Business Digest: Riggs earns honor with Ameriprise

Jody B. Riggs
Jody B. Riggs

Riggs earns honor with Ameriprise

photo Jody B. Riggs

Jody B. Riggs, a private wealth advisor with Ameriprise Financial, has qualified for the company's 2014 Circle of Success annual recognition program.

To earn this achievement, Riggs established herself as one of the company's top advisors by consistently demonstrating exceptional commitment to financial planning and superior client service.

Luther-Anderson adds Eliza Epps

photo Elizabeth L. Epps

Attorney Elizabeth L. (Eliza) Epps has joined the Chattanooga office of the law firm of Luther-Anderson, PLLP.

Epps graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South magna cum laude and earned her juris doctor from William and Mary Law School. As a law student, Epps served as the deputy chief justice of the Honor Council, staff member of the Journal of Women and the Law, funding chairperson of the Public Service Fund and academic chairperson of the Black Law Students Association.

Prior to joining Luther-Anderson, PLLP, Epps practiced at a law firm specializing in immigration law.

Epps is licensed to practice in Tennessee and is a member of the Southeast Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Chattanooga Bar Association. Epps is also a member of the Junior League of Chattanooga and St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

Miller & Martin adds 2 lawyers

photo Meredith Corey Lee
photo Erika M. Hyde

Attorneys Meredith Corey Lee and Erika M. Hyde have joined the Chattanooga office of Miller & Martin PLLC.

Lee is an associate in the litigation department with a focus on complex business litigation matters. Prior to returning to her hometown of Chattanooga, Lee worked in the Atlanta office of King & Spalding. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and studied and worked abroad in Beijing and Munich, Germany. While attending law school at the University of Georgia School of Law, Lee excelled in the school's academic curriculum, as well as activities outside the classroom. She was inducted into Order of Coif and Order of Barristers national honor societies, was a member of the Georgia Law Review and Moot Court and was a recipient of the Law School Association Scholarship. Immediately following law school, Lee clerked for Judge Richard W. Story in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Hyde joined the firm's commercial department as an associate, and will concentrate her practice in the areas of commercial real estate and commercial finance. Hyde worked as in-house counsel for XM Solutions before joining Miller & Martin. She was responsible for tasks including review, research and development of documentation, with the purpose of ensuring legal compliance and regulations affecting the organization and its clients.

Hyde attended Vanderbilt University, earning an undergraduate degree in political science. She earned her law degree from Duke University, where she was involved in the school's Moot Court and Mock Trial teams, awarded a legal internship with the School of Law's Appellate Litigation Clinic, and spent time as a judicial intern for the U.S. District Court Judge Curtis L. Collier in Chattanooga.

BlueCross names provider director

photo Michael Drescher

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has appointed Michael Drescher as director of provider engagement.

In this position, Drescher oversees day-to-day operations associated with provider communications and education efforts for multiple lines of business. He will guide provider engagement activities and help BlueCross maintain strong and productive relationships with its network of more than 20,000 providers.

Drescher joined BlueCross in 2012 as director of network communications after spending a year as vice president of account management for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.

Prior to that, he served as senior advisor and communications director for Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen. Drescher previously served for three years as director of public affairs for the Bureau of TennCare after serving as senior vice president of government relations for the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Drescher has also worked for McNeely, Pigott & Fox Public Relations firm and Phyve Corporation.

Coleman heads Community Hospital Corporation in Southeast

In response to a growing presence in the Southeast, Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) has added Jim Coleman as senior vice president of Southeast hospital operations. Coleman will focus on serving CHC hospitals and oversee client growth in this region.

Coleman has more than 20 years of experience in hospital operations, including the past nine years at Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga where he most recently was chief operating officer after serving as interim CEO for Parkridge Valley Hospital. He previously served in executive leadership positions as chief operating officer of Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe, executive vice president of Ultragroup Ventures in Chattanooga, and vice president of planning and decision support for Erlanger Health System, also in Chattanooga.

Reed named CO of 3H Group

3H Group Hotels has hired Bruce A. Reed to be the company's chief operating officer (COO).

In his new role, Reed is responsible for the company's daily operations and reports directly to company CEO Hiren Desai. As COO, Reed is focused on creating an organizational structure that supports and enhances the growth of the group's hotel portfolio and strengthens its position as a leader in the hospitality industry.

Reed recently retired from Marriott International after a 27-year career that took him from housekeeping manager trainee to vice president, franchise operations, The Americas-Select Service and Extended Stay Hotels. He was responsible for the development and implementation of the "Hospitality at Home" program that created a partnership between the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott and Habitat for Humanity.

Reed said he is excited to be working in Chattanooga, his hometown of 22 years, where he currently lives with his family.

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