The Roane Alliance
Leading the economic development and expansion efforts for the region, the Roane Alliance consists of the Industrial Development Board, the Chamber of Commerce, the Visitors Bureau and the Community Foundation of Roane County. As a cooperative public/private partnership, each member organization of the Alliance operates independently with its own focus, identity, board of directors and operating budget, while working toward unified goals for increased prosperity and improved quality of living.
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Roane County Closes High-Tech Corporate Headquarters Project
Monday, January 14, 2008
A million dollar check with the proceeds from a land sale package that puts the "Technology" focus back into the Roane Regional Business and Technology Park was delivered to the Roane County Commission this evening.
"It is with great pleasure that I bring you this second million-dollar check," said Roane County Industrial Development Board Chairman Steve Kirkham as he presented the check to Roane County Executive Mike Farmer at the Commission meeting.
The project - which closed at the end of 2007 -- is a multi-million-dollar high-tech corporate headquarters project in which Drs Sam and Carol Weaver bought the Smith House at Roane Regional and 40+ acres to consolidate and spin out into manufacture several of their companies' operations at the back of the park.
This evening's check is the second million-dollar check presented in the past year to the county by the industrial board. The first one was presented in August, 2007 and represented the land sales proceeds from five other industrial projects landed at Roane Regional that are expected to bring a total of 100 new jobs; up to $15 million in private investment and more than $140,000 a year in increased tax collections for Roane County.
The Weaver-owned start-up companies coming into Roane Regional as a part of this sale initially represent private investment of $2.75 million, along with 50 new jobs over the next two years, and an estimated $14 million and 450 jobs over the next five years. They include:
- Red Diamond Ceramics -- manufacturer of advanced composite ceramic product to be used in ceramic armor. It is in the prototype/R&D phase and expects to move into production within 6 months. This company is expected to invest $3 million; employ approximately 50 people over the next five years, and pay an average annual wage of $50,000/per employee.
- Cool Energy Inc. -- a Colorado company that has developed solar energy part prototypes. They expect to move into production in late 2009...this company is expected to invest $11 million; create 400 jobs within five years, and pay an average annual wage of $45,000/per employee.
- Proton Power - a startup company developing a new way to generate energy.
- Additional space in the Smith House is to be sub-leased to high-tech start-ups in an incubator-type setting.
Dr. Weaver is a serial entrepreneur who has started up, grown (creating a total of nearly 500 new jobs) and then sold several companies over the last 37 years in the West Knoxville/Oak Ridge area, including most recently Millennium Materials, a 100-employee West Knoxville-based industry which he sold to a UK-based group in 2001.
The three parcels - along with the Smith House and its outbuilding-- were sold to Sam and Carol Weaver for a total of $1,012,500. The house will become the corporate offices for the Weavers and their companies. Then, as the companies grow and move out into manufacture, production facilities are to be built either on the 27 acres surrounding the Smith house, or on the riverfront 14-acre parcel at the far back of the park.
The type of architecture to be used in the manufacturing facilities are to be the San Jose model, a higher-end industrial building, some of which will sit at an angle to the Smith House driveway, similar to West Knoxville's Franklin Square office complex.
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Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
Business Leader Jerry Duncan Inducted into Alliance Hall of Fame
Friday, December 14, 2007
Kingston, TN. - The Roane Alliance honored long-time Roane Alliance supporter Jerry Duncan today at its annual Christmas Open House. Duncan was inducted into the Alliance's Hall of Fame for "providing unwavering support" and making a "long-lasting contribution" to the Alliance.
"We wanted to take advantage of having all these Alliance members and supporters here today to honor one of the founding fathers of the Alliance," Leslie Henderson, President and CEO of The Roane Alliance, said. "This gentleman has supported the Alliance from the very beginning and not just financially - although that, believe me, has been considerable. But also because he has always been there for The Alliance -- whatever we needed....and for me personally as well."
Obviously surprised by the award, Duncan accepted the award from Keith Uselton, the Roane Alliance Board Chair. His wife, Judy Duncan, was at his side, as he thanked everyone for the honor.
Duncan, who is the long-time owner and operator of Jerry Duncan Ford Lincoln Mercury in Harriman, has been a key benefactor to many nonprofit efforts in Roane County for decades, as well as being a major donor to Roane State Community College and the University of Tennessee.
Until today, only two other local business and community leaders have been inducted into the Alliance's Hall of Fame -Steve Kirkham and Jim Henry, two businessmen who were also key in the development and long-term support of the Alliance.
The Roane Alliance is a local economic development corporation with the goals of improving the quality of life and bringing increased prosperity to Roane County. The Alliance consists of both public and private organizations, including the Roane County Chamber of Commerce, the Roane County Industrial Development Board and the Roane County Visitors Bureau.
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Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
Tourism Works for Roane County
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Next time you see visitors in town, just pat your wallet and smile, knowing that their visit means money in your pocket. Every household in Roane County saves $429.89 in taxes because of tourism.
When tourists come to town, they put gas in their cars from our gas stations, put food in their mouths from our restaurants and pack their bags with treasures from our shops. At the end of the day, they dream sweet dreams about the day's adventures at one of our hotels. Each time you see a flash of cash, or a debit card swiped, a tourist has just paid state and local taxes.
In Roane County, those tourist expenditures added up to $52.13 million dollars in 2006. That's $2.68 million in local tax receipts.
But the economic impact of a visitor in our town doesn't stop there. Somebody has to be at the gas station, restaurant, gift shop and hotel to serve our traveler with our unparalleled Southern hospitality. Tourism sustains 450 jobs and $8.7 million in resident wages.
"Roane County is extremely fortunate to have the geographic location, the waterways and the climate that is a natural attraction for tourists," said Beverly Stroh, tourism & marketing manager for The Roane Alliance. "Our bluegrass music and the Watts Bar Belle Riverboat are major attractions. Plus we have a population that embraces festivals and events - a good example is our December events: two holiday home tours in Rockwood and Harriman, a candlelight celebration at Fort Southwest Point, and we have a holiday boat parade scheduled. All these events are hosted at hundreds of volunteer hours and personal expenses."
On a statewide level the numbers really add up. Commissioner Susan Whitaker of the Department of Tourist Development announced in her recent state of the industry address, tourism expenditures in 2006 were $13.4 billion, providing more than $1 billion in sales tax revenue, an increase of 7.6% over the previous year. As one of the state's key economic drivers, the tourism industry created 181,300 jobs for Tennesseans, generating almost $5.1 billion in payroll income.
So when the opportunity presents itself, say a hearty "hello" to the next tourist you see, and offer directions to the closest gas station, that local restaurant and all the best shops in town. Don't forget to add, "Ya'll come back now, and stay at one of our bed and breakfasts....RV parks....campgrounds.....motels..."
Sources: Travel Industry of America, The Economic Impact of Travel on Tennessee Counties 2006; U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimate, The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development
Contact:
Beverly Stroh
(865) 376-4201
Rock -N- Reel Fishing Tournament Nets Success
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The first Roane County Chamber of Commerce hosted fishing tournament held on Oct 13th and 14th was attended by approximately 307 fishermen. Official registration for the tournament was held on Friday, Oct. 12th at the Roane County Park with food, soft drinks, boat rides and music by a local band led by Mike Shannon of Kingston, TN. The Saturday morning start was fogged in by two hours and fishing was slow during the day. Final weigh-in on Sunday culminated with guest Master of Ceremonies and professional fisherman Fish Fishburne awarding the $12,000 first place prize to Mark Mauldin of Cleveland, TN and Guy Siler of Rutledge, TN who brought in 28.63 pounds of bass. The $1,000 cash prize for the highest scoring youth/adult team was awarded to fishermen Matt and Tony Brown. A second $1,000 was awarded to Glenn and Stacy Carter as the highest score from a male/female team. A $750 prize was awarded each day to the single largest bass caught; this prize went to A.J. Minnis and John Anderson on Saturday and Mike Vineyard and Troy Dyer on Sunday.
Fishermen attended the tournament from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, West Virginia and from across Tennessee. Representing the youngest team was seventeen year old Cade Stallings and his seventeen year old partner Phil Ferreira-Alves. Both are in the junior class at Farragut High School. "We just go to school, play baseball and fish," according to Stallings.
A total of twenty-seven places were awarded to the following individuals:
Place Name
2 Curt Worth, Rockwood TN and Tim Wiley, Kingston, TN
3 Glenn Carter, Rockwood TN and Stacy Carter, Rockwood TN
4 Mike Vineyard, Friendsville, TN and Troy Dyer, Maryville, TN
5 Chuck Collier, Kingston TN and Raymond Colyer, Kingston, TN
6 Kelly Barnett, Kingston, TN and Johnathan Bowling, Harriman, TN
7 Dwayne Horton, Knoxville, TN and Charlie Horton, Knoxville, TN
8 Matt Linton, Kingston, TN and Jeff Burkett, Elkhart, IN
9 Rob Clowers, Sweetwater, TN and Jessie Hall, Sweetwater, TN
10 Jerreth Bain, Kennesciw, GA and Jake Hairrell, Decatur, TN
11 Frank Byrd, Spring City, TN and Ralph Loveday, Spring City, TN
12 Mark Rogers, Lenoir City, TN and Roger Slover, Lenoir City, TN
13 Larry Darden, Knoxville, TN and Dan Darden, Knoxville, TN
14 Darrell Payne, Rockwood, TN and Scotty Smith, Rockwood, TN
15 Tim Bacon, Cleveland, TN and Andrew Bacon, Cleveland, TN
16 Clarence Hill, Rockwood, TN and Jeff Hill, Oliver Springs, TN
17 Jack Wade, Knoxville, TN and Larry Garner, Maryville, TN
18 Asa Armour, Kingston, TN and Jason Joseph, Kingston, TN
19 Tommy Brown, Louisville, TN and Spencer Brown, Louisville, TN
20 Jason Williams, Kingston, TN and Tim Tarver, Ten Mile, TN
21 Jack Dunaway, Clinton, TN and James Huffaker, Knoxville, TN
22 Bill Dunn, Maynardville, TN and Brad Keaton, Corryton, TN
23 James Thompson, Loudon, TN and James Thompson, Jr., Knoxville, TN
24 Corey Hood, Evensville, TN and Gary Waldo, Spring City, TN
25 Sonny Lee, Knoxville, TN and Joe Lee, Knoxville, TN
26 Bryan Crouse, Kingston, TN and Tim Earick, Kingston, TN
27 Tom Walker, Oak Ridge, TN and Kurt Johnson, Oak Ridge, TN
Tournament Director James Nuckols was pleased with the tournament. "Fall fishing is tough anytime but with the weather we've had, this was an interesting tournament. I'm glad to see the fishermen support the Rock -N- Reel tournament here in Roane County and I think everyone is looking forward to next year."
Sponsors for the tournament included: City of Rockwood, City of Kingston, City of Harriman, Food City, Coca-Cola, Grande Vista Bay, Caney Creek Inn, Capt Dave Westberg, ORNL Federal Credit Union, Big Rock Building Supply, United Community Bank, Roane State Community College, Rockwood Water and Gas, Rocky Top General Store, Rocky Top Markets, Bunch Marine, Coldwell Banker, Eagle Distributing, Citizen's National Bank, Skeeter Boats/Yamaha, All-Star Promotions, Radio 105.7 The Hog, Comfort Inn, TVA Fossil Plant, and Comcast.
Contact:
Beverly Stroh
(865) 376-4201
Roane Alliance Announces 2007 Annual Fund-raising Gala
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Roane Alliance will hold its Sixth Annual Gala on Friday, November 2nd. Known as a night of fine dining coupled with exciting live and silent auctions, the Gala's true purpose is to raise funds to support the operations of The Alliance. The Roane Alliance is comprised of the Roane County Industrial Development Board, the Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Bureau.
Besides serving an important economic function for the county's current and future growth and development, the Gala is an evening that includes a wine reception, dinner and music. Many attendees look forward to the auctions which typically include a wide variety of top of the line goods and services. This year's offerings include estate jewelry; luxurious lodging including a weekend at an upscale mountain lodge, a "Chocolate Covered Wednesday" at a local bed & breakfast; fine furs; an All Terrain Vehicle; Bristol 2008 suite tickets; a kayak and the ever-popular pedigreed puppies, as well as many, many other valuable items.
Funds raised from the Gala are used to help the Alliance run their programming throughout the year. These programs cover a wide range of economic and community development activities - from industrial recruitment to community events to a wide range of technical assistance for existing businesses - all geared toward making Roane County businesses more prosperous, and making lives better for all of its citizens.
"The Roane Alliance is in many cases the engine that has been driving the economic growth train in Roane County," according to Keith Uselton, Chairman of The Roane Alliance. "Each year The Alliance works to develop a wide range of programming to support our economic base; raising the bar each year on its economic goals, and support of the Gala is key to achieving these goals."
A sneak preview of some of the auction items available at the Gala will be on The Roane Alliance website at http://www.roanealliance.org/ after Monday, October 15.
The Gala will be held at Rothchild's in West Knoxville on November 2nd. The reception and silent auction is to begin at 6 pm. Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm, and the live auction is to begin at 8:30 pm. To attend the Gala, individual tickets are available at $150 per person. To become a Gala supporter through sponsorships or donations of auction items, please call The Roane Alliance at 865-376-2093.
Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
Toho Tenax America, Inc. Announces $23 Million Investment in Rockwood Plant
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Toho Tenax America, a subsidiary of Japan-based chemical giant Teijin, will invest $23 million in their Rockwood, Tennessee, manufacturing facility. The decision, which is expected to solidify the carbon fiber maker's presence in the Roane County, TN, marks the second major capital investment in the Rockwood plant since Toho Tenax bought the Fortafil Fiber plant in 2004 from Netherlands-based Acordis - making the total investment in retooling and upgrading the plant now nearly $37 million.
"Toho Tenax is retooling the plant to stay competitive in the carbon fiber market," said Leslie Henderson, president & CEO of the Roane Alliance. The investment, Henderson said, "means a significant area employer and active corporate citizen will continue to grow and prosper."
Toho Tenax supplies high-quality carbon fiber to various industrial, automotive, aerospace and sporting goods makers. Carbon fiber replaces high-strength steel, aluminum, titanium or glass fibers in applications where reduced weight and greater rigidity are needed. It is the second largest producer of carbon fiber in the US.
The plant employs 170 workers. Today's announcement is not expected to affect that number.
"This retooling will put Toho Tenax into a very competitive position in the global carbon fiber market - a market which is growing rapidly," Roane County Industrial Development Board Chairman Steve Kirkham said. "It should solidify the future growth potential of this operation."
"Roane County is partnering in this effort by providing assistance to help Toho Tenax America attain this major improvement to the plant," Roane County Executive Mike Farmer said, "Since carbon fiber is now being used for everything from Boeing's new Dreamliner to the insides of the copiers at our offices, this investment is a solid one for the county."
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Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
Roane Industrial Development Board Presents Million Dollar Check
Friday, September 28, 2007
The Roane County Industrial Development Board presented a million dollar plus check to Roane County Executive Mike Farmer today - the proceeds from land sales collected recently for five industrial projects.
"This check for $1,013,750 represents the land sales from projects that this board has approved for Roane Regional Business and Technology Park over the past several months," said Industrial Development Board Chairman Steve Kirkham.
"Those projects alone are expected to bring 100 new jobs; up to $15 million in private investment and more than $140,000 a year in increased tax collections for Roane County - I think this proves beyond a doubt that Roane County and especially the Roane Regional Park has come into its own."
The projects include:
- Diesel Engine Parts - a Knoxville company that is relocating its operations so that it can manufacture, remanufacture and do the final machining on engine parts cast overseas in their plants in China, India and Turkey.
- Saginaw Control & Engineering - a Michigan-based manufacturer of both standard and custom-designed enclosures for electrical equipment that is opening their first distribution center in the Southeast.
- Blue Bell Creameries - A 100-year-old Texas-based company that makes ice cream products is going to be building a transfer station which is expected to grow into a regional facility over the next three years.
- Plateau Metal Roofing Sales - a metal roofing company that is located in Cumberland County since 1996 is going to expand into Roane County
- C.R. Barger & Sons, Inc. - a home-grown Roane County family-owned company that has outgrown its present facility and needed to consolidate its operations in one place. They manufacture pre-cast concrete products.
"I am pleased to accept this check on behalf of the Roane County government," County Executive Mike Farmer said in the presentation which took place at the Roane County Chamber's annual elected officials barbecue at The Roane Alliance's offices in Kingston.
"This is exciting at two different levels. One, it assists with the debt service payments that we are required to make on an annual basis on Roane Regional -- but more importantly it represents the dynamic focus that we are seeing in Roane County. I feel that this is an indication of all the hard work put into our industrial focus over the years," I am excited about Roane County's future," Farmer said. "And as we can see, these new industrial neighbors are also responding to the energy that is being generated in Roane County."
The five new projects at Roane Regional have all closed in the past six months and are in various stages of development. Diesel Engine Parts bought the first speculative building after it was completed earlier this year. Saginaw purchased the next one in the series - and it was just completed a few weeks ago. Blue Bell, Plateau Metal Roofing and Barger & Sons have all closed within the past few weeks and all expect to break ground in the near future.
These new industries join the four other industries that already call Roane Regional home for their businesses: The H.T. Hackney Co (one of the nation's largest wholesale food distributors); Protean Instruments Corp. (manufacturer of alpha beta counters); Dienamic Tooling Systems (DTS) (southernmost operation of a group of tool and die makers headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan); Pegasus Technologies (an independent home-grown local firm that designs wireless systems for companies all over the world).
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Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
Roane Chamber Launches Major Industry Visitation Program
Friday, September 28, 2007
The Roane County Chamber of Commerce is kicking off a major industry visitation program this week with a campaign geared toward getting a current snapshot of the health and needs of Roane County's economic portfolio.
The Chamber's team of volunteers will be making personal visits with the heads of local industries to get a face-to-face understanding of the needs of our industrial sector in Roane County in an effort to better serve the businesses and citizens in Roane County.
This major initiative by the Chamber's Economic and Community Development committee - chaired by Chamber Board Member Vicki Watts -- will expand and enhance The Roane Alliance's already active business retention and expansion efforts.
"In the coming weeks and months," Watts explained, "a team of volunteer community and business leaders will be contacting company officials to set up meetings to learn about their company, trends in their industry, the community as a place to do business, and other business tools."
The committee will be using the E-Synchronist program in this effort, in partnership with TVA. The E-Synchronist program provides a professionally-created survey for this purpose.
"This program was used successfully two years ago by The Alliance," said Leslie Henderson, President and CEO of the Roane Alliance, "and it will be very helpful for our economic development planning to be able to update that information and see what may or may not have changed in that period. This information will help give us a solid foundation for making economic development and program decisions, while giving more information to decision-makers in our community as they are allocating resources."
"Nothing is more important to Roane County's economy than the industries that operate here generating payroll, local spending, and taxes," said Watts. "The future of these individual companies will have a substantial impact on the growth of the area's economy and since 80 percent of the new jobs created by existing industries, we must learn more about their needs and be ready to serve those needs."
Chamber Board Chair Kathy May-Martin emphasized that the participation of the company executives will be critical and that the results of the surveys will be confidential and will only be reported in the aggregate.
"We encourage the industry executives contacted to take the time to meet with us and be willing to share their views for this effort to be a success," May-Martin said. "We at The Chamber feel strongly that this effort will help the entire county better grow and prosper."
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Contact:
Wanda Pinkerton
865-376-2093
Group Medical Insurance for Roane County Chamber Members
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Kingston, TN. - Members of the Roane County Chamber of Commerce now have a new benefit with their membership - the opportunity to participate in an affordable limited group medical insurance plan.
"The chamber is proud to be able to make this additional benefit available to our members," Leslie Henderson, President of the Chamber and CEO of The Roane Alliance said. "We will be one of the first Chambers in the state to offer this to our members."
"We hope that this will be the first of many such ‘perks' that we can negotiate for our membership, making Chamber membership in Roane County even more of a value-added proposition than it is already," Henderson said.
The plan provides limited coverage for basic medical services - similar to the state-sponsored program, but cheaper - and it will be available to all Chamber members, even individuals, at very reasonable rates. It is called Select Benefits limited benefit medical insurance and is being offered by Symetra Life Insurance Company.
With this plan, cost-effective limited-benefit medical coverage will be available to all members' employees and their dependents, whether they work full-time, part-time or on an hourly basis, Henderson said. Even those who only report for temporary assignments can enroll. Individual members of the chamber are also eligible to be in this Chamber group plan.
"Hopefully this will help our small business members to be able to offer a better benefit package to their employees," Henderson said. "There is no requirement for the employer to pay any portion, but employees of Chamber businesses get the advantage of the low group rates just by working for a Chamber member."
The program became a Chamber benefit on August 1, when enrollments began. The plan is limited and is not a replacement for a major medical policy or other comprehensive policy. It is designed to provide a pre-selected fixed dollar amount for covered benefits used on a routine basis.
The official launch of the program was Tuesday at the Chamber's August speaker series luncheon which featured a representative from Symetra, who explained the plan in detail. For more information, call Brenda Lunsford at the Alliance (865-376-5572).
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Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
