News - Friday, September 16, 2022

The first time Zennia Nesmith took classes at Chattanooga State Community College, she earned a perfect slate of five Fs.

More than two decades later, Nesmith buried her failing grades in the deep soil of the past when she graduated from the school with a flawless 4.0 GPA.

Attorney April Sawhill was no legal tenderfoot when she and her family moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Signal Mountain in 2020.

She’d represented clients in commercial litigation and insurance coverage matters for several years in Grand Rapids after graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2004 – and even become a partner at the firm where she was practicing.

Constitution Day is Sept. 17. Congress set this day aside in 2004 for us to honor the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sept. 17, 1787.

In the law establishing Constitution Day, Congress also required that all publicly funded educational institutions and federal agencies provide educational programing on the history of the Constitution on this day.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga have made Bill Aiken a member of their Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony was held Aug. 25 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro.

Aiken joined the clubs’ board of directors in 1979 and then “quickly became a guiding force and significant fundraiser,” read a news release from the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Title: A Realtor’s Life For Eleanor

Cast of characters: Eleanor Aiken, a thirtysomething professional actress and Realtor, and Kim Coulter, founder of Kim Coulter Chattanooga Homes.

Scene: A local coffee shop.

Time: The present.

The National Association of Realtors last week released its 2022 Member Safety Report, which surveys Realtors around the nation about how safe they feel on the job, their personal safety and their brokerage’s safety procedures and protocol.

The NAR publishes this report each September as part of Realtor Safety Month. Yet safety is a focus for Greater Chattanooga Realtors all year long.

Although a staircase is typically used functionally as a transitional area between one level to another, some designers use them as an element to emphasize innovation and a home’s personality.

Stairs include standard components like landings, stringers, posts, newel posts and balusters. A good staircase design will include not only safety for the users but also comfort and an aesthetic appeal.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has added Lindsey Clute to its marketing and business development department as a marketing and communications specialist.

Clute will assist with creating opportunities and promoting the firm through content generation, digital and social media campaigns, internal and external events and media relations. She brings prior experience working for a local media group and various small-business owners to the role.

Millennium Bank is partnering with BrightBridge Capital to provide a $5 million line of credit to be used within the bank’s footprint to fund projects ranging from affordable housing to company startups.

The 15-year commitment will meet a variety of needs throughout the region. Funding to support local community development and under-capitalized businesses along with low to moderate income housing are just a few examples of projects that might qualify for funding.

Signal Mountain Social Services received the Governor’s Award of Excellence at a ceremony Aug. 29 at Mountain City Club. Elizabeth Neal, executive director, accepted the award on the agency’s behalf.

The Governor’s Award of Excellence recognizes the work of faith communities, nonprofits and community initiatives across the state. A regional committee selected SMSS for its decades of serving families in need on Signal Mountain.

Parkridge Health System is now seeing patients at its new Center for Digestive & Respiratory Health.

Located in Parkridge Medical Center (2333 McCallie Avenue), the center provides physicians with equipment to diagnose and treat colon, esophageal and lung-related diseases.

Southern Lit Alliance is accepting applications for the fourth annual presentation of its Local Distinguished Author Award.

The award will be presented at Southern Lit’s fundraising event, Club Lit, which is scheduled to take place Nov. 17 at Chattanooga Whiskey.

You might have heard that you can simplify your investment strategy just by owning index-based or passive investments. But is this a good idea? You’ll want to consider the different aspects of this type of investment style.

To begin with, an index-based investment is a vehicle such as a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund that mimics the performance of a market benchmark, or index – the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and so on. (An ETF is similar to a mutual fund in that it holds a variety of investments but differs in that it is traded like a common stock.) You can also invest in index funds that track the bond market.

During my late teens, my mom handed me two worn, blue passport-size books with details of my custodial investment accounts. I had no clue what to do with them, but it didn’t matter, because the accounts were empty anyway. Perhaps for the best, because I’m almost certain my assets wouldn’t have stood a chance.

After 25 years spent forging countless connections between people and the natural world, capitalizing on teaching moments is a skill Julia Gregory can’t simply switch off. Even on the eve of her retirement, the Tennessee Aquarium’s senior educator shifts into instruction, seemingly without realizing it.

I love that the last few years have been a job seeker’s market. In order to recruit and retain the best employees, companies have made large adjustments that seemed impossible before.

Many people began working from home, salaries increased and pay became more transparent. Work life balance took a front seat. Employers had everything to gain by becoming more receptive to employee needs. Employers struggled to find employees. The tables turned, and it felt great.

Greater Chattanooga Realtors presented a $35,623 check to the locally based Snack Pack Food Ministry during its annual Realtor Day with Snack Packs on Sept. 7.

The check included Greater Chattanooga Realtors’ annual $10,000 donation to Snack Packs and the proceeds from the association’s recent Trivia Night fundraiser.

Call it the calm before the storm. As violent and dominating a player as Jeffery Simmons can be, one might think he marches to hard-core rap strains of NWA or Eminem. Or maybe Simmons gets fired up for football with the hard rock sounds of AC/DC or Guns ‘n Roses.

When running back Derrick Henry went down last season, the Titans examined their options as to how to fill his role. They first tried Adrian Peterson, but when it was evident that the future Hall of Famer didn’t have much left in the tank, the job fell to the duo of Dontrell Hilliard and D’Onta Foreman.

The Titans, after letting one slip away at home against the Giants, are in danger of starting the season 0-2 with a Monday Night Football matchup at Buffalo against the team many have labeled the Super Bowl favorite.

The Titans have done well against Buffalo recently and also have fared well many times when their backs have been to the wall in such situations. They will need one of those efforts Monday night if they are to even their record at 1-1.

The Toyota Corolla Cross is one of the more notable all-new models for 2022. It capitalizes on the popular Corolla nameplate and should attract shoppers looking for an entry-level crossover SUV.

As with its rivals, the Corolla Cross boasts an elevated seating position and much of the utility of bigger SUVs but at a lower price. High fuel economy is a draw, as well. But it is competing in an ultra-competitive small SUV division.