NOTE: This release was sent by Bandit Lites, a Chamber member.
Bandit Lites recently lit the University of Tennessee 16th Annual Lead-off Banquet, which was held at the Knoxville Convention Center in front of a sold-out crowd.
UT honored former UT athlete, Todd Helton, by making him the first baseball player in school history to have his jersey number retired.
Recently making his first World Series appearance with the Rockies, Helton entertained a crowd of over 1,000 people with stories of his days at UT as well as some of his favorite big league experiences. Before the night was over, the former Knoxville resident was
inducted into the UT Baseball Hall of Fame.
The event also provided fans with the opportunity to meet the 2008 Vols along with first- year head coach, Todd Raleigh and staff.
Lighting Designer, Chris Lisle chose to use Martin MAC 600s, 500s and 300s and Color Kinetics iColor Accent 4ft tubes to light the event. Lighting was controlled by two High End Systems Whole Hog IIs.
"It was truly a pleasure to be involved with the UT Baseball Lead-Off Banquet,” commented Lisle. “One of the key purposes of this event was to honor Todd as they were retiring his UT jersey at this ceremony. I used Mac 500s with custom gobos to project onto the walls with both [Helton’s] UT and Colorado Rockies jersey numbers.” Lisle used Mac 600s to spread some general color throughout the room. There were also six towers with Color Kinetics tubes on them, used to fill in some gaps between video screens.
Note: Knoxville Chamber member Bandit Lites celebrates the following achievement with this release.
The entertainment industry has again named Bandit Lites as ‘Lighting Company of the Year.’ The awards ceremony took place on February 7, 2008 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Hosted by the world famous Smothers Brothers, the event also featured notable presenters such as Peter and Gordon, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Glen Frey, Timothy Schmidt (from the Eagles) and Andrew Dice Clay.
The awards ceremony closed out the 2008 CIC Convention. Held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles, the annual 3-day event seeks to facilitate the exchange of ideas between key decision makers, enhance the flow of information among
professionals, and make a positive contribution toward enriching the concert industry's health.
Bandit General Manager, Dizzy Gosnell was there to accept this honor on behalf of Bandit Lites. Bandit has been named ‘Lighting Company of the Year’ 16 different times through the years.
“This was made possible by the tremendous global Bandit family. Please accept my most sincere thank you and offer my thanks and congratulations to all the staff worldwide,” commented Bandit CEO, Michael T. Strickland. “This is the perfect start to our 40th Anniversary.”
Kyle Touchstone recently joined the Knoxville Chamber as the Economic Development Project Manager.
In this capacity, he will work with the Director of Economic Development, Doug Lawyer, on recruiting businesses and industries to relocate, expand and remain in the East Tennessee area.
Touchstone was previously the Executive Director of the Pontotoc County Chamber of Commerce in Pontotoc, Mississippi. In that capacity, he was in charge of maintaining membership in the chamber as well as recruiting businesses and other economic development activities.
“I am extremely pleased to be here. I enjoy working for an organization with such great resources and support,” Touchstone said. “It’s nice to focus on one area and have other people handle other tasks and have a collaborative effort.”
He said that his desire to accept the Knoxville Chamber position was to be in a larger market with a progressive economic development marketing strategy.
Touchstone is a native of McComb, Mississippi and attended both the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the later in political science and communications.
Knoxville business duo Cynthia Moxley and Alan Carmichael were featured recently in Fortune Small Business magazine in a series about couples who partner in business.
The two have done some adjusting in the decade of working together, but have managed to thrive in their co-owned public relations and marketing business.
From the article: "Business partners for almost 10 years, the two now share the title of co-president. But 'Cynthia is the founder,' he points out. She gets the corner office with a view of the Tennessee River. 'I was here first,' she pipes up amiably."
Moxley-Carmichael is a premier partner with the Knoxville Chamber.
The U.S. Chamber's ChamberPost blog recently carried an interesting anecdote about how the U.S. government has programs that can actually help small businesses.
While this defies most popular belief, agencies such as the Office of the National Ombudsman work to make sure the small business owners are treated fairly. Other organizations, such as the Office of Advocacy, have staff that work to champion the causes of small businesspeople before regulations become final.
Read the ChamberPost entry about small business and government.
Josh Flory of the Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has been asked to chair the Southern Technology Council.
From the release:
Nashville – Governor Phil Bredesen has been selected to chair the Southern Technology Council, an advisory council focusing on technology and innovation policy issues for the Southern Growth Policies Board. The council is comprised of a diverse group of professionals in the science, technology and economic development fields with the principal mission of strengthening the Southern economy through innovation and technology.
“Through the Southern Technology Council, I hope to continue pushing Tennessee forward in scientific and technological innovation by expanding our initiatives to the regional level,” Bredesen said. “This council will help provide Southern businesses with the tools to be technologically proficient, knowledge-driven, and globally competitive.”
Note: This release was sent from the University of Tennessee. This represents an honor for their program to be chosen by the national organization and a resource for the community.
Tennessee workers and employers now can find qualified safety and health training closer to home.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has selected the University of Tennessee to serve as an OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center.
North Carolina State University and the UT Center for Industrial Services (CIS) will deliver OSHA-certified training through the newly approved Region IV OTI Education Center. The U.S. Department of Labor chose the two universities based on their occupational safety and health experience, continuing education training background, classroom and laboratory capacity, and the ability to provide training throughout the region.
CIS is an agency of the statewide UT Institute for Public Service and has provided specialized safety training for Tennessee industries for about 15 years. Among CIS' key health and safety programs are courses for hazardous waste site workers and emergency responders. CIS also offers instruction in general industry and construction industry safety and delivers hospital domestic preparedness training.
"Training provided by OTI Education Centers serves the public by teaching (workers and employers) to recognize, avoid, and prevent unsafe and unhealthful working," said Edwin G. Foulke Jr., assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor. "We expect UT's training efforts to contribute to our overall workplace safety and health mission."
There are fewer than 30 nonprofit consortiums and organizations currently serving as OTI Education Centers. The OTI Education Centers program was created in 1992 to authorize non-OSHA agencies to provide training in the private sector. OTI Education Centers trained more than 27,000 people during fiscal year 2007, representing an all-time record for the program. OSHA provides no funding to the education centers. They support their OSHA training through their normal tuition and fee structures.
"By adding additional qualified organizations to the program, we are providing local communities with greater availability and access to quality safety and health training," Foulke said. "These centers will extend access to a greater number of individuals who seek to incorporate OSHA safety and health practices into their workplaces."
OTI Education Centers provide the OSHA Outreach Training Program, OSHA's primary means of training employees in the basics of occupational safety and health. Train-the-trainer courses are available in topic areas such as construction, general industry, disaster site and maritime. Individuals who complete a one-week OSHA trainer course are authorized to teach 10-hour or 30-hour courses on safety and health hazards, and in-house trainers can issue OSHA cards for classes in which they are credentialed. These trainers offer a great deal of insight on how the training benefits their staff specifically.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, along with Chambers of Commerce from Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga, are urging lawmakers in the Environmental Protection Agency to further research the necessity of implementing stricter air quality guidelines.
The Chambers note that changing the air quality standard for ground-level ozone from 0.08 to 0.06 would put pressure on 38 Tennessee counties which are currently in compliance, along with putting further behind 16 counties which have not yet met the current guidelines.
In a joint letter to Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, the Chambers urge, "Our communities are making progress toward meeting the current air quality standards. Citizens, businesses, and governments have all made significant investments of time and resources to reach attainment, and these efforts will not cease. EPA should not implement stricter standards prior to a thorough review of the current standard's benefit."
The Urban Chambers' letter to Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen
NOTE: This is from a release from Bandit Lites, Inc., a Chamber member. They are celebrating a milestone anniversary with a trip down memory lane.
Bandit Lites is celebrating 40 Years of Excellence in 2008. To highlight this significant anniversary, Bandit is releasing a 6-Part Series featuring key milestones from the first 40 Years. The series will provide readers with a unique behind-the-scenes perspective as to how Bandit Lites started with a 12-year-old’s idea and grew into the world’s preeminent lighting company.
The first installment, The Early Years, describes how a kid with a vision and some borrowed equipment was able to start a successful business.
The story began 40 years ago, when a touring band stopped in Bandit CEO, Michael T. Strickland’s hometown of Kingsport, TN to perform a concert. In the late 60’s most acts were just beginning to use lighting of any type. However, having been involved in Community Theater since age 5, Michael knew that theatrical lighting existed and could be applied to the live music industry.
"After a Beach Boys concert I approached the promoter and asked him if he would like to use lighting for his next concert,” Michael explained. The promoter asked Michael to name his price, and he quoted a modest $25, which seemed like a huge amount of money to a 12-year-old in 1968. They agreed to the price, and the next month when another band came, he did the same thing.
“The next month we took all the lights from the school theater, hung them in the gymnasium around the stage, and lit Paul Revere and The Raiders. I didn't have any knowledge back then," he admits, "but neither did the people I was working for, so anything and everything I did was correct. The color I used was right. The mood I set was right. There was no wrong for these people, nor was there any wrong for me."
Word of Strickland’s success spread and soon other touring bands began requesting Bandit to light their concerts.
"We'd do a show one night for the Beach Boys, and they'd ask us to go the next night to another city. The first time they asked, I had to say no. I was twelve years old," he says. "I couldn't drive. I had no way of getting there. I was ready the next time. I hired a friend with a car and a U-Haul trailer. When they asked if we could do a show the next night in Asheville, I said sure. I did not think that after Asheville, he was going to say, 'Can you go to Charlotte?’ I had to go to school the next day, and had to pass on Charlotte. After that experience I hired 2 people, with 2 cars, so one could drive me home on Sunday night while the other stayed on the road.”
Juggling the demands of adolescence and a budding company proved to be a bit challenging at times, but determined to succeed, Strickland pressed on while in Junior High and High School while also playing football and basketball.
“We worked most of the major rock concerts within 300 miles of Kingsport in the early years. We did it mainly to see free concerts and meet girls. Making money was never really part of the equation at that point. Most of the shows took place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays so we were able to travel to them. At that time all the equipment we used was borrowed from the local schools and theaters, hence the name Bandit!”
From 1968 to 1971 Bandit had the pleasure of working with a large number of national acts, including The Monkees, The Grassroots, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Dennis Yost and the Classics Four, BJ Thomas, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Beach Boys, Kris Kristofferson plus many others. This was the beginning of a firm foundation for what would eventually become one of the world’s leading lighting companies.
Please stay tuned for the second installment of Bandit History: 40 Years of Excellence – The 70’s.
Bandit Lites is a global leader in the entertainment lighting marketplace. From touring productions to fixed installations, Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of lighting needs. With offices in Knoxville, Nashville, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Bandit’s global presence will insure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you.
Note: The following is a release from PSTCC:
Melanie Paradise has been named the new registrar at Pellissippi State Technical Community College.
Paradise has served as the interim registrar since October. She has been with Pellissippi State since 2001. She began her career at the school as an admissions coordinator, then served as manager of records.
A native of Stephens, Ga., Paradise earned her bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from the University of Georgia. She returned to her alma mater to work in the registrar’s office after graduation.
She moved from Georgia to Chapman University in Orange, Calif., where she worked for the law school. In 1997, Paradise moved to Knoxville to attend graduate school at the University of Tennessee. She received her master’s degree in College Student Personnel in 1999.
After earning her master’s, she worked in various areas and capacities at UT, including in the registrar’s office and for the dean of students.
For more information on Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu.
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