Drew Holt has joined Neal & Harwell, PLC as an associate in the firm’s litigation group.

Holt earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. During law school, he participated in Neal & Harwell’s Summer Associate Program and was a judicial intern for the United States District Court in Knoxville. He earned a B.A. in English language and literature and an M.A. in the humanities from the University of Chicago.

Ascension Saint Thomas names new president, COO

Harrison Kiser, chief operating officer for Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West, has been named to president and chief operating officer of the hospital.

With more than 14 years of leadership experience across both not-for-profit and investor-owned health care systems, Kiser brings extensive expertise in hospital operations, strategic development and clinical program management.

Since 2018, he has overseen daily operations for the 541-bed Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West, including key departments such as perioperative and cardiac services, transplant and ancillary services. During his tenure, he was responsible for overseeing capital projects, programmatic expansions and improvements to the hospital campus experience.

In addition to his role as COO, Kiser also served as vice president of the cardiovascular service line for Ascension Saint Thomas.

Kiser holds a degree in finance from the University of Memphis and an MBA in health care management from Lipscomb University.

HCA’s Edgeworth named 2025 Heart Gala chair

Mitch Edgeworth, president of the HCA Healthcare TriStar Division, has been named volunteer chairperson of the 2025 Middle Tennessee’s Heart Gala campaign.

The Heart Gala celebrates hope and progress made through the dedication and passion of all who support the American Heart Association’s efforts to make an impact on the health of the community. These efforts include the pursuit of scientific discovery, public policy change, equitable health for the under-resourced and underrepresented, and education to equip the community to take control of their health.

Edgeworth has more than two decades of leadership experience, having served as president of the HCA Healthcare TriStar Division since Jan. 2021. He oversees a network of 17 hospitals and multiple access points, including freestanding ERs, oncology centers, physician practices, and urgent care centers across Tennessee and Kentucky.

Three new members among KraftCPAs additions

Jason Anderson, Katie Grant and Vikki Gray have been admitted as members at KraftCPAs PLLC, while Sean Owens and Scott Nalley have been elevated to member-in-charge positions.

Anderson is the newest member in the firm’s tax services division, where he works with clients in the manufacturing/wholesale/distribution and entertainment industries. He joined Kraft first as an intern in 2013, then full-time in 2015. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in business administration and a master’s in accountancy.

Grant joins the assurance services team as a member, where she works primarily with clients in the nonprofit, service and manufacturing/wholesale/distribution industries. She joined Kraft in 2011 after graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in accounting and from Middle Tennessee State University with a master’s in accounting and information systems.

Gray also is a member in the assurance services department, where her clients include investment companies, tax-exempt organizations and manufacturing, wholesale and distribution entities. She also works extensively with employee benefit plan audits. She graduated from Tennessee Tech University with a degree in accounting and joined Kraft in 2009.

Owens and Nalley have moved into member-in-charge positions and will oversee operations and strategic planning for their respective departments, Owens in assurance services and Nalley in risk assurance and advisory services. Both were previously members of those departments.

The new positions coincide with Chris Hight’s elevation to chief manager.

Connico adds 5 members to growing, diverse team

Connico, a Mt. Juliet-based national consultancy that services the aviation, civil, transportation, institutional, commercial and industrial markets, has added five new team members to support the company’s continued growth in the industry: Chris Pavese as a subject matter expert of development, Chris Viamari as an electrical cost specialist, Jimmy Hutchins as an analyst III, Tyler Bartruff as an analyst I and Evan Yablonsky as an analyst I.

Pavese will focus on the construction of Connico’s first-ever staff development framework. Relying on his more than 30 years of industry experience, he also will contribute to Connico’s program management efforts. He holds multiple degrees, including a master’s in electrical power transmission and distribution and a degree in general engineering from Gonzaga University.

Viamari brings more than 25 years of industry experience to the new position.

Hutchins joins Connico with nearly 20 years of industry experience. He holds an associate degree from West Georgia Technical College.

Bartruff brings nearly 10 years of experience across various industries and will focus on cost estimating and value integration. He holds a degree in organizational leadership from Northern Kentucky University.

Yablonsky, a recent civil engineering graduate from the University of Alabama, joins Connico with two years of industry experience. He is working toward his engineering-in-training certification.

Flowers joins staff of anesthesia school

Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia has chosen Richard “Richie” W. Flowers Jr., DNP, CRNA, CHSE, FAANA, as its new program administrator.

Flowers will lead MTSA’s flagship program, the doctor of nurse anesthesia practice, bringing a broad range of experience in both the academic and clinical settings. He is also an MTSA alumnus, earning a Master of Science with a focus in nurse anesthesia degree in 1997.

Flowers currently is assistant professor in the department of academic nursing at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he has served in various academic and leadership roles since 2015. Before that, he worked as a CRNA in numerous clinical practice environments, including owning his own practice.

Flowers earned his Doctor of Nurse Practice degree from Baylor College of Medicine, a Master of Science from MTSA, and a degree in nursing from Memphis State University.

Affinity Technology Partners adds two

Sean Lacoursiere and Angel Paruas Abreu have joined Affinity Technology Partners.

Lacoursiere joins as a project team lead and systems engineer. He previously served as I.T. director for the Minnesota Wild hockey team and has more than 12 years of IT experience. Lacoursiere earned a degree in information technology from the Minnesota School of Business.

Abreu is a senior project engineer with more than 10 years of experience. He earned degrees in systems engineering and mechatronics, robotics and automation engineering at Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo and holds multiple Cisco, Microsoft and CompTIA certifications.