The Hutton Co. has appointed Michael Deering as chief investment officer.
Deering joins the Chattanooga-based development, construction and management firm with nearly 20 years of overall business experience, including more than 13 years of experience in commercial real estate and fund management.
Deering was formerly senior vice president of funds management for Site Centers, where he oversaw the asset management, reporting, and investment management functions for a $4 billion portfolio of shopping centers. Previously, Deering held numerous positions in the financial services industry. He is an MBA graduate of Gannon University.
“Mike’s initial focus will be on the expansion of our acquisition efforts, including stabilized operating assets and redevelopment opportunities, as well as overseeing our disposition activities,” said Karen Hutton, founder, president and CEO of Hutton. “His experience, leadership, and management style will enable our teams to move fast and with precision, and we’re confident he’ll continue to move us forward in the right direction by driving smart investment decisions.”
At his previous home in Cleveland, Ohio, Deering served as an in-classroom volunteer and on the board for Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland.
Over the past 20 years, Hutton has completed over 1,050 projects for more than 100 retailers across 40 states.
Vascular Institute of Chattanooga adds nurse practitioner
Ashley Elledge has joined the clinical staff of Vascular Institute of Chattanooga as a nurse practitioner. Elledge brings VIC to five nurse practitioners on staff.
Elledge is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University. She is accredited as a family nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is also board certified by the American Board of Cardiology.
Airnet Group Becomes a Microsoft Authorized Education Partner
Airnet Group has become a Microsoft Authorized Education Partner (AEP), demonstrating its ability to meet Microsoft academic customers’ needs.
The AEP program is designed to train participating resellers on Microsoft’s Academic licensing, authorize them to purchase and resell Microsoft Academic licenses, and demonstrate to potential customers that they are approved and knowledgeable academic partners.
Officials with the Airnet Group said the company’s track record with managing complex data centers, both on-premises or in the cloud, make it an ideal fit for serving the education sector. Working with both public and private educational institutions as a direct Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) and using their cornerstone Azure cloud solutions, the Airnet Systems Assessment Tool (ASAT) and Airnet Azure Foundations (AAF), Airnet Group migrates and manages academic customer workloads quickly and easily.
“This Microsoft AEP authorization shows our commitment and specialism in the academic IT marketplace and demonstrates our knowledge of Microsoft and its academic products,” said Greg Jones, chief intelligence officer of Airnet Group. “We hope to accelerate our academic customers’ successes by serving as technology advisors for their IT requirements.”
Jennifer Solomon to head LifeCare East division
Life Care Centers of America recently named Jennifer Solomon as vice president of its Eastern Division.
In this role, Solomon will oversee operations at the company’s 39 skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities in Georgia, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia. That includes the Chattanooga-area centers.
“I love Life Care’s passion and perseverance to provide quality care to our residents and patients,” Solomon said. “It has been our culture from the very beginning, and it can be seen every day through the kindness and dedication of our front-line associates.”
Solomon previously worked for more than eight years as vice president of the Appalachian Region within Life Care’s Eastern Division. Before that, she was executive director at Life Care Center of Greeneville, Tennessee, for five years. She has been with Life Care for 22 years.
“Jennifer Solomon is the embodiment of the servant-leader concept espoused by Jesus,” said Beecher Hunter, Life Care president.
John Sweet joins commercial Herman Walldorf team
John Sweet, the former owner of Niedlov’s Breadworks on Chattanooga’s Southside, has joined the commercial real estate team at Herman Walldorf Commercial Real Estate.
Sweet owned and operated Niedlov’s from 2002 until he sold the bakery to the current owners Erik and Lauren Zilen. Since the completion of the sale in early 2017, Sweet has consulted for various organizations, including the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, Launch Chattanooga, CoLab, and several food enterprises.
“I am excited to be starting a new chapter in my career,” said Sweet.
Herman Walldorf is Chattanooga’s oldest commercial real estate brokerage.
“We are so happy to have someone with the experience and reputation that John has.” said Ben Pitts, vice president of Herman Walldorf Commercial Real Estate. “His detailed understanding of how small businesses operate, his experiences as a real estate investor, as well as his network of relationships throughout the city, will be real assets to us.”
Baker Donelson adds 11 more shareholders
Baker Donelson has elected 11 new shareholders across the firm, including two attorneys in its Chattanooga office: Erno D. Lindner and Amy W. Mahone.
Lindner is a member of Baker Donelson’s Corporate Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group where he focuses his practice on representing creditors in all aspects of commercial insolvency areas, particularly in the area of bankruptcy, commercial restructuring, and CMBS. A graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Lindner has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2014.Lindner has served as co-chair of the Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee for the Western Division of the Western District of Tennessee.
Mahone, a member of the firm’s Health Law Group and Long Term Care Transactions Team, concentrates her practice in the health care sector in various complex transactions including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, financing and management of long term care facilities and senior housing. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Mahone has served on the firm’s Women’s Initiative Leadership Team and currently serves as the co-editor of the Firm’s Long Term Care Industry Service Team newsletter.
Vascular Institute opens clinic in Cleveland
Vascular Institute of Chattanooga (VIC) has opened its new office in Cleveland, Tennessee at 4625 North Lee Highway. The new clinic will feature two diagnostic ultrasound suites and four clinical exam rooms to serve patients living in Bradley County and the Ocoee region.
“VIC is excited to be joining the Cleveland community,” said Chris LeSar, MD, a vascular surgeon and VIC’s founding physician. “It emphasizes what we have been saying for years: “the patient is truly at the center of everything we do.”
The new Cleveland location is the second VIC location. It joins the Chattanooga medical facility, located at 2358 Lifestyle Way, Ste. 100
Brewer Media Group adds account executive
Lisa Roche has joined Brewer Media Group as an account executive.
A native of Chattanooga, Roche brings eight years of sales experience and more than 15 years of B2B service to the locally owned, mass communications company.
Roche is married to local artist, Jim Roche, of Intown Gallery on the Northshore.
Ashburn joins CHI Memorial in Ringgold
Tim Ashburn, M.D., has joined the CHI Memorial Buz Standefer Lung Center and will treat patients at the practice’s new Ringgold location at CHI Memorial Parkway.
Dr. Ashburn received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, and a pulmonary critical care medicine fellowship in Memphis. Dr. Ashburn has worked as a pulmonary and critical care physician in hospital and outpatient office settings. He has also been a faculty member at University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, and a member of the University’s Department of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine in Memphis.
Dr. Ashburn served as intensive care unit (ICU) director for Bowld Hospital and director of the MED Hospital medical intensive care unit (MICU). He is board certified in internal medicine, critical care, and pulmonary medicine.
Audra Hopkins named to head Morning Pointe Foundation
Morning Pointe Senior Living and Independent Healthcare Properties announces the addition of Audra Hopkins as executive director of the Morning Pointe Foundation.
An Ooltewah native, Hopkins will spearhead the nonprofit arm of the Ooltewah-based senior healthcare services company, which provides caregiver support, sponsors educational awareness events, and awards scholarships to outstanding students pursuing degrees in geriatric nursing. She joins the Morning Pointe home office team from Pinnacle Financial Partners, where she helped orchestrate the local non-profit outreach program, organized and led associate outreach and engagement initiatives, and led the workplace culture committee, among other duties. Prior to her work with Pinnacle, Hopkins also held positions with BB&T and the Tennessee Valley Credit Union.
“Audra brings a knowledge of non-profits, compassion, and positive energy to the Morning Pointe Foundation,” said Greg A. Vital, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living. “She is just the leader we need as we continue to expand our outreach to caregivers, nurses, and educational and senior living partners. We are very excited for her to join our team.”
A graduate of Bryan College, Hopkins holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a marketing specialization.
Kevin Christopher, Bill Killian join Cavett, Abbott & Weiss
Chattanooga-based law firm of Cavett, Abbott & Weiss, PLLC announce that Kevin Christopher and Bill Killian have joined the firm.
Christopher is the founder of Ridgeline Venture Law, which is Tennessee’s first B Corp law firm and a 2018 Best for the World Honoree for community impact. Before founding RVL, Christopher led bioinformatics, bioscience and biotech development and licensing activities with top secret security clearance at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has also steered large scale partnerships in renewable energy and synthetic biology at the University of California, Berkeley and has also consulted the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Christopher is a Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Lawyer and regularly speaks on corporate social responsibility, intellectual property and leadership. His past community involvement includes serving as a Putnam County commissioner in Cookeville, Tennessee as well as a board member to several environmental and social impact nonprofits.
Killian served as the former United States Attorney for Eastern Tennessee from 2010-2015). He has more than 40 years of trial experience representing and defending clients in sophisticated cases, including high stakes fraud mediations and negotiations, national security. Killian currently serves on the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility as a Hearing Officer. He is also a member of the House of Delegates, 2003-2010 and is a Sustaining Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. Killian is a member of the American Bar Association (White Collar Crimes Section) as well as a member of American Inns of Court, Brock-Cooper Chapter.
Leadership Chattanooga Alumni group elects leaders
Rhey Houston of Stowers Machinery was elected president and Marcus McKamey of FirstBank is president-elect for the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association (LCAA).
The LCCA officers, who help lead the group of Leadership Chattanooga graduates with additional leadership training, networking and civic engagement, also include Jeana Lee of United Way of Chattanooga, secretary; Barry Jennison of Chattanooga State, treasurer, and Peterson Hostetler of Vantage Point Financial Group as immediate past president.
“Continuity among leaders and community partners may be the most critical component necessary for ideas to thrive,” Houston said. “LCAA provides the most unique platform for such a broad and diverse group of stakeholders to dream, collaborate and engage in the work of growing the Chattanooga of the future.”
LCAA hosts monthly meetings including Regathering networking events and lunch and learn programs. On election years, LCAA encourages voter participation through their Your Vote Matters campaign.
Established in 1984, Leadership Chattanooga is the region’s premier leadership development program with 1,300 alumni. The program explores community issues to develop skills in leadership, preparing graduates for success in prominent business, cultural and political roles across the region.