Photo above: The Commercial and Industrial Committee of the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors. Photos by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson In an increasingly competitive business landscape, nobody can leave money on the table. Realizing that, the Commercial Multiple Listing Service realtors in the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors are hoping to break down the walls that have long separa ...

Photo above: Virginia Highlands Community College President Dr. Gene Couch, (left) hosted the summit, which included a panel discussion featuring Mike Quillen and Delegates Terry Kilgore and Israel O’Quinn. Photos by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson Mike Quillen, the former chairman of Alpha Natural Resources, flashed a PowerPoint slide from a George Mason University economic development study on the scre ...

By Lynn J. Richardson Anna Davis wasn’t sure what she would find when she showed up at a recent gathering of the Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE)’s newly created group, Women of Worth (WOW). Currently the general manager of her family’s business, Seaver’s Bakery in Kingsport, Davis was one of about two dozen women who attended the February 22 event at the Model C ...

By Scott Robertson Congratulations are due the city of Kingsport, particularly its business community, on the centennial of the city charter, signed by Governor Tom C. Rye on March 2, 1917. We specify the business community because Kingsport is a city created by businessmen with specific community aims and goals in mind. Between 1910 and 1915, executives of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway had the ...

By Jeff McCord In Northeast Tennessee, we have long understood that the prosperity of a region lies in the capability of its people. We have a history of innovative educational initiatives and have lived on the forefront of workforce development efforts that become models for others to follow. Still, it hasn’t gotten any easier. In the face of a demographic bubble that finds baby-boomers retiring while need ...

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Photo above:Washington County Economic Development Council CEO Mitch Miller, right, and NN Inc. President and CEO Richard Holder By Collin Brooks An oversight in a resolution that was passed by the Johnson City Commission in 2014 that allowed the Industrial Development Board of Johnson City to grant tax abates to then “Project Stone” will need to be amended by the city commission in the coming months. Durin ...

By Scott Robertson Congressman Phil Roe is a founding father of the “repeal and replace” movement regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He wrote the House’s first Obamacare replacement legislation bill four years ago, having been tasked with creating a bill that would increase coverage, decrease costs and not increase entitlements. Now, with President Donald Trum ...

Photo above: Ron Scott, photo courtesy of NeTREP By Scott Robertson Three Northeast Tennessee counties that have traditionally been rivals in everything from high school football to economic development officially set aside the “Friday night football mentality” last month to partner in a new economic development organization. The Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Partnership (NeTREP) unifies economic de ...

By Scott Roberston Working under the name CareerQuest, the First Tennessee Development District will bring 5,000 students in grades 8-12 from nine Northeast Tennessee counties and Bristol, Va., to a massive career fair March 21-22 in the Minidome on the campus of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. The district’s director of Workforce Initiatives, Lottie Ryans, attended a similar event attended ...