Text Request celebrated the grand opening of their new headquarters in Jack's Alley on Market Street in downtown Chattanooga in June. The company broke $6 million in sales in 2020, grew revenue 400%, and hired half a dozen people from May to November 2020. Moving into the 7,200-square-foot space on Market Street doubles their footprint and prepares Text Request for growth.

Chattanooga area business people on the move as featured in the July issue of Edge Magazine.

Greg Vital and Franklin Farrow started Morning Pointe Senior Living in Chattanooga in 1996 with a plan to provide a different type of senior care than the nursing home model.

More than 150 people turned out for in-person, outdoor networking hosted by Chattanooga Small Business Networking at the Hotel Indigo in downtown Chattanooga on May 17. The event was the first in-person gathering for the business network in more than year. Network members Kenneth Ash with K-A Electric, and Katherine Fry with Mediafy, sponsored the event.

For the CEO of the Company Lab, her new job leading the organization at the hub of Chattanooga's startup ecosystem has offered something of a "soft landing," Lindsey Cox says.

Young Professionals of Chattanooga met in person for the first time in 14 months for outdoor networking at the Moxy in downtown Chattanooga in June. The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce has managed the group since 2019, connecting resources to boost the organization, and helping the chamber with its mission of attracting and retaining young talent in the area. Young Professionals of Chattanooga has more than 500 members, though the event was limited to 75 people.

Tim Kelly became the 66th mayor of Chattanooga in April after a race that included a first round with 15 candidates and a six-week run-off campaign. A longtime entrepreneur and native Chattanoogan, Kelly attended Columbia University as a John Jay scholar studying comparative literature and German. During the mayoral race, Kelly campaigned on the promise of bridging the gap between Chattanooga's "haves and have-nots," to promote economic growth and "one Chattanooga."

Jeffrey Maddux says the close-knit legal community in Chattanooga is one of the benefits of practicing law here, and he's looking forward to seeing people out and about again.

Keith Sanford has been president and CEO of the Tennessee Aquarium since 2016, after working in a variety of roles at First Tennessee Bank over 36 years, including serving as market president.

Stephany S. Pedigo is elected as a member of the Hixson law firm of Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell, PLC.

The Southern Belle riverboat was designed by marine architect Captain Alan L. Bates and built in 1985 at the Serodino Boat Yards in Guild, Tennessee, which is about 25 miles downriver from Chattanooga.

Robert Backer has sold real estate for Coldwell Banker for 24 years, and he grew up in the business, helping his mother plant 'for sale' signs and maintain rentals. But Backer has never seen a market like this one, he says.

The history, products and mission of blue skies in Chattanooga.

Who is on the move?

Young Professionals of Chattanooga had to change their game in a big way in 2020, but the professional development and networking group actually added members during the pandemic, says Austin Corcoran, talent attraction and retention manager for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.

Lesley Stiles Scearce is president and CEO of United Way of Greater Chattanooga, where she leads a nonprofit team committed to addressing social service issues to build a stronger and healthier community.

Josh R. Singh has degrees in physics, psychology and divinity, and while those might seem like disparate areas of study, they all point to what drives him.

Candy Johnson became the President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga in January 2021, taking the helm of an organization dedicated to equity, empowerment and inclusion for African Americans and disadvantaged people.

Shay McCowan's desire to create a networking organization for Black business owners was inspired by her mother, an entrepreneur who launched a successful catering company after a corporate layoff.

The Bessie Smith Cultural Center began as the Chattanooga African American Museum, founded in 1983 by 10 Chattanooga leaders.

W. Brad Lehman is named president of the Middle Tennessee, Chattanooga, East Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia divisions of Realty Title.

A while back, I posted a little callout on LinkedIn and asked folks to share stories about their first cars.

As the Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute turns 25 years old in 2021, the nonprofit group is preparing to launch a new headquarters and coworking space on the third floor of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce space on Broad Street.