The Battle of Franklin Trust has appointed longtime employee Eric A. Jacobson as its chief executive officer.

Jacobson, previously the Trust’s chief operating officer, has been with the organization since 2006. He oversees operations of The Carter House and Carnton Plantation and is a renowned Civil War historian, preservationist and author.

The announcement of Jacobson’s appointment comes at the beginning of a historic year for the organization, the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. The sesquicentennial of the battle will be commemorated throughout the year at both sites.

Jacobson has authored three books: “For Cause & For Country,” “The McGavock Confederate Cemetery” and “Baptism of Fire.”

Also, Morgan Harris has joined the Battle of Franklin Trust as special events coordinator. Harris’s duties with the Trust include planning and management of public events at Carnton Plantation and The Carter House, as well as private bookings.

Previously, Harris was with Affinion Benefits Group in the role of sales event coordinator.

Cassidy Turley names Hixon vice president

Cassidy Turley, a commercial real estate services provider, announced today that Megan Hixon has joined the firm as vice president and will focus on office sales and leasing.

Previously, Hixon was with Cresa in Washington, DC, where she advised local, national and international clients with corporate real estate requirements. She worked closely with her clients to ensure total quality management throughout the corporate real estate cycle by providing customized comprehensive strategic planning, financial analysis, lease negotiations and cost mitigation.

Hixon has more than five years of experience in commercial real estate and is licensed in multiple states. She received her bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston.

Cheekwood announces 8 new board members

The Board of Trustees of Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art has recently appointed eight new Board members.

The new members will serve three-year terms expiring December 31, 2016. They are:

Barbara J. Burns: Community volunteer and retired member of the management team of Castner Knott Co. Most recently she served as the sales and marketing manager of NeighborMD Urgent Care before it was sold to CareSpot /HCA TriStar.

Joan Cheek: Real estate broker with Worth Properties. Prior to her real estate career, she worked in film production as a location manager throughout the Southeast. She is married to Will T. Cheek, Jr., the grandson of C.T. Cheek and nephew of Mabel and Leslie Cheek.

John Eakin: Co-founder and chairman of Eakin Partners, a Nashville-based commercial real estate firm. He also serves as chief manager of several Eakin managed real estate funds.

Virginia “GiGi” Lazenby: Managing member, chief executive officer and sole shareholder of Bretagne LLC, an oil and gas production company she founded in 1988. She previously served as president of Transatlantic Exploration LTD.

Brian Smallwood: Co-founded the architectural firm InForm Smallwood+Nickle in 2001. He is a registered Architect holding membership in both The American Institute of Architects and the National Council of Architectural Registration Board.

James W. Spradley Jr.: CEO of Standard Functional Foods Group.

Bruce Sullivan: Retired accountant, having served the Ernst & Ernst team as technical partner in the National Accounting and Auditing Department. He also served Ernst & Ernst as audit partner and office managing partner, retiring in August 2003 after 30 years to serve as a consultant for the firm.

James A. “Jimmy” Webb III: Co-founder and president of Freeman Webb, Inc., a real estate brokerage, acquisition and management company.

Severson is president-elect of Legal Marketing Association

Adam C. Severson of Baker Donelson has been named president-elect of the Legal Marketing Association. Severson will serve a one-year term as president-elect before assuming the role of president in January 2015.

A not-for-profit professional organization founded in 1985, LMA serves the needs and maintains the professional standards of the men and women involved in marketing, business development, client service and communications within the legal profession. LMA also is a resource for practicing attorneys and law firm leaders who want to develop their practices and gain competitive advantage. The LMA has more than 3,500 members in the U.S., Canada and 15 other countries around the world.

Severson is the chief marketing and business development officer at Baker Donelson. He is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of the firm’s business development and marketing initiatives, and collaborates with the firm’s lawyers and professional staff to maintain a client focus, increase marketplace awareness and facilitate cross-office and cross-practice collaboration.

Severson leads a team at Baker Donelson that was recognized as the No. 1 business development & marketing team by Marketing the Law Firm, an American Lawyer Media publication, in its eighth annual “MLF 50” report (2012).

Health care attorney joins law school faculty

Eileen Schoen Githens, vice president and chief operations counsel for Hospital Corporation of America, has joined the faculty of Nashville School of Law.

Githens has served as the vice president and chief operations counsel at HCA since 1996. She advises 20 hospitals on legal matters, runs hospital compliance programs and oversees physician practice acquisitions. Prior to her work at HCA, she worked in private practice developing and negotiating managed care agreements, defending health care fraud cases, preparing hospital service agreements, preparing and defending certificate of need applications and designing and developing physician practice structures.

Additionally, she served in several capacities at the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, most recently as deputy secretary for medical assistance, where she led the state’s medical assistance program for more than one million Pennsylvanians.

Githens earned her law degree from University of South Carolina Law School in 1993 and her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1978.

GS&F promotes 7 in creative team

GS&F has elevated seven individuals throughout the integrated creative team, including members of creative, interactive and transmedia.

In creative, Ginny Chambers has been promoted to group creative director. She will lead a team of traditional and interactive creatives, including Carrie Graves, who has been promoted to senior art director. Additionally, Renee Butler has been elevated to manager of the creative production team.

In interactive, Derek Hollis has been promoted to manager of interactive operations, and Matt Napier has been promoted to manager of interactive services. Additionally, Ishmael Hallin has been promoted to UX director.

Scott Brooks has been promoted to manager of transmedia and will lead the agency’s efforts to maximize content beyond traditional formats and across multiple channels.

First Tennessee Bank announces changes

First Tennessee has announced several promotions and additions, including:

John Sergent, previously a financial center manager at Watson Glen, has been promoted to a vice president of regional sales. Sergent holds an MBA and BBA from Mississippi State University and has more than a decade of banking experience.

Stephanie Sadler is now vice president of retail small business and manager of work place banking for Middle Tennessee. Sadler has more than a decade of experience with First Tennessee and a degree in liberal studies from MTSU.

Marla Howell has joined First Tennessee as vice president and portfolio manager of health care. Howell has a BA in Spanish from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama. She previously was employed by US Bank.

Brian Geveden has been named senior credit risk manager for the Healthcare Banking Group. He joined First Tennessee in 2007 with previous experience as a regional executive for US Bancorp. Geveden has a BS and MBA from Murray State University.

LBMC adds Novak to tax services team

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC, one of the Southeast’s largest accounting and business consulting firms, has added Jonathan Novak, CPA, in its Brentwood office.

Novak has joined the firm in the tax services division, where he will be working in a variety of industries including health care, restaurants, professional service organizations and manufacturing. He has experience with provisions and due diligence and enjoys corporate and partnership accounting.

He comes to LBMC from Kraft, where he served in litigation support and forensic accounting as a staff accountant.

McNeely Pigott & Fox promotes Taylor

McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations has promoted Maddie Taylor to associate account executive. She previously was a staff associate.

Taylor, a native of Hickory, N.C., joined MP&F in 2012 and provides support for a wide range of client teams, such as the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program, Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association, Harpeth Hall School, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.