J.B. Baker, chairman of the board for Volunteer Express Inc. and owner of Sprint Logistics, LLC and Baker South real estate development, has been awarded the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award by Middle Tennessee State University.

Established in 1998, the award recognizes a member of the business community whose outstanding career exemplifies the ideals of free enterprise through any combination of entrepreneurship, governmental involvement, participation in civic and charitable affairs and education.

The list of recipients includes the late former Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter, a trucking industry veteran who originally hired Baker at Volunteer Express 30 years ago.

Baker joined Volunteer Express in 1982 in the company’s sales department and worked his way up to the positions of general manager and president. Eventually, Baker purchased the growing company. He has since grown the company to include more than 350 employees and more than 30 locations in Tennessee and across the Northeast until the sale of the company in October 2011.

An active community leader, Baker belongs to fifteen boards and serves on numerous organizational committees, such as the Tennessee Trucking Association, SunTrust Bank, Martin Methodist College, Saint Thomas Health Services, Middle Tennessee Boy Scouts of America, Goodwill Industries, Nashville Symphony, King’s Daughters Day Home, Business Leadership Council and BindTech Book Bindery.

Centerstone’s Stoll takes new VP duties

Centerstone, the nation’s largest not-for-profit provider of community-based mental health and addiction services, has promoted Becky Stoll to vice president for crisis and disaster management. Stoll has been with Centerstone for 13 years and previously served as director of crisis services and crisis management strategies.

In this new position, Stoll will oversee the continuum of Centerstone’s Crisis Services, including the 24-hour Crisis Call Center, Mobile Crisis Response Team, as well as Centerstone’s Crisis Management Strategies, which is a public and private sector crisis preparedness and response service.

Red Cross announces new board members

The Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross leadership has approved its 2012-13 Board of Directors. New and returning board members include:

Board Chair: Peter Rousos, Vanderbilt University

Vice Chair: Roland Lundy, The Buffkin Group, LLC

Secretary: Susan Lanigan, Dollar General Corporation

Board members:

Nickolas Andersen, Nationwide Insurance; William Andrews, Corrections Corporation of America; Michael L. Ansel, PharmMD Solutions, LLC; Robert Barone, RjB Partners; Anthony Bielawski, Ernst & Young, LLC; James Blackstock, James F Blackstock PLLC; Barbara Bovender, community volunteer; Jessica Bracken, community volunteer; Joe Crace, Compass Executives, LLC ; Harold Carpenter, Pinnacle Financial Partners; Father Fred Dettwiller, Det Distributing Company ; Veronica Floyd, United Parcel Service; Julie Frist, community volunteer; Leisa M. Gill, Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC; Robert Gordon, Morgan Stanley; Christi Griffin, SpecialtyCare, Inc.; Mark Gunning, Asurion; Dr. Jeffrey S. Guy, Centennial Women’s & Children Administration; Charles Hannon, First Tennessee Bank; Terry Hardesty, Deloitte & Touche LLP; Russ Harms, HCA Healthcare; Mike Hasselbrink, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority; Steve Heim, Det Distributing; Don Holloman, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, Inc.; Kari Johnson, Morgan Keegan & Company; Kelvin Jones, The Kelvin Jones Law Group; Bill Krueger, Nissan North America, Inc.; Tal Lefler, GE Capital Healthcare; Roland Lundy,The Buffkin Group, LLC; Samuel Lynch, BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc.; Michael Lynd, Community Health Systems; Laura Morris, Laura Morris Designs; Thomas Negri, Loews Hotel; William Penny, Stites & Harbison; Craig Philip, Ingram Barge; Ted Pins, Village Real Estate Services; Dr. Nick Sieveking, Sieveking Plastic Surgery; John Styll, StyllPoint Consulting; Chris Taylor, HCA TriStar Division; Christi Turner, Community Volunteer; Scott Turner, Ajax Turner Co., Inc.; Don Walker, LP Building Products; Joseph Walker, Mt. Zion Baptist Church; Tim Warnock, Riley, Warnock & Jacobson, PLC; Dr. Pramod Wasudev, Surgery Associates; Spencer Wiggins, Community Education Partners; Betsy Wills, Courage Capital Management; Gary Wilson, UPS Retiree/Community Volunteer

Bank of Nashville gives Williams new duties

The Bank of Nashville, a division of Synovus Bank, has promoted Jonathan Williams to senior vice president, senior manager of Retail Banking.

With his promotion, Williams will have responsibility for the Retail division, including branches, branch administration and the call center, and will become a member of the bank’s operating committee.

Williams joined The Bank of Nashville in 2003 after working at AmSouth Bank as a branch manager. He has experience in retail, business banking, private client services, and most recently served as a retail banking manager overseeing five branches.

McNeely Pigott & Fox promotes associates

McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations has promoted Katie Coppens and Mitchell Despot to associate account executives. Both previously were staff associates.

Coppens, an Alabama native, joined MP&F in 2011 and has worked with a variety of client teams, including the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program, Harpeth Hall School, Sun & Ski Sports and the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference.

She recently provided support to the Tennessee Titans organization in its successful funding request to the Nashville Sports Council for nearly $30 million in stadium upgrades, including Jumbotrons, ribbon boards and speakers.

Nashville native Despot interned at MP&F in the spring of 2011 and joined the company as a staff associate later that fall.

While on staff at MP&F, he has worked with client teams including the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program, CSX Transportation, Nashville Predators, Feld Entertainment, Hennessy Industries and the Ronald McDonald House Charities, focusing in such areas as media relations, event planning, grassroots campaigns, materials development and website development.

BOHAN attracts 2 to Nashville office

Rich Parubrub has joined BOHAN Advertising as associate creative director, and Penny Rahe has joined as the director of broadcast production.

Parubrub has worked at the Mullen and Long Haymes Carr agencies in North Carolina and at Bailey Gardiner and i.d.e.a. in Southern California. He most recently was associate creative director at i.d.e.a.

He has done work for clients in a variety of industries. Among them are BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Sealy, Wachovia Bank & Wachovia Securities, CSX, T.J. Maxx, Thomasville Furniture, Midway Airlines, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Nextel, Piedmont Natural Gas, Sheraton and the San Diego Museum of Art.

Rahe has more than 25 years of experience in broadcast production and most recently was group broadcast director at the Buntin Group.

Her work has featured national and international clients that include BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Tri-Star Health System, United MethodistCommunications, University Hospitals of Cleveland, SERVPRO, Kroger, OfficeMax, General Tire, RBC Financial, and Habitat for Humanity.

Bone McAllester adds litigator

Sean C. Kirk has joined the law firm of Bone McAllester Norton PLLC as a commercial litigation attorney, Chairman Charles W. Bone announced today.

Mr. Kirk represents clients in a variety of matters including secured transactions, collections, creditors’ rights, and all facets of bankruptcy proceedings and commercial litigation. His broad range of clients includes institutional lenders and financiers, real estate and equipment lessors, and electronic payment processing companies involved in various industries.

In addition, Mr. Kirk also manages multi-jurisdictional litigation on behalf of his clients across the United States. A significant portion of his practice involves commercial loan workouts and representation of secured lenders in commercial foreclosure and deficiency actions.