Tag: Chamber of Commerce

Blount Co. Receives $1.6 million to Improve Broadband

Posted on May 2, 2024 by - Uncategorized

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced the state will award $162.7 million in broadband and digital opportunity grants.

In total, these investments will provide broadband access and digital opportunity programs to more than 236,000 Tennesseans across 92 counties.

“Broadband is essential to all Tennesseans, and that’s why we are making strategic investments in our state’s broadband infrastructure and digital opportunity programs to create a pathway to education, job training and greater opportunity statewide,” said Gov. Lee. “I thank the Financial Stimulus Accountability Group for their continued support and management of these broadband dollars.”

With today’s announcement, TNECD has invested more than $715 million to expand the state’s broadband infrastructure, connecting more than 689,000 Tennesseans across 275,000 residential and business locations.

“More than $715 million has been invested to expand broadband under Governor Lee’s administration, and we are excited to announce additional funding today that will ensure
Tennesseans have access to and benefit from high-speed internet, which opens the door to high-quality job training,” said Commissioner McWhorter.

Today, a total of $97.2 million is being funded by the Last Mile and Middle Mile infrastructure programs, and $65.5 million will be invested in digital opportunity programs. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to ensure that all residents have access to high-speed internet by 2028, and have opportunities to develop digital skills, access high-quality tech jobs, connect to broadband enabled devices and access online learning and telehealth resources.

TNECD’s investment of $97.2 million in broadband infrastructure will provide access to more than 58,200 Tennesseans across 23,000 locations in 37 counties.

To promote broadband opportunity and high-paying digital jobs, TNECD launched four new programs during this funding opportunity: Digital Skills, Employment and Workforce
Development (DSEW), Connected Community Facilities (CCF), Broadband Ready Communities (BRC) and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Broadband Workforce grants.

The DSEW grants, totaling $27.9 million, will be distributed among 47 organizations that will offer a variety of training and education programs to advance digital skills and workforce development, creating a pipeline for well-paying digital jobs.

The CCF grants, totaling $26.5 million, will be distributed among 19 local governments and will facilitate digital opportunity by construction and renovation of spaces that offer services for digital advancement in workforce, healthcare, and education.

The BRC grants, totaling $6 million, will be distributed among 64 local governments and support community-based digital skills training, public Wi-Fi projects, distribution of free or low-cost devices and marketing for low-cost internet plans.

The TCAT Broadband Workforce grants, totaling $4.9 million, will be distributed among five TCATs that will offer a Telecommunications Electronics Technician diploma. The objective of the program will be to produce a well-trained and diverse telecommunications workforce capable of deploying and managing broadband infrastructure.

Grantees across all programs are investing approximately $48 million in matching funds and will complete their projects by December 31, 2026.

Below is a list of the recipients for the latest round of funding:

  1. Spectrum Southeast
    $291,729.98 – Serving parts of Blount County
  2. Blount County
    $100,000.00
  3. Maryville College
    $776,814.00 – Serving parts of Blount County
  4. University of Tennessee
    $512,916.00 – Serving parts of Knox, Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Cocke,
    Cumberland, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe,
    Morgan, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union Counties

Smartphone Apps Small Business Can Use to be Successful

Posted on May 1, 2024 by - Uncategorized

In celebration of National Small Business Week from April 28 to May 4, 2024, UScellular applauds the entrepreneurial spirit of the more than 33 million businesses in the United States.

Modern small businesses increasingly embrace new technologies to realize their dreams, simplify daily operations and ultimately fuel the growth of all businesses in our communities.

Of all the technology solutions available to small business entrepreneurs, the best may be the device they have right in their hands – their smartphone. There are many apps and resources that business owners can leverage when using their smartphones, including:

Networking: The Bumblebizz app provides a secure platform to connect with other professionals within and outside your industry. Quickly establish connections with fellow entrepreneurs who have succeeded in your field or encountered similar challenges as small business owners. After building these relationships, use apps like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet to put a face to a name and engage in more in-depth conversations.

Finances: Making use of tools like FreshBooks, you can manage your own finances and cash flow. In addition, you could generate profit and loss reports and organize your booking so you are ready for tax season with QuickBooks.

Marketing: Finding the tools to help build content that small businesses may not have the time or budget to manage on their own is more straightforward than you might think. From social posts and mailers to flyers and digital signage, Marq is an all-in-one solution for creating engaging marketing content that can drive growth for a business.

Time Management: Small businesses can efficiently manage both work and personal responsibilities with the help of apps like TimeTree. This app allows users to create multiple calendars, such as work, family and community volunteer time. Not only can you share and coordinate schedules with business colleagues and your family, but you also can engage in chats and share photos.

For more than 60 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week, which acknowledges the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.

University of Tennessee launches College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies

Posted on April 18, 2024 by - Uncategorized

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) creates a talent pipeline for local companies, and for years it has been sustainable. However, things started to shift once artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning hit the workplace. Now, everything is changing, and the skills of emerging young professionals need to change, too.

According to the Technology Skills Gap survey by the Knoxville Chamber and the Knoxville Technology Council, local businesses want to hire people with AI skills and would be willing to pay them more. Young professionals cite a lack of good-paying jobs in the city, and according to the 2023 Career Outcomes Report generated by UTK, the median salary for a graduating student is $56,384.

Enter UTK’s new College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies (CECS), created to train students to be innovative, technology-forward thinkers in any field or industry they enter. The new college will produce competitive applicants with relevant, timely skills that businesses are looking for and provide students with the higher salary positions they seek.

Read entire article from Teknovation.biz

The Dialogue with Natalie Crede

Posted on April 14, 2024 by - Uncategorized

Natalie Crede

This feature is a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member. So, here we go with our 209th installment visiting with Natalie Crede, owner and consultant of Bloom Leadership Development and Consulting, LLC, which helps leaders reach their full potential so people and businesses can thrive and create a better, brighter future.

Natalie Crede

Tell me more about your business. As a point of passion, I’m in the business of people. Without people there’s no business. So, I work with CEOs, entrepreneurs, HR, and leadership teams to connect people to business strategies, shape their company cultures and develop their leaders through leadership consulting, personalized coaching and leadership development workshops.

Describe your customers. My clients are typically decision-makers, i.e., CEOs, entrepreneurs, HR, and leadership teams at small, mid-size, or large organizations who are looking to strengthen their company culture and/or leadership capability, whether it’s for an individual leader, leadership team or a company-wide initiative. They already recognize the importance of leadership to their business success, especially in today’s rapidly evolving business climate, but may not have the internal resources to support or help them build their development strategy

How did you get started? While building my career in organizational health and human resource management, I’ve led all the components those things encompass. But my passion has always been leadership development. I’ve learned that you can have the best products, services, policies and programs in place, but business success comes down to having great leaders who inspire people to bring their best. That’s when the magic happens. So, after a dynamic corporate career, I walked away to pursue my passion and pay it forward by helping others succeed.

What is your background? Years and years of ongoing research, study, hard work, and experience. I started on the ground floor, which felt like the basement, as an HR clerk and worked my way to the top. It helped that I’ve been very fortunate to work with fast-growing national and global businesses where work experience is gained in dog years and you find yourself wearing hats you never thought you would. Couple that with the benefit of working with brilliant people (with and without titles) and I’ve wound up with a ton of experience as life’s best teacher.

What impacts your business environment? The requirements of effective leadership have dramatically changed, even within the past five years. The days of simply having functional expertise and managing people by telling them what to do and when to do it are gone. Although basic business goals are generally the same, HOW leaders go about achieving these goals couldn’t have changed more. Today’s leaders are expected to inspire and influence people in an era of broadened perspectives and changing values in a multi-generational workforce, supersonic technological advancements, industry globalization, information overload, political tension and ambiguity as we look toward our future. As demands increase, my work is about helping leaders navigate and get in front of today’s challenges with relevant and practical skill-building to support their success.

What do you enjoy most about your career? It’s hard to narrow down what I enjoy most about owning and operating my own business. It’s invigorating to fully concentrate on my passion and purpose, stimulating to learn something new every day, and fulfilling to know that I just might be able to make a positive impact. What’s not to enjoy?

Pellissippi State commits to recruiting more students to advanced manufacturing 

Posted on April 5, 2024 by - Uncategorized

Pellissippi State Community College kicked off a three-year challenge Wednesday to attract and recruit 1,000 students into advanced manufacturing and connect them with industry partners. 

More than 30 representatives from local manufacturing companies, K-12 school systems, chambers of commerce and the college were on hand to learn more about the SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) Manufacturing Imperative – Workforce Pipeline Challenge.  

Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr. said the partnership aligns with the college’s roots as a technical institute. 

“We are committed to building the next generation of manufacturing professionals,” Wise said. “The sustainability of the industry depends on the development of the talent pipeline.” 

The alliance between Pellissippi State and SME is designed to build awareness of careers in manufacturing and accelerate the education and skill development needed to place Tennessee students in jobs making family-sustaining wages. 

The challenge comes as the manufacturing industry faces an estimated 2.7 million unfilled jobs by 2030. Together with SME, Pellissippi State will work to develop strategies that will strengthen the manufacturing workforce in East Tennessee. 

Pellissippi State is one of only 25 schools in the country invited to participate in the challenge with each college tasked with attracting 1,000 students into manufacturing jobs over the next three years. 

For more information on Pellissippi State’s partnership with SME and the Workforce Pipeline Challenge, or to learn more about opportunities to engage with and support the program, contact Patty Weaver, vice president of external affairs for Pellissippi State, at [email protected].