People

Kelli Bourgeois has been selected as the new city manager of Bristol following longtime City Manager Bill Sorah, who announced his intention to retire last year. Bourgeois comes to Bristol from Columbia Height, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis where she served as city manager since 2019 and...

Tommy Haun, former state representative and state senator from Greeneville, died Feb. 9, 2023, at the age of 72. Haun served in the Tennessee State House for six years and then in the State Senate for eight, also serving as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. A longtime Greeneville...

Jill Holland, former mayor of McKenzie, has joined the staff of the Southwest Tennessee Development District as a local government and special coordinator. Holland served as mayor of McKenzie from 2010 to 2022, on the McKenzie City Council from 2004 to 2010, and on the McKenzie Special School...

Jamie Luffman, fire chief of the city of Mt. Juliet, has announced his decision to retire in March. A native of Mt. Juliet, Luffman has served as the city’s fire chief since 2014 having also served as deputy chief. Luffman has been with the Mt. Juliet Fire Department for nine of the 10 years since...

Dwight Tarwater has been appointed to serve on the Tennessee State Supreme Court by Gov. Bill Lee. Tarwater is presently a partner at the Knoxville-based firm of Paine, Tarwater, Bickers, LLP, and will fill the vacancy left on the court by the retirement of Justice Sharon Lee on Aug. 31. Tarwater...

Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced he will not seek a second term in office. Cooper was elected mayor of Nashville in 2019 and is the ninth mayor to serve over the joint Nashville-Davidson County metro area. Cooper thanked numerous members of the Metro Nashville staff and city employees for...

Patrick Lawton, former city administrator of Germantown, will be honored with the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE)’s 2023 Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award at the 30th Annual Excellence in Tennessee Awards banquet. Lawton served the city of Germantown for 34 years and is longtime...

Steve Sones has been selected as the new chief administrative officer for Bartlett. Sones has 30 years of experience with the city, including 20 years with the Bartlett Police Department. He began his career as a jailer in 2001 before becoming a patrolman in 2004 where he served in the SWAT Team...

Charlie Stahl has retired as the assistant city manager for Johnson City after a total of 17 years with the city and nearly 40 years in local government. Stahl has served in his present role as assistant city manager since 2006 and also served as Johnson City’s budget director for nearly five years...

Mark Watson has announced his retirement as city manager of Oak Ridge after more than a dozen years with the city. Watson has 47 years of public service including serving as a city manager in eight cities in four states. Watson had served as the city administrator of Yuma, Arizona, before coming to...

Scott Miller will return to his role as city manager of East Ridge. Miller served as East Ridge’s city manager from 2016 until announcing his retirement in 2018 due to health issues. He returned from retirement in November 2022 to serve as interim city manager. Miller has more than 40 years of...

Justin Pearson has been elected to Tennessee House District 86, replacing longtime State Rep. Barbara, Cooper, D-Memphis, who was re-elected to the seat after her death in October. At the time of her death, Cooper was the oldest-serving member of the General Assembly. Pearson defeated a crowd of 10...