After an extensive national search, the Carter Street Corporation has named Sam Voisin as the new executive director of the Chattanooga Convention Center. Voisin, a seasoned leader with more than 30 years of experience in entertainment and hospitality, will assume the role June 23.
Voisin succeeds longtime Executive Director Mike Shuford, who’s retiring after four decades of service.
In announcing the appointment, Carter Street Corporation Chairman Deacon Hicks Armor praised Voisin’s credentials and vision for the future.
“Sam Voisin’s depth of experience, strategic vision and passion for delivering world-class guest experiences make him the ideal choice to lead the Chattanooga Convention Center into its next chapter,” Armor said. “We’re confident that under his leadership, the convention center will continue to thrive as a key driver of Chattanooga’s tourism economy.”
Voisin most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Notes Live, where he led the development and operation of high-end entertainment venues. His previous leadership roles include senior positions with venue management giant ASM Global and the Ambassador Theatre Group, where he oversaw operations at major facilities such as the Branson Convention Center in Missouri, the Shreveport Convention Center in Louisiana, and New Orleans’ historic Saenger Theatre.
In his new position, Voisin will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the 300,000-square-foot Chattanooga Convention Center. He will work with local government officials, civic and business leaders, the Chattanooga Tourism Company, hotel partners, vendors and staff to maximize the facility’s utilization and economic impact.
Voisin is also expected to lead long-term strategic planning and future capital improvement projects to ensure the center remains competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.
“I’m honored to join the Chattanooga community and lead one of the premier convention facilities in the Southeast,” Voisin said in a statement. “This center has a strong legacy of excellence and community impact. I look forward to building on that foundation and working with the outstanding team here to elevate what we offer to clients, visitors and residents.”
Batson named chair of state accounting group
Heather Batson, CPA, of Soddy Daisy has been elected chair of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, the professional association representing nearly 10,000 members statewide. Her term began June 11.
Batson is an audit partner with Mauldin & Jenkins in Chattanooga and has been a TSCPA member for 18 years. She has held several leadership roles within the organization at both the state and local level.
As chair, Batson will serve on TSCPA’s board of directors and council, the group’s policy-setting body. She will also sit on the board of trustees for TSCPA’s Educational & Memorial Foundation, which supports continuing education for CPAs and provides scholarships to accounting students in Tennessee colleges and universities.
TSCPA also recently installed the 2025–26 officers of its Chattanooga chapter. Newly elected members include: Bryan Mattice of McKee Foods Corporation, president; Courtney Brock of Unum, past president; Hunter Williams of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, president-elect; Joyce Ann Mattice of Lighthouse CFO Group, vice president; David Dennard of Smith + Howard, secretary; Andrea Bonds of Unum, treasurer; Jordan Barnes of LBMC, at-large director; Michael Cox of KraftCPAs, at-large director; Sean Stallings of West Ridge Group, at-large director; Danielle Talley of Johnson, Hickey & Murchison, at-large director; Hunter Wallace of Elliott Davis, at-large director; and Larvizo Wright of Unum, at-large director
Founded in 1904, TSCPA is based in Brentwood and supports CPAs through advocacy, education and community engagement.
Moccasins select Picucci as track, cross-country coach
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has hired Steve Picucci as its new head coach for cross-country and track and field.
Picucci arrives from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he launched the Tritons’ men’s and women’s cross-country and track and field programs in 2019. During his time there, he produced 10 all-conference athletes, one freshman of the year and guided the school’s first NCAA qualifier.
Before UMSL, Picucci led cross-country and track and field at Morehead State, where his teams regularly challenged Power Five programs. He also developed the sprint program there and earned a master’s degree in sport management in 2018.
A Ferris State graduate with a degree in automotive engineering technology, Picucci began his coaching career at his alma mater. He eventually became head coach and guided a once-struggling cross-country program to national relevance. He also coached a national champion and two runners-up in track.
Picucci has served as meet director for numerous cross-country and track events, including two NCAA regional championships. During his six-year tenure at Ferris State, women’s cross-country and track athletes consistently earned all-academic honors and one student-athlete was named the university’s Female Athlete of the Year multiple times.
He replaces longtime head coach Andy Meyer, who retired in December 2024 after more than eight years at the helm. Under Meyer’s leadership, the Mocs saw a national qualifier, multiple all-conference honorees, and top academic achievements including five Academic All-Americans.
Patrick Gildea led UTC through the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons and will remain on staff. He helped senior distance standout Lesley Boyd break school records in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs and qualify for NCAA regionals. Boyd won the 5,000-meter title at the 2025 Southern Conference outdoor championships, where teammate Maddie Wheatcroft earned all-conference honors with a third-place finish.
Freshman sprinter Ryleigh Simmons also made history under Gildea’s guidance, becoming UTC’s first SoCon champion in the 100-meter dash and earning All-Freshman honors in the 200.
Erlanger Health names new marketing chief
Erlanger Health System has named Patrice Batchelor as its new chief marketing and communications officer.
Batchelor brings more than 25 years of experience in health care marketing and communications. Most recently, she led Twin Oaks Communications, a firm she founded to support mission-driven health care organizations during periods of growth and change.
Her previous work includes senior leadership roles at one of the country’s largest nonprofit health systems, where she managed communications for a national workforce and supported one of the most significant health care integrations in recent years.
A Chattanooga native, Batchelor returned to her hometown in 2021 after living in Colorado for more than a decade. She holds a bachelor’s degree in corporate journalism from Auburn University and a master’s degree in marketing.
Batchelor enjoys running, biking, traveling and spending time with her family.
Bedsole to lead Invest Chattanooga
Matt Bedsole has been named president and CEO of Invest Chattanooga, the city’s public-private initiative focused on expanding affordable and mixed-income housing.
Launched by the city to tackle housing affordability, Invest Chattanooga centers on building mixed-income housing through partnerships with private and nonprofit developers, without relying on traditional federal subsidies.
Bedsole brings experience in affordable housing and public-private partnerships, having most recently served as director of the Housing Innovation Lab for Atlanta’s mayor. There, he helped launch the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation – the model for Invest Chattanooga – and structured projects like the redevelopment of Midtown’s fire station. He also led efforts that repositioned public land for housing and secured a fund to finance new mixed-income developments.
Bedsole’s background also includes work with HR&A Advisors and APD Urban Planning & Management, where he supported housing finance and resilience projects in cities including Detroit, Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
“I’m honored to join the team in Chattanooga and help advance one of the most innovative local housing efforts in the country,” Bedsole says. “Invest Chattanooga’s model – co-investing public funds with private and nonprofit partners to secure permanent affordability and shared returns – allows us to move quickly to deliver mixed-income housing and ensure affordability remains part of the city’s long-term growth story.”
UTC’s Walker wins research award
Rich Walker, an assistant professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, has been named a recipient of the 2025 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award – one of only 36 junior faculty nationwide to earn the distinction.
The award, presented by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), recognizes promising early-career scientists and supports their research and professional development. Walker’s project, “The Cicadian Rhythm: Integrated Research and Education to Reveal the Cascading Effects of a Rare But Massive Terrestrial Resource Pulse in Stream Ecosystem,” investigates how aquatic environments respond when billions of dead cicadas fall into streams during periodical emergences.
Walker joined UTC in fall 2024 after teaching at Upper Iowa University. His interest in cicadas intensified during the historic 2024 dual emergence of 13- and 17-year cicada broods – a rare biological event last seen more than two centuries ago.
Walker’s work examines how this “resource pulse” disrupts or enhances stream life, from microbes to fish. With the $5,000 award, he plans to build on his ongoing data collection from three cicada emergence events. A key next step is the addition of a streamside mesocosm – an enclosed outdoor system that mimics natural conditions, allowing for controlled ecological experiments.
The Ralph Powe Award is open to tenure-track faculty within their first two years of appointment at ORAU-affiliated institutions. ORAU, a consortium of over 160 colleges and universities, partners with federal agencies to advance science and education initiatives.
Hamilton Co. Schools sets leadership changes
Hamilton County Schools (HCS) has announced two leadership appointments for the 2025–2026 academic year: Dr. Lee Ziegler has been named community superintendent of the North River Learning Community, while Dr. Elaine Harper will transition to lead the Harrison Bay Learning Community.
Harper has overseen the North River Learning Community since 2020, during which she led efforts to enhance instructional consistency, increase family engagement and strengthen principal development.
A Hamilton County native, Harper previously served as principal of Red Bank High School. There, she led the launch of the BlueCross Technology Academy and the implementation of project-based learning, resulting in improved ACT scores and graduation rates.
Ziegler has served as principal of Hixson High School since 2020. Under his leadership, the school achieved Level 5 TVAAS growth in three of the last four years and maintained a graduation rate exceeding 91% for three consecutive years. He also oversaw reductions in chronic absenteeism and disciplinary incidents while fostering improvements in school culture and academic performance.
Before leading Hixson High, Ziegler served as principal at Daisy Elementary, where he led the school from Level 1 to Level 5 growth in a single year. His background includes work at the elementary, middle and high school levels, with a focus on instructional coaching, student learning and building community partnerships.
As Ziegler steps into his new districtwide role, HCS will begin the search for a new principal at Hixson High School. The district plans to solicit feedback from families and staff through an upcoming survey, with the goal of announcing a new leader in July.