business briefs
• Susan Webb-Curtis, a longtime leader in higher education, recently joined Pellissippi State Community College as executive director of Workforce and Community Development, previously known as Business and Community Services.
This non-academic side of the college encompasses everything from workforce training and registered apprenticeships to lifelong learning courses and event services. Webb-Curtis brings both breadth and depth of knowledge to the role after 34 years at Cleveland State Community College.
• Cheyenne Boshears, who received the first cochlear implant at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, now is a pediatric audiologist at Children’s ENT Specialist serving alongside Dr. John Little, the same surgeon who gifted her the ability to hear.
• Breast Connect Inc. recently hired its first executive director, Elizabeth Hancy, who began her role May 1.
Prior to joining Breast Connect, Hancy was executive director of Angel Flight South Central in Dallas, a nonprofit organization providing free flights for people who need to access medical care. She was responsible for spearheading the organization’s operations across a five-state region.
• Will Pugh, CPA, of Knoxville was recently presented with the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants’ 2023 TSCPApex Lifetime Achievement Award.
The TSCPApex Awards Program recognizes the many ways individuals contribute significant time, energy and intellect to developing the accounting profession and fostering its success.
• A Wallace Real Estate listing recently earned a finalist spot in HGTV “Ultimate House Hunt 2023,” a month-long online promotion, with a historic home listed for sale by Tamy Wilson of the Wallace Real Estate Farragut office.
The home is a stunning Southern charmer on the national historic registry. Each winning home will receive editorial exposure on HGTV.com, as well as the prestige of being selected as an HGTV fan favorite.
To view all homes and cast your vote, visit. hgtv.com/design/ultimate-house-hunt.
• LDA Engineering recently received national recognition for the innovative WalknBike Plan in Nashville, which paves the way to make the city more walkable and bikeable and deliver infrastructure projects faster and at less cost.
• Matthew Mancini, M.D., FACS, FASMBS, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery director at University of Tennessee Bariatric Center, announced the center’s bariatric surgery center recently was accredited as a comprehensive center by Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a joint quality program of American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
• Tennessee Society of CPAs recently announced the election of its 2023-24 Knoxville Chapter officers. They include Andrew McCreary, CPA with Covenant Health, president; Lindsey Franks, CPA, with Crowe LLP, president-elect; Aaron O’Dell, CPA, with Kruggel Lawton CPAs, vice president of education; Daria Cooper, CPA with KPMG, LLP, assistant vice president of education; Caroline Hardin, CPA with of PYA, P.C., vice president of membership; and Jennifer Blackwood, CPA with of HG&A Associates, PC, secretary/treasurer.
• University of Tennessee Medical Center board of directors recently selected Dr. Keith Gray as president and chief executive officer. Gray succeeds Joseph “Joe” Landsman Jr., who announced his retirement after 25 years with the system.
Gray became president of UTMC July 1 with Landsman serving as CEO. When Landsman retires April 1, 2024, Gray will become president and CEO.
In connection with the transition, Dr. James Shamiyeh, who currently serves as executive vice president of Clinical Operations, will become the executive vice president and CEO. He will act as second in command to Gray and retain all existing responsibilities.
