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.
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 East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists.
The 2008 Front Page Follies will laud “The Sunshine Boys,” News Sentinel editor Jack McElroy and First Amendment attorney Richard Hollow, for their pursuit of justice after Knox County Commission plunged our area into darkness with backroom deals on January 31, 2007, dubbed “Black Wednesday.”
Maybe not as funny as George Burns and Walter Matthau in the acclaimed 1975 movie or earlier Neil Simon play, McElroy and Hollow made an even bigger impact on the lives of area citizens, who have a more open government as a result of the decision upholding the Sunshine Law.
What will be hilarious, however, are the performances of the Follies cast, led by director Carol Zinavage. Some examples of song parodies now being rehearsed are: “Sunshine in our meetings --makes us nervous….” (to the tune ‘Sunshine on My Shoulders’); City Council members singing “Thank God We’re Not County Boys” (to the tune of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”); “The Ballad of Pat Head Summitt,” with apologies to Davy Crockett: “… learned how to stare when she was only three….;” and “Bubba Shot the Red Light….”
This year the 30th annual Follies will also honor the Nine Citizens who joined the legal action, represented by Herb Moncier. The gridiron show is organized by the East Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The Front Page Follies will be staged at the Knoxville Convention Center with dinner, auction and show on July 19, 2008. Tables of ten at $1,000 will receive preferential seating in the order payment is received. Proceeds from ticket sales go to an endowment fund for scholarships for journalism and broadcasting students at UT, and for a scholarship at Pellissippi State Technical Community College.
To purchase tickets, please send a check payable to “University of Tennessee” with FPF in the memo line to: Front Page Follies, 1345 Circle Park, 302 Communications Building, Knoxville TN 37996. For credit card payment (Visa, MC and Discover), please call Jennifer Horner at the UT Development Office: 974-7073 or e-mail her at jhorner@utk.edu. For additional information, please e-mail: etspj.communications@gmail.com or see our Web site: www.etspj.org.
Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) commissioner Gerald Nicely feels SmartFIX40 is going as well as can be expected. He says the project’s success can be attributed to everyone in the region and he offered his appreciation to the Knoxville community and to those in attendance at a recent Premier Partner breakfast.
“TDOT wouldn’t have been able to get this project off to the great start it’s off to without the support we’ve received from city of Knoxville officials, Knox County officials, the Knoxville business community, and local citizens,” he said.
Commissioner Nicely credited the organization’s community and outreach team for its extensive public awareness campaign that helped educate citizens about impending changes.
“In order for projects as large as these to be successful, you have to have a major public outreach program in place,” said Nicely. “Quite frankly, I think people in this area are sick of hearing about the changes.”
But that’s good. It means that the public is well aware of the project and how to travel to and through downtown Knoxville.
Bell and Associates Construction, L.P., sponsored the breakfast. Bell is overseeing the reconstruction project, the largest project in the state’s history.
“One of our main objectives when we began looking into construction companies to complete the project was making sure we had a construction team capable of doing the job,” Nicely said. “I think Bell and Associates very well may finish ahead of schedule due to the extensive preliminary work completed.”
The SmartFIX40 project, with its shutdown of two and a half miles of interstate 40 in downtown Knoxville, is expected to save two to three years of construction compared to traditional projects. The entire project entails road improvements to Hall of Fame Drive and I-40, the reconfiguring of James White Parkway, the addition of new interchanges and exit ramps, and the widening of I-40 from four lanes to six.
In addition to updating members of the Chamber on reconstruction efforts, Nicely addressed state allocated funds for TDOT that have been cut $237.7 million since December 2005. Stagnating state revenues and increasing costs, about three times revenue, are to blame. Nicely says TDOT will look into the use of toll roads throughout the state as potential remedies. The proposed “Orange Route” beltway that would connect interstate 75 (I-75) southwest of Knoxville with I-75 north of the city would be a candidate. Without a toll system the project would take 25 years to complete. Making it a toll road would allow for completion in seven to eight years.
“We are going to have to find new ways of financing our infrastructure, somehow, some way,” Nicely said. “There are 20,000 plus bridges in Tennessee that are continually aging. We are at work on studying options for alternative financing.”
Commissioner Nicely did report, however, the state is positioned better than most states because it is not in debt.
Mike Edwards, president and CEO of the Chamber, said that East Tennessee’s interstate system needs to be developed and maintained properly.
“It is very important that this region capitalizes on the fact that I-40, I-75, and I-81 converge here,” Edwards said at the event. “The interstates offer businesses the ability to conveniently ship goods and serve clients. There are cities and locations that would love to have a location similar to ours.”
To find out more about Premier Partner events, contact Michelle Kiely at 865.637.4550
Gregg Morton, President of AT&T Tennessee told a group of Chamber Premier Partner members about the changing landscape of the communications industry Thursday at the Knoxville Chamber office.
He said that his company is responding to the changing market by expanding existing services and by looking into new ways to connect customers to the information and entertainment that they want.
One example of this is a new option in video that would compete with cable television. He said that their program would be "cooler than cable" because of additional features such as interactivity and multiple-program DVR.
Here is the PowerPoint presentation that he gave to the Premier Partners.
University of Tennessee President John Petersen and James Haslam II, Chairman of Pilot Corp., are among the most influential Tennesseans, according to a Power100 list released by Business TN Magazine.
Other notable East Tennesseans who made the list include entertainer and entrepreneur Dolly Parton, Jim Clayton, founder of Clayton Homes; Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Corp.; Bill Sansom, Chairman and CEO of H.T. Hackney Co.; Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam; and Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt.
While the list includes individuals from many different careers, including politicians, business leaders, entertainers and community icons, they all carry large influence and have deep ties to the local community.
Business TN remarks that this list is unique in that one half of the leaders on this list have remained there for all five years. However, 20 percent of the people on last years list did not return this year.
Note: This release was sent from the University of Tennessee, a Knoxville Chamber member.
With help from the University of Tennessee's Center for Industrial Services and students from the UT Knoxville College of Engineering, a Tennessee tool manufacturer can help its clients make products faster.
Accu-Router Inc., of Morrison, employs 25 people and makes high-speed, computer numerical control (CNC) routers that cut everything from plywood to composite materials. Accu-Router's clients use these routers to mass-produce parts for products such as upholstered furniture, boats and airplanes.
As with any manufacturing process, time is money, and efficiency is top priority. The faster and more accurate the routers can cut, the more products can be produced.
A unique feature of Accu-Router's machines is a high-speed spindle that rotates a cutter at speeds up to 24,000 rpm. The cutter can move through a 1.5-inch-thick wood stack at about 2 feet per second. In doing so, the cutter generates a lot of wood chips and dust, about 18 cubic inches of sawdust per second. Accu-Router wants to continuously remove this debris from the router to ensure a cleaner work environment, to eliminate the risk of frictional heat and flammability of the wood chips, and to improve cutting efficiency.
"The quicker we can get the dust out, the faster we can cut," said Accu-Router President Todd Herzog.
When Accu-Router realized the need for a redesign of some equipment components, Mechanical Design Supervisor Bradley Graves and Director of Engineering John O'Connor turned to UT Center for Industrial Services (CIS) for help.
Bill Wiley and Norma Wilcox of CIS worked with Spivey Douglas and Bill Hamel, head of Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering in UT's College of Engineering (COE), to clarify Accu-Route's needs and to determine available resources. Their analysis and search led to COE's Don Dareing, professor of mechanical engineering.
After visiting Accu-Router, Dareing assigned nine senior engineering students to analyze the router's dust chip collection, router enclosure and tabletop vacuum, and to propose design improvements for each component. Students studying the router enclosure were Steven Bain, Jack Holder, Joakim Werme and Jeremy Whitley. The dust chip collection team consisted of Frank Lord, Josh Mink and Shaan Mohammed, while Jason Coggins and Rahul Patel studied the efficiency of the tabletop vacuum.
Instead of creating a hypothetical, textbook problem for the seniors' capstone design projects, Dareing gave the students Accu-Router's actual problems that needed a time-saving, production-boosting solution.
"It's important that our seniors have exposure to real engineering problems and learn how to apply the analytical skills they've learned in the classroom before entering the professional environment. The situations posed by Accu-Router give our students the opportunity to develop engineering solutions to real industrial problems," Dareing said.
During the Fall 2007 semester, the student teams examined the current Accu-Router equipment and studied factors such as air velocities, ventilation and static charges. They found answers to questions such as "Which air flow and design will vacuum and remove the most wood waste?" and "Which materials are most durable for the enclosure and can withstand the force of flying wood blocks?" With a new design strategy, wood chips could be removed from the cutter area at an air velocity near 650 mph.
Halfway through the semester, the students presented viable design options to Accu-Router. The company was thrilled with the quality of the concepts.
"We have worked with senior project teams from other universities, as well as with summer mechanical engineering interns, and rarely have we seen the first wave of feedback as insightful as what we received from your teams," said O'Connor. "I don't recall any of the projects we have done in the past where the students covered the entire project, from understanding the initial problem to be solved through how it would be manufactured and implemented, while considering cost and maintainability."
In December, the students met again with Accu-Router, which accepted the students' design proposals and agreed to move forward with building prototypes of the redesigned equipment components. Some sheet metal fabrication will be completed at UT, and Accu-Router will pay for all costs associated with building the prototypes.
"It's a tremendous benefit for these students to see their design become reality and to work with a manufacturer," Dareing said. "When students get this kind of hands-on experience, they are better prepared for their careers in practical engineering."
"Our seniors are eager to make the transition from a classroom setting to the real engineering environment. Perhaps the biggest improvement in engineering education nationwide is the senior capstone design project requirement. The objective is to prepare seniors to make a quick transition into industry after graduation. Real projects from industry are ideal for this purpose," Dareing said.
"In our program at Tennessee, students create designs during the fall semester, and prototypes are fabricated and tested during the spring semester. In the end, student teams deliver an engineering report and a working prototype. The project concludes with formal presentations to the sponsor. Our engineering students graduate with the confidence that they know how to solve problems."
CIS has taken the resources of UT and other Tennessee Board of Regents schools to Tennessee manufacturers and businesses since 1963.
"While we tend to use engineering resources, we have requests for other types of expertise. This is an opportunity for faculty and students to apply their research to real-life problems," Wiley said.
Wiley is program manager of the Manufacturing Research and Development Institute (MRDI), a partnership between UT CIS and the COE. Through MRDI, faculty, students and advanced research centers help manufacturers tackle a variety of complex engineering problems, giving MRDI clients access to affordable university expertise.
While UT CIS does not compete with private industry on such projects, similar research activities typically cost thousands of dollars. In 2007, UT CIS partially funded and completed 50 projects with faculty and students. The economic impact of these projects from January-September 2007 exceeded $48 million, according to reports from Tennessee manufacturers.
UT CIS is an agency of the statewide UT Institute for Public Service.
"The Accu-Router project is a good example of applying university expertise to benefit Tennessee manufacturers. With research and student and faculty input, Accu-Router will improve its product design and effectively help customers cut wood faster and deliver consumer products in less time," said Mary Jinks, IPS associate vice president.
In addition to Knoxville getting high marks for an individual cities' achievements, Site Selection Magazine has honored Tennessee and Governor Phil Bredesen in its Governor's Cup rankings.
Tennessee had the third highest total of new or expanded capital projects in the previous year in the United States.
Ohio had the most projects, 399, followed by Illinois with 362 and Tennessee with 293.
According to the state's website, Bredesen said, “This is good news for Tennessee, and confirms that our state continues to build on its reputation as one of the most business-friendly states in the country. Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup rankings reflect Tennessee’s commitment to driving economic growth and developing a world class workforce through education and training.”
Rhonda Rice, Executive Vice President of the Knoxville Chamber, told the Knoxville News Sentinel that, "Any time that you can show that your state and your region (are) doing well, it's a great message to sell to other potential companies that might be looking to relocate to the area or that might be considering expansion."
Read the story on the State of Tennessee's economic and community development website.
Knoxville has captured a top-10 ranking for its population in the annual Site Selection Magazine's top metros. The list ranks cities by the number of corporate facility projects during that year.
Tennessee was tied for second place in the list of states with most top metros.
For its population range (200,000 to 1 million), Knoxville was tied for tenth place with Lexington, Ky., with 22 corporate facility projects in 2007.
Nashville was among the top ten in the over-1-million population group. Morristown and Johnson City, Tenn. were both in the top 10 in the under-200,000 population group.
Read the article from Site Selection Magazine about the top metros.
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