People

State Rep. Barbara Cooper, D-Memphis, died Oct. 26, 2022, at the age of 94. At the time of her death, Cooper was the oldest-serving lawmaker in the Tennessee General Assembly. A Memphis native, Cooper had served as the representative for District 86 for 22 years. Cooper held a bachelor’s and a...

V. Graig Temple has been selected as the new fire chief for the city of Spring Hill. Temple takes over from acting chief Kevin Glenn and comes to Spring Hill from Fort Bend County, Texas, where he served as chief of emergency medical services for seven years. Prior to that, he served as the...

Heather Kent has been hired as a public information officer for the town of Smyrna. Kent will serve as a liaison for the town manager, leadership, and other elected officials. She has more than 20 years of marketing experience, including serving as the vice president of marketing for Guaranty Home...

Nathan Walker, mayor of Monterey, died Oct. 10, after being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer a few weeks before. Walker was elected mayor of Monterey in August after previously being appointed as the city’s interim mayor in March. Walker previously served as the alderman representing...

The park behind Bartlett city hall has been renamed the Mark S. Brown Municipal Park to honor the retiring chief administrative officer of the city after 21 years of service. Brown has been chief administrative officer with the city since 2010. Brown will officially retire next year. 

Sam Turner has been selected to fill the unexpired term on the Jackson City Council left by the resignation of District 1 Councilman Gary Pickens, who moved out of the city. A Jackson resident since 1978, Turner served as vice president of business analysis at the Jackson Energy Authority and...

Andy Berke, former mayor of Chattanooga, has been named administrator of the Rural Utilities Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Prior to his appointment to USDA from the White House, Berke was serving as a special representative for broadband at the National Telecommunications...

Deanna Chappell, former mayor of Troy, died Oct. 2, 2022, at her home. Chappell was the first female mayor in Troy’s history when she was elected in 2014 and before that had become the first alderwoman in the town’s history in Troy when she was elected in 2003. A longtime educator in the Obion...

Molly Mehner has been selected as the new town administrator for the town of Collierville. Mehner comes to Collierville from Cape Girardeau, Mo., where she has served as deputy administrator since 2015 and before that as assistant city manager in charge of development services since 201. Mehner...

John Drake, chief of police for the city of Nashville, has been named to the seven-member Board of Directors for the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the nation’s preeminent independent research organization that focuses on critical issues in policing. Chief Drake’s nomination to be PERF’s...

Bill Rawls, mayor of Brownsville, has earned his master’s degree in leadership and public service at Lipscomb University. Rawls earned the degree through a scholarship program offered by the Ayers Foundation with the aim of using his degree to elevate conversation and opportunities in his community...

Deniece Thomas has been appointed the new commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. She will succeed Jeff McCord following his departure to lead Northeast State Community College. Thomas presently serves as a deputy commissioner for the department since 2019...