People

Beth Goodner has been selected as the first-ever assistant commissioner for Children and Youth Mental Health Services with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS). She will lead the new division that encompasses the department’s growing portfolio of services...

Joe Johnson, long-time system president of the University of Tennessee, died Sept. 29, 2023, at the age of 90. 

Johnson served as president from 1990 to 1999 and then again as interim president from 2003 to 2004. A UT employee of more than 50 years, Johnson was instrumental in the creation of the...

Cleveland High School junior Mario Ulloa had a chance to serve as mayor for a day in Cleveland. Ulloa is interested in pursuing a career in public service and presided over the Cleveland City Council work session. Cleveland Mayor Kevin Brooks said Ulloa was "able to use the gavel to start the...

Rachel Meyers has been hired as the first female patrol officer for the Red Boiling Springs Police Force. Meyers comes to the department with a decade of experience in law enforcement, most recently serving with the Gallatin Police Department for five years. She also has five years of experience...

Corey Divel has been selected as the new downtown development director for Sevierville. Divel comes to Sevierville from Cleveland, where he has served for more than a decade, most recently as the downtown coordinator and communications coordinator as well as assistant to City Manager Joey Fivas. He...

Wayland Rhea, mayor of Sneedville, died Sept. 15, 2023, at the age of 75 following a short battle with cancer. Rhea served as mayor of Sneedville for 35 years. He also served as president of the Sneedville Utility District as well as a Hancock County Commissioner for more than a decade. He also...

Beverly Holloway, city clerk for Piperton, was named the 2023 recipient of the Tennessee Association of Municipal Clerks and Reporters (TAMCAR) Clerk of the Year award. Piperton Mayor Henry Coats was also present to help honor Holloway at the 2023 TAMCAR Fall Conference held in Murfreesboro...

Richard Hall, police chief of Germantown, is retiring after 38 years of service with the city. He will be taking a new position as the national director of a training company that works with law enforcement officers and dispatchers. Hall graduated from the University of Memphis – then Memphis State...

Debra Murrell, longtime employee of the city of Lakeland, died Sept. 9, 2023, after a battle with cancer. Murrell was first hired by the city of Lakeland on June 29, 1998 as a utility clerk/minutes clerk and audited the MLGW and sewer accounts and established trash service for new residents. She...

Stephanie Pugh has been selected as the new downtown director for the city of Covington. The newly-created position will coordinate activity within the city’s downtown revitalization program that utilizes historic preservation as an integral foundation for downtown economic development. Pugh...

Jason Miles has been selected as the new public works director for the city of Johnson City. Miles brings more than 25 years of experience to the department and its five divisions: engineering, solid waste, stormwater, streets, and traffic. Miles comes to Johnson City from Fayetteville, N.C., where...

Blake Walley has been selected as the new city manager of Savannah. Walley has been serving as the city’s assistant city manager since 2021. Prior to that, he served in several roles in planning in both the public and private sector including as a planning manager with Oxford, Miss.-based Slaughter...