. Cellular has announced that two East Tennessee associates have been recognized by the company as the “best of the best” with the company’s President’s Award.

Scott Krueger is a senior technical support engineer.  He is the son of Dee and Vinita Finnesy of Goodland, Kan., and resides in Farragut with his wife, Patrice.

Adam McChesney

Adam McChesney is a sales manager at the U.S. Cellular store in Turkey Creek.  He is the son of Joe and Rhonda McChesney of Seymour, Tenn., and resides in Sevierville with his wife, Debbie, and his daughter, Abby.

There were nine winners this year of the President’s Award.  Recipients were treated to a weekend for two in Chicago, hosted by Jack Rooney, president and CEO of U.S. Cellular. During the visit, April 23-April 25, winners and their guests attended a Chicago White Sox baseball game at U.S. Cellular Field as well as an award banquet held in their honor.  The honorees also received a President’s Award plaque and a check for $1,000.

Rooney said he was proud of the efforts of the winners, whose actions speak, “Believe in Something Better louder than words ever can.”

The Arts and Culture Alliance has announced that Rafael Casco, an emerging local artist, has been selected as the next Betsy Worden Artist-in-Residence at the Emporium Center from April through September 2010. Casco was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where he received a degree as an art teacher from the National School of Fine Arts in Honduras and studied psychology at National Autonomous University. He has participated in different art events in Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and throughout the U.S. He uses his art to design pottery, furniture and to create custom murals; his collection also includes carving, molds, caricatures and drawing.

Terry

Casco taught art to at-risk children and adults in Latin America and the U.S., including his work with the YMCA in San Jose, Calif., where he used art as a gang prevention strategy with low-income youth. After Hurricane Mitch, Casco returned to his home country, where he worked with children living on the streets, using his skills as art therapy. He also taught art in high schools, while searching for ways to show his artwork.

He currently shows work at Earthspeak Studio and Creative Spirit Crafts in Gatlinburg. For the past three years, he has participated in the Artist-on-Location and Latino Art Exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art.

Stainback

As the Artist in Residence, Casco receives free and exclusive access to a 10’ by 10’ artist studio in the Emporium Center, sponsored membership in the Arts & Culture Alliance for one year, and a solo exhibition of new work in The Balcony at the Emporium Center at the end of his residency, Sept, 3 through Sept. 24. During each month of residency, the Alliance will display at least one piece of new work in the public areas of the Emporium, debuting at First Friday receptions.

ACCOUNTING

Hebrard

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC (LBMC), one of the Southeast’s largest accounting and business consulting firms, has added Elizabeth “Beth” Leigh Terry in its Chattanooga office.

She has joined the accounting firm in a staff position in the accounting and assurance services department. Terry is a recent honors graduate of Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga., earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. She is currently attending the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, working on a master’s

Holt

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

Dr. Joe Stainback, project manager with B&W Y-12 LLC, and 2006 Leadership Anderson County graduate, has been named chairman of the leadership board of directors. Stainback also serves on the board of directors for the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.

The leadership board of directors has also elected four new board members for the Leadership Anderson County board of directors.

Myers

Those elected from the 2009-2010 class are: Myles Hebrard, principal, Claxton Elementary School, Bruce Holt, manager, Integrated Planning, B&W Y-12 LLC.; Betsy Myers, office manager, Myers Family Dentistry and Butch Toon, training administration manager, WSI-Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Leadership Anderson County is a Community Connection program of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and is celebrating its 20th year committed to the development of leaders that will continue to build on Anderson County’s history of success.

Toon

ENGINEERING

Charles A. Goforth has been elected chairman of the board and Kenneth E. Zyga, P.E., LEED AP and Kenneth W. Todd, AIA, LEED AP, have been elected as new board members at Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon Inc., (BWSC).

Goforth is the office manger of the firm’s Memphis office. He has over 43 years of experience in planning, site evaluation and selection, and economic development, has been associated with BWSC since 2003. He is a graduate of Memphis State University with a bachelor’s degree from the University College in Urban Growth Management.

Goforth

Zyga is executive vice president and chief operating officer of BWSC. He has been with the company since 2008, is a graduate of Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering. Zyga is a professional engineer and a LEED accredited professional.

Todd is vice president and client manager in the Nashville office of the firm, where he is responsible for corporate-wide support for client and project development. Todd has been associated with the firm for 19 years, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He is a member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and is treasurer of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Tennessee.

Zyga

Zyga and Todd join current board members: Robert B. Higgins Jr., president and CEO; Charles A. Goforth, chairman; Thomas A. Allen, executive vice president/treasurer; Steven A. Fritts, vice president; Paula E. Harris, vice president/chief marketing officer; Joseph A. Ledford, vice president; Brian K. Mahoney, vice president/senior project manager; J. Barry Mott, vice president; and Matthew S. Stovall, vice president.

HEALTH CARE

Todd

Dr. George A. Pliagas of Premier Surgical Associates has been using a new technology to help open clogged arteries and possibly prevent amputation for those suffering from diabetes and peripheral artery disease (PAD). Pliagas is the first physician in East Tennessee to use this new technology following a successful procedure April 28 at Mercy Medical Center St. Mary’s.

Pliagas was selected as one of 15 physicians in the nation to use the new Diamondback Predator 360° Orbital PAD System based on his success with the previous platform, Diamondback 360°. The device uses a tiny catheter and tungsten tip with a diamond-coated, rotating crown to grind out artery-blocking plaque and improve blood flow.

Pliagas

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Kim White, president and CEO of RiverCity Company, has announced the appointment of Lisa Pinckney Flint as vice president of marketing. The company recently declared a renewed focus on its role as the economic engine for the city center and plans for the vice president of marketing to pay a vital role in positioning the company as they move forward.

Flint

Flint brings 16 years of experience in marketing management and communications to RiverCity Company. She began her marketing career in Atlanta with Turner Broadcasting and in more recent years served as the assistant dean for the College of Business at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Her responsibilities included development of the College’s integrated marketing efforts, communitywide communications and implementation of outreach efforts and events.

Flint holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. She serves the community in a variety of volunteer positions at organizations across Chattanooga, including: Normal Park School’s Action Team for Partnerships, the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute, the Creative Discovery Museum, the Chattanooga Public Arts committee, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Marketing Advisory Board and as a founding member of Chattanooga Stand.

Carideo

REAL ESTATE

Crye-Leike Realtor Shirley Moore has been inducted as a Lifetime Member of the company’s Multi Million Dollar Club (MMDC). Moore works in the company’s Ooltewah office, and was presented the award and a special commemorative plaque by Dan Griess, managing broker of the Ooltewah office.

Crye-Leike associates gain the Lifetime member status in the MMDC once they have sold in excess of $2 million annually for a total of five years.

Three Crye-Leike realtors in the company’s Athens, Tenn., office have expanded their knowledge by taking the Short Sales & Foreclosure (SFR) course offered by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Wattenbarger

Melonie Carideo, Becky Wattenbarger and Cathy Swafford have earned their SFR certification and are certified to qualify sellers, negotiate with lenders, limit risks and protect buyers. The SFR certification helps realtors understand how to reach out to people facing foreclosure and who could benefit from a short sale to educate them on the options they have to avoid a foreclosure and save their credit. A short sale allows sellers to be able to qualify for another mortgage in only two years rather than five to seven years after a foreclosure.

SCOUTING

Swafford

Larry Brown has joined the Great Smokey Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America as Scout Executive. His previous posting include Tulsa, Okla., Columbia, S.C. and Greenville, S.C.

The executive board of the Chehote CHAMPIONS District planned a reception to be held at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center in Knoxville on May 7, 2010.

Gardial

Veteran Knoxville banker Phil Gardial has joined Pinnacle Financial Partners as a senior vice president and special assts officer.

Gardial most recently served as a senior vice president and manager of the assets division for First Security Group in Knoxville. Has had also served as a management partner for SMG Fairfax and as a senior vice president and manager of the special assets division of First American National Bank.

Gardial holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and banking from the University of Arkansas. He is based at Pinnacle’s Fountain City office.

HEALTH CARE

Dean

Summit Medical Group physician R. Wesley “Wes” Dean, M.D., has been appointed the 2010 president-elect of the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP).

Announcements of Dean’s appointment were features in the winter 2009 edition of TAFP’s magazine, Tennessee Family Physician, and in the January 2010 edition of Tennessee Medicine magazine.

Dean’s practice, Emory Family Practice, which was founded by Dean and Dr. Ron Barton, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Dean formerly served as board chairman for Summit Medical Group and is certified by the American Board of Family Practice. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Tennessee-Memphis.

Burtnett

Alexian Village of Tennessee has announced that Dennis Burtnett has been named administrator of Alexian Village Health and Rehabilitation Center. Burtnett has over 18 years of experience as an administrator of skilled facilities. Fourteen of those years were spent with Adventist Care Centers, including 10 years as administrator of one of their facilities in Portland, Tenn.

Cory M. Darling has joined the administrative team of Parkridge Medical Center as associate administrator for the hospital. Darling is participating in HCA’s Chief Operating Office Development Program, and comes to the Parkridge system from a position as associate administrator at Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, Ky.

Darling

Darling has worked in health care since 2007. His previous experience includes working with Healthcare Performance Partners, LLC on lean implementations. Prior to joining the health care field, Darling worked in the entertainment industry in Nashville. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and an Advocate with the Owen Healthcare MBA Alumni Advocate Program.

Tammy Hamman, R.N., the ICU clinical leader at Mercy Medical Center West, has received a Patriotic Employer Award for her support of a Mercy associate who has been deployed to Iraq with the 278th Regimental Combat Team.

The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presented the award to Hamman for her contributions to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve Force.

David DiFranco, R.N., a member of the 278th RCT, nominated Hamman for the award.

Schrock

Internist Nathan Eric Schrock, M.D., has joined the staff of East Tennessee Medical Group in Alcoa, Tenn. He is board certified in both medical oncology and internal medicine.

Schrock completed his hematology/oncology fellowship and his residency in internal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. He also received his medical degree at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Millsaps College, both in Jackson.

Schrock has worked locally for the past seven years as an oncologist with Tennessee Cancer Specialists, traveling weekly to several East Tennessee cities and most recently to Alcoa and Maryville. Before moving to Tennessee, Schrock was a medical officer with Mississippi State Hospital Whitfield in Whitfield, Miss. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. A Maryville resident, Schrock is active in Blount County’s Habitat for Humanity and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

POLITICS

Rick Kernea of Hixson, Tenn., has announced his candidacy for the 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kernea is a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and is finishing his master’s degree in homeland security through American Military University. He is a former U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter pilot and instructor, and a veteran of Operation Noble Eagle. Kernea has received many awards throughout his military career, including selection as a military Distinguished Graduate and Flight Commander.

REAL ESTATE

Ramsey

Karen Woods Ramsey has joined Crye-Leike REALTORS as an agent. She is licensed in Tennessee and works with buyers and sellers primarily in Hamilton, Catoosa, Sequatchie, Walker, Dade, Bradley and Rhea counties. Ramsey is a member of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors.

She specializes in all types of residential real estate sales with an emphasis on farm and land, condominiums, town homes, investment properties, first-time homebuyers, relocation and new home construction.

Ramsey is an active member of Woodland Park Baptist Church, involved with child evangelism, Hope Unlimited and Community Outreach.

Groover

Stacey Groover has joined Crye-Leike REALTORS in its Hixson branch office. She is a licensed affiliate broker in Tennessee, assisting buyers and sellers in and around Hamilton, Sequatchie and Bradley counties. She specializes in all types of real estate property sales with a special focus on residential single-family homes.

Groover is a member of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, Tennessee Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors. She attends Dallas Bay Baptist church and is active in local 5K runs for various charities.

Crye-Leike has announced that Rachael Henderson has obtained her broker’s license. She is also a licensed realtor in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, assisting buyers and sellers in the Chattanooga and north Georgia areas, as well as Dekalb County, Alabama. She specializes in all types of residential real estate sales with a focus on investment properties, first time buyers, relocation and foreclosure/REO properties.

Henderson is an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Accredited Home Staging Professional (AHS), Realtor Internet Professional (e-PRO), member of the Georgia, Tennessee and National Associations of Realtors. She is a Crye-Leike Relocation Star and has a 100 percent customer satisfaction survey rating.

TECHNOLOGY

Bosco

Chattanooga-based Terenine Technology Solutions has announced the appointment of Nick Bosco as business development manager. Heather Daniel has been promoted to sales support administrator.

Previously, Bosco was a commercial account manager for EPB Fiber Optics, responsible for growth and retention of existing mid-market base clients. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Easton, Penn. Bosco is a multi-year recipient of President’s Club Sales Achievement recognition.

As business development manager, he will network, prospect and build relationships throughout client organizations. He will be responsible for the Chattanooga area, as well as surrounding municipalities.

Daniel

Daniel is a graduate of Tennessee Temple University. As sales support administrator, she will assist the sales team in scheduling and processing internal requests, respond to customer inquiries and direct to appropriate sales team members, coordinate and execute mass marketing programs and assist the vice president of sales and marketing.

UTILTIES

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has named Daniel Traynor as vice president and chief information officer, responsible for TVA’s information resource technologies and operations.

Traynor comes to TVA from Southern Company Services, a subsidiary of Southern Company of Atlanta, where he was director of infrastructure services. Traynor will report directly to Tom Kilgore, president and chief executive officer.

TVA vice president Jacinda Woodward has been serving as acting chief information officer since last fall.

While at Southern Company Services, Traynor was responsible for the utility company’s computer operations and telecommunications activities, including execution of a strategic plan and a “Green IT” program that helped conserve 4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

Traynor also has experience at Southern Company subsidiaries Georgia Power and Alabama Power.

He will be based at TVA’s Chattanooga Office Complex.

Robert (Rob) Vance, partner in the Valuation, Litigation & Business Transition Services Group with Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain PC (LBMC), presented at the recently held AICPA National Business Valuation Conference held in San Francisco. New standards for business valuations coupled with the increase in mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies have led to an increase in demand for valuations. The conference, held in November, was designed to prepare practitioners for the scrutiny and responsibility added on by the current distressed economy and increased demands. Vance was one of three Tennesseans featured in a workshop presentation at the conference titled “Mock Deposition for a Business Valuation Engagement.”

Vance serves in the firm’s Knoxville office.

Angie Pruitt

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain PC (LBMC), one of the Southeast’s largest accounting and business consulting firms, has added Angie Pruitt in its Knoxville office.

Pruitt, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), has joined the accounting firm as a senior manager in the tax department. She previously worked as a senior manager at a big four accounting firm. Her experience includes managing the preparation and review of corporate and partnership income tax returns for manufacturing, health care and transportation industries. Additionally, she has provided accounting for income taxes under FAS109. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree and master of accountancy degree. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA).

BANKING

Brice Chapman

Mountain Commerce Bank (MCB), has promoted Brice Chapman from Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering Analyst to BSA Officer. A graduate of Crown College, Chapman has over five years of experience in the financial industry and brings BSA certification to his new position.

During his tenure at MCB, Chapman has demonstrated the unwavering integrity crucial to maintaining the security and compliance of MCB’s BSA program.

Michael Smith

First Tennessee has recently hired Michael “Mike” C. Smith as a vice president and investment officer.

Before joining First Tennessee, Smith served for 10 years as vice president and financial consultant at Charles Schwab & Company, for one year as a broker with J.P. Turner & Company, for one year as an investment counselor with USPA & IRA and for 11 years as a military police officer in the U.S. Army.

Smith serves as the Cedar Bluff-Farragut Optimist Club volleyball coach.

HEALTH CARE

Ron German

Ron German, chief executive officer at East Tennessee Medical Group (ETMG), has been named chairman of the Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA) Investment Advisory Committee.

The Investment Advisory Committee oversees the corporate investments and retirement plans of the Association. MGMA is a national organization of over 22,000 medical managers.

German joined ETMG as CEO in 2007, following positions at other area physician practices and related businesses as administrator and management consultant. He has more than 32 years of medical management experience.

German is the past president of both the Knoxville and Tennessee Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), Board Certified and a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives.

After serving in the U.S. Air Force, German graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and later received has MBA from Bristol University.

INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIERS

Jeff Burns

Kenco Toyota-Lift, a major distributor of materials handling vehicles, equipment and parts, has appointed Jeff Burns director of Kenco Toyota-Lift. Prior to his promotion, Burns held the position of Northeast Regional Manager and has been serving as interim general manager for the last six months.

During his seven years of employment with Kenco, Burns has held several positions including senior logistics engineer, general manager of the Kenco-Managed Maytag Factory Distribution Center and general manager of Cherokee Truck Equipment.

Prior to joining Kenco, Burns served in a variety of manufacturing, engineering and management assignments for Advanced Vehicle Systems, Inc., Heil Trailer International and Astec Industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering, industrial technology, from Tennessee Technological University.

LAW

Melvin Malone

Now in its 142nd year, the law firm of Miller & Martin has named Partner Melvin J. Malone as the firm’s new chairman. Malone is the first African-American named to the position. He succeeds Howard I. Levine, who served as chairman since 2002.

Malone is a native of Chattanooga, and serves as managing member of the firm’s Nashville office. He is also a member of the Miller & Martin’s telecommunications & utilities, government relations and litigation practice groups. Malone has successfully litigated on behalf of a regional financial institution, a global wireless communications company, the nation’s largest three-service public utility, and automotive finance company and a coalition of Tennessee telephone cooperatives.

Malone graduated from the University of Tennessee undergraduate school and law school. He is on the board of directors for Youth Life Learning Centers, 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee and is a volunteer for Tennessee Governor Bredesen’s Children’s Cabinet Mentoring Initiative.

Prior to joining Miller & Martin, Malone was deputy legal counsel to Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist and commissioner of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. Since June 2002, he has been recognized as Commissioner Emeritus of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

Miller & Martin has adopted a strategic plan to become the most diverse regional firm in the Southeast by 2013. In the Spring 2009 issue of Multicultural Law Magazine, Miller & Martin was ranked first in the magazine’s list of Top 25 Law Firms for African Americans, and in the Top 100 Law Firms Diversity nationwide.

Dr. Lutz H. Gorgens, Counsel General of the Federal Republic of Germany, presented Miller & Martin Member Thomas J. Harrold Jr., with the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in a ceremony in Atlanta. The award is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay individuals for services to the nation in the fields of political, economic, social, charitable and philanthropic work. The Cross of Merit was instituted in 1951 and very few Americans have been given the award. Harrold was nominated for his commitment to service by German President Horst Kohler.

Harrold helped found the German-American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States in 1978. Since then, over 600 German companies have located facilities in the Southeast, more than any other region of the U.S.

As the Senior Member of Miller & Martin’s International Practice Group in Atlanta, Harrold is a recognized expert in assisting international companies, including many German companies who have established manufacturing, distribution and sales subsidiaries in the Southeast.

In 1985, Harrold was one of the founders and served as president of the World Law Group, which now has 51 member law firms in 39 countries linking together more than 10,000 lawyers. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the German American Chamber of Commerce, the Japan American Society and the Goethe-Zentrum/German Cultural Center.

In 2003, Harrold organized the German Unification Conference, which was the most important international event held in Atlanta since the 1996 Olympics. The conference celebrated the 13th anniversary of the unification of Germany and honored former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former Soviet President Gorbachev and former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

With over 400 people in attendance, Harrold was the organizer and chairman of the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift Celebration saluting Georgia native General Lucius Clay in an event held at Dobbins Air Force Base on May 15, 2009.

Mark Mamantov

Mark Mamantov from the Knoxville office of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, has been selected for inclusion in Mid-South Super Lawyers 2009. Statewide, thirty-seven attorneys from Bass, Berry & Sims are included on the list, with an additional 11 attorneys cited as “Rising Stars.”

Mamantov is a founding member of the firm’s Knoxville office and serves as its administrator. His practice is primarily transactional, with a special emphasis on tax-exempt finance. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as articles editor of the Virginia Law Review and was selected for the Order of the Coif. He is presently a board member and secretary of the Webb School of Knoxville, a board member and the past president of the Knoxville Symphony Society and a board member of the Tennessee Theatre Foundation.

Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. It is published as a special supplement in leading newspapers and city and regional magazines across the country. Polling, research and selection are performed by Law & Politics, a publication of Key Professional Media Inc.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, have announced the addition of two new attorneys to its Chattanooga office.

Marcie L. Kiggans joins the firm as an associate in the litigation department. She is a 2009 graduate of Emory University School of Law.

Taeho Lee, joins the firm as an associate in the real estate group, and is also a 2009 graduate of Emory University School of Law. n

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

Steven Kitts

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.

Larkin

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

Eric Watson

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.

Adam Watson

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 Kitts

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

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.