The Board of Trustees of Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art has recently announced new officers of the Board to serve two-year terms: They are:

Chairman: George B. Stadler, CFA. Stadler is a founding partner of HMS Capital Management. Prior to forming HMS, he was regional managing director for the personal asset management group at SunTrust.

Vice chairman: Lillian C. (Tooty) Bradford. Bradford has been active in the Nashville community for many years, focusing her interests on Cheekwood, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Treasurer: Don MacLeod. MacLeod is a retired banking executive who formerly served as the regional president responsible for Wachovia Bank’s operations in Tennessee. During his 28 year career with Wachovia, he held various executive leadership roles at the company’s headquarters in Charlotte, NC.

Secretary: Katherine Higgins DeLay. DeLay is director of Sherman-Dixie Concrete Industries, Inc. She is actively involved in numerous civic and cultural activities including the Swan Ball, the Symphony Ball, the Antiques & Garden Show, St. Cecilia Academy, TPAC, the Martha O’Bryan Center, and Cumberland Valley Girl Scouts Council. She is a former member of the City of Oak Hill Planning Commission.

Simmons elected Fellow of Tennessee Bar Foundation

Keith B. Simmons of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC has been elected a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. The Bar Foundation is an association that honors attorneys throughout the State of Tennessee for their service to the profession.

Simmons joins 33 other attorneys from across the state who have been extended invitations by the Foundation Board of Trustees to become Fellows in the class of 2012.

The Bar Foundation is an association of 751 attorneys from across the State of Tennessee whose purpose is to honor attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the profession and to administer a public interest grant-making program, known as “IOLTA” (Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts). To date, the Bar Foundation has awarded IOLTA grants in excess of $18,600,000 to law-related, public interest projects throughout Tennessee.

Simmons is a partner in Bass, Berry & Sims, serving since 1995 he has served as managing partner of the firm. His practice specialty is public finance, and his practice has encompassed financings for some of the smallest communities in the State of Tennessee to major, high-profile transactions for the major metropolitan areas in the State.

Change in leadership at Stones River Electric

Jami Hall has moved from the position of president to CEO at Stones River Electric, the electrical contracting company she established in 1990. Her son, Rob Wilson, previously vice president of the company, has been named President.

As CEO, Hall will focus on long-range and strategic planning for Stones River Electric. As President, Wilson will oversee all aspects of the company’s daily operations, including project management, business development and administration.

Hall has more than 35 years of experience in electrical construction and lighting management. She is a Certified Lighting Management Consultant (CLMC) and was honored as “Woman Business Owner of the Year” for 2004-2005 by the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Sternberg to serve ophthalmology group

Paul Sternberg Jr., M.D., chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and director of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, was recently elected president-elect of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He assumed the post Jan. 1.

The one-year term will prepare Sternberg, also assistant vice chancellor for Adult Health Affairs and chief medical officer for Vanderbilt Medical Group, for his role as president of the academy beginning in 2013.

Wiseman Ashworth makes ‘best firm’ list

Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, PLC is included in the 2011-2012 Best Law Firms rankings, receiving first-tier ranking for both its medical malpractice law defense and its personal injury litigation defense practices.

In addition, two of the firm’s attorneys, Gail Vaughn Ashworth and Thomas A. Wiseman III have been named to the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers.

Wiseman received designation as Lawyer of the Year in the area of medical malpractice defense. Only one lawyer in each practice area and metropolitan area is honored as the Lawyer of the Year. Wiseman also was cited for his personal injury defense practice. He has been included in Best Lawyers since 1999.

Ashworth was listed for her personal injury defense practice. She has been listed in Best Lawyers since 1995.

Cardiac surgeons join Saint Thomas practice

Dr. Mark Tedder, a cardiothoracic surgeon and prominent leader in ventricular assist device procedures, is among three cardiac surgeons joining Saint Thomas Heart, the cardiac medical practice of Saint Thomas Health.

In addition to Dr. Tedder, Drs. David Glassford and David Yandell have joined Saint Thomas Heart. The surgeons, who have been on the medical staff at Saint Thomas Hospital, were formerly in private practice.

Tedder specializes in treating valvular heart disease and has performed more ventricular assist device (VAD) surgeries than any other surgeon in Middle Tennessee. He was also recently named the surgical director of the Saint Thomas Heart Ventricular Assist Device Center at Saint Thomas Hospital, one of only 33 dedicated VAD centers in the United States.

Glassford and Yandell are both board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Glassford earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital, where he also completed his internship and residency in general surgery. Yandell attended medical school at the University of Kansas. He did his residency in general surgery at the University of Louisville and internship in thoracic surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He completed fellowships in vascular surgery at the University of Kansas, thoracic surgery at Cedar-Sinai and endovascular surgery at Stanford Hospital.

Spindler honored by orthopaedics academy

Kurt Spindler, M.D., Kenneth D. Schermerhorn Professor and vice chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University, and the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) are recipients of the 2012 Ann Doner Vaughan Kappa Delta Award.

Given by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Research Development Committee, the Kappa Delta Award recognizes outstanding manuscripts that focus on research related to the musculoskeletal system that is of high significance and impact.

The award recognizes the paper that highlights the development of the MOON group, a National Institutes of Health-funded consortium to examine outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Magazine recognizes Yeatman’s contributions

Jeanne Yeatman, MBA, BSN, EMT, director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center LifeFlight, has been named by HealthLeaders magazine as one of its top 20 people across the nation who is “changing health care for the better.”

The annual HealthLeaders 20 list profiles people who are playing a crucial role in making the health care industry better. Yeatman is the only Tennessean on the list, and the only person representing the air medical industry.

Yeatman was selected in part for some of the innovative programs that she and her Vanderbilt LifeFlight team have put into place recently to break down barriers between health care providers.

O’Charley’s promotes, adds to Nashville team

O’Charley’s Inc. has hired two senior executives and promoted four at its corporate headquarters. Promotions include:

• Allie Garmon, accounting manager, responsible for period accounting close and oversee financial closing activities and the accounts payable function.
• David Hill, director of financial reporting, will direct the day-to-day accounting operations and accuracy of financial reporting.
• Laurie Katapski, senior director of marketing, responsible for overseeing promotion planning, menu development and marketing communication including media and creative direction
• Joe Rymer, vice president and corporate controller, will be involved with all accounting and financial matters and responsible for the company’s finance and accounting functions.

Professionals joining the company are:

• Richard Trebilcock, vice president of marketing. Trebilcock had been the senior vice president of marketing for Potbelly Sandwich Works. Prior to that he served as senior VP marketing for Longhorn Steakhouse with Rare Hospitality and spent 16 years in various marketing leadership roles within the PepsiCo/Yum family of restaurants.
• Phil Trello, director of construction and facilities for O’Charley’s and Stoney River. He will be responsible for overseeing all internal and external activities regarding real estate site selection and development, new construction, remodels, renovations, facilities repair and maintenance.

Lawyer joins INSBANK as analyst, officer

INSBANK has added Aaron Lawyer as a credit analyst and bank officer with the company. Lawyer, who has more than five years of experience evaluating commercial credits, will be responsible for researching and reviewing financial underwriting documents as well as market condition reports.

Before joining INSBANK, Lawyer served as a commercial credit analyst with Community First Bank & Trust in Franklin. He also was a field credit analyst at First Citizens Bank.