business briefs
• Tommy Cutcher recently was promoted to vice president of Merit Construction Inc. Cutcher started with Merit in 2005 as a project estimator/manager and was promoted to project executive in 2021.
He has overseen 11 projects on the University of Tennessee campus during his time at Merit, as well as projects in Johnson City, Newport, Sevierville and other East Tennessee cities.
• Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce will join local Chamber partners, including Knoxville Chamber, Anderson County Chamber, Blount Partnership and Oak Ridge Chamber to hear the 2025 Regional Legislative Agenda of shared priorities starting at 7:30 a.m. with the breakfast Friday, Jan. 31, in Knoxville Convention Center, 701 Henley St. in Knoxville.
Opening remarks are at 8 a.m., and the discussion by elected officials starts at 8:05 am.
Attendees will hear directly from elected officials on the presented priorities and their strategies to execute those priorities. These priorities aim to address job and business growth in the region. The presenting sponsor is LDA Engineering. Cost is $40 to $55.
• Land Rover Knoxville recently has moved into its just-finished location at 10556 Parkside Drive in West Knoxville. Parkside Auto, a new business that will sell all makes and models of pre-owned vehicles, will take over Land Rover’s former location at 10215 Parkside Drive.
John Hodges, general manager of Land Rover Knoxville, said the dealership’s new location will be larger, allowing more room to showcase vehicles and comfortably accommodate customers, which “is important because Land Rover Knoxville is the only certified Land Rover store in Knoxville for sales and services that are covered under vehicles’ warranties,” a press release stated.
• Knoxville attorney Jonathan Cooper recently was named president of The Knoxville Bar Association, succeeding Carlos Yusan of the University of Tennessee College of Law, during KBA’s annual meeting Friday, Dec. 13.
Cooper is a long-time lawyer, practicing at Knox Defense. During the meeting, Yusan presented President’s Awards to KBA Access to Justice Committee co-chairs Daniel Ellis and Caitlin Torney.
Additionally, the following were elected as officers: Rachel Hurt with Arnette Baker Draker & Hagood, president-elect; Ursula Bailey, Law Office of Ursula Bailey, treasurer; and Cathy Shuck with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, secretary.
Members elected the following to open positions on the Board of Governors: Kim Burnette with Arnett Baker Draper & Hagood; Meagan Collver with Lewis Thomason, PC; Samuel Lee with the Office of the Knox County District Attorney; and Scott Taylor with Bernstein, Stair & McAdams, LLP.
• Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond, recently was elected president of Tennessee Clerks of Court Association at the County Officials Association of Tennessee Annual Conference in Nashville.
Hammond, who has served as Knox County’s Criminal Court Clerk for more than a decade, was chosen by his peers from all 95 counties across Tennessee to lead the organization (one year).
