Econo Lodge Inn & Suites, on Strawberry Plains in Knoxville, Tennessee donated rooms to displaced, homeless and stranded families from the beginning of December through January 15. The local Red Cross, United Way, Community Action Committees Homeward Bound Office, KCDC Public Housing, and a few local churches were notified that rooms were available if needed. General Manager, Larry Ryan, soon found out there was a definite need.

The Econo Lodge Inn & Suites is managed by AMERICAN MOTEL MANAGEMENT, INC., which operates 13 hotels in the Southeast (www.americanmotel.travel). Their lodging properties are located in Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana and Tennessee. All American Motel Management hotels donated room nights in their regions during this time period.

When American Motel Management informed the General Managers that they wanted to donate room nights to ensure no one in the community would be stranded in the cold, Larry immediately jumped at the chance to help. The staff was a little surprised by the number of people who were in need of lodging but were happy they were able to assist in this small way.

The Tennessee hotels gave away a total of 130 room nights at a value of over $8,000.

It has been the mission of American Motel Management to provide their guests a unique range of amenities, clean comfortable rooms at affordable rates and quality service. They are also committed to the welfare and prosperity of the communities where they live and work, and through their charitable contributions and community involvement, strive to help create more productive and enriched communities.

For more information about American Motel Management properties, you can visit www.americanmotel.travel or contact Chris Drew at 865-933-7561.

Nucsafe Inc. recently announced it has entered into an agreement with Nucor Corporation to provide radiation detection systems and monitoring services. These systems will be located at all 18 Nucor steel mill locations across the United States.

This placement will allow Nucsafe’s Guardian® Radiation Detection Systems to scan all incoming materials entering the facilities, and at various additional locations before the scrap metal is recycled.

With this agreement, Nucsafe will provide radiation detection systems, remote alarm monitoring, automatic email and SMS messaging, systems maintenance and 24/7 on-call and on-site service.

“These highly advanced radiation detection systems will be one more key element in Nucor’s implementation of a holistic approach to their radiation detection program. Nucsafe looks forward to providing Nucor the same level of technical expertise, sophistication and support that our military, homeland security, and first responder clients already enjoy”, said Steve Tymoszuk, Nucsafe Systems Product Manager.

With legislators debating a health care redesign, there is a lot of discussion about what’s wrong with American health care and how it could be fixed.

The College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been working with health care professionals for more than 10 years, teaching them the business of health care to improve quality, improve patient outcomes and lower costs.

“We have shown that when the health care community understands and implements good business principles, the health care system improves,” said Mike Stahl, William B. Stokely Distinguished Professor in Management and director of UT’s Physician Executive MBA (PEMBA) program. “Physicians are thirsting for knowledge about how to run patient-centered practices that improve patient outcomes, eliminate redundancies, shorten patient wait times, put an end to reworks, simplify paperwork and lower costs.”

PEMBA - which for the past six years has been ranked “the No. 1 preferred MBA program exclusively for physicians” by Modern Healthcare/Modern Physician magazines - teaches physicians to think as physician leaders.

“PEMBA physicians already think of their patients first due to taking the Hippocratic Oath. What they learn in the program enhances the value they add to their patients,” Stahl said.

Jody Crane, a 2004 PEMBA graduate and business director of Fredericksburg Emergency Medical Alliance in Fredericksburg, Va., applied lean principles to improve performance in one of the busiest emergency departments in the country. By applying lean principles in his emergency department, he and his team at Mary Washington Hospital have reduced the length of stay in the emergency department by over 38 percent — from over four hours in 2004 to two hours and 30 minutes in 2009. They also have decreased the rate with which patients leave without being seen by almost 90 percent — from a high of 13 percent in 2003 to 1.5 percent in 2009.

“This tremendous increase in capacity came without significant investments in human resources or costly physical plant modifications, but through creating a learning organization and applying human ingenuity,” Crane said. In essence, the Fredericksburg team created the capacity to treat 38 percent more patients with similar resources.

“Toyota used these principles to improve manufacturing efficiencies in the automotive industry; the concepts are just as applicable in a health care environment,” he said.

Crane believes so strongly in lean that he and Chuck Noon, a founding faculty member of PEMBA, encouraged the college to introduce a Lean for Health care five-day course as a deep-dive into lean principles, in which he is a lead faculty member. Other college faculty members are working with college staff in developing an entire curriculum of health care leadership courses to be available in 2010.

Here are several other examples of healthcare professionals around the country who have used the business principles learned in UT’s Physician Executive MBA program to make changes that increased efficiency and improved patient outcomes:

· Dr. Ramesh Gandhi practices gastroenterology in Dayton, Ohio, and is president of Digestive Specialists and Digestive Endoscopy Center LLC, an outpatient practice with 20 gastroenterologists, anesthesiologists and pathologists; they perform thousands of colonoscopies yearly. With the implementation of continuous process improvements learned in PEMBA, his center has reduced significantly expected complications from colonoscopies, including an 85 percent reduction in perforation rates. This has led to improved satisfaction among patients and referring physicians, more referrals, and business growth.

· Dr.  Thomas L. “Tim” Stover is president of outpatient services at Akron General Health System in Akron, Ohio. Before the concept of wellness became popular, he developed Akron General Health and Wellness Centers, an outpatient, lower-cost, higher-quality delivery system based around prevention, wellness, rehabilitation and lifestyle change. The Centers offer free-standing, 24/7, full-service emergency departments; outpatient clinical services, including diagnostic and surgical services; physician offices; and an award-winning medical fitness center.

· Dr. John H. Hajjar, chief executive officer of Urology Specialty Care and Surgicare Surgical Associates in New Jersey, lowered patient costs and improved quality of urology services by moving procedures from an in-patient to an outpatient setting. SurgiCare manages more than 10 ambulatory surgery centers in New Jersey, New York, and Florida.

The Board of Directors of Leadership Knoxville, Inc., is accepting nominations for its 2011 class, which will run from August 2010 – June 2011. Frank Rothermel, President of Denark Construction and Leadership Knoxville Board member, will chair the selection committee. Deadline for submission is Friday, February 26^th.

The 2011 class will be Leadership Knoxville’s twenty-seventh. Started in 1985, the program equips approximately 45 area leaders each year with important information about the community and region, along with skills to enhance their leadership abilities. Over 1,000 people have participated in the program since its inception.

The committee is seeking nominations from business, government, education, religion, the arts, the professions, civic, and community organizations. Nominees may live in Knox and all contiguous counties, should be community minded, and should demonstrate leadership capabilities. If selected for the program, participants will be required to participate in monthly day-long sessions, and occasional two-day sessions. Tuition is $2,500 for the year-long program, but partial scholarship assistance may be available.

Nominations may be made online at www.leadershipknoxville.com. Nominators must provide the candidates name and email address. The candidates will in-turn receive an electronic application to submit for consideration in the class.

The 2011 class will be announced in early June.

For further information, visit the Leadership Knoxville website or call 523-9137.

Efficient Energy of Tennessee (EETENN) has developed a webinar to educate the business community about the grants available for solar PV systems and the economics of this investment. Our first webinar is for professionals and media only. We invite you to attend this FREE webinar and encourage your evaluation. At the end of the seminar we will provide you a link to fill out a survey to help us improve our webinar / seminar.

The Webinar will take place Friday, January 29 at 11:00 AM.
The information needed to join the webinar is included below.  Please allow yourself 10-15minutes for set-up.

Here are our straightforward goals:

1. You to attend the webinar
2. Receive your feedback on the webinar
3. Make improvements and present webinar (preferably an in-person seminar) to audiences you suggest, sponsored by your organization

Topic: USDA Webinar
Date: Friday, January 29, 2010
Time: 11:00 am, Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
Meeting Number: 738 684 261
Meeting Password: 123solar

To join the online meeting:
1. Go to https://eetenn.webex.com/eetenn/j.php?ED=131808737&UID=0&PW=NMzEyM2Q5YjM2&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
2. Enter your name and email address
3. Enter the meeting password: 123solar
4. Click “Join Now”
For more information contact:

Mary Shaffer Speight
Director of Community Relations and Grant Specialist
Efficient Energy of Tennessee
1707 Depot Street
Powell, TN 37849
Phone: (865)-947-3386
Mobile: (757) 353-0112
www.eetenn.com <http://www.SwiftPage3.com/SpeClicks.aspx?X=2V0WGLOIHV78SGJ403Z5W3>

The inaugural U.S. Cellular Big KnoxVenture Race totals are in: The event raised more than $36,000 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Sports Buddies program.

Nearly 200 runners competed in the event which was the first of its kind in downtown Knoxville. Participants raced through a five-mile course complete with clues, tasks and trivia and visited a variety of downtown destinations, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Mast General Store, the Regal Riviera theater and the YWCA.

The U.S. Cellular Big KnoxVenture Race, presented by WBIR, aimed to promote downtown attractions and businesses while celebrating Knoxville’s unique history.

Jason Brunner and Sebastian Steadman’s “What She Said” team took first place finishing in a little more than two hours.

“I had so much fun competing in the race and learning about Knoxville in the process,” Brunner said. “It was a great team-building opportunity and even though I’ve lived in Knoxville for a few years now, I visited many downtown locations for the first time.”

Teams were given five hours to complete the adventure course, but many finished in less than three.

All proceeds from the U.S. Cellular Big KnoxVenture Race benefited the Big Brothers Big Sisters Sports Buddies initiative, a program which pairs disadvantaged children with adult mentors who have a shared interest in sports. Mentors help children build confidence, enjoy new experiences and learn life skills through the fun of sports.

“U.S. Cellular cares about our community, that’s why we’re proud to support the Big Brothers Big Sisters Sports Buddies program,” said Jack Brundige, U.S. Cellular Director of Sales Tennessee/Carolina. “The U.S. Cellular Big KnoxVenture Race was the perfect way to showcase Knoxville’s center city and the work of Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee in a unique way.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee is changing the community by providing mentors to hundreds of at-risk children in East Tennessee. Independent national research shows children with a Big Brother or Big Sister are less likely to skip school, be violent and abuse drugs and alcohol. Children with a Big Brother or Sister are also more likely to complete school and attend college. The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children.

“That Evening Sun” Opens in Knoxville and Nashville

Tennessee audiences get a chance to see the critically acclaimed feature film – shot entirely in East Tennessee – and starring legendary actor Hal Holbrook

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., January 14, 2010—those are the courthouse steps in downtown Knoxville and that farm house looks similar to the ones many moviegoers have passed on Tennessee’s back roads. Tennesseans will enjoy a familiar landscape as they see the feature film “That Evening Sun.”

After successful runs in New York City, Los Angeles and Palm Springs, “That Evening Sun” launches a multi-city release on January 22nd, opening in Knoxville, TN at the Regal Cinema’s Downtown West 8 and in Nashville, TN at the Regal Green Hills 16.

“That Evening Sun” was filmed entirely in East Tennessee, specifically in the Knoxville, Rockwood and Lenoir City areas. It is based on the short story I Hate to See that Evening Sun Go Down by acclaimed Tennessee author William Gay. “The film is praised for its authentic portrayal of southern living, and in this case Tennessee. We hope audiences in Tennessee feel a connection to the film and identify with the characters and the scenery,” said Larsen Jay, the film’s Executive Producer and President of Knoxville-based DoubleJay Creative.

“That Evening Sun” has won top prizes at 11 film festivals including Austin’s South by Southwest, Nashville, Atlanta, Sarasota, Little Rock, Newport, Indie Memphis, Sidewalk, Secret City, New Hampshire and Naples International Film Festival. The film also received the Wyatt Award from the Southeastern Film Critics, presented for the film that best represents the South.

The film stars Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild, All the President’s Men, The Firm, Wall Street), Ray McKinnon (The Blind Side, O’ Brother Where Art Thou?, Deadwood), Walton Goggins (The Shield), Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment, Tim Burton’s Alice), Carrie Preston (True Blood, Sex in the City, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Duplicity), Dixie Carter (Designing Women), Barry Corbin (No Country for Old Men, The Closer, Northern Exposure).

Visit www.thateveningsun.com <http://www.thateveningsun.com> to view the trailer, check show times, purchases tickets and learn more about “That Evening Sun.”

“That Evening Sun” is produced by Dogwood Entertainment, the film division of Knoxville-based DoubleJay Creative. The film is distributed by Freestyle Releasing.

Opening January 22nd

…in Knoxville – Regal Downtown West 8
…in Nashville – Regal Green Hills 16

Robert (Rob) Vance, partner in the Valuation, Litigation & Business Transition Services Group with Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC (LBMC), has been approved as a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Dispute Resolution Arbitrator. The basic arbitrator training was conducted online and will allow Vance to sit on a panel of three arbitrators that decide liability and damages for parties. Vance is a CPA and partner located in the Knoxville office of the Nashville-based Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC.

Click here <http://www.lbmc.com/vance_approved_finra_dispute_resolution_arbitrator>  for the full release.

Knoxville, Tenn. January 4, 2010 — Bucking current economic trends, M&L Sound is investing in its own future and also in the future of the Knoxville area with a new multi-million dollar development and warehouse facility. Further enhancing the local impact, the new facility is being constructed using only Knoxville-based contractors and will open early this year.

“After starting here as a single employee, single sound system business, M&L Sound is clear proof of Knoxville’s support of the entrepreneurial spirit,” said David Akers, president of M&L Sound. “Since those early days, the local community openly welcomed our business and helped foster our continued success.”

More than 20 years later, M&L Sound has expanded to serve customers on a local and national level through the design, installation and maintenance of cutting-edge audio-visual systems for government, corporate, educational and institutional use. In addition, the company maintains a number of larger touring sound systems for nationally recognized artists. The quality of those services has earned M&L Sound its second “Hot 100″ from “Business TN Magazine, which annually looks at some of the best companies Tennessee has to offer “in terms of entrepreneurial vision and growth.”

“Our continued growth has created the need for us to move to a larger, more comprehensive facility,” said Akers. “At the same time, we wanted to use this opportunity to expand the services we can offer our customers.”

The new 14,000 square-foot facility is situated on two acres and will house M&L Sound’s entire operation. In addition, it allows for the development of a unique a pre-production tour planning area, the first of its kind in East Tennessee.

“Years ago, each major touring act manually tweaked their sound and light set-up prior to each concert,” said Akers. “Today’s concerts are far more technologically advanced, so the artists can better focus on their own performance. But, pre-production planning before the tour ever gets on the road takes on a far greater importance.”

M&L Sound’s new pre-production planning facility provides the space for various artists to create and rehearse the comprehensive audio profiles and intricate lighting designs necessary for modern concerts.

“This facility lets us work more closely with our customers from day one so we can better meet their needs,” said Akers. “If the rehearsals point out the need for a different set-up, we can immediately respond, if necessary by designing and developing new systems that can typically be in place the very next day.”

Even while the new building is under construction, M&L Sound remains busy on a number of major installations and with the deployment of new large-screen image magnification and projection technology.

M&L Sound, Inc. was founded in 1989 by company president David Akers and is a full-service audio-video company providing concert touring, rental equipment and engineered installation services at a local, regional and national level. It is recognized as one of the leaders in audio-visual system services.