businessbriefs
• East Tennessee Children’s Hospital will hold a ribbon cutting at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 9, to celebrate the opening of its ETCH Neurosciences Center at 2100 Clinch Ave., Suite, 210, Knoxville.
This project completes the co-location of psychiatry, neurology and neurodiagnostics. which treats children with brain injuries and seizures and provides testing, such as EEGs and more. By combining these services under one roof, Children’s Hospital is making pediatric healthcare more convenient.
• After nearly 20 years of visionary leadership, The Restoration House has announced co-founder/executive director Daniel Watson will step down this fall.
Lori Haskell, who has served alongside Watson for 14 years, has been named the incoming CEO of The Restoration House and board president of Olive Tree Early Learning Academy.
• Choice Health Network, a Knoxville-based HIV/AIDS Center of Excellence specializing in HIV prevention and treatment services, celebrated National HIV Testing Day Friday, June 27. This is a day each year to encourage people to get tested for HIV, know their status and get linked to treatment.
The theme for 2025 was, “Level up your self-love: check your status.”
• Choice Health Network offers free walk-in testing at its Knoxville location, as well as mailed OraQuick In-Home HIV tests available by completing a simple online form at choicehealthnetwork.org.
• Knoxville attorney Heidi Barcus recently took office as the 145th president of Tennessee Bar Association during the group’s annual convention in Franklin. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater administered the oath of office.
• Knoxville Area Urban League recently named Dr. Laurie Shanderson Evans as its new president and chief executive officer. Shanderson, founder and CEO of Accreditation Insights, assumed the leadership position Monday, July 7.
Dr. Tyvi Small, board chair of KAUL, recently reflected on the organization’s significant progress over the past year. He emphasized KAUL’s ongoing dedication to community impact, sharing inspiring success stories and positive outcomes of the organization’s programs, which serve to empower youth, support small business owners, promote racial equity and strengthen the local economy.
• Adam Wilson Realty recently reached $600,000 in its giveback to Knox County Schools with a $2,000 donation to Karns High School.
• IACMI — The Composites Institute recently celebrated the opening of its new national headquarters in Innovation South at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm in Knoxville.
The IACMI offices are co-located with the new, expanded UT Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility, a 44,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art laboratory. This lab will serve as a center for advanced composites and manufacturing, driving research, commercialization and workforce training to strengthen U.S. competitiveness.
Prior to the move to Innovation South, IACMI, established in 2015 by the Department of Energy, had offices near Hardin Valley. For 10 years, IACMI has accelerated the use of advanced composites — which are lighter, stronger, corrosion resistant and energy efficient – in transportation, energy and infrastructure applications.
• UT Health Science Center recently earned the R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
This honor underscores the role of research to the university’s mission and highlights UT’s commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation.
• Johnson University recently announced the groundbreaking ceremony for its new Science Building on its Knoxville campus. This event coincided with the university’s annual homecoming festivities. The new Science Building is designed to enhance the educational experience for students pursuing degrees in various scientific disciplines, providing modern laboratories, collaborative spaces and advanced technological resources.
• Knoxville Smokies officials have announced FirstBank is the team’s official bank. FirstBank will sponsor FirstBank Bridge inside Covenant Health Park, connecting the concourse beyond
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