Oak Ridge Today

Primetime business networking event Thursday

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CH2M Hill at Primetime

Representatives from Chamber member firm CH2M HILL with the winner of one of many door prizes given away by exhibitors at the Primetime networking event last fall. The spring event will be held Thursday at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has its spring Primetime networking event on Thursday.

This spring’s theme is “Under the Bigtop.” Jugglers, carnival food, and music will all add to the festive environment, a press release said.

The event will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. Primetime is designed to stimulate sales, so anyone—Chamber member or not—is encouraged to attend, the release said. [Read more…]

Franchise expo in Knoxville on Tuesday

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Have you ever thought about owning your own business? Jerry Bird of FranNet, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, and other area organizations are sponsoring a “Meet the Franchisors” event on Wednesday at Rothchild Catering and Conference Center in Knoxville.

Presentations will be made by franchisors looking to expand into Knoxville and the surrounding areas, as well as business experts who can assist in buying and growing a business, a press release said. [Read more…]

Guest column: ORCVB, Chamber funding should be reduced 50-100 percent, festivals outsourced

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Note: This is an edited version of a letter submitted by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn at a March 25 work session.

Mr. Watson and Fellow Council Members:

At our last retreat, I proposed that we each share our specific positions regarding the Economic Diversification Fund. A successful economic development strategy must focus on both retaining and increasing business and residents with a primary goal of establishing a more competitive financial position. For Oak Ridge, that means becoming a more affordable place to live and work. With that in mind, I present my point-by-point response to Mr. Watson’s Eight Point Economic Statement:

1) I support the city manager’s proposal to eliminate this fund and distribute the costs within the general fund if that distribution includes some reduction and/or reallocation of funds to the direct benefit of our taxpayers. Of the $1.4 million we currently spend, I recommend that we attribute half toward a reduction in the property tax rate (the equivalent of 7.7 cents). Such a reduction will benefit every existing and future business and home owner. [Read more…]

Haslam to speak, Trammell to be honored at Chamber of Commerce luncheon

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Gov. Bill Haslam will be the featured speaker at an annual Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday, and the Eugene Joyce Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented posthumously to longtime Chamber board member and volunteer Kerry Trammell.

The Tuesday luncheon is the Chamber’s kickoff ceremony for the 2013 Program of Work. The annual event marks the beginning of the Chamber’s program year, and all Chamber member representatives are encouraged to attend, a press release said. [Read more…]

Seminar for small businesses on federal government contracting

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A Wednesday morning program will help small business owners understand how to do business with the federal government.

It’s presented by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

[Read more…]

Seminar for small, disadvantaged businesses

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A Wednesday program will help entrepreneurs understand certifications for small and disadvantaged businesses.

It’s presented by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services. It’s scheduled from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

[Read more…]

Guest column: Anderson County court, criminal prosecution programs at risk

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Proposals to redistrict Tennessee’s 31 judicial districts may cost Anderson County its full-time judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and their staffs. Proponents want to jumble 15 of Tennessee’s 31 judicial districts containing the state’s 95 counties. The pending proposal would eliminate the 7th Judicial District consisting of Anderson County and combine Anderson, Scott, Union, Campbell, Claiborne, and Fentress counties into a single district. If the move is approved in Nashville, local officials and their offices may be relocated, and many other programs may be terminated.

Currently, Anderson County has a single circuit judge, chancellor, district attorney general, and public defender. All of these offices are located in the county seat in Clinton on a full-time basis. The other counties that are part of the proposed new super-district are headquartered in Scott County in the city of Huntsville, Tenn. It is unclear if redistricting would result in all of Anderson’s current officials relocating to Huntsville. However, what is clear is that under the proposal, Anderson County officials would have duties in other counties, some of them an hour or more away, such as Jamestown, the county seat of Fentress County, located on the Cumberland Plateau bordering Kentucky.

[Read more…]

Guest column: Electronic signs a reality, responsible use should be allowed

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Note: This is a copy of a Jan. 28 letter from the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce that was received by the Municipal Planning Commission during a recent public hearing on electronic signs.

On Aug. 23, 2012, the City’s Community Development Director sent a letter to the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce requesting Development Forum help in clarifying and updating the city’s electronic reader board (moving copy) sign regulations. The Forum first discussed this issue with Community Development staff on Sept. 6 and provided broad feedback associated with issues such as light intensity and the need to incorporate new sign technologies into the city’s regulations. The Chamber remained in contact with city staff, but proposed language was not provided until December.

Since then, the Development Forum and representatives of the Oak Ridge Business Coalition have collaborated in discussions associated with proposed revisions to the city sign ordinance pertaining to reader board signs (moving copy signs). It is our shared opinion that:

[Read more…]

Guest column: The beginning of hopeful change in economic development

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By Pat Fain and Leslie Agron

On a cool Monday evening at a recent Oak Ridge City Council work session, City Manager Mark Watson did something else. He offered the city and the Council a creative and achievable road map to changing the decades-old paradigm that is today’s Oak Ridge. He offered new exciting ideas geared to the 21st century and designed to promote both the fiscal health and the allure of the city.

The focus of the room was total, and one could almost hear the gray cells churning to take it all in. It is really fun to be present at the very beginning of hopeful change. The inertia of the city has been challenged, the status quo has been shaken, and the restlessness of the citizenry has been given a positive direction around which to coalesce.

[Read more…]

North Carolina company signs purchase contract on Oak Ridge Mall

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Oak Ridge Mall

An aerial view of the Oak Ridge Mall, which has been renamed the Oak Ridge City Center and is pictured at center in the photo above.

A North Carolina company has signed a contract to purchase the Oak Ridge Mall.

Crosland Southeast, a development and investment company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., signed a contract in late January to buy the mostly empty mall from Oak Ridge City Center LLC, according to a Wednesday morning press release from the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

“We feel the Oak Ridge market is under-served in terms of retail and feel very positive about the retailers we believe we can bring to this new center,” Crosland Southeast partner Tim Sittema said in a Wednesday morning press release from the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

A sale price for the roughly 60-acre site in the heart of Oak Ridge has not yet been disclosed, but it would become public after the deal closes.

“In my book, this is one of the most exciting days I’ve had here in a decade at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce,” said Parker Hardy, president of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. “This is a big deal.”

[Read more…]

Primetime networking event
 at Chamber of Commerce set for April 18

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Parker Hardy at Primetime

Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce President Parker Hardy cooks hot dogs at a Primetime business-to-business exposition in October 2011.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will have its spring Primetime networking event on April 18.

Held twice a year, Primetime is the Chamber’s top networking event of the year, a press release said. It allows Chamber members to meet and talk to each other and also allows members of the public to come by and see what area businesses have to offer.

This spring’s Primetime event is titled “Under the Big Top,” and it will have a circus theme, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for Pugh and Co.

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has organized a Tuesday morning open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony for Pugh and Co., certified public accountants and public advisers.

The ceremony is scheduled from 9-10 a.m. Tuesday at Pugh and Co., which is in the Jackson Plaza, Suite A-404, 800 Oak Ridge Turnpike.