Oak Ridge Today

Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference in Oak Ridge from April 9-11

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Evelyn Coleman

Evelyn Coleman

“Not Now…I’m Writing” is the theme of the Tennessee Mountain Writers’ 27th Annual Conference, scheduled Thursday through Saturday, April 9-11, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge. The conference includes writing contests, workshops, networking, manuscript evaluations, publishers, editors, book signings, a bookstore, vendors, and more.

Evelyn Coleman will lead the Writing for Young People workshops and will be the keynote speaker at the awards banquet, the concluding event of the conference. Coleman, an Edgar-nominated, award-winning author, writes across genres from picture books to young adult and adult novels. Coleman’s latest books, “Freedom Train” and the American Girl Mysteries Series book, “Cecile’s Cameo Necklace,” have received glowing reviews. Her adult thriller, “What a Woman’s Gotta Do” (Random House), was lauded byBooklist for its “vivid details and suspense.” [Read more…]

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 board elects new officers

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Aaron Wells

Aaron Wells

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors elected a new slate of officers at its regularly scheduled meeting in February. Aaron Wells was elected chairperson, Mark Harvey will serve as vice chairperson, and Patti Shelton will serve as secretary/treasurer, a press release said. They will each hold their respective positions until January 2015.

The board is comprised of seven community volunteers and three hotel representatives, and it is appointed by the Oak Ridge City Council. Remaining members are Carol Smallridge, Mary Ann Damos, Hugh Ward, Troy Patel, Gretchen Julius, and Misty Williams. There is currently one vacancy.

The ORCVB is a nonprofit organization, formed to strengthen the area economy through the marketing and promotion of Oak Ridge as a destination for meetings, business, and leisure travel. Visit them online at oakridgevisitor.com or call (865) 482-7821 for more information.

ORNL Federal Credit Union appoints marketing, communications VP

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Tommy Smith

Tommy Smith

ORNL Federal Credit Union has named a vice president of brand, marketing, and communications strategy.

The new vice president, Tommy Smith, will be responsible for strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the credit union’s branding, marketing, and communications, as well as the enhancement and growth of the ORNL FCU brand, a press release said. Smith will report directly to ORNL FCU’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Melodie Godfrey.

“We are committed to delivering enhanced value to our members, which includes building an internal team of talented, experienced, and caring financial service professionals,” Godfrey said. “Tommy Smith will play a key role in ensuring that ORNL FCU continues to deliver on this promise to our members and the communities we serve.” [Read more…]

Marketing your business online: Lessons on LinkedIn

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Daniel Monday

Daniel Monday

The chief operating officer of a Knoxville website company will present a Feb. 19 seminar in Anderson County on marketing your business using LinkedIn.

Daniel Monday of Slamdot will give his presentation, titled “Marketing Your Business Online: Lessons on LinkedIn,” at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce in Clinton from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19.

“If you’re not joining the 250 million-plus people on LinkedIn, you may be missing out on business opportunities,” a press release said. “From connecting with potential customers or establishing new referral partnerships, to locating that next great employee or finding reputable vendors and suppliers, LinkedIn can become a very affordable marketing and operations tool for your company or nonprofit organization.

 [Read more…]

Leslie England joins TNBank as assistant VP

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Leslie England

Leslie England

Leslie England has joined TNBank as assistant vice president. Her responsibilities will include current customer development, new business initiatives, and marketing responsibilities, a press release said.

England has 15 years banking experience and a bachelor’s degree from Tusculum College, the release said.

She previously worked for more than a decade for Oak Ridge Utility District, where she was director of customer service and marketing and business development, and she has served on several local association boards.

“I am fortunate to be joining such a respected company that is community-oriented and offers top-quality banking products and services,” England said in the Thursday afternoon press release. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves Oak Ridge Mall TIF, project goes to state

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

The vote was 15-0. Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson was absent.

“I am extremely optimistic about this,” said Anderson County Commission Vice Chair Robin Biloski, an Oak Ridge resident.

It’s the fifth unanimous or near-unanimous vote on the project in less than a month. The tax increment financing, or TIF, had also been approved with no opposition, but with one abstention, by the Oak Ridge City Council, and it had also been endorsed with no opposition by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County budget and operations committees. [Read more…]

ORNL wins 14 marketing, communications awards

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The Association of Marketing and Communication announced last week that Oak Ridge National Laboratory won eight platinum and six gold awards in its annual international competition.

The competition recognizes “outstanding creative achievement by marketing and communication professionals” and drew more than 6,500 entries, according to a MarCom release.

“Our designers, writers, and editors take great care in explaining and promoting ORNL’s contributions to scientific discovery, clean energy, and national security,” said David Keim, ORNL’s director of communications. “We hope this recognition draws more attention to the significant science our researchers and partners are conducting at ORNL.” [Read more…]

Council considers smaller ORCVB contract

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council has already agreed to cut funding for the city’s main tourism organization by 25 percent under the budget approved in May.

On Monday, Council members will officially consider a one-year contract for the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau that would set funding at a maximum of $300,000, down from $410,000 last year. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber will lay off some workers, Economic Partnership to become dormant

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Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will lay off some employees, and its support corporation, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, will become dormant.

Its funding has been cut, and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is laying off some employees, an official said Monday.

It will be a smaller organization, and the Chamber’s support corporation, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, will become dormant, its work absorbed by the Chamber, said Parker Hardy, president and chief executive officer of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Hardy declined to name the employees who will be laid off or say how many workers might be affected, although he said the information could be shared later. [Read more…]

Roane Chamber and SBDC announce business entrepreneur workshops

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The Roane County Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College have joined together to offer three free workshops for entrepreneurs who are considering or have recently started their own business.

The two-hour workshops are scheduled for March 7, March 21, and April 11, from 1-3 p.m. at The Roane Alliance.

[Read more…]

Guest column: Changing the economic development game in Oak Ridge

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There’s no nice way to spin it: The results of our city’s bad decisions for the past decade are catching up with us.

In addition to having high debt and property taxes, our sales tax revenues continue to decline, we are exporting more than $727 million per year in U.S. Department of Energy payroll (1), and we have a comparatively stagnant population growth. Even with all the new restaurants opening, these projects won’t fully replace the revenue we’ve lost from the countless businesses that have closed up shop or left town for greener pastures.

Continuing down this path is not an option. Thankfully, our city manager understands this and wants to strategize a more competitive position for Oak Ridge. He is proposing that we change our approach to economic development (2) by finding other uses for the $1-2 million we’ve been spending annually on nearly 20 different external organizations like the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

[Read more…]