business briefs
• BarberMcMurry Architects recently promoted Andrew Newman, AIA, LEED AP, to associate. He worked for BarberMcMurry from 2015 to 2017 and rejoined the firm in 2022. Newman earned his bachelor’s degree from the Maryville Institute of Art and his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati.
He serves on the State of Tennessee BIM Committee and the Board of Directors of AIA East Tennessee. He is a member of Young Professionals of Knoxville and the Society for College and University Planning, and he volunteers as a head coach for Farragut Baseball, Inc.
Newman is a core member of BarberMcMurry’s production management team, helping advance building information modeling project delivery methods and maximizing efficiencies. • Brandon Burton has joined the downtown Knoxville office of FirstBank as relationship manager. An industry veteran with 22 years of banking experience, Burton will be responsible for helping families and small businesses achieve their financial goals while building longstanding community relationships.
• PYA, a national accounting and management consulting firm, recently was named one of America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms of 2023 in the Forbes annually published list. This year, 240 out of about 4,400 recommended firms made the final list. Of those firms, 160 were recognized for both tax and accounting, including PYA.
Firms were selected based on nationwide surveys with accounting/tax professionals and business clients. Participants were asked to list firms to which they would be comfortable referring business or doing business with based on their experience.
• Alan Watson recently was chosen as the new president and CEO of MEDIC Regional Blood Center Board of Directors. Watson is set to join the MEDIC team March 13. He has spent 30 years in healthcare administration and brings a strong background in organizational leadership.
