Smokies draw record 11.4 million visitors
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most-visited national park in the United States, set another record for visitation last year with nearly 11.4 million visitors in 2017.
The Smokies have attracted record crowds in each of the past four years and the park continued to see the highest attendance in July, followed by October and June.
On Aug. 21, the park hosted the largest special event in park history. The western half of the park provided prime viewing to experience totality for approximately two minutes during the Great American Total Solar Eclipse. Over 47,000 visitors entered the park on the day of the eclipse which marked a 64 percent increase in visitation for that day over 2016.
“These visitors to our national park equate to jobs, with over 3,000 jobs in Blount County attributed to tourism. It’s an important industry that supports our area and way of life,” Blount Partnership Director of Tourism Kim Mitchell said.
Convergys to close Iowa call center
Convergys plans to close its 178-employee call center in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa in April, but the Cincinnati-based telemarketer says it has no plans to shutter any of its other 42 calls centers, including one in Chattanooga.
“This is not indicative of anything else that should impacting any other location,” company spokesperson Brooke Beiting said. “This was a business decision made to best support our needs and our customers and the work that is happening at Sergeant Bluff will be consolidated to other Convergys locations.”
In Chattanooga, Convergys employs more than 360 employees at the call center at Eastgate Town Center.
Convergys is now the largest employer in Sergeant Bluff.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to get busy and find somebody else for that building,” Sergeant Bluff Mayor Jon Winkel told the Sioux City Journal.
Charles Adams is the new MAPCO CEO.Adams to head MAPCO chain
MAPCO, an owner of nearly 350 convenience stores located throughout the Southeast United States, has appointed Charles (Hal) Adams as CEO.
The announcement was made Thursday by Frederic Chaveyriat, who served as interim CEO during the search and remains executive vice president.
Adams joins MAPCO with nearly 30 years of extensive experience in convenience store operations, marketing, merchandising, and strategy. He began his career as a night shift associate working his way up to his most recent position as president of retail operations at CST Brands, a Fortune 200 international C-store chain with over 2,000 stores and 13,000 people.
“We have been in a period of transition and growth focusing on establishing a new ‘people first’ culture that will enable MAPCO to be an industry innovator and a brand our guests can trust,” said Chaveyriat.
Mortgage up again as lending tightens
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose for the fourth straight week as lending standards continue to tighten. The rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages and five-year adjustable-rate mortgages hit the highest level since 2011.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.22 percent this week, highest since March and up from 4.15 percent a week earlier. They stood at 4.19 a year ago. The rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans, popular among homeowners who refinance, rose to 3.68 percent this week, highest since July 2011 and up from 3.62 percent last week and 3.41 percent a year ago.
The five-year, adjustable rate rose to 3.53 percent from 3.52 percent last week and the highest since April 2011.
Factory output rises for 17th straight month
American manufacturers expanded again last month but more slowly than in December.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reports that its manufacturing index dipped to 59.1 in January from a revised 59.3 in December. But any reading above 50 signals growth, and U.S. factories have been expanding for 17 straight months.