VOL. 50, NO. 10 OCTOBER 2015

Celebrating

901925-2015

Years

1986 a ‘banner year’ for the Chamber of CommerceUnder the leadership of Chairman of the Board Dale Hughes, then owner of the Holiday Inn, the quality of life in Cleveland was “greatly enhanced” in 1986. According to Hughes, the board of directors was “talented and task-oriented.” The Economic Council made many acquisitions and were aggressive in bringing industry to Bradley County and Cleveland. Among the acquisitions and expansions during 1986 were Cleveland Chair Company, American Analytical Laboratories, Maycor, United Knitting, United Parcel Services, Cleveland Bank and Trust (a new branch), Cleveland Eye Clinic, the Cleveland Public Library, Developmental Enterprises (a subsidiary of Life Care), Royal Care and Wal-Mart.

Mall site for business EXPOThe annual PrimeTime Business EXPO will take place Thursday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bradley Square Mall.

“You spoke, and we listened,” Aaron Weatherford, membership director, said about the move to the mall and the extension of the time for displaying products and services.

The Cleveland/Bradley County business community is diverse, yet many citizens do not realize how many kinds of businesses and industries exist here.

“The EXPO is a great opportunity to introduce the community to those businesses that ensure our continued economic well-being,” Weatherford said.

The cost per display table is $150. Limited sponsorship opportunities are also available.

To reserve a display space or for sponsorship details, contact Aaron Weatherford at 423-472-6587 or aweatherford@clevelandchamber.com.

Let’s celebrate!We’re having a party!

To acknowledge 190 years of service to the community,

the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce, Cleveland

Associated Industries and Junior Achievement of the Ocoee

Region will come together at the Cleveland Country Club on

Friday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p.m. for a time of celebration.

Because the membership and volunteers of all three

organizations overlap, leaders opted to combine the

anniversary into one celebration.

“The mission of these community-based organizations is

similar—service,” explained Lisa Pickel, executive director of

Cleveland Associated Industries and celebration organizer.

“These milestone anniversaries give us a special reason to

celebrate.”

Founded in October 1925 and celebrating 90

years of community service, the Chamber

of Commerce focused its early years on

sales promotion, credit rating, publicity

continued on page 2

CAI remains committed to the local community and to the

promotion of manufacturing.

Junior Achievement, also celebrating 50 years, has been

serving Bradley, McMinn, Polk,

Meigs and Monroe counties

since 1965. JA’s mission is to

empower young people to own their economic success,

fostering work-readiness, entrepreneurship, financial

literacy and experiential learning. Junior Achievement

wants to empower the future by inspiring kids to dream big

and reach their potential.

“All three community-based organizations have served

Cleveland and Bradley County faithfully for decades,” Pickel

said. “We encourage you to celebrate with us.”

The cocktail-attire party will include dinner and

entertainment. Tickets are $75 and are now on sale.

Corporate tables of eight may be reserved for $750.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Call Lisa Pickel

0r Bernadette Douglas at 423-472-6587 for information.

“Let’s party!”

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STAFFGary Farlow, President & CEOBernadette Douglas, Executive Vice PresidentDoug Berry, Vice President, Economic DevelopmentMelissa Woody, Vice President, Tourism Developme tNancy A. Neal, Vice President, CommunicationsSherry Crye, Director of Workforce DevelopmentLisa Pickel, Director of Existing Industry ProgramsAaron Weatherford, Membership DirectorTammy Randolph, Executive AssistantKristy Montgomery, Receptionist/Administrative AssistantLisa Tinsley, Receptionist/Administrative Assistant

Address: 225 Keith St SW, PO Box 2275, Cleveland TN 37320-2275Phone: 423-472-6587 Fax: 423-472-2019 Email: info@clevelandchamber.comWebsite: www.clevelandchamber.com

and industrial development, proclaiming, “Paying your

bills means more prosperity for everybody” and publicizing

the geography, population and statistics of interest to

prospective industries.

Today the Chamber remains a “quality organization

dedicated to the business development of our members,

the economic growth of our region, and the highest quality

of life for our community, the Ocoee Region of Tennessee.”

Cleveland Associated Industries (CAI), celebrating 50 years,

held its first organizational

meeting on Sept. 8, 1965, electing

S.B. “Skeet” Rymer Jr., president

of Magic Chef (now Whirlpool),

as the founding president. Organizers signed its official

Charter of Incorporation on Nov. 17, 1965.

The general objective of CAI was to establish an

organization through which industry might effectively

utilize its resources and talents in a program of positive

action for the betterment of the community. The business

executives also wished to communicate effectively the role

of industry, its contributions to the community, and its

concern for the people and the society in which they lived.

Let’s celebrate! continued from page 1

FALL JOB FAIRThursday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Cleveland Family YMCA220 Urbane Rd

Cleveland TN 37312

Presented by

Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of CommerceSoutheast Tennessee Development District

Tennessee Career Center—ClevelandCleveland Family YMCA

This project is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Equal Opportunity Employer/Program.Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. TDD/TTY TN Relay 711.

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Nominate deserving individuals for Headrick, Varnell awardsone of the highlights of the Chamber’s Annual Meeting,” Bradney noted. “Robert Varnell set high standards, and our goal is to annually acknowledge another individuals whose life represents the passion reflected in Robert Varnell’s life.”

Pat Lawson Fuller, owner of the Orange Blossom Boutique, received the 2015 Varnell Award.

Nomination forms and a complete list of award criteria are available at the Chamber office or by calling 423-472-6587. In addition to the form, Headrick nominations must include a resume of the candidate and a cover

letter detailing reasons the nominee is eligible for the award. The selection committee may ask for additional information.

The Chamber will present these awards at the 90th Annual Meeting in January 2016. Please make your nominations for these prestigious awards by Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.

The M.C. Headrick Free Enterprise Award, established in 1981, is the highest honor given by the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce and is presented at the Annual Meeting.

Headrick a successful local businessperson who staunchly believed in the concept of free enterprise: “Put men on their own to make economic decisions, and let them reap the rewards or lack of rewards from those decisions.”

“Each year the Chamber recognizes individuals who best demonstrate the principles of the late M.C. Headrick,” Chairman of the Board Robert Bradney said. “Headrick believed passionately in the concept of free enterprise and was a wonderful role model for business men and women in our community. Each fall we invite Chamber members to nominate any person they feel best represents the ideals of the free enterprise system.”

Sibling duo Mark Johnson and Julia Johnson Scoggins, owners of J&S Restaurants Inc., were recipients of the 2015 Headrick Award.

Likewise, the Chamber of Commerce recognizes an individual annually with presentation of the prestigious Robert W. Varnell Leadership Award for community leadership and a passion for serving others. The late Robert W. Varnell Jr. faithfully served the Chamber in many important capacities before his death in 1993, including division vice president for economic development in 1990 and two terms as chairman-elect in 1991 and 1992. Ill health forced his resignation in 1993 before he could serve his term.

“Presentation of the Varnell Leadership Award is

Mark Johnson and Julia Scoggins, Headrick winners

Pat Fuller, Varnell winner

Begin thinking about your investment in Chamber membership for 2016 NOW. Be sure we have your correct information too. Visit www.clevelandchamber.com to confirm the accuracy of your membership listing.

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member memo

Retailers to become “Selfie With the Elfie” locationsgrand prize drawing with a maximum of three per location.

The grand-prize drawing for $500 on Dec. 21 will take place

at noon at the Chamber office.

Each participating business will offer a $25 gift certificate

for a drawing to be held by the business after the Elf moves

to the next location. The business is responsible for their

own entries and drawing for their gift-certificate winner.

The frequency the Elf will travel to each business will

depend on the number of participants. The Chamber

has scheduled 54 days for this promotion. The more

participants involved, the more frequent the move.

If you would like your business location to become a

temporary home to the Chamber Elf this holiday season,

call Aaron Weatherford or Bernadette Douglas at the

Chamber, 423-472-6587, today. The only cost to participate

is the $25 gift certificate to your business.

With the intent to encourage local shopping, promote

Chamber members and generate excitement about our

local economy, the Chamber is excited to announce that our

own traveling Christmas Elf will be visiting local Chamber-

member retailers this holiday season.

Our “Selfie With the Elfie” campaign will begin Nov. 1 when

the Chamber Elf —a custom bobblehead of Chamber

Chairman Robert Bradney—starts his holiday visits to

Chamber members.

The Chamber Elf’s location will be posted on the Chamber’s

social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), and

consumers will be encouraged to visit the retail locations

and take a “Selfie With the Elfie.” Consumers are asked then

to post their pictures on the Chamber’s social media outlets

and use the hashtag #CLEChamberElf to be entered in the

drawing. One post per outlet equals one entry into the

. . . The OCOEE REGION FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES is hosting its 2015 Golf Tournament with Coach Bobby Bowden on Monday, Oct. 19, at Cleveland Country Club. Registration, which is limited to the first 88 players, begins at 11:15 a.m., followed by lunch at 11:45 a.m. Coach Bowden will speak during the noon hour, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Proceeds from the “scramble” golf tournament will help fund FCA ministry to athletes and coaches and those they influence. Ralph Buckner Funeral Home & Crematory is title sponsor, but other sponsorships are still available. For tournament or sponsorship details, contact Mike Thomasson, FCA Golf Challenge chairman, at 423-715-9795 or mthomasson@ajbank.com or Robert Green, FCA area director, at 423-284-0105 or rgreen@fca.org.

. . . The 9th Annual Pearl White Gala to support the elderly and disabled in the Cleveland and Chattanooga Adult Day Facility will take place Nov. 7 at Mountain View Inn from 7 to 11 p.m. The event will feature a plated dinner, a comedian and a DJ. Sharon Kelly, RN/CEO with SHARON’S ADULT DAY HEALTH CENTER OF CLEVELAND, says only 43 tables of eight are available and encourages businesses to sponsor tables or purchase tickets to support the many elderly, disabled and veterans in the Cleveland community. For ticket information, call Kelly at 423-488-8667 or her assistant Olivia Haring at 728-5656.

member memo

Coach Bobby Bowden

. . . MARGARET SCHENCK, UNITED KNITTING, was honored at JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OCOEE REGION’S 50th Annual Meeting with the prestigious Ron Braam Award for her outstanding leadership and commitment to Junior Achievement. The award recognizes one who has made an enormous impact on Junior Achievement, the students of our service area and the community as a whole and the mission of JA “to inspire young people to compete and succeed in a global economy.” Schenck is one such individual.

Formerly called “The Impact Award,” the name of the award was changed to honor the legacy of Ron Braam, who has invested time and resources to supporting Junior Achievement and its goal of empowering young people to own their economic success.

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member memo

Fourth International Cowpea Festival and Cook-offSept. 12, 2015, was a happea day indeed . . . and the most

successful Cowpea Festival and Cook-off to date. Thousands

descended on Charleston Park and were greeted by

happea craft and food vendors, happea volunteers, happea

storytellers, happea musicians, happea chefs, happea

sponsors, and happea families and friends. It was a glorious

fall day! We encourage you

to visit www.cowpeafestival.

com for more Happea festival

photos, along with Facebook

and Twitter sites (cowpea

festival) and Instagram (VisitClevelandTN).

From left are Ron Braam, honoree Margaret Schenck and JA advocate Don Lorton

Presenting sponsor Bush Brothers & Company

A wish for the season: Happea Fall!

Pumpkins galore!

Above, Rockin’ Rangers from Red Clay

Above, Clarence the Cowpea and Festival Princess

Chloe Montgomery

60 craft vendors!

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Welcome new membersThe Chamber board of directors and staff welcomed the following new Chamber members on Sept. 9, 2015. Please welcome them with your business.

member memo

Allyson Hannah AgencyAllyson Hannah, Principal

3535 Keith St NWCleveland TN 37312

423-476-7587www.nationwide.com/allysonhannah

Insurance Agencies & Services

Boundless Moving & Storage LLCMatt Carlson, President

1510 Stuart Rd Ste 119PO Box 6000

Cleveland TN 37320-6000423-763-1000

www.boundlessmoving.comMoving/Relocation

Chattanooga MagazineChris Thomas, Publisher

3069 S Broad St #2PO Box 810

Chattanooga TN 37363423-661-8000

www.chattmag.comNewspapers/Publishers

Cleveland Middle SchoolMike Collier, Principal3635 Georgetown RdCleveland TN 37312

423-479-9641www.cmsraiders.com

Colleges & Schools

Industrial ValveJason Nall, Director of Operations

510 Industrial Dr SWPO Box 1456

Cleveland TN 37364-1456423-472-6110

www.indvalve.comIndustrial Supplies & Services

Rouge Beauty Lounge & Barber Services

Stephanie Haynie, Owner 90 N Ocoee St

Cleveland TN 37311 423-339-8811

Beauty Salons & Spas/Supplies

Ruth’s Chris Steak HouseLauren McLean, Sales Manager

2321 Lifestyle WayChattanooga TN 37421

423-602-5900www.ruthschris.net

Restaurants

Tennessee Recovery & MonitoringScott Cranmore, Director1401 Spring Place Rd SE

PO Box 1399Cleveland TN 37364-1399

855-472-7269www.tnalcoholmonitoring.com

Alcohol & Drug Treatment Services

U.S. Post Office Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation

Law Firm of J. Allen Murphy Jr., TheAllen Murphy, Attorney at Law

3555 Keith St Ste 213Cleveland TN 37312

423-790-7310Attorneys

Tri State Property MaintenanceLee Rickards, Owner

3106 N Ocoee StCleveland TN 37312

423-650-5529Contractors—Improvements

& Remodeling

. . . When he formed MIKE BRADY INC. (MBI) 25 years

ago, Mike Brady had no idea his company would be involved in more than $6 billion in construction projects ranging from the headquarters building for HGTV to Harry

Potter’s Diagon Alley, Universal Studio’s newest attraction. Brady’s architectural and engineering legacy was celebrated recently as MBI observed its 25th anniversary and announced Brady’s retirement. “It’s been quite a ride,” Brady said, “and I am not leaving, just stepping aside to assist the excellent management team here at MBI.”

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*Unemployment rates, local sales tax and retail sales figures are the latest state-provided figures. Numbers for building permits are obtained from city and county records.

Economic IndicatorsJuly Unemployment Rate

2014 2015

Bradley County 7.4% 6.3%

Tennessee 7.1% 5.7%

United States 6.2% 5.3%

August Building Permits

Residential 2014 2015

Number Issued 46 36

Permit Value $6,346,115 $4,249,609

YTD Number Issued 271 279

YTD Permit Value $35,836,798 $39,436,123

Commercial 2014 2015

Number Issued 3 4

Permit Value $730,000 $522,640

YTD Number Issued 48 47

YTD Permit Value $15,950,435 $25,965,875

Local Sales Tax Collected

Aug 2014 Jan-Aug 2014

Aug 2015 Jan-Aug 2015

Local Sales Tax $2,275,075 $18,437,094 $2,437,115 $19,583,108

Retail Sales

Dec 2013 Jan-Dec 2013*

Dec 2014 Jan -Dec 2014*

Bradley County $122,357,088 $1,535,300,883 $129,874,659 $1,415,084,889

Tennessee $9,017,934,818 $97,367,408,737 $9,386,509,116 $98,921,448,419

. . . First Security Group Inc., the holding company for FSG BANK, has ended its “Pay It Forward” campaign and officially donated $2,500 to HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF CLEVELAND after receiving an incredible response from the community to its unique GO Money campaign.

FSG Bank launched the GO Money campaign in August as part of its grand-opening festivities to celebrate the opening of its innovative Keith Street branch. For the campaign, FSG Bank randomly distributed 1,000 uniquely branded dollar bills to businesses throughout the Cleveland community. For every dollar bill returned to the Keith Street branch, FSG donated $5 to Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland.  

member memo

From left are Rick Smith, finance director, Habitat for Humanity; Jeff Morelock, Board president, Habitat for Humanity; Barbara Baxter, FSG Cleveland market executive; and Anthony Lastoria, FSG Cleveland branch manager.

USPS 695190

Copyright © 2015 by Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without publisher’s written permission. 225 Keith is published monthly by the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce, with offices at 225 Keith Street SW, Cleveland, Tennessee. 423-472-6587. FAX: 423-472-2019.

Nancy A. Neal, EditorGary Farlow, Publisher

Subscriptions: Free with membership. $25 for nonmembers. Periodical postage paid at Cleveland, Tennessee.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 225 Keith SW, PO Box 2275, Cleveland TN 37320-2275.

@ CLEchamber

Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce

Things you should know …• Oct. 5-9—Fall Break for city and county schools

• Oct. 13, 8:30 a.m.—Chamber Coffee, hosted by GRAAB Coalition at the Chamber of Commerce

• Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.—PrimeTime Business EXPO, Bradley Square Mall

• Oct. 15—Youth Leadership “Local Economy Day”

• Oct. 29, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.—Fall Job Fair, Cleveland Family YMCA

• Nov. 4—Youth Leadership “City Government and Services Day"

• Nov. 6, 6:30 p.m—A joint anniversary celebration for the Chamber of Commerce (90 years), Cleveland Associated Industries (50 years) and Junior Achievement (50 years)

• Nov. 10, 8:30 a.m.—Chamber Coffee at Broad Street United Methodist Church

• Nov. 12—Job Shadowing for Tennessee Christian Preparatory School and Cleveland High School

• Nov. 18—Job Shadowing for Bradley Central and Walker Valley High Schools

Gov. Bill Haslam visited the Chamber recently for a listening session with community leaders about the $406.8 million-$1.2 billion unfunded phases of road projects in the Cleveland area.