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August 18, 2010 - The Henley Bridge, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will receive structural updates beginning January 2011. The bridge will be closed to traffic during a 30-36 month period. Updates to deteriorated concrete, deteriorated decks over each of the four main spans, and deteriorated floor beams will be performed. The changes will enable the bridge to meet current safety standards. The main arches and piers are the only salvageable components of the original structure. All other components will need to be removed and replaced due to excessive degradation. Those include the deck, sidewalks, railings, girders, floor beams, spandrel columns to the top of the existing concrete arches, upper portions of the abutments and piers, wing walls, and roadway approach slabs. More than 38,000 vehicles will be detoured to James White Parkway and across the South Knoxville Bridge once construction begins. Additional turning lanes and traffic lights will be placed along Moody Avenue where it intersects James White Parkway and Chapman Highway. Chapman Highway will remain open between Moody and Blount Avenues. For more information about Henley Bridge updates, visit the project’s website: www.tn.gov/henley. July 29, 2010 - Six months on the job, new University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley welcomed Chamber Premier Partners inside Neyland Stadium’s Wolf-Kaplan Center. Studio Four Design, Inc. and Rentenbach Engineering Company co-sponsored the exclusive event hosted by the University of Tennessee Athletics Tennessee Fund. Coach Dooley was energetic and excited when describing his anticipation of the upcoming season. “It will be an exciting season,” he said. “Yes we have a lot of young players on this team but I believe in our young players. Our youth and inexperience doesn’t mean that we’re not good or that we’re not going to be real good. It only means that we have a lot of new faces.” July 26, 2010 (Knoxville, TN) – Today, Melaleuca The Wellness Company opened its new distribution facility in the Forks of the River Industrial Park in Knox County, Tennessee. The new 222,000 square foot state-of-the-art distribution center is connected to a 175,000 square foot manufacturing facility. The new building allows Melaleuca to triple shipments from its Knoxville operations to 300,000 packages per month to locations east of the Mississppi and eastern Canada. The new facility will be capable of shipping 900,000 packages per month when fully staffed. Governor Phil Bredesen, Education Commissioner Tim Webb and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist this week are launching the First to the Top Coalition, a statewide alliance of more than 30 business, community and education groups joining together to support public education reform in Tennessee. The group, along with Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jamie Woodson made the announcement July 21, 2010 inside Holston Middle School's library in Knoxville. The coalition’s first project is “Expect More, Achieve More: Raising the Bar in Tennessee Schools,” a campaign designed to raise parent and public awareness of higher academic standards in the classroom. The campaign is working to get ahead of the release of new Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) scores in late-September. Knoxville Chamber VP of Member Services Melissa Spangler Graduates from Institute for Organization Management Knoxville, TN—Melissa Spangler, IOM, VP of Member Services, of the Knoxville Chamber, has graduated from Institute for Organization Management (Institute), a four-year nonprofit leadership training program at the University of Georgia in Athens. Each year Newsweek magazine selects the best high schools in the nation based on "how hard school staffs work to challenge students with advanced-placement college-level courses and tests."The Knox county school making the list are West (#1092) and Farragut (#1220). Six percent of all public schools in the country make the list. To read the Newsweek report online click here. For the past five years the Knoxville Chamber has annually produced an outstanding magazine that provides information to businesses and individuals interested in moving to the area. With over 7,500 targeted recipients and a world-class web presence, East Tennessee Living delivers. This year the publication is going to be better than ever and you need to act now to secure your advertising space. The 2011 edition of the magazine will include the Knoxville Chamber membership directory. By combining these two important and useful resources, advertisers receive more exposure to the new customers they are trying to reach. Not only can your business market to new residents and new businesses relocating to Knoxville, but you will also reach more than 2,000 current Chamber member companies and potentially be seen by those businesses' 275,000+ employees. The new publication will offer: You are encouraged to advertise in this publication. Jennifer Wilson, project sales director from Chamber member SouthComm Publishing, is calling on members to discuss marketing in the publication. To be one of the first to learn about this opportunity or secure a prime location contact Jennifer at the Knoxville Chamber by calling 865-637-4550. Forbes magazine released its annual list of best places to raise a family today. Knoxville earned the eighth position. "We're thrilled to be listed among the best communities for families in the country," said the Knoxville Chamber's Executive Vice President Rhonda Rice. "The quality of life factors that contributed to the ranking are the same things that make Knoxville attractive to businesses and entrepreneurs" The ranking is based on cost of living, prevalence of home ownership, median household income, housing costs, commute time, crime and the percentage of young adults that graduate high school. Knoxville is the only city in the south to make the list. The Forbes article is available online. The May edition of Solar Today magazine features a story about the photovoltaic industry and its growth in Tennessee. While it mentions the recruitment of Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemie, it also focuses on the exciting things happening in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley. Because of the presence of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Doug Lawyer, VP of economic development at the Chamber, says that the region is hearing from and courting solar projects. Read the story here. Sam Furrow, auctioneer, businessman, attorney, former chair of the Knoxville Chamber's Board of Directors, and the 2010 winner of the James A Haslam II Chairman's Leadership Award at the Pinnacle Business Awards, recently spoke to a group of Knoxville Chamber members. "Big Sam," as he is known by his friends, discussed his book, Hits Happen! A compilation of 35 rules for managing and recovering from financial and personal catastrophes, the book draws lessons from his own financial and personal challenges over the years. Download your copy here. Chamber member receives national Community Excellence Award May 18, 2010 - This morning, Prestige Cleaners was recognized as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Community Excellence Award winner at a breakfast event, which was part of the America's Small Business Summit held in Washington D.C. Eddie Mannis, founder and president of Prestige Cleaners accepted the award. "It is a true honor to be recognized by our peers - small businesses from across the country," says Mannis. "It is a credit to our dedicated staff and loyal customers that Prestige was selected from such an incredible field of companies. I think receiving the award also speaks to the tremendous support Prestige has received over the years from the Knoxville community." The Community Excellence Award highlights a small business that demonstrates excellence in the eyes of its community, customers, and employees. Prestige received the award based on the number of online votes received. "It's fantastic that Prestige Cleaners has been recognized nationally," says Mike Edwards, president & CEO of the Knoxville Chamber. "Eddie Mannis has built a company that focused on being a solid contributor to our local economy and also a tremendous supporter of the entire community. Prestige Cleaners, and the other Knoxville area companies recognized by the U.S. Chamber are representative of all the terrific small businesses that exist in the region." The Knoxville Chamber nominated 14 local businesses for the U.S. Chamber Small Business Awards program - 11 companies applied. All nominees were past winners of a Knoxville Chamber Pinnacle Business Award and met the U.S. Chamber's criteria. Three companies were selected as 2010 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners. The honorees, Construction Plus, Knowledge Launch, and Prestige Cleaners, were recognized at the America's Small Business Summit this morning. John Tolsma, CEO of Knowledge Launch, was present to accept the company's Blue Ribbon Award. The 75 national Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners were eligible to receive the Community Excellence award. In addition to the Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners, 25 businesses were named Free Enterprise Honorees for their strong business practices and contributions to the economy. ES&H, Inc. and NetGain Corporation are the Knoxville area businesses that received this recognition. The Knoxville Chamber is currently seeking proposals for its new professional development series, Bright Ideas. Bright Ideas workshops and seminars can range in length from 1-hour to 3 hours, depending on the time needed to thoroughly cover the subject. They are focused on topics for business and businesspeople. The application deadline for seminars to be given during the third and fourth quarters of 2010 is June 30, 2010. A taskforce made up of Chamber members will review the applications and select the speakers on or near July 14, 2010. Click here to download an application. Click here to download an application. Winners of the 2010 Fittest Exec Challenge – sponsored by Bank of America, the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, the YMCA of East Tennessee, and WVLT-TV – were recognized March 23 at Schmoozapalooza II. Modified from last year, 2010’s Fit For Business included competitions among C-level executives and employees at all levels. The 2010 winners are: Female: Susan Long, Insurance Systems (runner-up: Amber Young, First Tennessee) The Employee Fit Club Competition provided businesspeople with opportunities to improve their overall health by engaging in a competition based on improving their fitness level. Participants in the Employee Fit Club took two six-point fitness tests. The first test established a baseline and the second determined improvement. Winners were identified based on their percentage of improvement from the first test to the second test. The Chamber recently asked all Knox County Mayoral candidates to complete an eleven-question survey on issues important to the business community. The questions were developed by the Chamber's Board of Directors and distributed to all Republican, Democratic, and Independent candidates. The candidates were given ample time to submit answers to the questions. Below are the submissions of Tim Burchett and Lewis Cosby. Robert Bedwell, Tim Hutchison, Ezra Maize, and Michael McBath did not return the questionnaire. Tim Burchett's responses Lewis Cosby's responses Early voting begins April 14 for the Knox County primaries and continues through April 29 Early Voting Locations
(Click image to view/download event photos)
“Institute graduates are recognized across the country as leaders in their communities,” said Raymond P. Towle, IOM, CAE, the U.S. Chamber’s vice president of Institute for Organization Management. “These individuals have the knowledge, skills, and dedication to achieve professional and organizational success in the dynamic association and chamber industries.”
The Fittest Exec Challenge was designed to recognize executives that are setting a standard of health and fitness for employees to follow.
Male Under 40: Jonathan Johnson, A&W Office Supplies (runner-up: Michael Leventhal, Tennessee Men’s Health Network)
Male 41-50: Jim Waldrop, Ideacom Technologies and Allen Tillman, Tillman Companies
Male 51 and Over: David Jagels, Martin & Company (runner-up: Eddie Black, KUB)
Employee Fit Club Competition winners are:
Female 40 and Under: Jennifer Chaffee, Pattison Sign Group
Female 41-50: Theresa Widener, Pattison Sign Group
Female 51 and Over: Martha Earl, UT Medical Center
Male 40 and Under: Chris Triko, Michael Brady, Inc.
Male 41-50: Ed Medford, KUB
Male 51 and Over: Charlie Gray, KUB
Each winner received a plaque in recognition of being 2010 fittest executives and employees!
KNOXVILLE, TN (April 30, 2010) - Honorees in nine categories where honored during the 2010 Pinnacle Business Awards presented by BB&T. Nearly 600 members of Knoxville’s business community helped recognize the winners. Dinner and a silent-auction preceded the awards ceremony.