People

James Thomas “Tommy” Head, who served nine terms representing Clarksville in the Tennessee House, passed away on Oct. 19, 2024, at the age of 79. Head was first elected to represent House District 68 in 1986, and he served as chair of the House Finance, Ways and Means committee among many roles in...

Brentwood Assistant City Manager Jay Evans is the new president of the Tennessee City Management Association (TCMA) after an induction at the organizations Fall Conference in Chattanooga.  In this role, he will also serve on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Municipal League. Evans was...

Jeff White has been selected as the new chief of the Jonesborough Fire Department. White brings more than three decades of experience in emergency services to the position, starting as a volunteer firefighter and then as a police officer with the Jonesborough Police Department. White then served...

Martin Granum, the city manager of Red Bank, recently received the International City/County Management Association (ICMA)’s Credentialed Manager Candidate designation. He is one of more than 1,500 local government management professionals to participate in the voluntary program. Granum has served...

Conner Caldwell, the former chief of the Kingsport Fire Department, died Oct. 13, 2024, at the age of 89. Caldwell served with the Kingsport Fire Department 36 years, 17 of which he served as chief from 1978 to his retirement in 1994. Additionally, he served actively in the Tennessee Fire Service...

Jeff Abeln, assistant police chief of the Collierville Police Department, died unexpectedly Oct. 14, 2024, after 37 years of service. Abeln joined the Collierville Police Department in 1987 after three years of service as a military police officer in U.S. Army. He was appointed assistant chief of...

Eric Amos has been selected as executive director of the Tennessee Language Center. Amos previously served as the interim director for the center. He joined the center in 2018 as a senior project coordinator and was promoted to director of interpretation in 2022. He holds a bachelor’s degree in...

Michelle Roberts has been selected as the new city manager of Bluff City. Roberts comes to the city with more than 10 years of experience with the Department of Veterans affairs, where she worked as a logistics management specialist, acquisition utilization specialist, and engineering technician...

State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, found a unique way to celebrate his own cancer-free status while bringing awareness to prostate cancer and men’s health.  

Yager jumped out of an airplane at 14,000 ft above ground to celebrate over one year of being cancer-free and raise awareness for prostate...

Steve Wilson has been named the new deputy chief operating officer for the city of Chattanooga by Mayor Tim Kelly. Wilson has been with the city since 2002 when he was hired as director of innovation. Prior to his role with the city, he was the director of operational effectiveness at the Lean...

Laura Kidwell has joined UT-MTAS as a legal consultant in the Nashville Office. Kidwell has spent the past 18 years with the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, including serving nearly 14 years as a senior counsel and nearly five as an assistant solicitor general. She also served as an adjunct...

Hoyte Hale, deputy fire chief for the Smithville Fire Department and director of the DeKalb County Emergency Management Service, died Sept. 29, 2024, at the age of 62. A Smithville native, Hale began his career as a volunteer with the Smithville Fire Department, serving with the department for 40...