People

William Barner has been promoted to town public works director for Greeneville. Barner is a longtime town employee and will lead a 42-person department that includes solid waste services, landfill operations, stormwater planning, and street and sidewalk improvements. Barner has more than 40 years...

Missy Dillingham, longtime children’s services manager with the John P. Holt Brentwood Library, died suddenly at her home on Aug. 1, 2022. Dillingham served for 38 years with the city of Brentwood, beginning in 1984 as the inaugural manager of children’s services for the Brentwood Library. In 2011...

Joe D. Casey, retired police chief for Metro Nashville, died Aug. 1, 2022 at the age of 96. Casey was a member of the Nashville Police Department for nearly 38 years, beginning as a patrolman in November 1951. He rose through the ranks to become acting chief of police in November 1973 and then the...

Elaine Brunelle has been selected as the new town manager for Signal Mountain. Brunelle retired as a commander from the U.S. Navy in 2019 after nearly 31 years of service, including being stationed in Everett, Wash.; San Diego, Calif.; and Bahrain. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice...

Regina Smithson, longtime commissioner and former mayor of the city of Brentwood, died suddenly on July 23, 2022. Smithson had served on the Brentwood Board of Commissioners for more than 30 years, including terms as vice mayor and mayor. During her time on the commission, Smithson served on...

Kirsten Yates has been selected as senior advisor for communications and digital strategy by Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Yates will manage the mayor’s office of communications as well as work with the mayor, chief of staff, and other senior administration officials. Before joining the city of...

Edward "Ed” Hargraves, principal engineer emeritus for firm A2H, died June 28, 2022, after nearly 35 years of service in founding what is now A2H engineering. A native of Arkansas, Hargraves earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Mississippi and a master’s in civil...

Brian Ramsey has been selected as the new director of engineering for the city of Bristol. Ramsey comes to the city after spending 21 years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), most recently serving as district operations supervisor for TDOT’s five easternmost counties. Prior to...

David Wilson has been appointed as the new director of operations for the city of Bristol. In this role, he will oversee the city’s engineering, utilities, and public services divisions. A certified professional engineer with more than 30 years of civil engineering experience, Wilson most recently...

Dr. Ihab Habib has been selected as the new street department director for the city of Clarksville. Habib brings more than 20 years of experience as a construction project engineer and educator with expertise in simultaneous management of projects, estimating costs, quality control, construction...

Tony Tolstedt has been selected as the new assistant city administrator for the city of Spring Hill. Tolstedt comes to Spring Hill from Riverton, Wyo., where he has served as the city administrator since 2017. Prior to that, he was the city administrator for Douglas, Wyo., for five years and the...

Natalie Ruffin has been selected as the new director of Germantown Parks and Recreation after serving with the department for nearly 17 years. Ruffin will take over from retiring director Pam Beasley. Before being selected as director, Ruffin served in the department as it’s assistant director and...