Wilson named branch manager

John S. Wilson has been appointed by Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. as branch manager for its Chattanooga office.

Mr. Wilson, a native of Chattanooga, also serves as the chief technical strategist in the equity capital markets division of the regional brokerage and investment firm.

He succeeds Pat Corey as the branch manager. Mr. Corey, a senior vice president of Morgan Keegan, plans to concentrate his efforts on his sales practice and focus on his clients and their needs.

Mr. Wilson has been managing director of Morgan Keegan and has served as co-director of the equity strategy group for the past 11 years. He is a 22-year Morgan Keegan veteran who is also a member of the firm’s focus list committee.

In the past few years, he has been a guest on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business News. He is the author of a daily market comment called “Reveille,” which is found at Morgan Keegan’s Web site, www.morgankeegan.com.

The local Morgan Keegan office is at One Union Square downtown and is one of seven full-service branches the Memphis-based firm has in Tennessee. Morgan Keegan is part of the $140 billion, Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial Corp.

Germaine named to EMJ post

Tim Germaine has become the director of business development at EMJ Corp., a Chattanooga-based general contractor.

Mr. Germaine will be in charge of increasing EMJ’s market share regionally in the education, health care and hospitality sectors, a news release stated.

“The expansion of our business development team further strengthens our ability to meet the needs of our customers,” said EMJ CEO Jim Sattler. “Tim Germaine’s comprehensive understanding of these sectors will greatly benefit EMJ Corp., our market share and our clients.”

Mr. Germaine oversaw business development for Skanska, Winter Construction and Carlson before joining EMJ.

He lives with his wife, Leslie, and four children in Chattanooga.

In addition to Chattanooga, EMJ has offices in Dallas, Boston and Sacramento.

Galen group opens new location

Galen Medical Group’s gastroenterology practice held a grand opening for its new practice building last week.

The 14,000-square-foot location at 2200 East Third Street will be home to gastroenterologists Drs. Bhushan Sumeet, Colleen Schmitt, Munford Yates and Chad Charapata and two nurse practitioners.

The doctors continued to see patients at their former office in the Erlanger medical mall after notifying the hospital in July 2008 that they were moving. They began taking patients at the new office in August.

Convenient access for patients, more space and the latest technology are some of the advantages of the new building, Dr. Yates said.

Lewis heads TBA health law section

David T. Lewis, partner in the Chattanooga office of the law firm of Husch Blackwell Sanders, has been selected to serve as chairman for the health law section of the Tennessee Bar Association.

A news release stated the goal of the section is “to further the knowledge of its members in federal, state and local law pertaining to the provision of health care services and the operation of health care facilities.”

Mr. Lewis has previous experience as vice president and general counsel at Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, S.C. He also has previously served as chief legal officer at Erlanger hospital.

His practice focuses on representing hospitals, physician groups and other health care providers.

Allison chosen for policy panel

Evan Allison has been named to the policy committee of the Chattanooga-based law firm of Miller & Martin. The committee approves all major decisions of the firm, according to a news release.

He is also a member of law firm’s associates and Chattanooga hiring committees.

Mr. Allison joined Miller & Martin in 1998 and concentrates his area of practice in commercial real estate.

He is secretary for the Association for Visual Arts and co-chairman of alumni admissions for Washington & Lee University’s Chattanooga chapter.

Miller & Martin is a full-service regional law firm founded in 1867.

Affiliate of mentor program created

An affiliate of the architecture, construction and engineering mentor program has been formed in Chattanooga.

A news release stated the mentor program was set up to address a growing need for skilled professionals in the architecture, construction and engineering industries.

The new ACE Mentor Program of Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia is part of a nationwide effort of outreach and mentoring for students across the country, officials said. Mentors are professionals from area architecture, construction and engineering firms and business owners who volunteer time and to work with young people, it was stated.

“The construction industry is the second-largest employer in the U.S.,” said founder and ACE Chairman Dr. Charles H. Thornton. “With 50 percent of all buildings that will exist by the year 2030 not even built yet, it is a growing industry. However, current statustics project that the need for qualified, skilled individuals working in the field will far exceed the supply, with over 1 million job openings by 2012.”

The excutive board of the ACE in this area is made up of Linda Allen, Unum; Roger Tuder, the Associated General Contractors of East Tennessee; Phillip Pickett, Advanced Energy Engineering & Design Inc; Cary Davis, DBS Corp.; Tim Gibbons, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel P.C.; Nesli Alp, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Jeff Durham, Johnson, Hickey, Murchison; and Briggs Smith, Hamilton County Department of Education.

About 50 high school students have applied and been accepted in the chapter’s 2009-2010 program. They come from GPS, Chattanooga Christian, Howard, East Ridge, Ooltewah, Soddy-Daisy, CSAS, Baylor and Red Bank.

Jeff Burns named director by Kenco

Jeff Burns has been named director of Kenco Toyota-Lift, a distributor of materials handling vehicles, equipment and parts. He had been interim general manager of the firm for the past six months, according to Gary Mayfield, Kenco Toyota-Lift president.

Mr. Burns has been with the Kenco for seven years, also serving as senior logistics engineer, general manager of the Kenco-managed Maytag factory distribution center and general manager of Cherokee Truck Equipment.

The Tennessee Technological University graduate was associated with Advanced Vehicle Systems Inc., Heil Trailer International and Astec Industries before joining Kenco.

Kenco Toyota-Lift, originally Cherokee Material Handling, was founded in 1961 as an Allis-Chalmers lift truck dealership. In 1981 the company became the dealer for Toyota Material Handling USA and changed its name to Kenco Toyota-Lift.

It is a part of the Kenco family of companies that provides logistic services as well as transportation, real estate management and material handling equipment.

Realtor Regina Ragon honored

Regina Ragon, a sales associate with Prudential Realty Center in Flintstone, Ga., was one of five persons chosen by the National Association of Realtors as a Realtor Magazine 2009 Good Neighbor Award winner.

She received the recognition for her founding Latin American Community Development Inc., a nonprofit that improves living conditions for local residents in Nicaragua, a news release stated.

“Like many others, Realtors are working harder than ever in this challenging economy, yet many of them, just like these Good Neighbor Awards winners, still find time to volunteer to help those in need,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. “Shining a spotlight on the Good Neighbor Awards winners will hopefully inspire others to volunteer and get more involved, which is so important to the quality of life in our communities.”

Business machine dealer honored

Sharp Imaging and Information Co. of America has honored Chattanooga Business Machines as a Hyakuman Kai dealer. Sharp awards Hyakuman Kai status to dealers that provide exceptional service to the local business community, a news release said.

“Our goal is to provide Chattanooga-area businesses with world-class products and support,” said Harry L. Fields III, CBM owner and president. “We are proud to be a Sharp dealer and look forward to strengthening our customer relationships by supplying the latest technology and comprehensive document solutions.”

2 attorneys join Baker, Donelson

Attorneys Marcie L. Kiggans and Taeho Lee have joined the Chattanooga office of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC.

Ms. Kiggans is an associate in the litigation department. She is a 2009 graduate of Emory University School of Law.

Mr. Lee is an associate in the real estate group. He also is a 2009 graduate of Emory University School of Law.

Baker, Donelson is one of the 100 largest law firms in the country, a news release stated.

Withers joins Hospice in PR

Rachel Withers has joined Hospice of Chattanooga as public relations coordinator for the operation that serves 18 Tennessee and Georgia counties.

She previously was a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor for WRCB-TV 3. She also has been a news reporter in Ohio and West Virginia.

Hospice of Chattanooga was founded in 1981. It is a nonprofit hospice supported by United Way and serves more than 500 patients daily. It provides end of life care 24 hours a day, seven days each week.

Leitner firm opens Atlanta office

Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan PLLC, a Chattanooga-based law firm, has announced its opening of an office in the Atlanta area.

Thomas O. Sippel is the attorney based in the firm’s Atlanta office. He was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, and received his law degree from Mercer University. He joined the Leitner firm as of counsel in 2004.

The Atlanta office is on Colonial Center Parkway in Roswell.

The Leitner firm was founded in 1882 and has 100 attorneys at offices in Chattanooga, Nashville, Knxoville, Memphis and Atlanta.