The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is the recent recipient of multiple awards in 2021 from the Southeastern Museums Conference.

The SEMC awards come from two categories – Technology and Publication Design. The Technology Competition recognizes excellence in the use of technology and winning entries demonstrate innovation, effective design, accessibility, creativity and recognition of institutional identity. The Publications Design Competition encourages communication, effective design, creativity, pride of work and recognition of institutional image and identity. Museum publications play a vital role in the institution’s educational mission as they document exhibitions and collections through high-quality design and production.

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) is an association of museums, museum staff, independent professionals and corporate partners. It serves as the major regional networking organization for museums and their staff in the southeastern states.

Barge Design remains ‘Great Place to Work’

Barge Design Solutions, Inc., has been certified as a great workplace for the fifth consecutive year by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work.

Barge continues to see a strong percentage of employees who agree the firm is a great place to work. This year’s anonymous survey found 89% of employees affirm this to be the case. Ninety-six percent of Barge’s 400+ employees participated in the survey this year.

Volunteer Welding joins Meritus Gas

Meritus Gas Partners has entered into a partnership with Volunteer Welding Supply, Inc., headquartered in Nashville.

Volunteer is an independent distributor of industrial and specialty gases, welding and safety supplies, with four locations in Tennessee – Nashville, Tullahoma, Baxter and Knoxville.

Volunteer has been owned and operated by the McMurtry family since its inception. Co-owners and brothers, David and John Mark McMurtry, will continue to lead the business while maintaining significant equity ownership in Meritus.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

InsCorp completes $10M private placement

Nashville-based InsCorp, Inc., and parent company of INSBANK, has completed a private placement of $10 million in aggregate principal amount of fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2031 to certain qualified institutional buyers and accredited investors.

The notes will initially bear interest at 3.75% per year, payable semi-annually in arrears. Beginning Oct. 30, 2026, through the maturity date or earlier redemption, the interest rate will reset quarterly based on the then current three-month term SOFR plus 287 basis points, payable quarterly in arrears.

Also beginning Sept. 30, 2026, through maturity, the notes may be redeemed in whole or in part, at the company’s option. The notes will mature Oct. 31, 2031.

The notes are structured to qualify as Tier 2 capital instruments for regulatory capital purposes.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC served as legal counsel to the company.

Nashville’s HireRight prices IPO at $15 a share

Nashville’s HireRight has announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 22,222,222 shares of its common stock at $19 per share.

As part of the offering, the company has granted to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,333,333 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The shares are expected to begin trading Oct. 29 on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HRT.” The offering is expected to close Nov. 2, subject to customary closing conditions.

HireRight intends to use the proceeds of the offering for repayment of indebtedness, unwinding certain interest rate swaps and general corporate purposes, including continued investment in operating systems and technologies to improve operational efficiency.

SpecialityCare sold to Morgan Stanley

Brentwood-based SpecialityCare has been sold to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners by Kohlberg & Company, LLC.

SpecialtyCare operates a network of outsourced clinical services to hospital operating rooms in the U.S. With 1,200+ client hospitals in 46 U.S. states, it is the leading provider of cardiovascular perfusion, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, intraoperative neuromonitoring and autologous perfusion services. SpecialtyCare is also a leading provider of sterile processing services, endoscopic support and surgical assistance.

Dr. Sam Weinstein, SpecialtyCare’s CEO says, “Kohlberg has been an excellent partner, bringing passion for our mission, expert guidance, and strategic resources to help us improve surgical outcomes for patients. We are very grateful for Kohlberg’s support and guidance over the last four years.”

Moelis & Company LLC and Harris Williams served as financial advisers to SpecialtyCare and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel.

Amazon Tower 1 adds five tenants

Nashville Yards developer Southwest Value Partners has announced the five new retail tenants that will be located in Tower 1 of Amazon Nashville.

A suite of services along with fast-casual dining options will be available to both Amazon employees and the public.

The new retail tenants include:

• Crisp & Green: A healthy, fast-casual dining concept founded by Steele Smiley. It offers chef-crafted, scratch-made salads, grain bowls and smoothies.

• Orangetheory Fitness: Slated to open in summer 2022.

• Starbucks: Opening this fall, the branch will embrace a new app-focused ordering system not previously available in other Nashville locations.

• The Urban Juicer and Eatery will open a 1,095-square-foot store in November.

• Pinnacle Bank, which is moving its headquarters to the complex.

Anodyne purchases Virginia practice

Franklin-based Anodyne Pain & Wellness Solutions has announced its acquisition of Insight Physician Associates, a behavioral health practice group.

The acquisition of Virginia-based Insight expands Anodyne’s suite of pain and wellness services to include behavioral health – reinforcing Anodyne’s commitment to practices that benefit overall patient health and wellness.

Insight has specific expertise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, addictive and emotional disorders. With more than 37 years of experience in treating complex behavioral conditions, Insight has a 15-person provider team, including five psychiatrists. In addition to its clinical expertise, Insight has become an industry leader in providing mental health services through telemedicine.

Truck driver shortage said to be at all-time high

Bob Costello, chief economist of the American Trucking Association, says the driver shortage has risen to 80,000 – an all-time high for the industry.

“Since we last released an estimate of the shortage, there has been tremendous pressure on the driver pool,” Costello told a conference in Nashville. “Increased demand for freight, pandemic-related challenges from early retirements, closed driving schools and DMVs, and other pressures are really pushing up demand for drives and subsequently the shortage.”

By Costello’s estimate, based on driver demographic trends, including gender and age, as well as expected freight growth the shortage could surpass 160,000 in 2030.

To keep up with demand over the next decade, trucking will need to recruit nearly 1 million new drivers in order to close the gap caused by demand for freight, projected retirements and other issues.

“Because are a number of factors driving the shortage, we have to take a number of different approaches,” Costello said. “The industry is raising pay at five times the historic average, but this isn’t just a pay issue. We have an aging workforce, a workforce that is overwhelmingly male and finding ways to address those issues is key to narrowing the shortage.