Knoxville Biz Ticker: Labor of Love Effort Offers New Home to Twelve Residents
Labor of Love Effort Offers New Home to Twelve Residents
Knoxville, Tenn. (December 19, 2022) – Sertoma Center Inc. has completed an innovative conversion project that transformed a former group home near downtown Knoxville to a modern triplex, offering a new home to twelve Knoxville residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
According to Lee Freeman, CEO at Sertoma, changes to the Home and Community-Based Settings rule by the State of Tennessee prompted the conversion, which was adopted as a project under Sertoma’s ongoing Labor of Love campaign and provides supportive housing to low income individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Freeman explains Sertoma’s effort to convert the group home into a duplex satisfies the regulatory issue by licensing each housing unit of the triplex as a unique four-bedroom home, while still enabling the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to subsidize all 12 beds under the single roof and offering an affordable housing option to the people served by Sertoma.
“The conversion of this group home to a triplex was critically important,” said Freeman. “Not only does it enable Sertoma to provide affordable housing for 12 individuals, but our organization also found a creative solution to the regulatory issue. HUD embraces our model and speaks to other agencies facing the same challenges about this unique solution. Sertoma is very pleased to welcome our 12 friends to their new home on Groner Drive.”
Freeman says this renovation is the last group home to be converted into a more livable and well-appointed home.
“The partnership between Sertoma and Mike Stevens Homes has not only created four new duplexes and remolded four others, but it has helped build $6.4 million in Sertoma assets, saved more than $1 million in building costs, and – most importantly - has impacted the lives of 60 individuals served by delivering to them a brand new ‘Forever Home’.”
Freeman says Sertoma will host a grand opening at 1136 Groner Ave, Knoxville, Tenn. 37915 on Friday, Jan. 13th, 2023.
About Sertoma
Sertoma and its team of employees provide opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve their fullest potential through residential experiences, community interactions, employment, and job skills training. Serving 130 individuals, Sertoma is dedicated to offering the highest quality residential, vocational and social services to the people they are proud to serve. To learn more, visit: www.sertoma.com.
South College launches Associate of Science in Nursing program upon approval by Tennessee Board of Nursing
The South College campuses in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee are launching an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) program upon approval by the Tennessee Board of Nursing.
This is the first ASN program to launch for the institution which is offered through campus instruction over seven quarters. Students work to build a strong academic foundation and learn fundamental skills required of a nurse generalist, including the basics of medical care, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and technical competence required for taking the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) exam.
“South College remains in tune with the great needs throughout healthcare fields for trained and qualified practitioners and is committed to launching relevant programs such as the Associate of Science in Nursing to have a positive impact on healthcare education,” South College Chancellor Stephen A. South said. “The ASN program opens the door for students to enter the field faster, which saves both time and money while pursuing a degree.”
The prerequisite courses for the new Associate of Science in Nursing program are scheduled to start in January 2023 in Knoxville and Nashville, and enrollment is now open. Upon completion, graduates may continue their education by pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Nursing RN to BSN option.
South College offers multiple healthcare programs from certificate to doctoral levels across several disciplines. South College students who qualify for financial aid have access to a range of programs as do members of the U.S. military, veterans, and their families. The institution offers both student and career services.
For more information about South College, please call the Knoxville campus at 865-251-1800 or the Nashville campus at 629-802-3000 or visit south.edu.
About South College
South College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award degrees at the doctorate, educational specialist, master’s, baccalaureate, and associate levels, as well as certificates. Questions about the accreditation of South College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (sacscoc.org).
KCDC, Matter Health open wellness center for Cagle Terrace residents
Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC) has partnered with Matter Health to provide high-quality, on-site primary care for elderly and disabled residents at its Cagle Terrace property.
The recently opened wellness center provides convenient access to physical and mental health and lifestyle support. It also includes a patient lounge, consultation and virtual health room, and an exam room. Matter Health previously has opened similar centers at KCDC’s Isabella Towers and Northgate Terrace. A fourth center is planned for Love Towers to open in 2023.
“Being able to place a wellness center onsite is ideal,” KCDC Executive Director and CEO Ben Bentley said. “Our partnership with Matter Health has been beneficial to the quality of life and peace of mind for residents. Convenient access to medical care is especially important for an aging population, those without personal transportation and anyone who needs additional assistance with access.”
Matter Health’s new wellness center at Cagle Terrace will be the company’s 11th in the state and the fourth in East Tennessee. It is staffed with a full-time provider and a medical assistant, and amenities and services are available to all Cagle Terrace residents.
“Our partnership with KCDC allows residents in affordable housing to have readily available access to health care,” said Austin Sohr, president and co-founder of Matter Health. “We appreciate KCDC recognizing the benefit for its residents and working with us to have on-site and high-quality medical care at residential communities.”
Cagle Terrace, located at 515 Renford Road in West Knoxville, has two high-rise buildings for elderly residents age 62 and over and disabled people.
In conjunction with the opening of the center, KCDC celebrated a $6.2 million renovation of 274 units at Cagle Terrace, including the addition of 14 ADA units with accessible kitchens and bathrooms, roll-in showers and accessible shelf space. The renovations included new cabinets, flooring, water heaters, appliances, doors, locks and emergency call system, along with improvements to social areas, common restrooms and exterior spaces.
About Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation
Since 1936, KCDC has been dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for the citizens of Knoxville. KCDC’s mission is to improve and transform neighborhoods and communities by providing high-quality affordable housing, advancing development initiatives and fostering self-sufficiency. For more information, call 865-403-1100 or visit kcdc.org.
About Matter Health
Nashville-based Matter Health brings primary care services directly to affordable living communities by building on-site clinics that offer a personalized, holistic, and high touch approach to the patient/provider relationship. The Matter preventative care model focuses on improving the physical, mental, and social needs of dual-eligible patients with the goal of increasing long-term health while reducing costs. For more information, call 615-570-2330 or visit matterhealthcare.com.
Trillium announces close of Series A financing, raising $10.6 million
Knoxville, Tenn.-- Trillium Renewable Chemicals (www.trilliumchemicals.com) announced today it has raised a $10.6M Series A financing round. The first closing totaled $5.5M and was led by Hyosung Advanced Materials Corporation. Current investor Capricorn Partners also participated. HELM AG has agreed to join the Series A round to bring the total to $10.6M. This funding builds on the company’s non-dilutive award of $2.5M from the US Department of Energy. Following a successful pilot program, the funding advances Trillium to the next phase of commercialization – the construction and operation of a market demonstration unit.
Trillium’s innovative Bio-ACNTM process sustainably converts plant-based feedstocks into valuable chemicals like acrylonitrile and acetonitrile. Acrylonitrile is currently manufactured from oil and gas derivatives to make a diverse range of consumer and industrial goods including carbon fiber, plastic, textiles, flocculant, synthetic rubber, and other valuable materials. These materials are used in finished products such as apparel, auto parts, aerospace parts, medical gloves, toys, consumer electronics, personal care products, sporting goods, and water treatment chemicals.
Young Joon Lee, Vice President at Hyosung, said: “We are excited to be a partner with TRC for this innovative technology development and the commercialization pathway. Sustainability is at the heart of Hyosung’s future growth strategy, and we firmly believe that our strong partnership will take us to the next level of industry leadership in renewable chemicals space.”
Andreas Woschek, Executive Vice President at HELM AG, said: “HELM is highly committed to grow its chemical business via sustainable solutions. Our engagement in Trillium marks another milestone in delivering tangible actions via our sustainability strategy. The combined skillsets of the partners supporting Trillium now provides an exciting opportunity to commercialize the innovation of bio-based, low carbon Acrylonitrile to the market.”
"Demonstrating our technology at scale is job one,” said Corey Tyree, CEO of Trillium. “Financial backing from HELM AG and Hyosung advances Trillium to demonstration scale. The addition of strategic investors also validates our technology and our potential. With funding from quality partners, we can realize our potential to become a leading producer of renewable chemicals.”
Rob van der Meij and Wouter van de Putte from the Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, managed by Capricorn Partners, and Board Member of Trillium added: “It is great to have such constructive co-investors that bring significant value to the company for the scale up and market introduction.”
Loretta Cravens assumes the Presidency of the Knoxville Bar Association
The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) held its Annual Meeting on Friday, December 9, 2022. The President's gavel was passed from Jason H. Long, a member of Lewis Thomason, P.C., to Loretta G. Cravens of Cravens Legal.
President Long thanked his fellow board members for their support and recognized the KBA staff for their dedication to East Tennessee attorneys. Incoming President Loretta Cravens thanked Mr. Long for his service to the Association, which included conducting judicial candidate member surveys and releasing a DEI Strategic Inclusion Plan. The Association celebrated a return to in-person events with law students, attorneys, and judges gathering at the first-ever Bench-Bar Celebration, a Wellness Conference, and the award-winning Law Practice Today Expo.
In her remarks, Ms. Cravens thanked the members for their continued committed service to the KBA and the people of our community in need of legal services. She announced that during 2023, the KBA would place an emphasis on servant leadership, civility in public discourse, and equipping members with the tools, resources, and professional development needed to serve their clients. She emphasized the importance of attorney involvement in their local bar association’s activities and the need to mentor newly admitted attorneys and law students who are going to be the providers of legal services to our community in the future.
During the meeting, the following KBA members were elected as officers for 2023:
President-Elect - Carlos A. Yunsan, Tennessee Appellate Courts
Treasurer – Jonathan D. Cooper, Knox Defense
Secretary – Rachel Park Hurt, Arnett, Draper & Hagood
The membership elected the following KBA members to the four open positions on the Board of Governors:
T. Mitchell Panter, Lewis Thomason, P.C.
Samantha Parris, Law Office of Samantha Parris
Courtney Epps Read, Watson Roach Batson & Lauderback
Hon. E. Jerome Melson, Knox Co. Circuit Court, Division I
Elizabeth B. Ford was presented the KBA's highest award, the prestigious Governors' Award, which is given annually to a lawyer whose peers believe has brought distinction and honor to the legal profession. Ms. Ford has distinguished herself with a long and tremendous career of service to the bar and the community, including serving as the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Hon. Steven W. Sword was presented with the Judicial Excellence Award. The award was created in 2022 to recognize a judge felt by the Association to represent the very best in a judicial officer.
The President’s Award for 2022 was presented to Brooklyn Sawyers Belk for her work as Chair of the Strategic Inclusion Plan subcommittee of the KBA’s Diversity in the Profession Committee. The award for outstanding writing was presented to John E. Eldridge for his series of articles “Lesson Learned: Reflections from a Retiring Lawyer,” which appeared in the January through October issues of the KBA monthly magazine DICTA.
It was announced that Hon. Zachary Walden, Eighth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge, became President of the Knoxville Barristers, the Young Lawyers Division of the KBA, at the elections on December 7. The following were elected as Barristers Officers: Charles S.J. Sharett, Vice President; Jimmy Snodgrass, Secretary/Treasurer; and Matt Knable and Isaac Westling, Members-at-Large. It was also announced that Grant Williamson and Mariel Bough, Co-Chairs of the Diversity Committee, were presented with the Barristers' Presidents' Award for 2022.
Ms. Cravens graduated magna cum laude from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee in 2000 receiving a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. In 2004, Ms. Cravens received her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, Tennessee where she received the Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions to the Law School. She worked at Eldridge & Blakney, P.C. for eleven years before opening Cravens Legal in 2017. Ms. Cravens practices primarily in the areas of State and Federal criminal defense, representing clients under investigation for or charged with a misdemeanor to felony offenses and White-Collar matters. She also practices Health Care Law focusing on compliance, administrative, criminal investigations, and small business disputes. Ms. Cravens is admitted to practice in all Tennessee State Courts, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Ms. Cravens is a fellow of the American Bar Association. She served as President of the Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women in 2020-21, President of the East Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women in 2018, was a member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Leadership Law Class of 2012, and has been on the KBA Board of Governors since 2018, including serving as Secretary, Treasurer, and President-Elect.
About the Knoxville Bar Association
The Knoxville Bar Association is a non-profit corporation organized to work for the improvement and increased effectiveness of the legal profession and the administration of justice. The Association, which has 1,839 members, offers continuing legal education and service to the community through programs such as the Lawyer Referral & Information Service, Legal Advice Clinics and LawLine OnLine. Additional public service information may be found at the Association's website at www.knoxbar.org.
Centriworks selected as a 2022 ENX Magazine Elite Deal
Toluca Lake, CA: ENX Magazine announced that Centriworks was among the 123 nation's top office technology dealerships chosen this year as a 2022 Elite Dealer. Centriworks is a multi-year winner.
Each year, ENX Magazine judges Elite Dealer applicants on a number of criteria, from technical service excellence to marketing proficiency, growth initiatives, technology leadership, industry accolades, and community philanthropic support. Those dealers chosen are profiled in the December issue of ENX Magazine.
"We were ecstatic to be again selected as an Elite Dealer by ENX Magazine," said J. Mark DeNicola, chief strategy officer and chief financial officer of Centriworks. "We work hard to be the best we can be and create a great experience for our clients and team members."
"This year's roster of Elite Dealers is a testament to the courage, vision, determination and, most of all, leadership demonstrated in support of outstanding customer service in the face of substantial business challenges," said Susan Neimes, publisher and managing editor of ENX Magazine and ENX The Week In Imaging. "They have done a yeoman's job of proffering adaptable solutions to a fragmented, hybrid end-user community and are always on the hunt for new tools that can better serve their evolving needs. While the stakes have never been higher, our Elite Dealers ensure their personnel are equipped to deliver on their corporate mission, and that means creating a culture of excellence."
About ENX Magazine
ENX Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to the office technology and document imaging industry since 1994. Now in its 29th year, ENX Magazine continues to deliver exclusive editorial coverage on market opportunities and issues, news and trends, company profiles, new products, and industry insights.
About Centriworks
Centriworks is East Tennessee's largest business technology company offering Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity, IT Consulting & Software, VOIP Phones, and Hardware to enable clients to focus on their core business. Now in its 59th year, the company has more than 60 employees at Knoxville and Johnson City offices. For Centriworks' complete range of products and services, visit www.centriworks.com.
Twende Accelerator Applications open across Tennessee with revamped programming to include new supplier diversity initiative
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 29, 2022) – The Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC) today announced that Twende, its 9-month statewide accelerator program with world-class B2B curriculum, coaching, community, and supplier diversity connections launched by the EC specifically for entrepreneurs that identify as Black and Latino, has officially opened its 2023 cohort for applications. This year, the Twende Accelerator revamped its programming to include a new supplier diversity component that connects stakeholders and procurement leaders with diverse entrepreneurs across Tennessee. Enrollment for theTwende Accelerator is open from Nov. 25, 2022, through Dec. 30, 2022.
"There are more than 110,000 firms owned by Black & Brown founders across Tennessee. However, these businesses tend to start smaller and stay smaller (averaging only $19,800 annually) than their peer non-minority-owned firms," said Brittany N. Cole, Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer of the EC. "We know that supplier diversity is critical for scaling Black and brown-owned businesses and advancing economic equity. Corporations and our federal and local government have pledged billions of dollars in annual spend to diverse businesses with initiatives to only increase this spending year over year. We want to ensure our Twende founders are prepared and positioned to land these five, six, and seven-figure deals."
In 2019, Nashville Entrepreneur Center launched Twende, which translates to "let's go" in Kiswahili, as a call to action for local entrepreneurs of color to join a program with coaching, curriculum, access to capital and community that meets their unique needs. In 2021, Twende received funding from the State of Tennessee to expand statewide. To date, the program includes entrepreneurs across 12 counties in industries such as tech, consumer goods, healthcare, professional services and hospitality, and has become one of Tennessee's leading solutions for growing diverse-owned businesses.
Twende is open to entrepreneurs who identify as a racial or ethnic minority in a U.S. context, are a CEO or co-founder of an existing business that is scaling its operations, have up to $75,000 in annual revenue, and seek to join a supportive, collaborative community committed to transforming Tennessee’s minority-owned business landscape.
To learn more about how to enroll for Twende, visit twendeaccelerator.co
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Labor of Love Effort Offers New Home to Twelve Residents
