Oak Ridge Today

Call center relocates to Oak Ridge

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Avant LLC

Avant LLC hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. Avant recently relocated its call center operations to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Avant LLC recently announced that the company has completed the relocation of its call center operations from nearby Louisville to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge.

This completes a year-long series of planning discussions that started in the fall of 2018, a press release said. The financial services company currently employs 200 people in the region. Site director Steve Massey expects that number to grow to between 350 and 400 in 2020.

“Our move has been very successful so far, and we are looking forward to growing with Oak Ridge into a bright future here,” Massey said.

“It’s exciting to see a company that is growing and already has plans to increase employment levels come into the City of Oak Ridge,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17

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The 19th annual Lavender Festival returns Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)

The 19th annual Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)

 

The 19th annual Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The Lavender Festival is a perennial crowd favorite, full of tradition, fun, and always something new, a press release said. The festival celebrates all things herbal, crafts, local foods, and more.

Admission to the festival is free, with plenty of free parking available in surrounding city and business lots, and on side streets, the press release said.

As is tradition, a bagpipe player will open the festival at 8 a.m., playing from upper Blankenship Field into Jackson Square. Also keeping with tradition, Alan McBride will follow with the hammered dulcimer in the bandstand. A complete music schedule is found below.

Also returning for a second year is “A Taste of Tennessee Wines,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., benefitting the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. The tasting is hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of four independent wineries in East Tennessee. Your $10 tasting ticket is available at the gate (for those who are 21 with a valid identification). Tasters receive a complimentary wine glass, and if they purchase wine, a six-compartment wine tote. Customers are allowed to enjoy the wine outdoors in the Square during festival hours, with lunch served all day by plenty of food vendors and food trucks, restaurants, and even hors d’oeuvres by Chapel on the Hill. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber’s Christmas Parade will be Dec. 10

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The Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge float in the 2015 Oak Ridge Christmas Parade. This year's parade will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2016. The theme is "Jingle All the Way." (Photo by Ray Smith)

The Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge float in the 2015 Oak Ridge Christmas Parade. This year’s parade will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2016. The theme is “Jingle All the Way.” (Photo by Ray Smith)

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade will be Saturday, December 10.

This year’s theme is “Jingle All the Way,” and it promises to provide spectators with plenty of music, lights, and beautiful floats, a press release said. More than 50 businesses and community organizations have already registered their entries for the parade.

The sponsor of this year’s parade is The Cowperwood Company. There is no cost to participate.

The Chamber will be accepting entries online through Monday, December 5. Register by visiting the Chamber’s website at www.oakridgechamber.org. [Read more…]

Letter: Thanks Barbara Ferrell and team for another great Lavender Festival

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To the Editor:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Barbara Ferrell for all the hard work she put into pulling together another successful Lavender Festival this year. Judging from the crowd and the number of venders I witnessed on Saturday, I would venture to guess that the 15th annual event was the best yet. Barbara and her great team of volunteers are to be commended for their hard work and dedication to this community!

As a corporate sponsor for the Lavender Festival for several years, Cowperwood Company is proud to be associated with an event that celebrates good food; arts and crafts; great local entertainment; and locally grown herbs and produce. But more importantly, we are proud to be involved in an event that celebrates our great community by bringing people together for a common purpose. It seems we sometimes get caught up in the mess of making sure the city continues to prosper, and, as in most communities, we tend to “stake our sides and dig our heels in” on very important issues. So the Lavender Festival is a great opportunity for us to be involved in celebrating all that is good about Oak Ridge! [Read more…]