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UT-Battelle, B&W Y-12, ProVision Pledge $1 Million in Support to Emory Valley Center in Capital Campaign Launch

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Total of $1.3 Million Raised to Date of $4 Million Goal for New Building to Serve Area Disabled

Oak Ridge, Tenn. – Three of Oak Ridge and East Tennessee’s most prominent organizations pledged $1 million in support Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, toward Emory Valley Center’s $4 million capital campaign for a new building to serve some of the region’s most vulnerable citizens.

UT-Battelle and B&W Y-12 each pledged $250,000 and ProVision Health Alliance pledged $500,000 toward the campaign at a press conference held at Emory Valley Center’s sheltered workshop, where many of the Center’s disabled clients were at work on a variety of vocational projects during the event. 

Dr. Thom Mason, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Darrel Kohlhorst, president and general manager of Y-12 National Security Complex; and Terry Douglass, president and director of ProVision Trust, announced the respective gifts.  UT Senior Vice President Emeritus Homer Fisher served as press conference emcee.

“Our campaign is off to a tremendous start, thanks to these outstanding leadership contributions,” said Dr. Gene Caldwell, co-chair of the campaign, who along with co-chair Dottie Thompson has overseen a total of $1.3 million raised to date for the new Emory Valley Center facility. 

In about three years, the original Emory Valley Road buildings that house the Center’s programs – the 23,000-square-feet of the Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center and the original Emory Valley School building – must be torn down due to structural age and costly maintenance.

In 2008, the Anderson County Commission gave Emory Valley Center $160,000 to buy 1.5 acres of land adjacent to the Center’s administrative offices to construct a new building. 

Fund-raising is now seriously underway for this building, with a capital campaign aimed at a $4 million goal to construct a nearly 30,000-square-foot facility, capable of continuing, enhancing and expanding the Center’s capacity to serve disabled citizens.

“We feel tremendously grateful to ProVision, UT-Battelle and B&W Y-12 for the genuine care and commitment reflected in these gifts,” said Emory Valley Center President Jennifer Enderson.  “We hope other businesses, foundations and individuals will consider the impact of Emory Valley Center toward helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and that they will include this campaign in their charitable giving.”

For more event information, visit Emory Valley Center’s website at www.emoryvalleycenter.com. 

Based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., Emory Valley Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, community-based facility that provides rehabilitation, training and support to people with mental and other severe developmental disabilities in Anderson, Knox and other surrounding counties.

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CCC Bridges Gap for Knoxville-Area Homeowners with Insurance Claim Shortfalls

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Little-Known Role of Public Adjusters Brings Recourse to Homeowners; Ethics Are Key

Knoxville, Tenn. – Several months since severely damaging wind and hail storms swept through East Tennessee, many homeowners are finally getting their homes – and in some cases, their lives – back to normal. 

However, for one segment of homeowners who are still awaiting full payments from their insurance companies, the process of being made whole continues to linger.

With East Tennessee home-damage claimants numbering in the tens of thousands following the storms, there may be thousands of homeowners who have not reached an appropriate settlement that they believe holds true to their original insurance company contract.

“In my experience, the majority of insurance claims are handled appropriately, but a significant number are not,” said Catastrophic Claims Consultants (CCC), LLC, President David R. Charles, a 32-year veteran of the insurance industry who has worked scores of major disasters in the U.S. since 1977, including the 1994 Northridge Earthquake in California, Hurricanes Andrew, Ike, and Katrina, and the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack.

According to Charles, the company is seeing several areas of Greater Knoxville in particular where some homeowners feel they are not receiving proper insurance settlements.  For example, CCC’s staff often manages client situations where a homeowner only receives an insurance payment to repair part of their roof, when in fact the entire roof was damaged in a storm.

“For homeowners who don’t have a positive experience, they can be left with little recourse to restore their home to its pre-storm condition – which is generally the underlying promise of any homeowner insurance contract,” Charles said. 

Public insurance adjusters negotiate on behalf of homeowners and policyholders to make sure the insurance company fulfills its obligations.

“If we find that a homeowner has not received a fair settlement or if their insurance company is waffling on what they will pay, we aggressively pursue proper compensation – again, in keeping with the insurance contract,” Charles said.  “We also help our clients prepare and protect themselves in the event of future damage or catastrophe.”

According to Charles, there generally is low awareness about the role public adjusters can play to help homeowners negotiate an insurance settlement they are entitled to receive. In addition, the industry also has its share of bad actors. 

“In any local area that has experienced a disaster, we often hear of contractors – primarily roofers – reaching out to homeowners and offering to negotiate with the insurance company on their behalf,” Charles said.  “Not only is this practice unethical but it is also illegal in the state of Tennessee. Homeowners often do not know the illegal nature of this sales pitch when they are confronted with it by contractors and how it can put them at risk.”

Catastrophic Claims Consultants advises Knoxville area property owners to follow several key steps when considering how a public adjuster can help them:

  1. Understand the role of a public insurance adjuster before engaging anyone to provide these services on your behalf. 
  • Avoid individuals who offer these services when doing so poses any conflict of interest, such as providing the construction services based on their own assessment of damages and negotiations with the insurance company.
  • Also, avoid any company that dives right into demanding more money from the insurance company without conducting its own objective assessment of the property damage and whether additional compensation from the insurance company is even merited. 

       2. Check for credentials, such as licensure in the state of Tennessee. 

       3. Beware of firms that demand up-front fees for services, regardless of the outcome they
            negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company.  Public adjusters work purely on a
            contingency basis, ensuring that the homeowner does not pay anything unless he or she
            receives some form of settlement.

       4. Maintain reasonable expectations.  The purpose of a public adjuster is not to turn a 
            previous $200,000 home prior to a disaster into a $300,000 home following a
           disaster.  The focus of both the homeowner and the adjuster should always be on
           restoring property to its pre-storm condition and making sure insurance companies
           follow through with that obligation.

“Professionalism and ethics are key,” Charles said.  “It is important for the public to be informed about how a public adjuster can assist them as well as the qualities of a credible service provider.”

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Catastrophic Claims Consultants, LLC is a public insurance adjuster firm representing policyholders in the insurance claims process.  The firm’s team members have serviced thousands of insurance claims, from individual homeowner claims to $30 million commercial losses resulting from fire, smoke, wind, hail, water, mold, sinkholes, additional living expenses, freezes, vandalisms, falling objects, theft, collapse, lightning, other business interruptions and loss of rents.

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Pigeon Forge’s Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud to Host Helen Ross McNabb Center Benefit on Eve of Grand Opening

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Goal to Raise $50,000 for Helen Ross McNabb Sevier County Services

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – Lumberjack Sports International’s Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud will host a benefit aimed at raising $50,000 for Helen Ross McNabb Center’s Service County Services on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011.

General admission tickets are available to the public at $25 and include a show at 7 p.m. Tickets are available to the public by calling 865-329-9120.

 The benefit takes place on Thursday, August 25, the eve of Lumberjack Feud’s August 26 public grand opening. The $10 million, 34,000-square-foot Lumberjack Feud arena will begin offering dinner shows every evening of the week, with performances by world-champion ESPN lumberjack athletes. 

The Aug. 25 fund-raiser for Helen Ross McNabb Center will provide the public’s first glimpse of Lumberjack Feud’s new facility and action-packed show, which features thrills and competition while telling the story of two feuding 1930s Smoky Mountain logging families.

“We are thrilled to have Lumberjack Feud’s support for this exciting fund-raiser to benefit our Sevier County clinic, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary,” said Shellie Hall, the assistant director of Sevier County Services.

Helen Ross McNabb Center’s Sevier County Services facility, located at 707 Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevierville, Tenn., provides quality mental health care, addiction treatment and social services for both adults and children in Sevier County.

“Our team feels especially proud to launch Lumberjack Feud by directly benefiting such a respected and vital non-profit organization as the Helen Ross McNabb Center,” said Lumberjack Sports International President Rob Scheer, who was the first man to win the IRONJACK World Championship and holds numerous world titles. 

“Our guests will see a show at Lumberjack Feud like no other – and we especially look forward to seeing everyone’s creativity on August 25 with the ‘black-tie with lumberjack attire’ dress code that has been set for the evening!” Scheer said.

Based on actual historical events of the 1930’s, the Lumberjack Feud dinner show features thrills and competition while telling the story of two feuding Smoky Mountain logging families competing for rights to log the last remaining timber tract before the Great Smoky Mountains National Park closes the region’s timber industry.

The  athletes will perform more than 10 different lumberjack sport events, including  tree-climbing, axe-throwing, chopping, sawing and log-rolling.

Located at 2713 Parkway, in the heart of Pigeon Forge, between lights 3 and 4, the attraction is sponsored by STIHL, the number-one selling brand of chain saw worldwide.

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Pigeon Forge’s Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud Ready for Aug. 26 Public Opening

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Features New Smoky Mountain Forest History Center and Lumberjack Hall of Fame

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – Construction crews have completed work on Lumberjack Sports International’s Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud, and the $10 million Pigeon Forge attraction will open as scheduled on Friday, August 26, 2011.

Billed as the “Smokies’ Rowdiest Good-Time Dinner Show” with ESPN timber athletes performing daily, Lumberjack Feud is also site of the new Smoky Mountains Forest History Center and the Lumberjack Hall of Fame. 

The Center will feature displays and artifacts depicting the rich history of East Tennessee, from Cherokee inhabitance through the rise of mountain communities in the 1800’s.  A large focus of the Center also includes the logging boom during the early 1900s, prior to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

The Lumberjack Hall of Fame will highlight the most well-known world-champion athletes and major influencers of the sport.

“Family-friendly entertainment is a huge part of our mission at Lumberjack Feud, but so is education,” said Lumberjack Sports International President Rob Scheer, who was the first man to win the IRONJACK World Championship and holds numerous world titles.

“The Smoky Mountain Forest History Center at Lumberjack Feud should be on every family’s Pigeon Forge vacation ‘to-do’ list,” Scheer said.  “The Center will showcase the rich history of this area before the Great Smoky Mountains National Park came into being, including the timber industry’s role in shaping the culture and way of life here – which is largely an untold story.”

The 34,000-square-foot Lumberjack Feud arena will offer up to two dinner shows every evening of the week, with performances by world-champion ESPN lumberjack athletes. The show’s athletes will perform more than 10 unique lumberjack sport events, featuring speed climbing, axe-throwing, chopping, sawing and log-rolling.

Based on actual historical events of the 1930s, the show at Lumberjack Feud features thrills and competition while telling the story of two Smoky Mountain logging families competing for rights to log the last remaining timber tract before the National Park permanently shuts down the region’s timber industry.

Ticket prices (including military discounts), group information and show schedules for this family attraction can be located at http://www.lumberjackfeud.com/, or by calling toll-free, 855-244-3383.

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E. TN. Rural Communities STEM Initiative Kicks Off Teacher Training

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
 

Dr. Arthur Lee, Roane State Associate Professor of Geology, works with teachers Pamela Hill of Wynn Habersham Elementary School in Campbell County (front) and Tracy Such of Lenoir City Middle School during training provided by the Rural Communities STEM Initiative at Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

 

Science and math teachers from nine rural East Tennessee school districts will have access to a new, innovative “Lab-in-a-Box” teaching tool for their classrooms this school year, thanks to the Rural Communities STEM Initiative, or RCSI. 

RSCI is an Oak Ridge, Tenn., business-education partnership working with middle school teachers to improve students’ science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, based on the new statewide math and science curriculum.

Teacher training took place July 28-29, 2011, at Oak Ridge Associated Universities to help teachers understand all the “Lab-in-a-Box” components and how to engage students best in the learning process.

In partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Roane State Community College has built seven “Lab-In-A-Box” activities that provide resources, lesson plans and training on how to use the Lab-in-a-Box for middle school math and science teachers. 

Participating schools in the RCSI project include the county school districts of Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Scott counties and the separate school districts of Lenoir City, Oneida and Clinton.

While the initiative is a long-term effort aimed at serving students in all grade levels, K-12, with a variety of activities, RCSI’s leadership has decided to initially conduct a pilot test for school year 2011-2012 targeted at the middle school math and science curriculum in schools selected, based on collective feedback from school directors and superintendents. 

“We are thrilled by the initial feedback and the input we’ve gathered from teachers in this week’s RCSI Lab-in-a-Box training,” said Gary Goff, president of Roane State Community College and a RCSI co-founder with Barry Stephenson of Oak Ridge-based Materials and Chemistry Laboratory, Inc.

“Among our goals for RCSI is to make an immediate connection with students,” Goff said.  “We want to help students see how science, technology, engineering and math-related academic material has absolute relevance to their lives, to their job prospects and to their decision-making about continuing their education after high school,” Goff said. 

In addition to the Lab-in-a-Box kits, RCSI outreach efforts include coordinating school activities in conjunction with National Engineers Week, which takes place each February, and providing to schools guest speakers from area companies that have a need for graduates with strong STEM-related academic training.

According to Goff, Roane State Foundation has raised $65,000 to fund the Lab-in-a-Box kits, which cost on average about $7,500 and last one academic year for approximately 75-80 students.  About $600 worth of materials included in the kits are “consumable” and need to be replaced each school year – which means the majority of the kit is still usable for a classroom year-after-year and continues providing educational value. 

“We continue to be in fund-raising mode, as we believe these kits and the additional support we’re providing students will be a major opportunity to move the needle on student STEM performance in some of our rural school systems with the greatest needs,” Goff said.  

Organizations that support RCSI include the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), Roane State Community College and numerous East Tennessee businesses that depend on a STEM-related workforce from rural counties – as well as other businesses that wish to see higher student academic achievement in STEM-related subjects.

Companies and individuals can participate in an Adopt-a-Classroom program to deliver the kits to specific classrooms.  Tax-deductible corporate and individual donations to help fund RCSI can be made through the Roane State Foundation by calling (865) 882-4507.

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 QUOTES FROM LOCAL TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE RCSI TRAINING:

  • “This evokes higher-order thinking,” said Heath Snow, a math teacher at Oakdale School in Morgan County who participated in the training at ORAU. “Students are discovering for themselves. Anytime you can get students interested in self-discovery, it will promote learning.”
  • Tracy Such, a science teacher at Lenoir City Middle School, said that because of limited resources and materials, she often has had to demonstrate labs for students.  With the lab kits provided by RCSI, the students can participate hands-on.  “This will enhance my resources,” Such said. “With these materials, I’ll be able to put students into smaller groups. These boxes will be good for years to come. This is phenomenal. It would take me years to accumulate these materials. Having this is going to be unbelievable.” 
  • “Labs, to me, are the way to do science,” said science teacher Wes Parks from Clinton Middle School in Anderson County. “A lot of the things in science are abstract. If a student can see it and touch it, they are going to be capable of understanding the material better.”
  • Jennifer Butler, a seventh-grade science teacher at Oneida Middle School, was pleased that the Mineral Properties and Identification Lab included a flow chart that matched closely with material on the TCAP achievement test. The flow chart shows how to identify minerals by examining properties such as luster, hardness and color.  “I will be using this numerous times throughout the year,” Butler said.

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Pigeon Forge’s Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud Launches Media Road Show in Ramp-Up to August Grand Opening

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Lumberjack Athletes Demonstrate Skills in Media Appearances in Six Markets

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – Lumberjack Sports International’s Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud launched a road show in recent days, set to appear in six Southeastern and Midwestern cities.  The mobile demonstration of the Lumberjack Feud’s action-packed, family-friendly show features skills of its professional forest sport athletes.

Lumberjack Feud kicked off the road show on July 13 in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a crew of athletes performing several of the logging events that will be part of its dinner show when the Pigeon Forge, Tenn., attraction officially opens Aug. 26, 2011. 

Markets that Lumberjack Feud is scheduled to visit in addition to Cincinnati include Charlotte, NC, on July 20; Chattanooga, Tenn., on July 26; Atlanta, Ga., on July 27 and July 28; Lexington, Ky., on Aug.3; and Knoxville, Tenn., on Aug. 4.

“The cities we chose for the road show are top feeder markets for visitors to Pigeon Forge, which is a major gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” said Lumberjack Sports International President Rob Scheer, who was the first man to win the IRONJACK World Championship and holds numerous world titles.

“Our team of athletes is very excited to take our show to these neighboring cities and generate excitement for Lumberjack Feud’s grand opening – now only weeks away,” Scheer said.

The $10 million, 34,000-square-foot Lumberjack Feud arena, located in the heart of Pigeon Forge, will offer up to three dinner shows every evening of the week, with performances by world-champion ESPN lumberjack athletes.  The attraction is sponsored by STIHL, the number-one selling brand of chain saw worldwide.

Based on actual historical events of the 1930s, the show features thrills and competition while telling the story of two feuding Smoky Mountain logging families competing for rights to log the last remaining timber tract before the Great Smoky Mountains National Park permanently shuts down the region’s timber industry.

The families depicted in the show will perform more than 10 different lumberjack sport events, featuring tree-climbing, axe-throwing, chopping, sawing and log-rolling.

Ticket prices (including military discounts), group information and show schedules for this family attraction can be located at http://www.lumberjackfeud.com/ or by calling toll-free, 855-244-3383.

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Pigeon Forge’s New Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud Prepares for August Grand Opening

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

$10 million, 34,000 Square-Foot Arena to Include Smoky Mountain Forest History Center

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – Lumberjack Sports International will open its new Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud Aug. 26, 2011, introducing a dynamic and athletically charged performance venue to the Pigeon Forge family destination landscape. 

The $10 million, 34,000-square-foot Lumberjack Feud attraction will offer up to three dinner shows every evening of the week after its grand opening. The action-packed show features thrills and comedy while telling the story of two feuding Smoky Mountain logging families. Set in the 1930s, Lumberjack Feud is performed by world-champion ESPN lumberjack athletes. 

The families depicted in the show will perform more than 10 different timber sport events, featuring tree-climbing, axe-throwing, chopping, sawing and log-rolling. In addition, guests will love the water diving Timber Dogs and the colossal log-pulling draft horses.   

Throughout the story, the dueling families will compete for rights to log the last remaining timber tract before the Great Smoky Mountains National Park permanently shuts down the timber industry throughout the Park’s preserve.

Selected members of the audience will be able to participate as part of the story with their families cheering them on.

“Lumberjack Feud will bring world-class lumberjack athletes to perform daily for Pigeon Forge audiences in a physical and visual display second to none in the market,” said Lumberjack Sports International President Rob Scheer, who was the first man to win the IRONJACK World Championship and holds numerous world titles.

According to Scheer, the venue is also home to the Smoky Mountain Forest History Center and the Lumberjack Hall of Fame.  The museum area will feature displays and artifacts with focus on both the logging boom during the early 1900s and the notorious characters of timber sports.

“Lumberjack Feud will integrate a fictional story of embattled families with the actual history of the timber industry’s closure when the park opened,” Scheer said.  “It’s a thrilling show for families. Our mission will involve spotlighting and educating visitors about the rich heritage of East Tennessee logging’s history – which has largely been an untold story.”

For ticket prices (including military discounts), group information and show schedules, visit http://www.lumberjackfeud.com/ or call toll-free, 855-244-3383.

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“Capitalist Pigs” Turn Barbecue into Bucks to Fight Cancer

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

New “Relay Roast” Event April 9 to Benefit Blount County Relay for Life

Maryville, Tenn. – For local Blount County residents Kevin Painter, Bill Eanes, Bryan Daniels, Chip Webb, Will Carver and Lynn Cox, roasting great barbecue is not just a fun past-time – it’s nearly a spiritual calling, and all for a good cause. 

On Saturday, April 9, starting at 6 p.m., these six cooks along with friends and event sponsors will host the first-ever Relay Roast at Smithview Pavilion, with live music by the Chillbillies to benefit Blount County Relay for Life, which raises funds locally for the American Cancer Society. 

As barbecue aficionados armed with a moniker that harkens to Painter’s day job as a financial adviser, the team proudly flies their banner as the “Capitalist Pigs” of Blount County. 

With a mix of passion, humor and secret-in-the-sauce, the team has roasted barbecue competitively for some 10 charitable and community events over the past three years. 

For their first-ever Relay Roast, however, the Pigs are stoking up the heat.  While they raised $3,000 last year for Relay for Life, this stand-alone event is expected to net more than $10,000. 

“We want this to be a major fund-raiser for Relay for Life, with the hope that it will become an annual event,” Painter said.  “We’ve already raised $8,000 in ticket sales and sponsorships so far – more than we’ve ever raised as a team for the other benefits we’ve supported.  Relay Roast is looking to be a sell-out event, all the while boosting awareness for Blount County Relay for Life, which is coming up in June.”

The public can purchase tickets, $30 each, at Dandy Lions, Chip Webb Family Dentistry or at the Blount Chamber.  Sponsors include Blount Today, Chip Webb Family Dentistry, EddieCheck, LeConte Wealth Management and C2RL Engineers.  The public can learn more about Relay Roast by following the event on Facebook.

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New West Fleet Service for Commercial Vehicles Now Open

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Facility will service any make or model of medium to heavy-duty vehicle; Offers latest technology in truck repair equipment

Alcoa, Tenn. — West Fleet Service, a new division of Alcoa-based West Chevrolet, announced today the opening of its service center for any make or model of commercial medium to heavy-duty vehicles in operational fleets of businesses, government agencies or non-profit organizations.

Previously, no auto dealerships in Blount County offered large-scale commercial vehicle fleet parts and service for maintenance and repair, forcing many local companies to venture to Knoxville.

“We’ve identified this niche sector as a viable way to grow our overarching business while meeting a significant need in our marketplace,” said Charles West, president of parent company West Chevrolet. 

“With today’s regulatory requirements for diesel engines in new commercial vehicles driving sales prices up by $3,000 to $4,000, many fleet managers are holding on to their vehicles longer,” West said.  “Keeping older vehicles in service requires steady attention to maintenance and repair, and this facility is here to provide that.”

In addition to servicing Chevrolet and GMC vehicles, West anticipates at least 80 percent of trucks serviced at the facility will be non-GM branded, including Ford, Dodge, Volvo, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, UD/ Nissan Diesel, Mack, International and Sterling, to name some.

The facility will service most any vehicle under an 18-wheeler in size, such as dump trucks, delivery trucks, flatbeds, RVs, buses, forklifts and emergency service vehicles.

To assist companies with existing service agreements elsewhere, West Fleet Service will honor most service agreements for any leased fleet vehicles, such as Enterprise, GE Capital and ARI.

West Fleet Service recently began operating in former warehouse space on Northpark Boulevard in Alcoa, behind the West Chevrolet dealership’s Alcoa Highway / Airport Motor Mile location.

With nearly 19,000 square feet, the center includes four service bay areas, staffed by three experienced mechanics for now, with more mechanics to be added as the business grows.  Annual contributions by West Fleet Service to the local and state tax base are anticipated to be more than $100,000.

The facility operates with some of the latest truck repair equipment available.

“West Fleet Service is the first and only fleet service provider in the Greater Knoxville area with electric, above-ground, portable lifts – which means we operate our lifts with no hydraulic fluids, making the facility more environmentally friendly,” said Service Manager Doug Reynolds. “In addition, we always recycle engine oil.”

The new, portable electric lifts are made by Rotary and can lift up to 52,000 pounds, which is roughly the weight of a fire truck loaded with water.

West Chevrolet has offered fleet truck service on a limited basis for years, with two large in-house work bays within the dealership’s service department devoted to truck service, as well as a veteran full-time mechanic.  All commercial truck servicing will transition to the West Fleet Service building.

West Fleet Service will operate Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.   A grand opening event is set to take place Tuesday, March 29, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

About West Fleet Service
Launched in 2011 as a division of West Chevrolet, West Fleet Service (http://www.westfleetservice.com/) provides full maintenance and repair services for any make or model of commercial medium to heavy-duty vehicles in operational fleets for businesses, government agencies or non-profit organizations.

About West Chevrolet
Celebrating 80 years in business serving Blount County and East Tennessee, West Chevrolet (http://www.westchevrolet.com/) is a fourth-generation, family-owned franchise dealership in Alcoa, Tenn.

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How to Develop a Serious Mindset about Finances in the New Year

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

Alcoa, Tenn. – LeConte Wealth Management provides simple and useful tips anyone can use to get more serious about finances in the fast-approaching new year.  

“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging,” said Kevin Painter, co-founder and managing partner at LeConte Wealth Management.  “Folks need to realize that they can make a change in their financial lives, but they first must change their behavior; the first step in the process is to keep a positive attitude about making changes in the new year.”

LeConte Wealth Management recommends the following steps to create a new financial life in the new year:

  • Analyze your current situation.  Are you spending more than you are earning?  Have you clearly defined your saving, investing and retirement goals?
  • Push away from the table.  The next step to creating a new financial life is to change your current habits.  Do not go back for that second helping of eggnog for example. 
  • You must have a financial vision and plan, then stick to it.  “Vision without execution is hallucination.”  Many people attribute this quote to Thomas Edison, but it is not confirmed where or when he said it.  Either way, this quote is great motivation to keep your New Year’s resolution to live a better life financially. 

In addition to changing habits, getting serious about finances also includes assessing risk.  LeConte points out that there are many types of risks that investors face.  Most focus on the risk of losing money.  Many often overlook interest rate risk, the risk of inflation or higher prices, the risk of not being able to sell a home when they need to or the risk of not having enough money to educate a child or retire when the time comes. 

“During the holiday season, it’s far easier to overindulge at a holiday party than to get up for a morning jog; excuses are much easier to make than appointment with your Stairmaster as old habits die hard,”  said Hoy Grimm, co-founder and managing partner at LeConte Wealth Management.  “If you’ve been financially irresponsible, it’s far simpler to continue to abuse the credit card rather than save your pennies for a purchase down the road.”

For more information about LeConte Wealth Management and access to a variety of free online financial tools and calculators, visit http://www.lecontewealth.com/.

 

ABOUT LECONTE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC:
Established in 2007 and located at 269 Cusick Road, Alcoa, Tenn., 37701, LeConte Wealth Management, LLC (http://www.lecontewealth.com/) and can be reached at (865) 379 2800, helps clients develop a plan to accumulate and preserve their wealth in pursuit of their unique financial goals.  With more than 30 years of cumulative experience, the firm’s team provides asset management, retirement planning, estate planning, risk management and business planning. Securities and Advisory Services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.

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