by Scott Robertson As a college student, Heather Cook was the first Roan Scholar to graduate East Tennessee State University. As executive director of the Foundation for Northeast State Community College, she oversaw an effort that more than doubled annual contributions. As executive director of Healthy Kingsport, she led the effort to have the city earn the Haslam administration’s Healthier City designatio ...

Crown Laboratories CEO Jeff Bedard Monday cut the ribbon on Crown’s new corporate headquarters in Johnson City. The global skincare manufacturer plans to create an additional 200+ jobs and investing $27 million in its Johnson City operations by 2024. The fast-growing company – which partnered with private equity firm Hildred Capital Partners in late 2017 – last year became one of just 6 percent of companies ...

Hard Rock International, a global leader in the entertainment and hospitality industry, is pleased to announce a partnership with the Bristol Resort & Casino team to create Hard Rock Casino Bristol. Once final approval is received from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the citizens of Bristol, Virginia, Hard Rock, working with the local ownership group, will operate the proposed resort and casino. “We ar ...

Children throughout the region will benefit from the most successful fundraising effort by the Bristol Motor Speedway chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities since 2016. Executive Director Claudia Byrd announced at the recent Night of Smiles event that BMS’ SCC chapter raised a total of $920,851 during the 2019 calendar year that will be distributed to 103 rural-area child-focused agencies throughout North ...

Barge Design Solutions, which is based in Nashville, has an office in Kingsport and does significant business in the Tri-Cities region, announced this week it has acquired Nashville-based Gould Turner Group (GTG). “We are thrilled to announce that Gould Turner Group has officially become part of Barge,” said Bob Higgins, CEO of Barge Design Solutions. “GTG has set the standard in the architecture and interi ...

John van Vlissingen Emory & Henry College announced at its fall Board of Trustees meeting that it received a gift of $5 million from The van Vlissingen Student Foundation to create The van Vlissingen Center for Career and Professional Development at Emory & Henry College. The gift will support the College’s new strategic initiatives, “Pivot Toward the Future” 2020-23, that was approved at the meetin ...

NeTREP CEO Mitch Miller introduces Mike Brenneman, who was visiting Tannery Knobs Bike Park from his home in Pennsylvania. PHOTO BY DAVE ONGIE By Dave Ongie, News Editor The Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Parntership (NeTREP) investor update luncheon last Friday offered plenty of opportunity to reflect upon encouraging economic data high atop Tannery Knobs Bike Park, which is a recent success story i ...

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The Virginia Business College (VBC), a new college in Bristol, Virginia, was granted a Provisional Certificate to Operate from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Oct. 29. “This is a significant step forward for the Virginia Business College” says Dr. Gene Couch, President, of the 4-year, private, non-profit college. “This approval will allow us to begin recruitment of the inaugural c ...

The Tennessee office of NFIB, the state’s leading small business advocacy organization, Monday presented its Guardian of Small Business award to state Sen. Rusty Crowe (District 3) and state Rep. John Holsclaw (District 4). NFIB made the presentations at the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce. The organization awarded the same recognition to District 9 State Representative Gary Hicks at Mohawk M ...