Hamilton Herald Masthead

Editorial


Front Page - Friday, January 26, 2024

Newsmakers: Aquarium hires Gross as director of finance




The Tennessee Aquarium has hired Jamie Gross to be the nonprofit’s next director of finance.

Gross will be responsible for the Aquarium’s finance department, where he’ll manage daily financial operations, cash control, tax filings, financial auditing, accounting and recordkeeping, and fiscal policy compliance. His responsibilities will extend to the Creative Discovery Museum and Hunter Museum of American Art, which share business services with the Aquarium.

Gross is a certified public accountant and the former director of finance and administration for the Chalmers Center at Covenant College. He also previously served as vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Bryan College and as controller of Covenant College.

Gross holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Westminster College and certificates in not-for-profit accounting from the Association of International CPAs. He serves on the finance committees of the Southeastern Climbers Coalition and Woodland Park Baptist Church.

Cempa Community Care adds Estrada to board

Cempa Community Care has appointed Alma Estrada, vice president of financial sales at First Citizens Bank, to its board of directors.

Estrada is an ambassador for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and previously served as an ambassador for the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce, as well as on the LIFT Youth Center board of directors. She is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Catoosa.

“I’m thankful my employer supports me in giving back to my community through volunteering, mentoring and fundraising,” Estrada says. “Cempa makes a significant and valuable impact on our community, and I look forward to helping the organization reach more of our friends and neighbors across the Chattanooga area.”

Parkridge welcomes Mooney as business development VP

Parkridge Health System has tapped Chessie Mooney to serve as its vice president of business development.

A graduate of the University of Florida, Mooney comes to Parkridge Health from HCA Healthcare’s East Florida Division, where she served as director of physician alignment and strategy.

Mooney will work with physicians, leaders and colleagues as Parkridge Health continues to grow its services to meet the community’s health care needs.

Erlanger Foundation Board announces 6 new members

The Erlanger Foundation Board for 2024 includes six new members: Kyle Bianco, Lauren Boehm, Lynda Minks Hood, Dr. Jensen Hyde, Iona Jones and Ward Petty.

Bianco is a senior manager in the financial services organization at Tennessee Valley Authority. He previously served on Erlanger Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network and Corporate Partners committees. Bianco lives in Chattanooga with his wife, Jessica, and two children. Bianco and his wife are both Chattanooga natives and active members in the community.

Boehm was born and raised in Germantown. Soon after college, she and her husband, Dr. Peter Boehm, Jr., moved to Dublin, Ireland, for five years, where she initially worked as a recruitment consultant while gaining additional degrees in marketing and public relations. Boehm later served as the director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Ireland.

Since moving back to the U.S. in 2004, Boehm has focused on her family. She and Peter have been married 25 years and have three children. Boehm was recently introduced to the Erlanger Foundation as co-chair for the 2023 Believe Bash.

Hood is in her 29th year as executive director of the Chattanooga Bar Association. Hood previously served as chairwoman of the Erlanger Health System Foundation board of directors from January 2018 through December 2020 and as past chair from 2021 through 2022. She co-chaired Erlanger’s Believe Bash in 2017 and again in 2018. In December 2019, the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Hood to serve a three-year term on the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education.

Erlanger appointed Hyde as chief medical officer in August 2023. Previously, Hyde served as chief medical quality officer for Erlanger Medical Group and as a hospitalist at Erlanger Baroness Hospital.

A board-certified internal medicine physician, Hyde earned her medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2014. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at UTHSC Chattanooga before earning a Master of Public Health from Columbia University in 2020. Hyde serves on the Erlanger Foundation Board as an ex-officio member.

Jones was born in Columbia, Missouri, and earned an associate degree from Capital Business College in 1963. Jones and her husband, Greg, have been married for 28 years. She has one son, a stepdaughter, a stepson, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Jones is the Erlanger auxiliary board president for 2024 and will serve on the Foundation Board during her term as auxiliary board president.

Petty is the branch manager and managing director of Benjamin F. Edwards in Chattanooga. He’s been with Edwards and its predecessor company, A.G. Edwards, since 1991. Petty has served several nonprofit organizations in the local community. He’s a member of First Presbyterian Church and lives on Lookout Mountain with his wife, Nancy. Ward has two grown children – a daughter, Mimi, and a son, Tyler.

The Erlanger Foundation Board is the philanthropic arm of Erlanger. A board of directors comprised of volunteers governs the foundation. Led by Chairman Less Lee, Vice Chair Rachel Allred, Secretary Dr. Dave Bhattacharya, Treasurer Larvizo Wright and Past Chair Lynn Mosier Bryant, the board of directors serves to build community awareness and assist in raising funds for the Foundation’s initiatives.

Chattanooga Rotaract adds new members

Rotaract of Chattanooga added 21 members to its club in January. Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service organization for young professionals in the Chattanooga area. The club selected the new members, who represent a wide variety of industry and up-and-coming community leadership, from a competitive nomination process.

The Rotaract class of 2024 includes: Abigail Crane, RSS Insurance; Alexandria Burgin, The Read House; Allyson Dunavant, Kenco; Andrew Guffee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn; Caleb Sanchez, city of Chattanooga; Carlos Sarti, Southeast Bank; Chandler Hale, SVN Second Story; Jack Olson, Environmental Solutions Group; Jessica McClenahan, Appraisal Associates of East Tennessee; Jessica Woodward, McGriff Insurance; Joshua Eckelberry, Solas Bioventures; JP Evans, Urban Story Ventures; Justin Gamblin, Environmental Solutions Group; Matthew Schroeder, Tidalwave Holdings; Margaret Baird, Elliott Davis; Olivia Moppert, UTC; Rachel Ryan, Husch Blackwell; Reagan de la Torre, Signal Centers; Samantha DeVault, FSF Transport; Sandy Sims, Sims CWW; and Tatem Holton, Silberman Group.

The Rotaract 2024 board consists of: Davis McDougal, product manager, Environmental Solutions Group, president; Abigail Jansen Sutton, associate attorney, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, secretary; Matt Kerr, senior wealth adviser, Keel Point Communications, treasurer; Katelyn Statom, legal assistant, The Burd Law Firm, chair; Avery Boggess, new market tax credits program manager, BrightBridge Capital, programs co-chair; Austin Cantrell, vice president, Bridge Public Affairs, programs co-chair; Emerie Germ, account manager, McGriff Insurance, service co-chair; Lane Gutridge, alumni engagement coordinator, UTC, service co-chair; David Serodino, vice president, Southern Marine Construction Company, social chair; Justin Whitaker, vice president, Regions Bank, membership chair and Rotary liaison; Cassidy Enns, senior account manager, CBI Workplace Solutions, past president.

Morgan Stanley promotes Faulk

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has promoted Brent Faulk, a financial adviser in the firm’s wealth management office in Chattanooga, to senior vice president. Faulk is a native of Columbia, South Carolina, and has been with Morgan Stanley since 2008. He holds a degree from Covenant College and lives on Lookout Mountain with his wife and four children.