Lanham to head sales for Luken
Luken Communications, LLC has appointed Art Lanham as senior vice president of sales and affiliate relations. In this newly created role, Lanham will oversee management of Luken’s affiliate and advertising sales teams, develop key national accounts and collaborate with Luken’s leadership team on the company’s strategic plans.
“Art Lanham has a storied career in the broadcast industry and is an accomplished television executive, with more than 25 years as a general manager, sales director, senior management executive and former station owner,” said Emily Bronze, Luken’s vice president of corporate affairs. “With his previous successes and experience, Art is perfectly tailored to spearhead our distribution and advertising sales efforts.”
Lanham most recently served as the vice president and general manager of WAAY-TV, an ABC affiliate in Huntsville, Ala. He previously managed WKPT-TV/WAPK-TV in Tri-Cities, Tenn., and was general manager for KMWB-TV in Minneapolis. As the majority owner in the past of KMSS-TV in Shreveport, La., Lanham was elected to the nine-member Fox Network Affiliate Board of Governors, where he served as an officer and representative for five years during the early development of the Fox network, serving more than 150 affiliated Fox stations and markets. While on the Fox board, he served as chairman of the Children’s Network Oversight Committee.
Lanham, a native of East Tennessee, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Starnes to head OTR sales at Tranco
Chattanooga-based transportation company Tranco Logistics has added Brian Starnes as vice president of sales and operations for its over-the-road department.
Starnes came to Tranco in 2016 from Lesco Logistics, where he served as director of operations, sales and safety. He earned a bachelor of science degree in management from The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., via a football scholarship. He is a certified transportation broker and a vice president of the Northwest Georgia Transportation Council.
Tranco Logistics was founded in 1995 by Bruce and Byron Trantham and offers transportation, 3PL warehousing, supply chain management and real-estate services.
Symphony contracts Kayoko Dan to 2022
The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera has extended its contract with Music Director Kayoko Dan through May 2022. Dan joined the CSO as its first female, and youngest, conductor in September 2011.
CSO Board Chair Don McDowell said Dan is an influential advocate for music and music education in Chattanooga, and the CSO is creating an annual Kayoko Dan conducting scholarship in the upcoming 2017/18 season.
“I am grateful and beyond thrilled for the extension of my partnership with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera,” Dan said. “I will continue to lead and contribute to CSO’s mission by sharing a variety of quality symphonic programs and expanding our education and community engagement efforts.”
The CSO will be celebrating its 85th year next season and recently announced programming for the 2017/18 season.
Vetterick joins Samples, Jennings
Attorney William H. Vetterick has joined the Chattanooga law firm of Samples, Jennings, Clem & Fields, PLLC.
Vetterick, a Chattanooga native, graduated from Chattanooga Christian School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with honors. He earned his law degree in 2016 from the University of Tennessee, where he served as president of the Christian Legal Society.
Vetterick’s practice will focus primarily on adoptions, estate planning and estate administration. He is a member of the Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar Associations.
PV Design adds architect, marketer
PV Design has added Jessica Stack and Tonya Gentry to its staff and named Marcio Andreotti as a production manager.
Stack, who was named project manager, is a graduate of Clemson University and in 2013 earned a master’s in architecture from the University of Kansas with an emphasis in health care design and thesis in environments for aging. She has spent the past nine years working for firms in South Carolina, Tennessee, Kansas, and Alabama specializing in commercial, health care and hospitality projects.
Gentry joined PV Design in a newly created role of administrative support and marketing. Gentry, a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has more than 25 years of experience in marketing and business development, with 13 of those years in the commercial design industry. She is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and has served on a variety on nonprofit boards and committees.
Andreotti is a native of Brazil, and has more than 15 years of experience in architectural design, construction management, site acquisition and remodeling in both residential and commercial development. He earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture and urban design in 2003 from a university in Brazil. In 2013, he relocated his family to Chattanooga and joined PV Design.
Thompson taps Braden as manager
Thompson Engineering announced that Sharon Braden will serve as office manager supporting company operations in Chattanooga and Knoxville. Braden has been with Thompson since 2009 as a regional business development manager.
“In her time with Thompson, Sharon has developed relationships across the region and adds value to her community through her involvement in a number of organizations,” said Jimmy Shumock, CEO of Thompson Engineering.
Braden is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga, a member of the Mayor’s Council for Women, a 2016 Girls Inc. of Chattanooga Unbought & Unbought honoree and a 2017 American Lung Association Chattanooga Woman of Distinction.
Thompson Engineering is a multi-disciplinary firm that has been involved in several significant projects in Tennessee, including construction engineering and inspection of interstate and highway projects for TDOT throughout East Tennessee, the Volkswagen Academy and Alstom plant in Chattanooga, and the Henley Bridge in Knoxville.
Dominion Senior Living adds 5 directors
Dominion Senior Living of Hixson has hired five directors to help lead the assisted living and memory care facility, which opened in January.
Becky Paris joins as business office director; Fred Boettcher, as maintenance director; Jade Alsobrook as life enrichment director; Kara Gonder, LPN, as wellness director; and Mark Shrum as dining services director. Each of these staff members will be under the direction of Executive Director Beth Baxter.
Becky Paris comes to Dominion Senior Living with more than 18 years of experience in the senior living field. A licensed assisted living administrator, Paris previously worked as an administrator and executive director in Tennessee and Georgia.
Fred Boettcher graduated from Adventist University and worked as a photographer and journalist for television stations in Chattanooga before working in maintenance services.
Jade Alsobrook has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, and she is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS).
Kara Gonder, a licensed practical nurse, has worked as a nurse for nearly five years.
Mark Shrum will oversee the dining staff. Shrum received his bachelor of science degree in food and nutrition from the University of Chattanooga, and he is also a certified dietary manager. Shrum has nearly 30 years of experience in food services, which includes health care settings.
FirstBank adds Teets as financial manager
Michael Teets has been named financial center manager of FirstBank’s Hixson branch. In his new role, Teets will work with consumer and business clients to provide solutions for financial needs from personal banking to treasury management services.
“Michael has almost 17 years of experience in the banking industry and is a strong supporter of the Chattanooga community,” said Chattanooga City President Jim McKenzie. “He is a great addition to our team and will exemplify FirstBank’s priority of customer service.”
Prior to joining FirstBank, Teets was a financial adviser for a national brokerage firm. He previously served as branch manager at a regional bank in Chattanooga and was a relationship banker in Cleveland, Tenn.
A Virginia native, Teets is a graduate of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn.
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