Oak Ridge Today

Roane Alliance President Leslie Henderson retiring in March

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Leslie Henderson

Leslie Henderson

KINGSTON—Roane Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Henderson has announced she will retire at the end of March.

She has been the president and CEO of The Roane Alliance, the county’s economic development organization, since Feb. 16, 2004. Henderson announced her retirement in a Tuesday letter to Sharon Templeton, Roane Alliance board chair.

“Although I struggled with this decision, I feel now that it is the right time to start on the next phase of my life and start working on some of that bucket list—travel, writing, project work, family time, and maybe even some business ventures of my own,” Henderson said in the letter.

“As for The Alliance, I think the time is also right, as the staff is not only one of the best I’ve ever worked with, but is also well-positioned to do great things for Roane County going forward. Each of them is very competent and capable,” Henderson said. “All I do is keep them focused and provide the tools they need. I could not be more proud of their successes.” [Read more…]

Yager presents Brown-Forman donation to Roane Alliance’s Education Matters!

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Brown-Forman Donation to Roane Alliance Education Matters

Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager, center, presents a donation from Brown-Forman to the Roane Alliance’s Education Matters. Also pictured are Rep. Kent Calfee, left, and Allen Lutz of The Roane Alliance. (Submitted photo)

Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager on Thursday announced a new partner for the continued funding of The Roane Alliance’s award-winning Education Matters! program. Yager presented a $5,000 check at the beginning of the Roane County Chamber of Commerce regular monthly board meeting.

Yager presented the check to Allen Lutz, education and workforce development specialist for the Roane Alliance, on behalf of Brown-Forman—the global, multi-billion dollar company that produces and markets Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey.

The Brown-Forman donation comes on the heels of the Alliance’s Education Matters! program receiving an international economic development award earlier this month. The Roane County program won a Gold Award for Excellence in Economic Development (category 25,000-200,000 population) from the International Economic Development Council at their annual conference in Philadelphia. [Read more…]

Roane Alliance Education Matters! program takes home the ‘Gold’

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IEDC Award

Submitted

The Roane Alliance’s Education Matters! program has been selected as a Gold Award recipient by the International Economic Development Council, or IEDC, for excellence in economic development.

The award was presented at the 2013 IEDC Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday. Receiving the award on behalf of The Alliance was Leslie Henderson, Alliance president and chief executive officer, and Allen Lutz, education and workforce development specialist at The Alliance.

Education Matters! received the award in the category of Partnerships with Educational Institutions in communities with a population between 25,000-200,000. According to the IEDC, their Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. [Read more…]

New airport in west Oak Ridge could feature small business jets, 5,000-foot runway

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Oak Ridge Airport Site at Heritage Center

An airport with a 5,000-foot runway could serve small business jets and pressurized turbine aircraft at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, in west Oak Ridge. An image of the proposed runway is in yellow at right. (Photo courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority)

The airport proposed at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge could feature a 5,000-foot runway, accommodate all but the largest business jets, and cost between $35 million and $45 million, an official said Monday.

Construction at the site is possible around 2017 to 2018, said Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.

The airport would be built at the front of Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, and the runway would parallel Highway 58. [Read more…]

Roane Alliance’s annual fundraising gala is Nov. 1

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Roane Alliance Annual Gala

The crowd at a previous Roane Alliance Annual Gala. (Submitted photo)

The 2013 Roane Alliance Gala will be held Friday, Nov. 1, and the theme of this year’s annual fundraiser will be “Magic.”

“The Roane Alliance Gala is always kind of a magical event,” said Roane Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Henderson. “So, it just made sense to embrace that as our theme this year.”

The Gala is the primary annual fundraising event for The Alliance, and the money raised from the night goes toward funding the many programs The Alliance administers throughout the year to ensure quality growth for Roane County, a press release said. [Read more…]

New manager announced at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Roane County

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Amber Wyrick

Amber Wyrick

Y-12 Federal Credit Union recently announced that Amber Wyrick has been named branch manager of the Roane County Branch, located at 1715 Roane State Highway in Harriman.

Wyrick has worked at the Roane County Branch for more than 12 years, a press release said. She started as a teller and also held the positions of head teller and assistant branch manager before being promoted to branch manager. [Read more…]

Roane County takes green to a new level

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TVA Sustainable Community Silver Seal

Roane County has been designated as a Valley Sustainable Silver Community by the Tennessee Valley Authority through a program initiated by their Economic Development department to help communities improve existing sustainability programs and increase their ability to attract new investment in their community.

Roane County recently completed the TVA-sponsored program, which was developed and administered by consultant Boyette Strategic Advisors. The program documents a community’s assets to increase the likelihood that it will be viewed as progressive and competitive by companies looking to invest in new or expanded locations. [Read more…]

Roane County Chamber names new board chair, members

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Chris Ahler

Chris Ahler

KINGSTON—The chair of the Roane County Chamber of Commerce board for the 2013-2014 year is Chris Ahler, who owns his own investment management business in Harriman.

Ahler took over July 1 from outgoing board chair Kenyon Mee, the facility manager of Diversified Scientific Services, a subsidiary of Perma-Fix Environmental Services.

“Our Chamber board this year is one of the strongest in recent memory. It brings youth and experience all at the same time to a board that already boasts a virtual ‘Who’s Who’ of Roane County business and community leaders,” Chamber President Leslie Henderson said. “I am so pleased and gratified that all of these folks have agreed to serve (or continue to serve) our Chamber membership and our community in this way.” [Read more…]

Perma-Fix announces new VP of Nuclear Services Business Development

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Richard Macon

Richard Macon

Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc. has announced the promotion of Richard Macon to vice president of Nuclear Services Business Development.

In this role, Macon will be responsible for pursuing opportunities, developing proposal “win themes,” and forming strategic partnerships to further company growth, a press release said. Macon will continue to cultivate relationships with Perma-Fix’s new and existing clients, including the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense, commercial nuclear industry, and Canada. [Read more…]

DOE asks for more information on $2 million CROET grant

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The U.S. Department of Energy has requested additional information as it tries to close out a $2 million grant awarded 16 years ago to a nonprofit organization that owns, develops, and manages former DOE property.

The grant was issued in 1997 as part of a larger grant that the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee requested from DOE, said Lawrence Young, CROET president and chief executive officer. Most of the money was used for a high-risk loan program for small businesses. The purpose was to create jobs and promote economic development in East Tennessee, said Mike Koentop, spokesman for the DOE Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

Roane Chamber announces 2013 Youth Leadership Academy graduates

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Roane Chamber Youth Leadership Academy Graduates

The Roane Chamber’s 2013 Youth Leadership Academy graduates and their schools:
(Back row, left to right) Kara Brindley (Rockwood High), Samantha Schaefer (home schooled), Hunter McClure (Roane County High), Peyton Jones (Oliver Springs High), Shelby Dailey (Midway High), and Jordan Zurcher (Roane County High); (Front row, left to right) Sarah Hooper (Academy Director, Roane State Community College faculty), Jonathan Cate (Oliver Springs High), Bryce Laughlin (Rockwood High), Ian Barnett (home schooled), Hayden Hester (Midway High), Matt Snow (Harriman High), and Lindsey Seymour (Harriman High).

Twelve Roane County high school students graduated this year from Roane County Chamber of Commerce’s Youth Leadership Academy held at Roane State Community College. The students, representing the county’s five high schools and home-schooled groups, formed six school teams. As a part of the academy requirements, each team will be completing a community service project in the coming months.

The students and their school teams are: Lindsey Seymour and Matt Snow for Harriman High; Shelby Dailey and Hayden Hester for Midway High; Jonathan Cate and Peyton Jones for Oliver Springs High; Hunter McClure and Jordan Zurcher for Roane County High; Kara Brindley and Bryce Laughlin for Rockwood High; and Ian Barnett and Samantha Schaefer are home-schooled. [Read more…]

IMPACT Services cleanup scheduled to end Friday

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IMPACT Services Waste

The last of more than one million pounds of low-level radioactive waste at the former IMPACT Services site at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge was scheduled be shipped out today.

It’s considered a success story—a one-year, $1.2 million state project to ship out more than one million pounds of low-level radioactive waste from a company that has declared bankruptcy—and it’s scheduled to end Friday, officials said last week. The last waste, stored in an open-air shed at the site, was scheduled to be shipped out today, but it has been delayed a day or two.

The project began in May 2012 after IMPACT Services Inc., a company that processed low-level radioactive waste, declared bankruptcy. The company had operations on property leased from the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee at the northwest corner of Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

In the past year, state and contractor officials said during a tour last week, a total of roughly 1.6 million pounds of waste and equipment has been shipped out, including to other processors and sites in Oak Ridge, Florida, and a landfill in Clive, Utah. The waste has been shipped from the site in 1,200 containers on some 220 truck shipments. [Read more…]