Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Chamber leads TVA Community Livability Initiative: Program will showcase livability assets

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has been chosen by the Tennessee Valley Authority to participate in TVA’s Community Livability Initiative. The purpose of the program is to map and showcase Oak Ridge’s livability assets and increase the likelihood that the community will be viewed as inviting and vibrant by companies and talent seeking locations, a press release said.

The asset mapping will be conducted by volunteers of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce as well as other community volunteers working with the chamber. The process will culminate in a July showcase to TVA Economic Development staff and Newmark Knight Frank consultants, the press release said.

Kelly Callison, senior vice president of operations for Information International Associates and chair of the Chamber-led Housing Committee said: “It’s exciting to see the hard work of the Housing Committee is a part of securing this opportunity. The housing study commissioned by the Chamber in 2017 and implemented over the past two years is bearing fruit as we see new houses coming out of the ground. The collaboration between the Chamber, the city, Realtors, the school system, Oak Ridge Land Bank, and the Oak Ridge Housing Authority in one joint effort has certainly been a big part of solving problems and maintaining accountability related to follow through on the study’s recommendation.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber launches membership campaign

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Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer

Under the leadership of two long-time community leaders, Keys Fillauer and Darrel Kohlhorst, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce kicked off a new member recruitment campaign on Thursday, September 10. The campaign is focused on identifying new members to bring into the Chamber between now and October 15, a press release said.

“Nearly 100 committed volunteers are working to grow the Oak Ridge Chamber’s collective influence and financial resources,” said Melinda Hillman, vice president of Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge Campus and chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “That represents almost a quarter of the Chamber’s current membership working to expand their organization. Personally, I am appreciative and excited that so many are involved in this effort.”

There are five captains serving as coaches and cheerleaders for the campaign. The five captains are:

  • Rhoni Badsen of Girls Inc.;
  • Bruce Borchers of Oak Ridge Schools;
  • Katy Brown of Comcast Spotlight;
  • Jim Normand of Joyce, Meredith, Flitcroft, and Normand; and
  • Steve Whitson of H-S Whitson Construction.

[Read more…]

Former Oak Ridge rowing director could lead ORCVB

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Marc DeRose

Marc DeRose

Note: This story was updated at 5:55 p.m.

A former Oak Ridge rowing director could become the next executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The ORCVB board of directors on Thursday voted 4-3 to offer the job to Marc A. DeRose, subject to reference checks. If hired, DeRose will replace former longtime director Katy Brown, who became ORCVB president in 2006 and left in July to take a new marketing and promotions job covering Knoxville and Chattanooga.

DeRose was hired by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association in August 2013, and he resigned from his head coach and rowing director position in May of this year, saying the job was “not the right fit for me and my family,” the ORRA said in a press release this spring.

Other candidates for the ORCVB job, which offers a starting salary of $45,000 per year, were Lila Wilson, director of special events for the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend, and Naomi Asher, executive director of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland. ORCVB board members said Asher withdrew her application, saying she wanted to continue working for CASA.

Wilson received three votes on Thursday, picking up one less than DeRose’s four. [Read more…]

ORCVB has special meeting Monday to discuss director search

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Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Welcome Center at the Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau’s board of directors will have a special meeting on Monday, July 28, to discuss their plan to fill the vacant director’s position at the ORCVB.

The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Hotel starting at noon Monday.

The former director, Katy Brown, has accepted a new marketing and promotions job in East Tennessee, and her last day as president of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau was July 11.

Brown leaving ORCVB for marketing, promotions job in East Tennessee

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Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Welcome Center at the Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road is pictured above.

Katy Brown has accepted a new marketing and promotions job in East Tennessee, and her last day as president of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau will be Friday.

Brown started as a sales manager at the ORCVB in 2001, and she has been president since 2006, or about eight years.

Brown will now be a marketing and promotions specialist covering Knoxville and Chattanooga. She declined to identify her new employer, but she said it is an established company.

Brown might be most well-known for her work on the annual Secret City Festival, including her promotion of the two-day celebration. But she has also been involved in a range of other efforts to help promote and market the city, ranging from hosting travel writers from across the country to working a booth at the Oak Ridge Marina during rowing races. [Read more…]

ORCVB could become city department as hotel tax collections fall

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Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Welcome Center at the Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road is pictured above.

 

It’s now a city contractor, but the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau could become a municipal department, possibly starting this fall, under a proposal now being considered by city officials.

Set up in 1981, the ORCVB is the city’s tourism organization. Among other things, it helps present the annual Secret City Festival; promotes rowing, travel, and events; and operates a visitors center at Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road. The contract with the city is its only contract.

The bureau is funded by hotel and motel tax collections. But those collections have fallen for the past four years, from roughly $550,000 in Fiscal Year 2009 to about $490,000 in FY 2013. During a Tuesday work session, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said there have been reductions in reductions in government travel and daily expense, or per diem, reimbursements.

As the hotel and motel tax collections have fallen, so has the value of the ORCVB’s contract with the city, from $404,208 a few years ago to $314,100 now. The percentage the bureau has earned from the hotel tax revenues has also been reduced during the past three years, from 80 percent a few years ago to 65.4 percent today. [Read more…]

More than 60 Thunderbirds expected for Mockingbird Run this weekend

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Mockingbird Run

The Sixth Annual Mockingbird Run will be in Oak Ridge from Friday to Sunday. (Submitted photo)

 

Car enthusiasts from 10 states will gather in Oak Ridge from Friday, May 2, to Sunday, May 4, for the sixth annual Mockingbird Run hosted by the Smoky Mountain Classic Thunderbird Club. The Mockingbird Run is expected to bring in more than 60 Thunderbirds for a weekend packed with tours, friendship, and fun.

“We are excited to host this year’s Mockingbird Run, and we encourage the community to welcome the Smoky Mountain Classic Thunderbird Club to town,” Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Katy Brown said. “We have worked closely with this organization to make this year’s event an entertaining and educational visit.”

Conference planners focused on the “top secret” theme this year in an effort to add mystery and intrigue. Participants will visit local attractions, learn the significance of various historic sites, and dine in local restaurants. Y-12 National Security Complex Historian Ray Smith will guide the group on a tour of the Y-12 New Hope Center and serve as a guest speaker for the event. The club will also tour Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Saturday. Members of the K-9 Search On Site LLP team will also be on hand for a demonstration that morning. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Oak Ridge welcomes travel writer tour

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Travel Writers at ORNL Wall of Flags

Travel writers take a break at the Wall of Flags at ORNL that features flags for all home countries of current employees. Pictured left to right, front row, are Tori Cuddy, Lisa Sonne, Scott Cochran, Tricia Szulewski, and Clement Salvadori; and, second row, Nicole Elliott and Wayne Newton. (Photos courtesy ORCVB)

North American journalists experience adventure in America’s Secret City

Travel writers from across North America were in Oak Ridge on Thursday, researching interesting stories to help promote tourism to the area. With a focus on outdoor adventure and heritage tourism, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development partnered with the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with surrounding tourism organizations, to host the group.

The team of 17 journalists spent the first day of spring with local experts in heritage tourism and outdoor recreation. Each writer had the opportunity to ask many questions while experiencing both the natural beauty of Oak Ridge and the importance the city plays in scientific and technological discovery. Due to the excellent presentations given at each of the stops on the tour, all journalists left with a newfound love and appreciation for the exciting tourism opportunities Oak Ridge has to offer.

“Working with our partners in the capital and around East Tennessee helps Oak Ridge leverage our exposure in larger markets and reach out to broader audiences,” said Katy Brown, executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We rely heavily on our tourism partners in Oak Ridge as we roll out the red carpet for these visiting writers.” [Read more…]

Signs installed for Top Secret Trail that stops in Oak Ridge

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Top Secret Trail Signs

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has recently installed signs for a new “top secret” 465-mile, self-guided driving trail that stops in Oak Ridge.

The brown signs were erected to direct visitors and curious local travelers along this important tourism route, a state press release said. They lead travelers to picturesque views in the Upper Cumberland and the “inside scoop on the state’s biggest secret.”

The Top Secret trail has 111 stops within Knox, Anderson, Campbell, Overton, Fentress, Morgan, Scott, Clay, Roane, and Pickett counties, giving visitors extensive history, culture, music, and cuisine experiences. The trail is part of the 16 Discover Tennessee Trails and Byways, an initiative by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, connecting Tennessee’s 95 counties to encourage guests to travel “off the beaten path” and to explore treasures of the state.

“Start the trip off at the site of the 1982 World’s Fair at World’s Fair Park, home to the world-famous Sunsphere, one of the only two remaining original fair structures,” the press release said. “Travel through the Upper Cumberland region, where guests can find out why Oak Ridge is considered Tennessee’s ‘secret city,’ the smallest library in the United States in Coalfield, and Tanners Café, Sundries & Antiques, housed in a 1906 bank that still has the original vault. Learn the history and culture of the region by stopping off at Old Union Meeting House, which is one of the oldest in the country and the Museum of Scott County, the only one of its kind created and curated by high school students. [Read more…]

Secret City Half Marathon this weekend features 5k, 10k races; health, fitness expo

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Secret City Half Marathon Course Map

The Secret City Half Marathon course map is pictured above.

The Secret City Half Marathon this weekend will feature 5k and 10k races, and a new health and fitness expo.

The first-ever Secret City 5k and 10k races start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The inaugural Health and Fitness Expo is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, also at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The event will include booths and exhibits from fitness and health professionals around the region.

“The Secret City Half Marathon Health and Fitness Expo provides the perfect setting to promote Oak Ridge as a top-notch visitor destination,” said Katy Brown, executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Around 600 runners from around the Southeast have registered to participate in the Half Marathon, and we hope every one of them will check in at the Health and Fitness Expo.” [Read more…]

Pictures: Neon Vibe 5K

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Neon Vibe 5K

About 1,600 runners and walkers participated in the Neon Vibe 5K in Oak Ridge on Sept. 21.

There were also about 800 volunteers and spectators, for a total of roughly 2,400 people, according to the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped organize the event, the first-ever in Tennessee.

“It was hugely successful,” ORCVB President Katy Brown said.

[Read more…]

Stand up paddleboarding races at Oak Ridge Marina on Sept. 8

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Chattanooga Stand Up Paddleboarding Competition

A stand up paddleboarding competition in Chattanooga. (Photo courtesy ORCVB)

People in the recreation industry call it a fast-growing sport with a Hawaiian heritage.

It’s stand up paddleboarding, or SUP, and it’s coming to Oak Ridge in September in a new event called the Secret City SUP Classic. It will feature two races starting at 2 p.m. Sept. 8 at the Oak Ridge Marina on Melton Lake Park.

“SUP is a new sport that’s taking the waterways by storm, and Oak Ridge provides the perfect venue for these races,” said Katy Brown, executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We hope paddleboarders of all ages will come out to the waterfront as we introduce the region to a different side of the Secret City.” [Read more…]