People

Maria Bush has been selected as the new open records counsel in the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Open Records Counsel (OORC). Prior to joining the OORC, Bush was an associate general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI). She has also worked as a law clerk with...

Dr. Christa Martin, vice mayor of Columbia, has been selected as the one of the 2022 Women of Influence honorees by the Nashville Business Journal. The award is given out to women leading top companies and nonprofits, supporting their communities, and inspiring those coming behind them. Martin is...

Freeman Cooper, former Chattanooga Police Chief, died Thursday, March 24, 2022 after a battle with Stage IV lung cancer. Cooper retired as the CPD chief in 2010. He had served with CPD since 1982, working in patrol, internal affairs, training, and serving as executive chief in 2004 before being...

Buddy Billings is retiring as chief of the Collierville Fire Department after more than four decades of service. Billings’ last day with the department is June 30. He began his career as a police dispatcher with the city in 1978 and then transferred to the fire department in 1979. He had earned the...

Kevin L. Helms was recently recognized by the International City/County Management Association (ICCMA) for 25 years of service to local government.  A native of Alabama, Helms has spent his entire career serving Tennessee cities.  He has served as city manager/administrator of Clifton, Fayetteville...

Joe Reagan, former Brentwood mayor and commissioner whose community service earned him the nickname “Mr. Brentwood,” died Thursday, March 17, 2022, at the age of 94. Reagan began his service to the city of Brentwood in 1993 after running for an at-large commission seat after his wife Betty left her...

Joe Shakeenab has been appointed to fill the vacancy on the Clarksville City Council. Shakeenab will represent the city’s Ward 11 after Councilwoman Ashlee Evans resigned the seat in February when her husband was relocated to Fort Bragg. A Mississippi native, Shakeenab served more than 28 years in...

Richard Howell has retired as police chief of Fayetteville after a more than three-decade career in law enforcement. Howell has been with the Fayetteville Police Department for 32 years and not only served as the city’s police chief but also spent seven months as the interim city administrator for...

Donna Turner has been hired as the new police chief for the city of Covington, the first woman to hold the office. Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1997 and a master’s in criminal justice with a focus in law enforcement...

Tracy Baker, assistant city administrator for Sevierville, has been named an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Woman to Know for 2022. Baker has served as Sevierville’s assistant city administrator since 2010 and before that was an MTAS Postgraduate Fellow in the Southeast...

Mark Hutton has been appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Bristol City Council. A local minister, Hutton has resigned his seat on the Sullivan County Commission to take the city council seat. Hutton is a Bristol native and will be taking the seat vacated by Councilman Chad Keen, who resigned the...

Kelli Johnson has been selected as the main street manager for the city of Columbia, a newly-created, full-time position with the city. A Columbia native, Johnson’s background is in marketing and events, having worked with nonprofit and for-profit organizations including the Spring Hill Chamber of...