By Scott Robertson Under Director Susan Reid the First Tennessee Development District (FTDD) hasn’t chased headlines. But behind the scenes the organization has been a regional economic development player for years. It’s not unusual for companies to issue press releases and hold ground-breakings or ribbon-cuttings when they make major hires or purchase a new facility. But what’s rarely said in the releases ...

Pierce’s empathy, experience benefit 300 who were laid off  By Sarah Colson When CSX Transportation announced it would close its Erwin, Tenn., operations, laying off around 300 employees, Kathy Pierce and the Alliance for Business and Technology (AB&T) began working to help those 300 individuals re-enter the workforce. Pierce, AB&T’s executive director, immediately oversaw the opening of a temporary ...

By Thomas Wilson   A U.S. education act long ago breathed life into Northeast State. The simple charge: provide “education for persons of substantially varying needs.” Through the years, there have been name changes, five presidents, several new buildings, and a thousand other transformations. But Northeast State has always lived up to that original mission of serving individuals with diverse needs. Wh ...

By Jeff Keeling Jeff Aiken stood outside a barn at his Bowmantown farm in the crisp December air, one of his most crucial tools in hand. Unlike many of the important implements in his agricultural career to date, this one won’t show its usefulness through a weathered combination of grease, dirt and feed. In fact, exposure to any of those ubiquitous elements of farm life would spell big trouble for Aiken’s s ...

By Jeff Keeling A recent news release from a lobbying group for health insurance companies regarding the proposed Mountain States Health Alliance-Wellmont Health System merger brought to my mind the fable of the frog and the scorpion. In the story, a scorpion and a frog encounter each other on a stream bank. The scorpion asks the frog to carry him across the stream on his back, since he can’t swim. The frog ...

Click the cover photo below to read our entire December issue. It includes this year's class of 40 under Forty recipients, a talk with the financial folks at Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance about their 2015 financials and the effects of health care reform, the top stories of 2015 and much more.  ...

By Scott Robertson When Bristol Compressors CEO Ed Gniewek told the Bristol Chamber of Commerce Board this summer that he perceived the qualified workforce in the region to be diminishing to the point where he would consider moving the company’s operations, the Chamber could have reacted in many different ways. Rather than choosing easy ways out like denial, blame-storming or hand-wringing, the Chamber’s re ...

By Jeff Keeling It took FWG Special Springs roughly a quarter century to make its first foray into North America. Since the Grevenbroich, Germany manufacturer established a tiny beachhead in Johnson City two years ago, things have moved much more quickly – so much so that the company has bought a building and is preparing to manufacture stateside, ahead of schedule. In mid-2013, company founder Manfred Albr ...

The Business Journal: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Let’s just begin with an overview of where Wellmont stands in the merger process at this point. Bart Hove: Since our April announcement, a lot of work has taken place. One of the first pieces of business associated with that was to form our joint board task force and our integration council, which you’ve heard a lot of the descriptions of th ...

By Scott Robertson Speaking after the final scheduled community forum regarding the proposed merger of Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System, MSHA Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer Tony Keck said the newly formed company (dubbed Newco as a working title until the company name is formally announced) will try to work as a coordinator for other agencies and organizations. ...