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Mark Field, VP of Membership at the Knoxville Chamber, was recently selected as a class advisor for the June sessions of the Institute of Organizational Management. A professional development program administered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute is a unique professional development experience specifically designed for association, chamber, and nonprofit professionals. "Mark is a great leader and has brought tremendous value to the Knoxville Chamber," says Mike Edwards, president and CEO. "It's an honor for him, and the Knoxville Chamber, to take that experience and help chambers across the country." Field directs the Knoxville Chamber's membership programs including benefit delivery, customer service, and events. A class advisor is an Institute graduate whose enthusiasm helps his/her class to make the most of the Institute experience. Similar to homeroom teachers they answer questions, facilitate learning, and build team sprit. Over the course of five days, Institute participants engage in 24 hours of classroom instruction, develop strong ties with professional colleagues, and strengthen their skills through professional development opportunities outside the classroom. Institute is one of the nation's oldest adult continuing education programs, dating back to 1921. The Knoxville Chamber recently announced the finalists for the 2010 Pinnacle Business Awards presented by BB&T. The Awards recognize companies and individuals that have excelled in business. The gala, which will be April 30 at the Knoxville Convention Center, is an opportunity to celebrate business in general and the achievement of the selected winners. Awards will be presented in eight categories. Finalists are announced in eight of those categories; the winner of the James A. Haslam, II Chairman's Leadership Award is announced at the awards ceremony. Finalists are: Impact Award: CVS Caremark, Gastrointestinal Associates, P.C., U.S. Cellular Innovator Award: Schaad Companies, Sustainable Future, LLC, White Stone Group, Inc. Minority-Owned Business Excellence: G2 Engineering & Management, Inc., MPi Business Solutions, Security Walls, LLC Woman-Owned Business Excellence: Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center, Scientific Sales, Inc., The Trust Company of Knoxville, Inc. Small Business Excellence: All Occasion Catering LLC, Partners Development, Threds, Inc. Business Excellence (Mid-Size Company): Analysis & Measurement Services Corporation, Gallaher & Associates, Inc., Power Systems, Inc. Business Excellence (Large Company): Cherokee Distributing Co., Inc., LBMC, P.C., Oak Ridge Associated Universities Young Entrepreneur Award: Sara Hedstrom, Hedstrom Design LLC, Billy Rivet, Bluegill Creative, Brandon Rochelle, Designsensory The sixth annual Pinnacle Business Awards Gala, presented by BB&T, will be April 30, 2010 at the Knoxville Convention Center. The reception and silent auction will begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by the dinner and awards at 8:00 p.m. The gala has become the Knoxville business community's premier social gathering. Over 700 businesspeople attended last year's gala. Members May Notice Minor Changes The Knoxville Chamber is currently installing a new data system that will allow the organization to better deliver services and benefits. In fact, the system is a key part of the Chamber's effort to make Knoxville America's Best Business Address. The new data system will make it possible to track the results of the business assessment, known as Member MD, that will be launched in the next few months. The Chamber will then be able to provide individualized service to members based on the assessment. Over the next two weeks the new data system will "go live" at the Chamber. During that time the online events registration will be inoperable. Please register for April events by calling 865-246-2622. Once the data system has been fully installed you will notice several other differences. If you have questions please call the Chamber at 865-637-4550. KNOXVILLE and OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 25 - High tech researchers and the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley economic development partnership welcomed this week's announcement by Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to extend the contract of UT-Battelle to manage Oak Ridge National Laboratory for another five years. UT-Battelle, a partnership of the University of Tennessee, which is headquartered in Knoxville, and the Battelle Memorial Institute, has managed the lab since April 2000. During that time, the lab has grown from 3,700 to 4,700 employees, research funding has increased from $640 million to $1.6 billion and UT-Battelle received $338 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to construct a new chemical material sciences building and to upgrade the world's fastest supercomputer, Jaguar. Not surprisingly, the national lab figures heavily in the Innovation Valley's promising economic outlook. Gov. Phil Bredesen said Chu's decision "ensures Tennessee will be well-positioned to continue to attract research investments and other economic benefits" generated by the lab. ORNL director Thom Mason, who also serves as chairman of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley partnership, said the lab will focus on "an increasing range of opportunities for collaboration and growth with an emphasis on moving our science and technology into the marketplace." During the past ten years, the lab, often in collaboration with UT and the State, has: The lab's progress further supports the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley partnership's efforts in workforce development, industrial recruiting, and business retention throughout a five-county area. The partnership gives special attention to energy storage, carbon fiber, bioenergy, nuclear component manufacturing and instrumentation, and leverages the region's expertise in sensors and detectors, nuclear energy services and energy related materials, especially for the solar technology. For more information, visit www.knoxvilleoakridge.com or contact technology director Jesse Smith at jsmith@innovationvalleyinc.org. Visit the City of Knoxville's website to nominate Knoxville to become a Google Fiber Community! Chamber identifies state representative as unfriendly to business KNOXVILLE, TN - Today, the Knoxville Chamber identified state Rep. Frank Niceley as hostile to business. His sponsorship of five bills demonstrates his unfriendly position regarding business and economic development, particularly in the local area. "Among the members of the Knox County state legislative delegation, Rep. Niceley stands out as working against business interests in the state and in this region," says Garrett Wagley, the Chamber's Director of Communications and Government Relations. "If the bills he's introduced become law they would be burdensome to businesses and limit economic development. They could also result in the loss of jobs and negatively affect the local and state tax base." Rep. Niceley has introduced five bills that are in opposition to business interests. The legislation makes it difficult to develop industrial or business property, targets the economic development activities of chambers of commerce, and institutes new, onerous reporting requirements for LLCs fulfilling government contracts. The bills are: The two bills Rep. Niceley has introduced regarding industrial property development stem from his opposition to the proposed intermodal facility in Jefferson County. Limiting that type of development in a nonattainment county is particularly curious - it would actually positively affect air quality. According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the intermodal facility in Jefferson County would divert more than 100,000 tractor-trailers from I-40 each year. Interstate traffic is one of the primary contributors to air pollution in Jefferson County - and the other nonattainment counties in East Tennessee including Knox County. The intermodal facility could actually result in a total reduction in air pollution in the region and state. It would also bring a large number of direct and indirect jobs. The direct jobs would come during the facility's construction and operation. Indirect jobs would be represented by additional businesses locating in the region to benefit from the shipping advantages of the intermodal facility. In addition to these bills, Rep. Niceleyhas also been a major proponent of changing Tennessee's system for selecting local school superintendents. The current system requires superintendents to be appointed by an elected school board. Such a system allows these professionals to focus solely on the improvement of education. Rep. Niceley would allow for elections, which would require superintendents to be distracted from his/her important work to focus on periodic campaigns. The Knoxville Chamber, along with the chambers in Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville, and other business interests across the state, has identified this issue as a major business concern. Oak Ridge National Laboratories Deputy Director of Science and Technology Dr. Thomas Zacharia was the featured speaker at an exclusive Premier Partners event sponsored by Blaine Construction Corporation and Partners Development. Dr. Zacharia spoke about an increased partnership between ORNL and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville that is establishing a new Distinguished Fellowship designed to attract top graduate students in science and engineering. The program is jointly funded by ORNL and UT and will provide students with a remarkable opportunity to help with cutting-edge research at both institutions. “Even though there has been an ORNL and UT collaboration for many decades, I don’t believe we’ve fully mined the potential,” said Dr. Zacharia. “Over the next 10 to 20 years we can transform ORNL and the University of Tennessee. In doing so we can transform the economy of this region and we should have national and global impacts.” Rep. Haynes and fellow legislators recently passed the Tennessee First to the Top Act of 2010, which will help improve education. Included in the law are initiatives to help low-performing schools become eligible for assistance from outside organizations and the state Department of Education and requirements that student achievement data be reflected in teacher evaluations. Mike Edwards, Knoxville Chamber president & CEO, has been appointed to serve on the Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee established by the recently enacted Tennessee First to the Top Act of 2010. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen made the appointment. "I am grateful to the individuals willing to serve in this capacity to help move Tennessee public education forward in bold, new ways," said Bredesen. "I am confident that with the level of experience each of these Tennesseans brings to the table, we can accomplish this goal for teachers and their students across the state." The 15-member committee will develop and recommend to the State Board of Education guidelines and criteria for the annual evaluation of teachers and principals, including a local-level evaluation grievance procedure. The committee consists of the Commissioner of Education as chair, the Executive Director of the State Board of Education, the Chairperson of the Education Committees of each house, a K-12 public school teacher appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a K-12 public school teacher appointed by the Speaker of the Senate, and nine members appointed by the Governor. Appointments made by the Governor include three public school teachers, two public school principals, one director of a school district and three members representing other stakeholder interests. Edwards' appointment to the committee further serves to recognize him as a leader on educational issues. In particular, he has made significant contributions to the development of meaningful partnerships between business and education. In Knox County his vision led to the creation of the Education Management Information System, which includes a data warehouse to tie all sources of student and system data together. EMIS is enabling Knox County administrators and teachers to make data-supported and well-informed decisions about the future direction of the school system and each individual student. Blue Ribbon Winners Eligible for U.S. Chamber Small Business of the Year Three Knoxville Chamber members have been selected as 2010 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The honorees are Construction Plus, Knowledge Launch, and Prestige Cleaners. "We're thrilled to have these members recognized nationally," says Mike Edwards, president & CEO of the Knoxville Chamber. "These three companies are representative of all the terrific small businesses that exist in the Knoxville Innovation Valley 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. The 75 national Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners are now eligible to be named as finalists for the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award. Seven Blue Ribbon businesses will be named finalists - one from each region - on March 15. The grand prizewinner will be announced by the U.S. Chamber at the America's Small Business Summit on May 18, and will receive a $10,000 cash prize. To participate in the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Awards program businesses were required to have fewer than 250 employees and gross revenues of less than $20 million in 2008. Applicants were judged on staff training and motivation, community involvement, customer service, and business strategies and goals. "The Blue Ribbon Small Businessaward is about more than recognizing financially successful businesses. It's about honoring those that show a commitment to their employees, sound business practices, and bettering their communities," says Thomas J. Donohue, U.S. Chamber president and CEO. Community Excellence Award The Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners are also competing for the U.S. Chamber's Community Excellence Award. The Community Excellence Award is designed to highlight a small business that demonstrates excellence-in the eyes of its community, customers, and employees. Running a successful business is often about making and maintaining strong relationships, something that cannot be clearly depicted in a business plan. One company will receive this award based on the number of online votes received. Polls opened today - Monday, March 1 - and close Friday, March 12 at 5:00 pm EST. Votes may be cast at www.uschambersummit.com/cea-award. Free Enterprise Honorees In addition to the Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners, 25 businesses were namedFree Enterprise Honoreesfor 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 American Chamber of Commerce Executives recently released a study that examines the credit ratings of chamber of commerce members in ten locations across the county and compares them to the state, local, and national averages. According to the study, chamber of commerce members possess an average credit score of 629, compared to a 557 average score for businesses at large. Such scores - the payment behavior from which they are derived - play a significant role in attracting lines of credit and securing favorable terms from lenders and suppliers. A complete copy of the study, which includes both the aggregate findings, as well as the individual commercial credit scores for each of the ten local chambers, is available online. The study was contracted by ACCE and performed by Cortera, which reviewed payment behavior for chamber member businesses. "Chamber members have long beenseen as responsible and reliable members of their community," said Mick Fleming, president and CEO of ACCE. "What this study indicates is that the perceptionis right. From a credit standpoint, chamber members on averageare better businesses, and as a result they have significant advantages in obtaining the funds they need. In this economy and the tight credit environment we are experiencing, that's especially important." "The economic health of the entire supply chain is dependent on the payment behavior of each of its stakeholders," said Jim Swift, president and CEO of Cortera. "This study suggests that chamber members are among the most dependable participants in this ecosystem." Chamber members packed the former Green Hills Grille location, 4429 Kingston Pike, Knoxville (space provided by Commercial & Investment Properties, Co.) during 2010 Casino Night sponsored by UT Federal Credit Union. The odds were in favor of all who attended that they would come away with great new contacts and have fun doing so. “I don’t know anything about gambling but this is a lot of fun,” said Instiglass of Knoxville President and Co-Owner Teri Owens. “Besides the annual BAH Humbug Christmas party, this is probably the best event the Chamber puts on. The networking opportunities are good, the food is fabulous and there is great turnout. This is really a great function.” The Metropolitan Planning Commission will discuss the East Knox County Sector Plan Update on Thursday, February 11th, 2010, at 1:30 PM. Included in the Update is a recommendation by the MPC staff to designate The Development Corporation owned property at the Midway Road Interchange of I-40 as a Mixed Use Special District (Business Park or Town Center development). We need your help to demonstrate support for inclusion of the Business Park in the Sector Plan Update. Those against the development are appealing to MPC and County Commission, and those bodies need to hear from the business community too. Please download a fact sheet that addresses certain issues that have been misrepresented by the opposition. Economic Development in Knox County should be a communitywide decision because high quality, sustainable development benefits the quality of life and tax base for all Knox County residents and businesses by providing opportunities for new businesses to locate in Knox County, supporting existing businesses, and attracting quality employers and workers to Knox County. We ask you to show your support by either attending the MPC meeting or contacting MPC commissioners. Full contact information is attached. Click here for a semi-colon separated list of MPC commissioners' email addresses. On January 20th Tom Donohue, president of the US Chamber, sited the Knoxville Chamber's STEM initiative that will pair 500 middle and high school teachers with area businesses as an example of outstanding business' efforts to support education across the nation. The comments came during a hearing on the reauthorization of the America Competes Act. Read the text of Donohue's testimony here. The Chamber initiative is a partnership with The Knox County Schools to provide a STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) employer experience to all middle and high school math and science teachers in Knox County Schools. This effort will allow 500 teachers to learn what skills are needed as a STEM professional and how to apply the concepts they are teaching in daily classroom lessons. This is an incredible opportunity for these teachers to learn directly from employers. This program is being led by Vols4STEM, a collaborative effort involving several area organizations and individuals, including the Knoxville Chamber, American Society of Civil Engineers, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, Knox County Schools, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, and Innovation Valley Inc. The mission of Vols4STEM is to facilitate collaboration among area STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) professionals and STEM educators and students, primarily through the Vols4STEM website, www.vols4stem.org. The Tennessee Small Business Development Center, a partner of the Knoxville Chamber, recently released its 2009 Annual Report. The organization's results for the year are impressive. In 2009 TSBDC consulted with 782 clients and taught 1335 students in its classes about starting and running a small business. Its clients started 44 new businesses, created 225 new jobs, and invested more than $12.2 million. You can read the full report here. The Tennessee Small Business Development Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additional funding is provided by the Tennessee Board of Regents and the State of Tennessee. The organization helps small businesses by providing existing and potential companies consultation, education, referral, and support services. You may contact the TSBDC by calling 865-246-2663. “The first thing we think about before producing a television program is whether or not there is a need out there,” Haslam said. “Is this (program) something people are interested in and is there a void that is not being served?” After careful consideration, the coalition of chambers of commerce recommended the following slate of issues to members of the General Assembly: First and foremost: education. A skilled, well-prepared workforce is the key to this region’s success in the global economy. VISIT THE PINNACLE BUSINESS AWARDS WEBSITE Clear your calendar and SAVE THE DATE! Join us for the sixth annual Pinnacle Business Awards Gala, presented by BB&T, on April 30, 2010, in the ballroom at the Knoxville Convention Center. A reception and silent auction will begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by the dinner and awards at 8:00 p.m. The gala has become the Knoxville business community's premier social gathering. Over 550 businesspeople attended last year's event. The Chamber is currently accepting nominations for the Pinnacle Business Awards. Anyone may nominate a deserving company or individual. Award categories include: Business Excellence, Small Business Excellence (business with 50 or fewer employees), Minority Business Excellence, Woman-Owned Business Excellence, Impact, Innovator and Young Entrepreneur. A full description of each of the awards is included on the nomination form. Nominees do not need to be a member of the Knoxville Chamber. Companies that are nominated for a Pinnacle Business Award will be sent an application that must be completed and returned to the Knoxville Chamber. The nomination deadline is February 19 and the application deadline is March 5. Download a nomination form here. For ticket or table sponsorship information please contact the Chamber by calling (865) 637-4550. Knox County’s EMIS is the first of its kind in the country. Along with student and academic data, the system incorporates financial information.
Google is planning to launch an experiment that it hopes will make Internet access better and faster for everyone. Google plans to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country.
Google's networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections.
It will offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.
From now until March 26th, Google is asking interested municipalities to provide information about their communities through a Request For Information (RFI), which it will use to determine where to build the high speed network.
Tennessee Rep. Ryan Haynes spoke to Chamber members about the state’s current education system, proposed TennCare cuts, and legislation that would allow wine sales in grocery stores during February’s legislative briefing sponsored by AT&T and First Tennessee. The legislative briefing series is designed to help Chamber members stay updated on the ongoing Tennessee legislative session.
“This bill is massive education reform,” said Haynes, a House Education Committee member. “While it won’t completely overhaul our system nor completely insure that we pump out more graduates, I think it is a tremendous step in the right direction.”
Nearly 150 Chamber members attended February’s a.m. Exchange that was held at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, 700 Hall of Fame Drive, Knoxville. In addition to utilizing the building’s elegant and spacious lobby to get connected with other members of the area’s business community, guests were able to tour the facilities’ 30,000 square feet of exhibits and hands-on experiences celebrating women’s basketball at the youth, collegiate and international levels. Knoxville’s WBHOF is the only women’s basketball hall of fame in the world. The building offers a great venue for you or your business to host corporate parties, weddings, proms, birthday parties, retreats or education programs.
RIVR Media Co-Owner and CEO Dee Haslam was the featured speaker at an exclusive Premier Partners event sponsored by Pinnacle Financial Partners. Haslam spoke about her company’s Knoxville roots, history and about the many benefits of conducting business in East Tennessee. She also shared what she believes to be the key to RIVR’s production departments’ abilities to produce high-quality documentaries and series: meticulous research.
ALCOA, TN - The Knoxville Chamber, along with the Blount County Chamber of Commerce and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce recently presented the 2010 legislative agenda at the Airport Hilton in Alcoa. The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority and Alcoa sponsored the event. The business breakfast and presentation was held to help the regional legislative delegation begin to work on issues that will benefit the regional economy.
Knox County Schools, the Knoxville Chamber, and Follett Software Company recently launched the Education Management Information System that had been under development for the last eighteen months. EMIS, which includes a data warehouse to tie all sources of student and system data together, is enabling Knox County administrators and teachers to make data-supported and well-informed decisions about the future direction of the school system and each individual student.