NOTE: The following is a release for the movie Built for the People,

The only movie in history that can claim a U.S. President as its producer is the movie event of the year—and it’s premiering in Knoxville, Tennessee, with free public showings on Tuesday, September 30 and Wednesday, October 1.

Built for the People – the story of the Tennessee Valley and the Tennessee Valley Authority – is a story that began when President Franklin D. Roosevelt created TVA, mobilizing an entire nation into action to lift the South out of the grips of the Great Depression. It’s a story that shows how the people of the Tennessee Valley, living in a land ravaged by flood, found their salvation in water and ushered in the Atomic Age.

It’s a story so momentous President Roosevelt called it “one of the great social and economic achievements of the United States,” and, 75 years later, Academy Award® nominated directors Sean and Andrea Nix Fine are bringing that story to the big screen for everyone to see.

“This film is a story told through the eyes and experience of the people who helped make FDR’s vision for the Valley a reality,” said Sean Fine. “It’s a story about the fortitude of the human will, made more powerful because we have this amazing backdrop—the Tennessee Valley—to weave in and out of the story.”

According to Bob Steffy, Executive Director of Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated, the film’s producer in concert with Documentary Channel®, this is a must-see movie for anyone who lives in the Tennessee Valley. “We’re excited about premiering Built for the People to the residents of Knoxville. The film is a tribute to the people of this community—and many thousands more across the Valley—who dedicated their lives to working with TVA to change the course of history,” says Steffy.

And, because that change did not come easily, BVI, which also financed the production, hopes this film will inspire, inform, engage and educate new generations about the sacrifices made to turn around the Valley’s fortunes.

“In order to tell this story to a new generation,” continues Steffy, “we’ve partnered with Documentary Channel to help us premiere the film at the Tennessee Theatre on Tuesday, September 30, at 7 p.m., and at the Knoxville Museum of Art on Wednesday, October 1, with showings at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (seats for the public screening will be available on a first-come basis). It’s also being televised on Documentary Channel this fall, but we wanted to give everyone a chance to see it on the big screen for free before then.”

BVI is a non-profit organization founded by TVA retirees in 1975. The group conducts a variety of volunteer activities such as teaching water safety to schoolchildren and staffing visitor centers at various TVA facilities. Through BVI, retirees assist TVA on short-term projects and perform disaster-relief work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

For more information about the film, visit www.builtforthepeople.com.

The following release was sent from the Fort Loudoun Lake Association, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Saturday, September 27th from 10am*—3pm
*Registration and shuttle services between 9:00—9:45am

Paddle from Ned McWherter Park to Sequoyah Hills Park

The Fort Loudoun Lake Association (FLLA) is hosting a Paddle for Clean Water aimed at raising awareness of our valuable resource, Fort Loudoun Lake. All non-motorized boats are welcome!

The cost is $30 per person for pre pre-registration and $35 the day of the event event. There are a limited number of boats available. If you require a boat, you must pre pre-register.

After-paddle activities will take place at Sequoyah Hills Park and will include bands, booths and displays of local groups promoting water quality in East Tennessee, snacks provided by Earth Fare, and more!

FLLA TO PROVIDE:
• Canoes & Kayaks
• Shuttle from Sequoyah Hills Park to boat ramp at Ned McWherter Park
• Snacks, Drinks & Goodie Bags
• Band & Water Quality Display booths to welcome paddlers to Sequoyah Hills Park
• Event T-shirts

PLEASE BRING:
• Boat(s) and life vest(s) if you have your own equipment
• Sunscreen or rain jackets, depending on the weather
• registration fee if you have not already pre-registered

TO PRE-REGISTER:
Send a check payable to the Fort Loudoun Lake Association with “Paddle” in the memo line to:
Fort Loudoun Lake Association
956 Volunteer Landing Lane
Knoxville, TN 37915
We will send you a confirmation receipt.

NOTE: The following release was sent from LMSPI, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Lean Manufacturing Solutions Partnership, Inc. (LMSPI), a Lean Manufacturing Implementation Resource, has launched www.Lean-Results.com.

The new website is a complement to their corporate website and is focused on providing concise information about their experience implementing manufacturing improvement.

“In order to start a dialogue with manufacturing leaders seeking improvement, you have to prove you can produce results,” says Jason Manarchuck, LMSPI’s Director of New Business Development. “Failed Lean implementations are common, and the goal of this website is to suggest an alternative approach and support it with real case studies and with real results.”

The website provides access to publications on Lean, as well as a way to coordinate a plant visit from LMSPI. These visits are attended by a member of LMSPI’s leadership team for the purpose of discussing top business challenges, understanding the current condition through direct observation on the production floor and presenting recommendations for accelerating manufacturing improvements important to overall business success.

LMSPI is a Lean Enterprise Resource passionately focused on their mission to save manufacturing in North America. Established in 2005, LMSPI is headquartered in Knoxville, TN with a regional office in Greenville, SC. LMSPI is currently scheduling no-cost, on site introduction meetings with manufacturing executives in the Upstate for the second half of 2008. For an introduction or to contact LMSPI, please visit www.Lean-Results.com. For corporate information and team background, you are invited to visit www.LMSPI.com.

Note: This release was sent from McKibbon Hotels, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

McKibbon Hotel Management, Inc., based in Tampa, Florida, is pleased to announce that Melanie Cooper has joined the company’s Knoxville cluster sales team as a Sales and Service Coordinator, Special Events Segment at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Knoxville West at Turkey Creek; the Courtyard by Marriott Knoxville Cedar Bluff; the Residence Inn by Marriott Knoxville Cedar Bluff; the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Knoxville at Turkey Creek; and the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Knoxville Cedar Bluff. In her new role, Melanie will handle special events, including weddings, family reunions, church groups and motorcoach tours.

Melanie studied Media Communications at Jimmy Swaggart Bible College, and was valedictorian of her high school graduating class. She previously worked as a financial assistant with Faith Promise Church in Knoxville.

NOTE: The following release is from Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Cathy Fore, director of collaborative initiatives in the University Partnerships Office, ORAU, has been honored for her outstanding contributions to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) community. The recognition came on Tuesday, Sept. 9, during the 2008 National HBCU Week conference, held September 7–10 in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Leonard L. Haynes, executive director, White House Initiative on HBCUs, said Fore’s efforts have caused HBCUs to increase their participation in Oak Ridge relative to the fields of science and technology.

He also said, “Cathy has been a stalwart contributor and important advocate in helping the HBCU community move forward.”

Text Box: Cathy Fore, ORAU University Partnerships Office, was recognized for her advocacy of HBCU partnerships with federal agencies, private industry and other academia.Fore’s role is to create what she terms “smart” partnerships between HBCUs and federal agencies, private industry and other academia.

“As with any business venture, you first seek to understand how the business—in this case HBCUs—can support and complement your strategic mission and then create the right matches,” Fore said. “Since ORAU’s consortium members, customer base, stakeholders and work environment are rich in science and education, it seemed appropriate to establish research and development (R&D) clusters that reflect the research strengths of the HBCUs and other minority educational institutions (MEI). We identified five R&D clusters applicable to the ORAU HBCU/MEI Council of 21 colleges and learned that the colleges have among them 600 patents in those clusters.”

The “bottom line,” she explained, is finding a market niche that capitalizes on education and research innovation strengths.

Fore said that 25 years of working with HBCUs have given her a deep appreciation for the high quality of their faculty and students and the strength of their research in helping to further the national economy and research enterprise.

“What they’ve done historically and are doing for the future of this country makes being recognized by them very humbling,” she said. “I’m just an ordinary person with an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference. My message is simple: collaborate to innovate.”

Oak Ridge Associated Universities is a university consortium leveraging the scientific strength of 99 major research institutions to advance science and education by partnering with national laboratories, government agencies, and private industry.

NOTE: The following was sent from the State of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue and the University of Tennessee - Knoxville will co-sponsor the annual 2008 Tennessee Business Tax Seminar on Thursday, Sept. 18 from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UT Conference Center, located at 600 Henley Street, Suite 400, Knoxville, Tenn., 37902.

This seminar is designed to provide current, in-depth information on Tennessee tax issues. State tax specialists will present recent developments in legislation and discuss various tax types and exemptions including business, sales and use, gift and inheritance, individual income and tangible personal property. A breakout session allows attendees the choice to learn about unemployment tax and unclaimed property or franchise and excise taxes.

Individuals who attend the seminar will be provided with comprehensive materials covering these topics and will have the opportunity to ask questions. Continuing Professional Education (CPE), Continuing Education Unit (CEU) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits may be obtained for these sessions through the sponsoring university. Each seminar has a registration fee. Please visit www.utconferences.com to register and confirm the cost of participating.

Seminars are also offered in Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Cookeville, Clarksville and Johnson City. For more information, please visit www.Tennessee.gov/revenue or call the Tennessee Department of Revenue at (615) 253-0600.

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the department collected $11 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.Tennessee.gov/revenue.

NOTE: This release was sent from the University of Tennessee. An alumni of the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, recently was selected as Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year for 2008. Randy Boyd, president and CEO of Radio Systems Corp., was named the Entrepreneurs Of the Year in the Alabama/Georgia/Tennessee region. As a regional award winner, he is now in competition for the national awards, to be presented in November. Boyd received a bachelor's degree in business administration from UT in 1979. Considered the most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, the Entrepreneur of the Year awards recognize the pioneers and innovators who excel at growing and sustaining market-leading businesses. Twenty-two years ago, Ernst & Young created the Entrepreneur of the Year awards as a way to identify, honor and support outstanding business leaders. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world.

NOTE: This release was sent from the University of Tennessee.

Entrepreneurs who want to win federal grant money for new business projects should plan to attend two separate workshops on grant writing and cost proposals Sept. 10-11 in Chattanooga and Oak Ridge.

Both workshops are being offered by the Tennessee Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Proposal Assistance Center at the UT Center for Industrial Services. The workshops will be led by Jim and Gail Greenwood, nationally recognized consultants who have shared their expertise in SBIR and small business incubators for decades in 48 states and Puerto Rico.

The SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are federal initiatives that provide more than $2 billion in grants and contracts each year to small and start-up companies to develop new or enhanced products and services based on advanced technologies.

"Each year, about 40 percent of SBIR Phase I awards go to firms with no prior SBIR experience, so there are plenty of opportunities to win funding," Jim Greenwood said.

The Tennessee SBIR Proposal Assistance Center is designed to help increase the volume of applicants from Tennessee and to boost the success of proposals from Tennessee entrepreneurs and small businesses.

A grant writing workshop will be offered Sept. 10 in Chattanooga at the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 100 Cherokee Blvd. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The workshop is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Geared toward individuals with small, technology-based businesses, this workshop emphasizes correct writing methods and proper responses to government agency requirements. Participants will learn the basics of preparing a competitive Phase I proposal and will get an overview of basic government accounting principles. Much is learned by critiquing an actual proposal with the Greenwoods during the workshop. Participants also get an appointment for a complimentary critique of their own proposal with the Greenwoods.

A cost proposal workshop will be offered Sept. 11 in Oak Ridge at UT's Glazer Building, 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The workshop is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Participants in the cost proposal workshop will learn to make sense of SBIR/STTR cost proposals; how to develop an Indirect/Facilities and Administrative/General and Administrative rate; how to fill record-keeping requirements; and what to expect from government audits.

Registration for each workshop is $150 and includes continental breakfast and a networking lunch. Online registration for either workshop is available at www.tnsbir.tennessee.edu. For more information, contact Kim Arms at kim.arms@tennessee.edu.

NOTE: This release was sent from Fulghum MacIndoe & Associates.

Inc. today ranked Fulghum MacIndoe & Associates, Inc (FMA) number 2,031 on its annual ranking of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country. The list is the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy – America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Taken as a whole, these companies represent the backbone of the U.S. economy.

“Our second annual Inc. 5000 continues the most ambitious project in business journalism,” said Inc. 5000 Project Manager Jim Melloan. “The Inc. 5000 gives an unrivalled portrait of young, underreported companies across all industries doing fascinating things with cutting-edge business models, as well as older companies that are still showing impressive growth.”

FMA, a Knoxville based firm, was founded in 2003 by Billy Fulghum, P.E. and Mike MacIndoe, P.E. as they set out to create a civil and environmental engineering company that provided more than just the average services. Now over five years later, FMA has established valuable relationships with its clients by demonstrating accountability and responsibility for both deadlines and budgets, and have built an employee culture that shares the same commitments to unmatched customer service.

“I think it is our client-centered approach to business, multi-disciplinary experience, and our professional relationship with individuals, communities, and state agencies throughout the Southeast that has given our young company such rapid success,” says Billy Fulghum, FMA co-owner.

The 5000 companies that made the list reported aggregate revenue of $185 billion and median three-year growth of 147 percent. Most important, the 2008 Inc. 5000 companies were engines of job growth, having created more than 826,033 jobs since those companies were founded. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and a list of the fastest-growing companies that can be sorted by industry and region can be found at http://www.inc5000.com/.

NOTE: This release was sent from Image Matters, a Knoxville Chamber member business.

Image Matters, Knoxville, TN has been named one of the country’s Elite Dealers by OfficeDEALER magazine. The award is presented annually by the magazine to the top office equipment, office products, and office furniture dealers in the U.S.

According to publisher Rich Kunkel, the 110 dealers presented with the prestigious 2008 Elite Dealer awards were selected from a record number of entries.

“It takes something special to stand out as an Elite independent dealer in 2008,” Kunkel said. “Among Elite Dealers, success is not about surviving; it’s about thriving – even in tough economic times.”

A profile of Image Matters is included in the August 2008 issue of OfficeDEALER magazine.

Image Matters was founded in 1999 by Bob Lovelace and JD Sullivan. As one of East Tennessee’s leading provider of state-of-the-art office solutions, the company has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past nine years. The dealership provides a wide range of copier, printer, and software solutions, and is a major supplier of digital office products in East Tennessee.

The Elite Dealer award is based on a company’s superior sales and marketing, dedication to customer service, community involvement and the ability to provide customers with unique and innovative solutions.

For additional information about Image Matters, call 865-212-3600 or visit www.imagemattersinc.com.