business briefs
• Rather & Kittrell Wealth Management Firm recently hired two new staff members; associate advisor Sam Paganelli, chartered financial analyst and advisor Hannah Whatley, certified financial planner.
Paganelli will be working with existing RK advisors to help clients make decisions with their money. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and was involved in the The Global Leadership Scholars Program. He spent the previous five years working with Tennessee Valley Authority in their Treasury Department.
Whatley, who will be working with businesses, business owners and families, grew up in Knoxville and graduated from Furman University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in poverty studies. She began her career with Fidelity Investments, where she served in a variety of roles.
• BurWil Construction announces the expansion of its Knoxville location and welcomes Whitney Manahan, who joined the company’s Knoxville office as lead architect for BurWil Design Group; Jaron Dowalter, who joined the Knoxville office as project manager/estimator; and Kevin Varney, who joined the firm’s Bristol office as project manager/estimator.
Manahan is a University of Tennessee alumna and former professor in the College of Architecture and Design. Dowalter is a construction professional with more than 15 years of leadership and construction management experience.
• Ripley PR, a global public relations agency specializing in skilled trades and home service franchise brands, recently was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2021 annual list of the nation’s Top Franchise Suppliers in the PR Agency category for the fourth year in a row.
To determine their annual ranking of the Top Franchise Suppliers, Entrepreneur surveyed more than 750 franchisors, from emerging brands that just got started to established companies that have been franchising for decades.
