People

Mike Compton has been selected as a senior advisor to Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Compton previously served as chief of staff to former Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger from 2011 to 2022. Prior to that, he served as chief administrative officer for Walden Security for four years and as chief of...

John Owings has been selected as the new municipal attorney for the city of Harriman. Owings has been practicing law in the Knoxville area for more than 30 years and has been with the firm of Owings Wilson and Coleman since 2008. He obtained a bachelor’s degree and his law degree from the...

Don Farmer, former mayor of Milan, died Sept. 21, 2022, following a heart attack. Farmer served as mayor of Milan from 1992 until 1997 and was also the District 7 Director for the Tennessee Municipal League during his service as mayor. Farmer spent many years working at ITT in Milan followed by...

Travis Barbee has been hired as the new director of parks and recreation for the city of Morristown, following the retirement of longtime director Craig Price earlier this year. Barbee comes to Morristown from Bay County, Fla., where he has served as the parks division manager since 2019. Prior to...

Stan Allen, police chief for East Ridge, will retire after 38 years in law enforcement. Allen began his career with the Chattanooga Police Department in 1984, where he was employed until he took an early retirement in 2012 to accept a position in the private sector. He then joined the East Ridge...

Scott Collins has been selected as the new city manager for Shelbyville. Collins comes to the city after serving as the city manager of Fayetteville for eight years. Prior to that, he served as city administrator with the city of Newport for five years, as city manager of LaFollette, and as a...

Scott Avery has been selected as the new city manager for Millersville. He comes to the city from Missouri where he spent 16 years as an instructor and peer team lead for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International as well as in several simultaneous roles including as a professor at Columbia...

J. Steven Collie has been selected as the new city manager of Oak Hill. Before coming to Oak Hill, Collie spent nearly two years as the city manager of Millersville. Collie spent 24 years in the private sector in various human resources roles at various companies. Before that, he spent two years as...

Jamie Ewald has been selected as the new organizational development specialist for the city of Franklin. Ewald joined the city earlier this year as a management fellow conducting research projects on development and adjustment of city programs. Prior to coming to the city, Ewald served as the...

Andre Greppen has been selected as the new city attorney for the city of Livingston following the election of previous city attorney John Meadows to the White County General Sessions Court as a judge. Greppen has been with the Cookeville-based firm of Moore, Rader, Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, and York...

Hollie Berry, mayor of the city of Red Bank, is the only official from Tennessee and one of only 15 in the nation to be selected to participate in the third class of the Champions Institute. The program was created by Active People, Healthy Nation Initiative, and Smart Growth America (SGA) to help...

Brad Peters has been hired as a new public works consultant for the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service (UT-MTAS). Before coming to work for MTAS, Peters spent 17 years with the town of Greeneville, serving as its public works director, landfill manager, and as an...