Business digest: Monique Berke joins Cornerstone

June 22--Monique Berke joins Cornerstone

Cornerstone Bancshares, Inc., parent company of Cornerstone Community Bank, has added Monique Prado Berke to its board of directors.

Berke has more than 24 years of experience in consulting and operations in the financial services industry. She currently serves as vice president of investment operations for Unum's investment management group and is responsible for overseeing non-investment related business operations.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Monique as a new director," said Cornerstone's president and CEO Frank Hughes. "With her proven leadership abilities, determination and commitment to our community, she will undoubtedly be a tremendous asset to our Board."

Prior to this role, she was vice president of human resources for Global Services at Unum, where she served on a six-member leadership team responsible for the company's global technology services organization. Before rejoining Unum in 2010, Berke was chief operating officer and vice president of external affairs for the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies. In addition, she ran her own successful business, Berke Coaching & Consulting, for eight years, where she served as an executive business coach and strategic planning consultant.

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Duffy, Kopcsak get key jobs

Local real estate veterans Pam Duffy and Kathie Kopcsak have been named to key positions at Real Estate Partners Chattanooga LLC.

Duffy has been named director of training and agent support, and Kopcsak has been named vice president of operations. Duffy will be responsible for agent and company education, training and providing business development support for new and experienced agents. Kopcsak will be responsible for all administrative and operational aspects of the company including real estate contract management.

With more than 35 years of real estate experience, Duffy is widely respected in the local and state real estate community.

"Pam's wealth of knowledge and expertise in all areas of real estate from business development to contracts and ethics is without compare in the Chattanooga area. When she teaches a class on the latest contract changes, chances are very good she helped implement those changes on the state level," company owner Darlene Brown said.

During her 25 years in the local real estate industry, Kathie Kopcsak has worked in a variety of administrative positions beginning from office management to heading a large contract processing department," Brown said.

Kopcsak holds a B.A. in business administration from Bridgewater College.

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Raines heads state offices

Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, Inc., has opened a Tennessee office in Nashville headed by Chattanooga native Parker Raines, a company vice president.

Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla., the merger of Fisher Brown Insurance and Bottrell Insurance created the current firm in 2004. Rains joined the firm in 2007.

"As a Chattanooga native, I have a great appreciation and admiration for this town, and I look forward to serving the businesses community," said Raines. "We primarily work with middle market companies that are looking for big market attention and value-added services. At Fisher Brown Bottrell, we take a private banking approach to insurance, and treat all our clients like VIP's."

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Kenco executives to be presenters

Two top-level executives from Kenco were among the presenters at last week's Warehouse Legal Practice Symposium hosted by the International Warehouse Logistics Association in Chicago.

Kenco vice president and general counsel Ann Christopher talked about topics in warehouse law, including consequential damages, disaster contingency planning, e-commerce and contractor liability. Also at the conference will be Kenco's vice president of information technology Kristi Montgomery.

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ERMC wins airport minority award

Chattanooga-based ERMC IV has won an award from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for minority participation.

ERMC is a prime contractor at the airport providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural maintenance services. The airport said ERMC has consistently exceeded its minority and women-owned participation commitments on a series of contracts and supported the growth of such subcontractors. ERMC has surpassed its minority commitments and achieved over 40 percent on several of its contracts, the airport said.

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Witry added as new engineer

Allen Witry has joined Southeastern Tool & Design as as senior automation engineer. He brings over 10 years experience and will service the company's growing customers' needs in the automation and mechanical engineering capacity.

"We're excited to have Allen on our team and entrust his expertise will help solve our customers' evolving needs," President Lou Ziebold said.

Witry earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

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Hardin wins Corridor award

Long-time Tennessee congressional staffer Helen Hardin and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) received the top awards given by the Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) during the organization's annual national summit held last week on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Hardin is senior policy advisory for U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and has been involved in the TVC's activities since the first summit was held in Oak Ridge, Tenn., in 1995.

The Corridor Champion Award recognizes individuals and organizations that provide leadership to enhance the TVC's national visibility, high-tech economic development, and collaborative efforts within the region.

"Helen has been a passionate advocate for the TVC since its beginning in 1995," said Gerald Boyd, chairman of the TVC board of directors and former Corridor Champion Award winner.

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Miller gets customs broker license

John L. Miller has recently passed the Customs Broker License examination administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The passing rate has typically been less than 10 percent. Across the nation, almost 1,000 people take the examination offered twice a year. A licensed customs broker must possess a current customs broker license in order to represent clients before U.S. Customs in matters related to the import and export of goods. Miller hopes to utilize this license in association with his legal experience and credentials to represent and assist individuals and companies in dealing with the complexities of U.S. Customs laws and regulations.

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Owsley joins plastic surgery group

Natalie Owsley has joined the office of Associates in Plastic Surgery. Owsley is the first nurse practitioner for the practice and will focus on skin health evaluation and treatment, facial rejuvenation and cosmetic laser treatments.

Owsley brings 10years of experience as a nurse practitioner and over 20 years of experience as a registered nurse. She is a dual certified family and pediatric nurse practitioner.

"Adding a nurse practitioner brings tremendous value to our patients and the team," said Dr. Chris Chase, partner and board-certified plastic surgeon. "Natalie helps to increase our focus on, not only excellent care, but also bolstering the top-notch treatment procedures that we are known for."

As nurse practitioner, she will focus on skin health evaluation and treatment, facial rejuvenation and wrinkle reduction including BOTOX, Juvederm and Voluma, cosmetic laser treatment for hair removal, skin tightness, wrinkle reduction, sun damage repair and skin cancer screening and management.

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Henon earns brokers' license

Todd Henon, of the Todd Henon Real Estate Group specializing in residential, land and farms and sporting properties at Keller Williams downtown has acquired his broker's license in two additional states credentialing him as a broker-agent in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

Complied by Wesley Holloway, who can be reached at [email protected].

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