TACC 2023

Chamber Banquet 2023— 1B CAITLIN ABLE Staff Writer T he Tullahoma Area Cham- ber of Commerce (TACC) held their annual membership celebration at the Manches- ter Co ff ee County Conference Center on Friday, awarding members with trophies while acknowledging their e ff orts in the community during 2022. Eight awards were pre- sented to chamber members, including: the President’s Award, the Rising Star, the Ambassador of the Year, the Board Member of the Year, the CEO Business Partner of the Year, the Small Business of the Year, the Business of the Year and the Citizen of the Year. Members of the 2022 Cel- ebration Committee included Andy Whitt, Caroline Hen- nigan, Catherine Murray, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Raths, Greg Gressel, Ivy Petty, James Fuller, Jessica Lawton, Joan- na Reynolds, Joe Orr, Kaycee Edwards, Kim Uselton, Pam Carver, Scarlett Carpenter and Vickie Shelton. Master of ceremonies Catherine “Cat” Murray opened the event by acknowl- edging the special guests, committee members and ex- ecutive board of the TACC, before handing the mic off to the chamber’s Marketing and Communications Coordina- tor Lily Smith. “I have been with the Chamber for a little over a year now, and it truly has been amazing,” Smith shared. “When I fi rst started, Hope (Nunley) was about to give birth, and the 2021 cel- ebration was just a few weeks away. I wasn’t too sure what to do with myself, as Hope was on maternity leave and Tisha (Fritz) ran around the o ffi ce taking care of every aspect of the event. At least until I was tasked with attending the event and photographing ev- eryone there.” She thanked the members for their friendliness and the community they helped make, before calling the other sta ff members of TACC to the stage for a sel fi e with the crowd. TACC Assistant Execu- tive Director Tisha Fritz then took the stage to share with the attendees the growth that the chamber had achieved in the previous year. In 2022, the TACC reached over 440 members, with more than 72 members joining in the past year. This led to the cham- ber receiving $11,790 in new member revenue. Throughout 2022, the TACC held 42 chamber events, in addition to 20 ribbon cut- tings and 35 networking events, and had 15,774 event attendees. “We hit milestones across the board and have achieved greater visibility for our cham- ber and our members,” she said. “Four hundred and fi fty businesses, small to large, have joined an organization with singular focus: to do whatever can be done to help our com- munity thrive. Together, each of us in this room, have made the decision to be a part of the good that is happening in and around Tullahoma.” She highlighted the me- dia partnerships and tourist visibility that the chamber supports for the town and lo- cal businesses, as well as the support of local leaders. She then introduced TACC Execu- tive Director Hope Nunley to fi nish the remarks before the presentation of awards. “The successes that we cel- ebrate are a team e ff ort, and that includes all of you: our members, the sta ff , the board of directors, the ambassadors and the volunteers that all give their time, talent and resourc- es in support of our mission,” she said. Event attendees were pro- vided with a three-course meal, which included a sal- ad, main course and dessert, as well as access to a cash bar. During the dinner, at- tendees were encouraged to participate in a silent auc- tion, which boasted dona- tions from local businesses. Following the presentation of awards, a live auction was held. Items available in the si- lent auction were donated by: 4 the Win, About Town Apparel, Advance Auto, As- cend Federal Credit Union, AutoZone, Beechcraft Heri- tage Museum, The Bookshelf, Buffalo Wild Wings, Camino Real, Cherielynn Gunsell, Cherokee Distributing, Clay- ton’s Shoe Store, Common John Brewery, Courtesy Cleaners, Definitive Well- ness, Divine Canine, EnV Embroidery&Vinyl, ECDesign & Print, Emil’s Bistro, Emily Rice - Yard Card Queen, Eye Care Center, F.I.T. Beyond Therapy, Farmington Local See Celebration, Page 5B Thank you to our Title Sponsors! Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce holds Annual Membership Celebration Tisha Fritz, Hope Nunley, and Lily Smith