Dickinson Wright PLLC has been named “Law Firm of the Year” by both Captive Review (@Captivereview #USCaptiveAwards) and Captive International.

The inaugural US Captive Awards by Captive International honor the best-in-class providers across the full spectrum of disciplines active in the captive insurance industry. The awards were based on feedback received from the captive industry, and in particular from readers of Captive International. Honorees will be featured in a forthcoming Captive International publication.

On Oct. 7, Dickinson Wright also received the “Law Firm of the Year” award from the US Captive Review Awards during a virtual awards ceremony. The 2020 US Captive Review Awards honored providers of captive insurance products and services for their accomplishments within the past year.

Dickinson Wright’s captive insurance team provides comprehensive services to businesses that own or are looking to form captive insurance companies.

Cooper launches hospitality committee

Mayor John Cooper this week launched his advisory committee on hospitality, a 10-person working group that will bring firsthand knowledge and experience with operating businesses and protecting public health during the pandemic.

The committee will consult with the Metro Public Health Department on protocols moving forward, as well as advise Cooper as he works to keep Nashville safe during a winter with COVID-19.

“As we look ahead at the next six months, the task for Nashville is to control the virus instead of letting it control us,” Cooper says. “That means safe public health protocols with a strict focus on masks and social distancing, so we can safely bring back more events and business capacity between now and the day we have a vaccine.”

The committee’s membership includes:

• Barrett Hobbs, chairman, Downtown Merchants Association member, Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce

• Benjamin Goldberg, co-founder, Strategic Hospitality

• Clint Gray, co-founder, Slim & Husky’s

• Deana Ivey, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp.

• Eric Opron, managing director, Omni Nashville Hotel

• Sam Reed, Reed Hospitality, 8&R Coffee and Sinema

• Rick Schwartz, president and CEO, Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

• Rob Mortensen, president and CEO, Tennessee Hospitality & Tourism Association

• Andrew McClanahan, assistant attorney, Metro Nashville Department of Law

• Hugh Atkins, director of environmental health services, Metro Public Health Department

This group of industry professionals will also be positioned to work with their peers to ensure greater compliance with public health standards, including giving recommendations to the Metro Beer Board.

Arts & Business Council honors Periscope Pitchers

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville has announced the winners of the seventh annual Periscope Pitch, the culmination of this year’s Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training program, presented in partnership with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Metro Arts, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

After eight weeks of intensive training and six months of one-on-one mentorship, the 2020 cohort of Periscope artist entrepreneurs showcased their creative businesses via the Periscope Pitch.

n First place ($1,500 cash award): Rachel Bartek, who plans to open a center for glass art in Nashville. Information: https://rachelbartek.carbonmade.com.

n Second place ($1,000 each): A three-way tie between Ayumi Fukuda Bennett (information illustrator, www.ayumibennett.com), Mel Ferrer (founder and designer of creation urns for Homage Urns, www.homageurns.com) and Emma Levitz (stone carver and visual artist, Little Mountain Stoneworks, www.littlemountainstoneworks.com).

California company picks Middle Tennessee

Gutterglove, a manufacturer of stainless steel micro-mesh gutter guards, is expanding to the Nashville area with plans to open a facility by the first quarter of 2021.

Headquartered in Northern California, company officials say adding the manufacturing and distribution facility near Nashville will improve shipping and delivery times for the Eastern United States.

Brown Water Spirits launches first release

Nashville-based Brown Water Spirits LLC has introduced its first release, and the first whiskey to be aged in a floating rickhouse on the Mississippi River – O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Whiskey.

“O.H. Ingram River Aged is different than anything whiskey lovers have tried before. It’s really innovation captured in a bottle,” says Hank Ingram, proprietor. “Using the cadence and unique climate of the river, we’re bringing innovation to the whiskey making process, specifically the aging process. O.H. Ingram River Aged takes advantage of the Mississippi River to create a whiskey with a personality all its own.”

The first release in the River Aged Series, the whiskey is the result of combining traditional distilling practices with this innovative maturation process. A straight rye is next in the River Aged Series and will be released this November.

Beginning in October 2020, O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Whiskey is available in portions of Tennessee and additional markets as inventories are available.

HarperCollins makes co-publishing deal

Nashville-based HarperCollins Leadership and the Microsoft Alumni Network have announced a new publishing collaboration.

The pact allows HarperCollins Leadership to represent the broad range of talent that makes up the Microsoft alumni community.

The first projects in the new co-publishing relationship are business and leadership books penned by top former employees of the tech company:

• Purpose Mindset: How Microsoft Inspires Employees and Alumni to Change the World by Akhtar Badshah

• Back to Business: Finding Your Confidence, Embracing Your Skills, and Landing Your Dream Job After a Career Pause by Nancy McSharry Jensen and Sarah Duenwald

• Taking Charge of Change: How Real People Solve Hard Problems by Paul Shoemaker

The collaboration’s inaugural release is the The Purpose Mindset.

It will be available for purchase Nov. 10 via Amazon and through major booksellers.

Cleaning franchisor comes to Nashville

Corvus Janitorial Systems, a franchisor of office and commercial cleaning businesses, has launched a master franchise in Nashville.

Corvus of Nashville will sell and support local franchisees in providing quality, reliable janitorial and office cleaning services in accordance with Corvus’ established national brand.

Brennan Stopnik has been appointed regional director of the Corvus of Nashville.

N95 mask manufacturer will create 220 jobs

Moldex-Metric, Inc., a N95 respirator manufacturer, will locate new operations in Lebanon.

Moldex will invest over $25 million and the creation of more than 200 new jobs in Wilson County over the next three years.

The company is expanding its N95 respirator capacity to meet the surge in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future market demand.

The company plans to retrofit an existing building in Lebanon, which will be its first manufacturing facility in Tennessee. Beyond the capacity increase, Moldex also intends to build an additional distribution center on the 21-acre site.

Headquartered in Culver City, California, Moldex is the second largest manufacturer of N95 respirators in North America and has been manufacturing NIOSH approved respirators and hearing protection products for almost 40 years. Moldex products are made using proprietary technology and have been granted more than 50 patents.

Urgent Care Group expands in Georgia

Brentwood-based Urgent Care Group and Northside Hospital have announced an expansion of their Health Choice Urgent Care joint venture with the addition of Roswell Urgent Care located in Roswell, Georgia.

In March, Northside announced the acquisition of ChoiceOne Urgent Care of Gwinnett and a new partnership with Urgent Care Group, to manage and operate the three locations in the Gwinnett County, Georgia, area.

The three centers were later rebranded as Health Choice Urgent Care in June 2020. Roswell Urgent Care will be rebranded and join the Health Choice Urgent Care brand.

HCA, EVERFI partner on student wellness

HCA Healthcare of Nashville is collaborating with EVERFI, an international technology company driving social change through education, to launch an interactive, mental health and wellness digital education course for middle and high school students.

With more than 2,000 sites of care, including 186 hospitals, in communities across 21 states, HCA Healthcare is a leader in behavioral health with the knowledge and data from nearly 200,000 annual behavioral health patient encounters that enable the organization to make positive advances in educating the community about mental illness.

Called Mental Wellness Basics, the course is targeted to reach more than 12,000 middle and high school students in an estimated 105 school districts in Southeast Florida, Western North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Texas.

HCA Healthcare is investing nearly $1 million over the next three years to sponsor the course.

AltoIRA partners with Jamestown Invest

Jamestown Invest is partnering with Nashville-based AltoIRA, a technology platform that simplifies and streamlines the process for investors to add alternative assets to their IRAs.

Jamestown Invest is a Reg A+ online real estate investment vehicle sponsored by Jamestown.

The partnership gives retail investors the opportunity to diversify their portfolios by accessing and investing in private equity real estate with their tax-advantaged IRAs.