business development Archives

Reminder: Property transfer for airport to be discussed during info session today

Posted at 8:55 am August 19, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Heritage Center airport development plan is pictured above. The airport site is the area pictured in yellow. The main entrance to Heritage Center off Oak Ridge Turnpike is at bottom left, in the area of the ponds. (Cropped image from DOE Draft Environmental Assessment)

About 170 acres of land at a federal site in west Oak Ridge could be transferred to a nonprofit organization for a new general aviation airport that would feature a 5,000-foot runway and accommodate airplanes and helicopters.

The airport would be built on the south side of Heritage Center, which is also known as East Tennessee Technology Park and the former K-25 site. The runway would be close to and run roughly parallel to Oak Ridge Turnpike/State Route 58.

A draft environmental assessment, or EA, has been prepared for the property transfer. It evaluates the potential impacts of transferring the ETTP land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the nonprofit Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. DOE and MKAA representatives will be available to discuss the proposed action during a public information session from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 19, at the DOE Information Center. The Information Center is on the west end of the building that houses the Office of Scientific and Technical Information in east Oak Ridge.

No formal presentation is planned, and the public may stop by at any time during the session. [Read more…]

Property transfer for Oak Ridge airport to be discussed during info session on Aug. 19

Posted at 12:00 pm August 5, 2015
By John Huotari 1 Comment

No formal presentation is planned, and the public may stop by at any time during the session. [Read more…]

Guest column: Smith responds to Progress PAC endorsement

Posted at 5:07 am October 22, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns 9 Comments

Ellen Smith

By Ellen Smith

I was surprised and gratified by the recent news that the Progress PAC (the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce political action committee) endorsed my candidacy for City Council. To my dismay, several citizens have told me that this endorsement indicates that I have somehow â€œsold outâ€ to the Chamber of Commerce. I am writing to respond to their allegations.

The Progress PAC endorsement was a surprise to me because I have never been aligned with the Chamber, I have strongly opposed some Chamber initiatives in the past, and I am not shy about my support for principles like conservation of publicly owned open space and putting the interests of existing residents and owners ahead of the interests of new business development.

However, I respect the Chamber as the main representative of and advocate for a very important element of our communityâ€”and a group whose members and volunteers who are passionate about the future of Oak Ridge. We share many common goals and interests for this community, and if we are going to make progress as a community, itâ€™s necessary for government, the business community, our nonprofit sector, and (ideally) all citizens to try to understand each otherâ€™s interests and needs and work together for the benefit of all. [Read more…]

ES&H names business development director

Posted at 7:18 am October 16, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Lynne Musick

ES&H Inc., a company that has offices in Oak Ridge, has named Lynne Musick as business development director.

Musick previously served as director of business development for JOSEPH Construction Co. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Musick’s career focus has been in leading professional service and construction companies in their marketing, sales and customer service activities, a press release said.

Musick is a graduate of Leadership Blount, has served on a variety of boards, including the Hearing and Speech Foundation, tnAchieves mentor, Blount County Habitat for Humanity, and various economic development entities. [Read more…]

ORAU names associate director of scientific, technical resource integration

Posted at 2:46 pm September 3, 2013
By Oak Ridge Associated Universities Leave a Comment

David Duncan

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has appointed David Duncan as associate director of its scientific and technical resource integration program.

In his new role, Duncan is responsible for managing research peer review activities that coordinate the use of independent, expert reviewers to evaluate proposals and scientific and technical information for a variety of federal and state funding agencies. Additionally, he is responsible for identifying viable options for new business development and for establishing and developing business networks and partnerships. [Read more…]

Guest column: Chamber hopes to continue working with city on business development

Posted at 8:41 am April 25, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns 3 Comments

Throughout the years, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has been a valuable asset to the community, supporting local businesses and promoting new business development in our city. For more than 20 years, the city of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce have had an agreement through which the Chamber works in partnership with the city to attract new business to the community.

Appropriately, during these challenging economic times, the city is looking at all of its economic development relationships and asking itself whether or not itâ€™s a good investment. We recognize the cityâ€™s efforts to conserve public dollars and have made a proposal to City Council for the formation of a better and less expensive partnership for the future. [Read more…]