Young

Jeff Young has been appointed as Tennessee Bank & Trusts’ Williamson County-area executive.

The addition of a new role and greater focus in Williamson County follows the bank’s recent transition to an independent, local, Middle Tennessee bank. The bank opened its flagship branch in Franklin in 2004, and has since established a significant presence in both Williamson and Davidson counties.

Young, a 15-year veteran of the banking community, joined Tennessee Bank & Trust in 2008. As vice president of commercial banking, he was instrumental in the growth of the bank. In his new position, Young will oversee operations of the bank’s Franklin office and focus on coordinating the bank’s growth strategy across Williamson County.

Lifepoint Health names Hutcheson chief of staff

Hutcheson

LifePoint Health has appointed Sam Hutcheson to the role of chief of staff. Hutcheson replaces Osei Mevs, who has been appointed to a new position as senior director, provider onboarding and retention with the Physician Services team at LifePoint.

In the chief of staff role, Hutcheson will work closely with Bill Carpenter, LifePoint’s chairman and chief executive officer, to ensure the proper coordination and effective communication of the key issues, activities, projects and staff resources related to the company’s top strategic priorities.

Hutcheson joined LifePoint in 2008 and most recently served as vice president, strategic growth and development. Prior to joining the company, Hutcheson worked as a management consultant for AIM Healthcare, where he advised hospital and payer clients in the New York Metropolitan area on strategic projects. Before entering the healthcare sector, he worked as an engineer for the U.S. Army Aviation Engineering Directorate.

Hutcheson is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and earned an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

Kreulen named airport interim president, CEO

Kreulen

The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners has ended Rob Wigington’s tenure as president and CEO of MNAA following a unanimous vote by commissioners and named Chief Operating Officer Doug Kreulen as interim president and CEO.

Kreulen had been serving as MNAA acting president and CEO since July 22, 2017, when Wigington went on leave.

Board of Commissioners Chair Bobby Joslin provided the following statement:

“The Board of Commissioners has a fiduciary duty to do what is best for the organization and the city we serve. In this case, by unanimous agreement, the board acted to make a needed change in the top management of the Airport Authority. This is a critical time for Nashville International Airport as we confront rapid growth and the launch of a major expansion program, and it is critically important we have the right leadership in place as we go forward. I commend my fellow board members for acting in the best interests of the Airport Authority today.”

Kreulen, an Accredited Airport Executive, has served as MNAA’s COO since 2013 after joining as senior vice president of Operations in 2012. Previously, he was director of Operations for Huntsville International Airport.

Prior to beginning his career in the commercial aviation sector, Kreulen served in the United States Air Force for 27 years. During his military service, Kreulen held numerous executive leadership positions including chief of the Readiness Division for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington D.C.; commander of the Operations Group at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas.; vice wing commander of Yokota Air Base in Japan; and director of Staff for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. His highest rank in the Air Force was Colonel.

Vanderbilt’s Conn lauded for mental health research

Conn

P. Jeffrey Conn, Ph.D., founding director of the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, has won a 2017 Research & Hope Award from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) for outstanding research in the area of mental health.

Conn’s citation for excellence in Academic Research was one of five Research & Hope Awards presented Oct. 10 during PhRMA’s annual award dinner in Washington, D.C. The honorees were selected by the Scientific Advisory Board of the PhRMA Foundation.

Conn and his colleagues have pioneered a novel approach to treating neurological and psychiatric disorders using compounds called allosteric modulators. Rather than turning a receptor “on” or “off” (what traditional drugs usually do), allosteric modulators “tune” the receptor function up or down, like a dimmer switch in an electrical circuit.

The researchers have discovered promising candidates for treating a wide range of disorders including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Fragile X syndrome.

PhRMA represents the country’s leading biopharmaceutical research companies, which have invested more than half a trillion dollars in developing new drug treatments since 2000.

STARS Nashville promotes 5 employees

Webb

STARS Nashville, a program that helps young people overcome social and emotional barriers to success, has promoted five employees.

Nine-year STARS employee Julie Moran Webb will be a STARS counselor at Brentwood High School and the team lead for Williamson County. In her role, Webb helps students develop socially and emotionally. Webb studied social work at Lipscomb University and continued her education with a master’s degree in social work from the University of Tennessee. Webb holds a school social work license and her master of social work license.

Monforte

Higgs

Bush

Jenna Monforte, who has worked at STARS since 2012, has been promoted to Student Assistance Program team lead for Williamson County and the student assistant specialist for Independence High School. Before joining STARS, Monforte earned a master’s in social work and certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Georgia.

Kay Higgs, M.Ed, will serve as the SAP program manager and trainer. Higgs has worked in student assistance counseling for 16 years. Part of her role is to facilitate workshops in healthy dating relationships, bullying prevention best practices, restorative practices and professional development. Higgs earned a degree from Andrews University and a master of education degree from Cumberland University.

James Bush has been promoted to program director of Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse. Bush is a licensed professional counselor and mental health services professional. His experience is in working with the adolescent population through Counselors Helping the Community, Cumberland Heights and The Scenario.

Debbie Sheets will serve as the STARS counselor at Hendersonville High School and program manager for Sumner and Wilson County SAP services. She specializes in helping students develop socially and emotionally. Sheets brings 25 years of student assistance experience to the STARS team.

Westin Nashville appoints food, beverage director

Burkhalter

The Westin Nashville has named Mark Burkhalter as director of food and beverage. With more than two decades of experience working for marquee properties across Alabama and Tennessee, most recently as director of food and beverage for the Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown, Burkhalter will conceive and spearhead a new direction for The Westin Nashville’s food and beverage program.

Prior to the Sheraton, Burkhalter worked at the Westin Birmingham Hotel, Birmingham Sheraton Hotel and Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex as director of food and beverage.

Westin features include a rooftop lounge, L27, Decker & Dyer and the Oak Steakhouse.

New board appointees for Second Harvest

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee has announces the following executive board member appointments, all serving three-year terms:

• Suzanne Buchanan, executive director, Rotary Club of Nashville
• John Bumpus, executive VP & chief administrative officer, LifePoint Health
• Bruce Esworthy, senior VP finance/admin & CFO, BMI
• Dave Fulmer, district manager, Publix Supermarkets
• Dennis Georgatos, senior VP, Skanska USA Building, Inc.
• Chris Petro and Caleb Ragan are serving as Young Leaders Council board interns.

Blakeley selected as VP of 117 Management

Blakely

117 Management has tapped artist manager Drew Blakeley to lead the company’s management division.

Blakeley began his career in the country music industry nearly 10 years ago as a successful talent buyer and concert promoter. He previously was with Conway Entertainment Group, where he spent the last three years on management teams for Lorrie Morgan, LOCASH, Randy Travis, ALABAMA and more.

117 Publicity, headed by VP Bev Moser, represents a wide array of artists including Bobby Bare, Chuck Negron, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lewis Brice, Logan Mize, Paul Bogart, Max T. Barnes, Scooter Brown Band, Darren Bessette Band and the Nashville Association of Talent Directors.

Southern Land Company makes leadership moves

Southern Land Company, a national real-estate developer of mixed-use developments and master planned communities, promoted three veteran employees to leadership positions within the company.

Promotions include Danny Lane to senior vice president of design, Ben Crenshaw to senior vice president of design and Tom Skube to vice president of multifamily development and construction management.

Lane joined the single-family architectural design team in 2002.

Crenshaw joined the landscape architecture team as creative director in 2003.

Skube rejoined SLC in 2010 as project manager of the Southeast regional development team and has now been tasked with leading the newly created multifamily development and construction management team.

In addition, Bryan Fitzpatrick has been promoted to quality assurance/quality control manager.