Pless joins EPB as PR coordinator
Former WTVC-TV anchor John Pless has joined EPB as its public relations coordinator. Pless, who spent 19 years as an anchor and reporter with NewsChannel 9, is responsible for communicating with local news organizations and sharing information about EPB events with the community.
Pless studied political science and communications at Florida State University and earned his degree in broadcast journalism at Georgia State University. During his early career, he was a field producer for CBS Atlanta and an anchor/reporter for WSAV in Savannah, Ga.
"I'm thrilled and honored to be part of such a great team of people who have earned the respect of our community while providing the best, most advanced services possible," Pless said.
Jobe returns to EMJ Corp.
Ron Jobe, who worked with EMJ Corp. for 23 years and retired three years ago, is returning to EMJ as executive vice president of operations.
He will work directly with EMJ President Burt Odom to oversee, plan and coordinate construction operations of EMJ's regional offices and related companies, and Jobe will bring uniformity and consistency to EMJ's operations.
He will work out of the Chattanooga office and visit the regional offices of Boston; Memphis; Dallas; Sacramento, Calif.; and Tulsa, Okla., on a routine basis.
Parrish helps lead Miller & Martin
Attorney Scott Parrish has been elected as the Chattanooga chairman of the policy committee of Miller & Martin PLCC. The committee serves as the firm's managing board of directors and is responsible for evaluating and approving all major decisions for the firm across its offices in Chattanooga, Atlanta and Nashville.
Parrish, who has been with the firm for more than 20 years, concentrates his practice on civil litigation, including the areas of commercial, corporate, securities, and product liability litigation. He provides general risk and litigation management assistance for a number of companies. He has substantial experience representing clients in federal and state court, mediations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Parrish serves as the chairman of the firm's practice groups for commercial litigation and noncompete trade secrets.
Five accountants join HHM firm
Andrew Ruffner, CPA; Travis Flenniken, CFA; Amber Brown; Sue Crawford; and Felicia Lasater have joined the Chattanooga accounting firm of Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough PLLC.
Ruffner, a CPA for 19 years, is joining as a senior manager. He serves as the treasurer for the Taraloka Foundation, and the Erlanger Health Systems Foundation. Ruffner is a graduate of UTC.
Flenniken has 14 years of financial experience and is joining the firm as a litigation/valuation specialist. He serves as adjunct professor at Bryan College, designing the curriculum and teaching courses in managerial economics and finance. He earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor of science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
For more than 25 years, Carpenter has worked in a controller capacity for numerous car dealerships across the country. She obtained a master's in accounting and financial management from Keller Institute of Business Management and a bachelor of science in business administration from Denver Technical College.
Brown is joining the firm as senior accountant. Previously she served as a senior accountant with a top CPA firm in Atlanta. She earned a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a master of science in accounting - taxation from the University of Memphis.
Chattanooga man gets Hilton award
Hilton Worldwide recently recognized Chattanoogan Tim Haynes as the 2012 Hilton Garden Inn General Manager of the Year for the Central Region.
For nearly seven years, Haynes has been the general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Chattanooga/Hamilton Place, a Vision Hospitality Group Inc. hotel, and has made major contributions to both the company and the hospitality industry.
"It's really an honor to be recognized by Hilton," Haynes said.
"Tim has been a tremendous asset to Vision and an exceptional leader for the Hamilton Place team," Vision President and Chief Executive Mitch Patel said.
Athens plant achieves ranking
Dean Foods' Mayfield Dairy plant in Athens, Tenn., has met the requirements for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry" by reducing its energy intensity by 11.4 percent, according to the company.
The ENERGY STAR Challenge is a national call-to-action to improve energy efficiency of America's commercial and industrial buildings.
"We are thrilled to be part of the ENERGY STAR Challenge and very proud of the work that our plant has done to help protect the environment by improving our energy performance," said Scott Watson, plant manager.
Stanford joins CIRCE Medical
Licensed physician assistant Todd Stanford has joined CIRCE Medical Services in Chattanooga.
He received his physician assistant degree from the University of Utah in 1998 and his RN certification from Salt Lake Community College in 1991.
Prior to being certified as a physician's assistant, Stanford served as a registered nurse for a decade and as an Army combat medic/LPN with the Army National Guard from 1988 to 1996. Stanford has 15 years of experience as a physician assistant specializing in rehabilitation, neurosurgery and pain management. Most recently, Stanford served as a physician's assistant for Chattanooga-based Consultants in Pain Management.
Three Chambliss attorneys cited
Three attorneys at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel -- William P. Aiken, Richard W. Bethea and William H. Pickering -- have been recognized as 2013 Client Service All-Stars by BTI Consulting Group.
BTI named Aiken, Bethea and Pickering as three of 307 lawyers nationwide included in the all-star team. They were the only lawyers in Tennessee to receive this honor. Chambliss is one of only 23 firms in the nation to have three or more all-stars, according to the firm.
Pickering also was honored as a Client Service MVP and was one of only six lawyers in the country named as an all-star for three years in a row. This marks the second consecutive year that Aiken has received all-star status.
The BTI Client Service All-Stars List is the only independently researched, client-driven ranking of attorneys, the firm said.