Smith

Kevin Smith, M.D., Ph.D., MMHC, FACP, has been elected president of the Tennessee Medical Association and will take office in May.

Smith practices primary care and teaches general internal medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was previously in private practice at Saint Thomas West Hospital, including six years in solo practice.

He earned his medical degree and completed his residency at Vanderbilt and later earned a master’s in health care management from the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. He was president of the Nashville Academy of Medicine in 2018 and was treasurer of the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Physicians.

More than 1,100 TMA member physicians voted in the 2019 leadership elections, which were held online during the month of February. TMA officials attribute the high voter turnout to increasing awareness throughout Tennessee’s medical community about the role and value of organized medicine.

Several TMA physician members were also elected or re-elected to serve on the TMA Board of Trustees They include: Dr. Lee Berkenstock, Cordova; Dr. Landon Combs, Gray; Dr. John McCarley, Hixson; and Dr. Amy Suppinger, Franklin.

Elected to the TMA Judicial Council were: Dr. Patrick Andre, Milan; Dr. Susan Briley, Nashville; Dr. Howard Herrell, Greeneville; and Dr. Mack Worthington.

Blakely joins Bradley as health care associate

Blakely

Derick Blakely has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Nashville office as an associate in the Healthcare Practice Group.

Blakely provides health care regulatory counsel related to compliance, operational and transactional matters. He works with a variety of health care clients, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and other providers.

Before joining Bradley, Blakely was an associate with Bass, Berry & Sims PLC.

During law school, Blakely worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the D.C. Office of Inspector General, where he investigated and analyzed health care fraud and abuse issues. Before law school, he worked in the government services and consulting industry.

Blakely earned his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. He also is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Bass, Berry & Sim adds 2 attorneys

Moore

Bass, Berry & Sims has hired William “Trey” L. Moore III as a senior public policy counsel and Courtney A. Hunter as an associate in the Nashville office.

Moore represents clients before the Tennessee General Assembly and the executive branch departments, agencies and commissions of Tennessee government. In this role, he advises companies, organizations and associations related to state legislative and regulatory issues.

Hunter

Before joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Moore served as vice president of government relations at Acadia Healthcare, as a lobbyist with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and as director of policy at the Beacon Center of Tennessee.

He earned a J.D. from Nashville School of Law and a B.A. from The University of the South.

Hunter advises clients in connection with internal and government investigations, business disputes, breach of contract disputes and products liability matters.

She previously was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. She earned a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School and a B.A. from the University of Florida.

Zeitlin names Neese Franklin managing broker

Neese

Charlie Neese will assume the role of managing broker of Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty’s Franklin office beginning April 1.

Neese has been an affiliate broker with Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty for four years and is one of Middle Tennessee’s top producers. Previously, he spent more than two decades as a weather forecaster, winning multiple Emmy awards for his severe weather coverage and severe weather safety television series.

Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty’s Franklin office has served Williamson County since the office opened 33 years ago. The company moved into a new office on Franklin Road near Moore’s Lane in 2018.

New adjutant general for state assumes command

Holmes

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeff H. Holmes took command of the Tennessee National Guard during a change-of-command ceremony held at Joint Force Headquarters in Nashville earlier this week.

Gov. Bill Lee appointed Holmes as Tennessee’s 76th Adjutant General, replacing Maj. Gen. Terry M. “Max” Haston, who retired after 40 years, with the last nine years leading the Tennessee National Guard.

Holmes was officially sworn in by Gov. Lee as Tennessee’s 76th Adjutant General on Jan. 19, 2019. Holmes is responsible for the supervision of Tennessee’s Military Department which includes the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Tennessee State Guard and the Volunteer Challenge Academy.

MP&F picks Chapman as managing partner

Chapman

MP&F Strategic Communications has named Alice Chapman managing partner of the firm, part of a strategic initiative begun several years ago to ensure that MP&F will be sustained as an independent, locally owned agency beyond the original partners.

That plan included bringing on next generation of equity partners. Chapman was named a partner in 2011, and 27-year MP&F veteran Jennifer Brantley became a partner in 2017.

David Fox, one of the original partners, previously served in the management role and will remain an active full-time partner in the firm. The firm’s other partners are Katy Varney, who joined MP&F as a partner in 1993, Keith Miles, who came on board in 1995 and was named a partner in 1998, and Jennifer Brantley, who became a partner in 2017.

Chapman joined MP&F in 1995 and advanced to become a senior manager and ultimately an equity owner of the company. She works with clients across the Southeast in a variety of industries, including health care, technology and education. She counts grassroots campaigns and public policy initiatives among her specialties.

First Tennessee names Wheeler branch manager

Wheeler

First Tennessee Bank has hired Ben Wheeler as the financial center manager of First Tennessee’s main branch in Franklin.

Wheeler has more than seven years of experience in the banking industry. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a major in English and a concentration in business administration. He will oversee all functions of the newly redeveloped Franklin Main branch location, including customer relations.

Diversified Trust promotes 5 in Nashville

Diversified Trust, an independent comprehensive wealth management firm, has promoted five staff members in Nashville: Adele Anderson to senior associate, Adam Dretler to principal, Stewart Koch to vice president, Sarah Maxwell to senior associate and Karen Morvai to senior associate.

Anderson holds an associate degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC and a bachelor of theatre arts from Thomas Edison State College.

Dretler graduated from Duke University. He previously worked at Ziff Brothers Investments in New York City.

Koch earned a degree in business administration from Furman University.

Maxwell serves as a client administrator and is integral to account administration and client support activities.

Morvai was promoted from associate to senior associate, providing support for client service and maintaining the firm’s document management system. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati.

Centerstone Research announces 2 promotions

Newton

Centerstone, a national provider of behavioral health care, has announced two executive promotions for its Research Institute:

Ashley Newton, MPS, PMP, has been named chief operating officer for Centerstone’s Research Institute and vice president of Center for Clinical Excellence.

Jennifer Lockman, Ph.D., has been named vice president of clinical & transitional research.

Lockman

Newton previously served as vice president of Center for Clinical Excellence for Centerstone’s Research Institute. In her new role, Newton will work to implement the Research Institute’s high value treatment in the context of the local environments and oversee the team’s operations management and collaboration.

Lockman previously served as the director of clinical & translational research. In her new role, Lockman will manage the Research Institute’s clinical research projects, serve as a liaison with external researchers and assess the best methods for measuring clinical outcomes.

Newton, who joined Centerstone in 2006, holds a degree in psychology and an master’s in professional studies and strategic leadership from Middle Tennessee State University.

Lockman, who joined Centerstone in 2007, earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, and a master’s in professional counseling from Lipscomb University.