News - Friday, March 16, 2018

Christy Gillenwater had done her due diligence, investing the time and work required to be considered for the position of president of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. But she wasn’t sure the organization’s board was going to give her the nod.

Memphis resident Stevie Moore has been waging a war to take illegal guns off the streets since someone shot his son in the head with an AK-47 15 years ago.

“It’s my mission to fight these guns whatever way I can,” says Moore, who founded the organization Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives in an effort to steer youth away from violence.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has promoted two team members. Lindsay Cast now serves as a paralegal in the firm’s estate and tax group, and Bruce Launey recently became a paralegal in the labor and employment group.

“We are fortunate to have Lindsay on our estate planning team,” says Greg Willett, tax and estate section chair and shareholder at Chambliss. “Not only does she bring additional depth to the practice, she also shares our sharp attention to detail when working with clients on such personal matters.”

The recipient of the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award is Harry “Hap” Harwell Jr., who was to receive the award this week in a ceremony at the Westin Chattanooga.

Since 1922, the Distinguished Service Award has been presented annually in recognition of an individual’s leadership and service to the Chattanooga community. A Tennessee native and graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Harwell has long been making noteworthy contributions in his professional and volunteer roles.

Attorney Jeffrey Maddux of the law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel will serve as president of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute in 2018.

Two additional Chattanooga attorneys are serving with Maddux on the 25-member board. Robert Wilkinson, a Chapter 7 Trustee and bankruptcy attorney with Tom Bible Law, has been elected to serve a five-year term on the Mid-South board. Nick Foster, a trial attorney with the U.S. Dept. of Justice, will serve as treasurer of the institute in 2018.

Miller & Martin has elected T.J. Gentle as a member. Based in the firm’s Chattanooga office, Gentle has been with Miller & Martin for two years after spending more than 10 years as president and CEO of a venture-backed technology company.

The American Cancer Society honored Chattanooga Bar Association Executive Director Lynda Hood as a 20-year survivor at its 2018 Life Inspiration Awards, held Friday, March 9 at the Chattanooga Convention and Trade Center.

A well-known community leader and volunteer for many local organizations, Hood was diagnosed with breast cancer after the birth of her daughter, Lauren. She tackled her treatment and getting well “with more than an adequate amount of toughness and grit,” said Jed Mescon, emcee for the ceremony. “And look at her now. She’s truly a role model for cancer survivorship.”

Re/Max Renaissance welcomes two real estate agents to its Hixson office: Katie Ashley, formerly of Re/Max Properties, and Aaron Marvel.

Ashley, who resides in the Big Ridge community, has been working in the real estate industry for more than five years and has extensive experience marketing residential and commercial property.

A proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor could make it easier for small businesses and self-employed individuals to purchase health insurance through association health plans, or AHPs, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In a comment letter, the NAR expressed mostly strong support for the proposed regulation, which modifies and broadens the definition of “employer” to include “working owners” and opens the door to potentially allowing trade associations, including the NAR, to offer health insurance coverage to members through the large group insurance market.

A $1.65 million grant from the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes will bring together local partners invested in safe, affordable housing and child welfare.

These partners include Chattanooga Health Department, Chattanooga Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises, Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, University of Tennessee Extension, Chattanooga Head Start, Green Spaces, Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization and the Chattanooga Fire Department.

Basketball coach Rick Barnes was fired by Texas in late March of 2015 when he refused to fire members of his coaching staff.

Barnes said his staffers offered to quit, but he refused to let them. So, he was fired.

It couldn’t have been better timing for Tennessee, which fired basketball coach Donnie Tyndall on March 28, 2015, amid an NCAA investigation.

In the X-Men movies, computer animation smoothly morphs Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique into a variety of characters, allowing her to accomplish tasks through deceit. As Dominika in “Red Sparrow,” an espionage thriller currently in theaters, Lawrence works without the aid of computers to transform herself into a seductive temptress who does the bidding of Russian intelligence. The effect is just as seamless and impressive.

The National Association of Realtors has chosen “Own it” as its theme for 2018-2020. During my year as our local association’s president, Greater Chattanooga Realtors’ will embrace the theme by “owning it” in various ways throughout 2018.

As the cold weather slowly fades and warmer temperatures become more and more common, many homeowners’ thoughts in Chattanooga and the surrounding area are turning to a traditional activity this time of year: spring housecleaning.

But whether you enjoy getting your house in order or would rather tackle only the bare minimum of necessary chores, it’s important to work safely – especially if that work involves dragging out a ladder.

As you may have heard, the stock market has been on a wild ride lately. What’s behind this volatility? And, as an investor, how concerned should you be?

Let’s look at the first question first.  What caused the steep drop in stock prices we experienced on a few separate days? 

It might not end up as popular as Subway’s Sub of the Day, but the Monday and Thursday Fugitive at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office could make the community safer.

In an effort to promote the apprehension of potentially dangerous and wanted fugitives, the HCSO’s Fugitive Division will feature a different fugitive on the HCSO Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Hamilton-County-Sheriffs-Office-TN-240501555969974) each Monday and Thursday to encourage the public’s help with locating and apprehending fugitives who have been identified as having a high risk of endangering people.

Hamilton County went to the bond market this week to finance $195 million in capital projects. Seven financial institutions bid on the right to buy the bonds. Citigroup Global submitted a winning interest rate of 2.65 percent.

PFM Financial Advisors Managing Director Lauren Lowe says, “We’re very pleased with the results of the bidding. This is a terrific rate in today’s interest rate market.”

Tennessee American Water Company, which has supplied water from the Tennessee River to the town of Signal Mountain for 93 years, has submitted a proposal to purchase the town’s water system.

“Our commitment to the town of Signal Mountain is to provide outstanding customer service, to continue delivering essential and quality water, to invest in the community and to develop a strategic approach to upgrade the water system,” says Val Armstrong, president of Tennessee American Water.

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke has been appointed co-chair of the National League of Cities 2018 Council on Youth, Education and Families. This council guides and oversees the work of the Institute for Youth, Education and Families.

“Improving the lives of young people is the smartest and most strategic investment any city can make,” Berke says. “In Chattanooga, we have worked hard to invest in early learning, including helping families through our Baby University program.

The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga has welcomed Marcus Rafiee to the role of senior director of giving strategies. Rafiee will focus on fostering relationships with professional advisors to offering new philanthropic tools and opportunities for advisors to enhance their ability to serve their clients.

A $1.65 million grant from the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes will bring together local partners invested in safe, affordable housing and child welfare.

These partners include Chattanooga Health Department, Chattanooga Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises, Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, University of Tennessee Extension, Chattanooga Head Start, Green Spaces, Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization and the Chattanooga Fire Department.

Executive Women International of Chattanooga has donated $4,600 to Chattanooga State Community College.

Since its chartering in 1987, EWI of Chattanooga has contributed more than $83,000 to Chattanooga State’s Executive Women International of Chattanooga Adult Students in Scholastic Transition Scholarship.

The Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable electric car, with a promised starting price of $35,000. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have put down a $1,000 deposit for one. Almost all of them are still waiting for the chance to order.

At Edmunds, however, we’ve purchased and taken delivery of one of the first Model 3s out. And we’ve driven it more than 3,000 miles so far.

The Chattanooga Police Department is as close as the nearest smartphone with the release of “Chattanooga PD Mobile,” a free app the department hopes will improve communication with the public and increase responsiveness to crime.

Users of “Chattanooga PD Mobile” can receive safety alerts, view CPD social media sites, find department contacts and submit anonymous crime tips.

Living in a society in which the demands of digital interactions are constantly multiplying and becoming more insistent, it can be all too easy to lose touch with the natural world.

With our eyes glued to our phones, many people fail to look up and appreciate the aerial ballet of flocking waterfowl and songbirds or the awe-inspiring migration of monarch butterflies. And as we strive to add to our online networks, we often miss the more intimate connections we share with the box turtles, flying squirrels, blue jays and other species living right in our backyard.

WTCI, the Tennessee Valley’s PBS station, will host the Masterpiece Experience wine dinner at the Westin Hotel on Tuesday, March 20. The Westin chefs have created a five-course meal for the evening and paired each course with a specific wine. Tickets are $175 each. Individual and corporate seating is available, and most table configurations can be accommodated.