Six to join Chamber of Commerce board February 6
Six community leaders will be officially installed as directors of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce during its 33rd annual banquet February 6, at Carson-Newman University’s Stokely Cafeteria.
Five of the new directors will begin new three-year terms on the 15-member board, while the other will fill out an unexpired term. New directors include Kenneth W. Davis, Ed Franklin, David Longmire, Colin McRae, Sally Meredith, and Ben Strand, Jr.
New officers will also take office at the annual banquet, led by Trevor Hodgson, who will serve as chairman in 2015. The meeting will also include a report from outgoing chairman Tommy Bible on the Chamber’s work in the past year; presentation of special awards, including the Jefferson Countian of the Year; and remarks by guest speaker Vallie Collins, a passenger on US Airways Flight 1549 that landed safely in New York’s Hudson River in 2009.
Following are biographical sketches of each of the new directors:
• Kenneth W. Davis is Assistant Director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and former police chief of Jefferson City.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina, and recently completed his Ph.D. in Public Safety from Capella University, graduating with distinction. His dissertation researched juvenile fire-setting behavior.
He has a long and distinguished career in law enforcement, serving as a criminal investigator with the U.S. Customs Service, a special agent with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, a federal air marshal, criminal investigations commander with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, and chief of police in Mullins, South Carolina. He is also a nationally-certified fire and explosion investigator, having investigated over 1,800 fire scenes.
Davis has also instructed and consulted on public safety topics for the last eight years with several colleges and universities.
• Ed Franklin is a partner and owner of Franklin Realty in Dandridge, along with his wife, Tammy.
He has spent the last 43 years in the Jefferson County area, in a career that has included banking, finance and for the last 23 years, real estate.
He arrived in this area in 1972 after serving two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army, 1st Air Calvary, as a search and destroy field demolition specialist. Marriage and the Appalachian Trail were the two factors that brought him to East Tennessee.
He initially worked in small shop financial offices, and then worked for 18 years at Jefferson County Bank – predecessor to First Tennessee Bank in Dandridge – primarily as a lending officer. Always active in his community, Ed has been involved with numerous charity and church organizations, and in earlier years coached youth sports.
His two daughters, Melissa and Carrie, are graduates of Jefferson County High School, and both still live and work in the area. He is also step-father to Tammy’s son, Zach.
• David Longmire serves as Jefferson County’s Director of Facilities and Safety, working out of the office of the County Mayor.
Born in Tribune, Kansas, David’s family moved back to Tennessee in 1963. His first job was at Berkline in Morristown, and then later at Jeffery Chain Manufacturer. He found his real passion when at the urging of Paul Jarnagin, owner of Jarnagin Motor Company in Rutledge, he went to work in retail automobile sales. David worked there for 15 years and was instrumental in the dealership winning Ford Motor Company’s Coveted President’s Award for seven years in a row.
David is a member of Jefferson City Assembly of God where he serves as a Board Member and Praise and Worship Leader. David’s wife Nancy is employed at First Peoples Bank. They have one daughter, Amy (Eddie) Hogsten and two grandchildren, Ezekiel and Sawyer.
David and Nancy have now lived in Jefferson County for the past 13 years. He has a wide array of interests, including racing, car shows, and traveling.
• Colin McRae is Chief Executive Officer of Jefferson Memorial Hospital, a position he has held since January 2013.
A native of North Carolina, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from East Carolina University, and a Master’s of Healthcare Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia.
During graduate school, Colin was recruited by Hospital Corporation of America, headquartered in Nashville. After completing an internship with HCA in Houston, Texas, McRae was selected to participate in the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Development Program. At the age of 28, he received his first COO position while living in Houston. After four years, he was given the opportunity to lead the integration and financial turnaround of a newly-acquired hospital in Largo, Florida.
In 2012, McRae was recruited by the parent company of Tennova Healthcare to become the COO at Physician’s Regional Medical Center in Knoxville. A year later, he came to Jefferson Memorial.
In addition to the Chamber, Colin is also a board member for Habitat for Humanity of Jefferson County, and Jefferson County EMS. He lives in Dandridge with his wife Jodi, and sons Aidan and William. The McRaes are members of First Presbyterian Church, Jefferson City.
• Sally Meredith is the assistant principal at Rush Strong School in Strawberry Plains.
A native of Jefferson City, she has worked for Jefferson County Schools for 17 years. Meredith is a graduate of Jefferson County High School, and holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is currently pursuing her EdS in Instructional Leadership at Lincoln Memorial University.
Meredith is a member of Jefferson County Education Association, Tennessee Education Association, and the National Education Association. Sally was awarded the district Teacher of the Year (grades 5-8) in 2013, and has served as a Common Core Coach for the Tennessee Department of Education.
Sally and her family attend Arrowhead Church in Morristown.
• Ben Strand, Jr. is currently of Counsel in the law firm of O’Neal Parker & Williamson of Knoxville and Dandridge. He recently served as Interim Executive Vice-President of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
Judge Strand practiced law in the firm of Strand and Goddard in Dandridge for many years, served as Circuit Judge (1975-1976) and recently retired after 16 years as General Sessions, Juvenile and Probate Judge for Jefferson County. For many years he also was an Adjunct Professor or Associate Professor in the College of Business at Carson Newman University.
Strand is a graduate of Maury High School, Carson-Newman College, the University of Tennessee College of Business, and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Judge Strand has served as a member of the Jefferson County School Commission and as a County Commissioner.
He has received the McCain-Abernathy Award for his legislative skills from the Tennessee Juvenile and Family Judges, and was co-recipient of the first Leon Ruben Award for an outstanding Judge from the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference.
He served from 1958 to 1963 in the Tennessee Air Force National Guard.
He and his wife, Louisa Woodard Strand, are the parents of three children: Meg Strand of Rutherford County; Trey Strand of Dandridge and Craig Strand, an attorney in Knoxville. He has one grandson, Aiden Christopher Strand.
Strand has attended First Baptist Church Dandridge since 1944 where he has served as Deacon, Trustee, and Sunday School Teacher. He has also served on the building, finance and pastor search committees.
By Dale Gentry – The Standard Banner Publisher | Thursday, January 29, 2015
532 Patriot Drive | PO Box 890
Dandridge, TN 37725
Phone: 865-397-9642
Email: info@jeffersoncountytennessee.com
http://www.jeffersoncountytennessee.com/
Click link to view 2015 Chamber Board of Directors