Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, state agencies and AAA are encouraging parents and caregivers to use Tennessee’s free Baby in the Back car hangtags to help prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths among children during the summer months.
The program has distributed more than 600,000 hangtags statewide. The tags serve as visual reminders for drivers to check the back seat before leaving their vehicles and can also alert passersby to children who may be left inside hot cars.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a child in the United States dies from heatstroke in or around a vehicle about every 10 days on average.
Tennessee Department of Health Deputy Commissioner Tobi Adeyeye Amosun warned that vehicles can become dangerously hot within minutes during warm weather, noting that temperatures inside a car can climb above 140 degrees on sunny days when outdoor temperatures exceed 80 degrees, creating serious medical risks for children left inside.
Tennesseans can request free hangtags through the Secretary of State’s office at sos.tn.gov/requesthangtags. The hangtags are also available at Driver Services Centers, Tennessee Highway Patrol district headquarters and Tennessee Highway Safety Office events.
Second Story Real Estate acquires Raines division
SVN | Second Story Real Estate Management has acquired the property management and leasing division of The Raines Group, adding more than 730,000 square feet of retail and office space to its management portfolio.
The acquisition also brings three employees from The Raines Group to the company’s staff and adds 12 properties to SVN | Second Story’s portfolio. The transaction closed April 30, with management and brokerage responsibilities officially transitioning May 1.
“This milestone reflects trust,” says Tiffanie Robinson, CEO and founder of SVN | Second Story. “Bill Raines built a highly respected business over the past 42 years.”
Raines said his priority during the transition was ensuring clients and employees found “an exceptional place to land.”
Raines will continue owning The Raines Group while providing sales and consulting services. Jim Fields and Casey Bush will support property management operations at SVN | Second Story, while Tony Brock joins the brokerage team.
The company now employs more than 50 people across Tennessee and Georgia.
Platform supports second chances
HireMe-Jobs.com, a Chattanooga-based employment platform designed to help people with criminal records find work, has launched in Tennessee with plans for nationwide expansion.
The platform was founded by Chattanooga entrepreneur Joshua James Peuker, who said his own struggles finding employment after incarceration inspired him to create the service.
“Too many people are judged forever by the worst mistake they’ve ever made,” Peuker says. “I built HireMe-Jobs.com to help people find employers who are actually open to giving second chances.”
Unlike traditional job boards, the site connects job seekers with employers that openly communicate hiring policies related to criminal backgrounds. The company said the platform is intended to reduce uncertainty for applicants and improve hiring matches for businesses.
The site is currently expanding job listings across Tennessee in industries including manufacturing, construction, warehouse work, delivery driving, food service and skilled labor.
Peuker said the platform’s broader mission is to help justice-involved individuals rebuild stable futures through employment opportunities.
GPS begins work on multipurpose field house
Hoar Construction has begun a major expansion and renovation project at Girls Preparatory School that will transform the school’s existing tennis center into a 35,000-square-foot multipurpose field house.
The project, expected to be completed in spring 2027, will include a new strength and conditioning room designed for female athletes, a performance and recovery center, meeting and lounge spaces, upgraded locker rooms and improvements to the indoor tennis courts.
Exterior work will include landscaping upgrades, expanded green spaces and improved pedestrian connections between the school’s upper and lower campuses.
Hoar officials said the company completed a full digital scan of the facility before construction to assist with planning and renovation efforts while minimizing disruption to campus operations.
Additional project partners include Hord Coplan Macht, Pape-Dawson, Bennett & Pless and AEED.
Chattanooga joins childhood initiative
The city of Chattanooga has been selected to participate in the National League of Cities’ Pathways for Early Childhood Leadership initiative, a 15-month program focused on improving early childhood learning and family support systems.
The peer-learning cohort, led by the National League of Cities, provides technical assistance and collaboration opportunities for cities working to strengthen services for young children and families.
City officials said the initiative builds on Chattanooga’s recent early learning efforts, including distributing more than 10,000 books to families, supporting kindergarten readiness programs and mentoring families through foster grandparent programs.
The city’s Department of Early Learning works alongside organizations including Hamilton County Schools, Chattanooga Housing Authority and Chattanooga 2.0 to coordinate programs supporting children and families.
The department was created under Tim Kelly as part of the One Chattanooga plan to expand access to early learning opportunities and family services.
Battlefield Connector Trail officially opens
The Trust for Public Land, Walker County and the city of Chickamauga officially dedicated the John Culpepper Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail on May 22, marking the completion of a nearly decade-long effort to link the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park with downtown Chickamauga.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the trail’s northern terminus on Wilder Road drew local officials, funding partners and community members to celebrate the new 2.2-mile multiuse path, which is designed to provide a safe route for pedestrians and cyclists between the battlefield and the city’s historic business district.
The trail retraces portions of the old Dry Valley Road, where Union soldiers marched during the Civil War, and passes near the Gordon-Lee House, which served as a field hospital after the Battle of Chickamauga.
TPL was enlisted by the Walker County Commission in September 2024 to manage the project, overseeing land acquisition, trail design, community engagement and fundraising. Groundbreaking took place in August 2025.
The project received a $434,131 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, along with support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, Riverview Foundation, Jewel Memorial Foundation and Ironman Foundation. Walker County and the city of Chickamauga each contributed $50,000.
Grateful Gobbler shelter project moves forward
The city of Chattanooga is moving forward with plans to donate the former Airport Inn property to The Grateful Gobbler for the development of Provident Place, a shelter and support center for families experiencing homelessness.
The renovated facility will provide housing and coordinated services for more than 120 parents, caregivers, pregnant women, infants and children. First Things First will oversee daily family support services, including case management, parenting support, childcare connections and assistance with housing, employment and mental health resources.
Three Maclellan family foundations contributed $2.3 million in seed funding for the project and renovation of the property. More than a dozen nonprofit, healthcare, education and community organizations are expected to provide wraparound services at the facility.
The project also includes support from private companies, nonprofits and public agencies including Chattanooga Housing Authority, EPB and Hamilton County Schools.
Rotary Club gives $44,000 in grants
The Chattanooga Rotary Club distributed more than $44,000 in grants this year to local and international nonprofit initiatives, continuing a philanthropic tradition that dates back more than a century.
Among the largest awards was $13,000, along with a matching district grant, to Siskin Children’s Institute to establish an intensive toilet training program for older children with developmental delays. The club also awarded $7,500 to Chattanooga 2.0 to support a mobile tutoring app for at-home literacy instruction.
Additional grants included $6,000 to Love’s Arm Outreach for upgrades to bathrooms and kitchen facilities at its residential program for female survivors of sex trafficking and $5,000 to Partnership for Families, Children and Adults to provide care bags for sexual assault victims.
The club also awarded $5,000 to Miracle League of Chattanooga for player scholarships, $5,000 to ShelterBox for disaster relief efforts, $1,500 to Northside Neighborhood House for cooking class equipment, $1,000 to Dress for Success Chattanooga and $480 to Greg02 for LifeVac anti-choking devices at Erlanger Park.
Over the past decade, the club has distributed $487,429 to nonprofits and charitable causes locally and internationally.