Eat Mor Chikin

The franchise owner, Marshall Wilkins, of a chicken restaurant known primarily for its cows, outlined principles that will work in any business.

“We’re in the people business, serving chicken; not in the chicken business, serving people,” said Marshall Wilkins. During tough times, focus on becoming more of who you are (rather than try to change) and work to create “raving fans” – customers who come often, tell others and are willing to pay full price.

“You do that and the sales will come; the profits will come,” he said.

Daniel Monday with Slamdot explained what you really needed to know about small business websites and other online marketing vehicles like Facebook, Twitter and so on. He discussed why you should be taking advantage of the Internet to market yourself and your company, without making it another full-time job. He discussed the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to websites, SEO and social media marketing.

Daniel Monday graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a focus in Journalism and Advertising, and joined Slamdot in the fall of 2005. Daniel has over 5 years of marketing experience, and loves people. Since starting with Slamdot he has moved from sales associate to Chief Operating Officer, working on business development, customer service and marketing. He was chosen by his peers as Knoxville Chamber Ambassador of the Year for 2010-2011.

Frank is co-host on the Marc, Kim, & Frank morning show on Star 102.1, he is co-host of Smoky Mountain Magazine on East Tennessee PBS, and he performs with the comedy improv group Einstein Simplified at Side Splitters Comedy Club. Additionally, Frank has become well known for his use of social media. He is a dedicated traveler, visiting all 50 states, incorporating the help of his social media. And he is a member of the FBI Knoxville Citizens Academy Alumni Association and occasionally volunteers for Bone Zones, the group which facilitates public appearances for renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass.

Full Biography:

On weekday mornings, Frank Murphy can be heard as a co-host of the Marc & Kim and Frank show on Star 102.1 in Knoxville. On Saturday mornings, he can be seen as co-host of Smoky Mountain Magazine on East Tennessee PBS. On Tuesday evenings, Frank can be found on stage with the comedy improv group Einstein Simplified at Side Splitters Comedy Club.

Frank has been using social media since 2005 when he started a daily blog atfrankmurphy.com. He can also be found on Facebook and he is active onTwitter as @FrankMurphyCom.

Frank is involved in the community as a volunteer for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee and as a member of the FBI Knoxville Citizens Academy Alumni Association. He also occasionally volunteers as emcee of various events for Bone Zones, the group which facilitates public appearances for renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass.

Prior to moving to Tennessee, Frank worked at radio stations in Los Angeles and Washington, DC. He graduated from George Mason University, where he won the Senior of the Year award.

Frank and his wife have two adult children. Their daughter lives in the Washington, DC area and their son attends college in St. Louis.

For the past ten years, Frank has been gradually working toward his goal of visiting all 50 states. He reached his “final four” in the summer of 2011. In addition to traveling, Frank enjoys swimming, pop culture and dessert.

This was a special opportunity to meet and get to know our candidates. They were presented with 10 pre-selected questions, and had a short amount of time to answer, with everyone having an opportunity to respond.

You can learn more about the candidates below. Here are a few pictures:

Victoria DeFreese

DeFreese—an involved South Knox County resident and seasoned educator—is a fiscal and social conservative.

“In these tough times we need to get government off the backs of small businesses, empower highly qualified educators in the trenches at public schools, reclaim state power from federal overreach, and defend the Tennessee constitution against a state income tax. It is time for capitalism to reign and opportunities to flourish in Tennessee,” said DeFreese. “I want to be a voice for the middle class in the state senate.”

DeFreese’s experience in education makes her the best replacement for Jamie Woodson, the departing incumbent and past leader in education reform. Besides her degree in education, DeFreese has a wide array of hands-on educational experience as an instructor for Talented And Gifted (TAG), consultant for a British publisher, a home school instructor, a satellite school instructor, Johnson University adjunct instructor and guest speaker, a tutor, a proctor for standardized testing, assistant director at Shades Development, an assessment team member for a Title I Tutoring program, Writing Boot Camp Instructor, and a 6th grade Reading and Language teacher.

In addition to her education acumen, DeFreese has served on the Knox County Library Advisory Board, on the Transfer of Development Rights Land-Use Concept task force, as a Republican precinct delegate, and as an interim Knox County Commissioner. DeFreese is a woman dedicated to her family, her community, and the values of the 6th District: stimulating small businesses, empowering the most accomplished classroom teachers, preserving the state constitution, and eliminating wasteful government expenditures of tax dollars.

ABOUT VICTORIA DEFREESE

Victoria DeFreese was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from Speedway Public High School and went to Johnson University in Knoxville, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education.

For nearly 18 years, DeFreese has made her home in South Knoxville with her husband, Donald. She is the proud mother of three daughters and one son: Savannah, Isabelle, Marietta, and James, who are all enrolled in the Knox County school system. The DeFreeses enjoy hiking, camping, and spending time together with friends and family.

Becky Duncan Massey

Becky Duncan Massey is a candidate for the Tennessee State Senate seat in District 6 of Knox County. She will run in the Republican Primary on September 27, 2011.

Massey’s primary goal is to reduce the over abundance of government regulations and to increase the efficiency of state government so that more money will end up in our communities across the state. Some of her priorities will include: recruit new jobs to Tennessee, strengthen our educational system and prevent tax increases for our citizens.

Massey is the Executive Director of the non-profit Sertoma Center which serves over 100 adults who have intellectual disabilities. For 13 years, she has managed a staff of 160 people and balanced an annual $6,000,000 operational budget. She began at Sertoma in 1993 as the Marketing and Development Director and was promoted to Executive Director in 1998.

A native Knoxvillian, Massey received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee. She has been married to Morton Massey for 35 years and they have two daughters – Courtney, 32 and Kristen, 29. Together, Morton and Becky coached a girls softball team for 22 years at Rocky Hill Ballpark where a field was named in their honor in 2000. The family has been members of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church for 34 years.

Active in the community, Massey is the President-Elect of Tennessee Community Organizations and has served on the board of directors of the Akima Club, U.T. Alumni, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Overlook Center and Dogwood Arts Festival. She was in the Leadership Knoxville Class of 2005, a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and on the Nine Counties One Vision Task Force. In 1992, she was Co-Chair of the Dogwood Arts Festival and a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Massey understands the responsibilities of being a public servant. Her late father John J. Duncan, Sr. served as Mayor of Knoxville from 1959-1963 and as U.S. Representative from 1964-1988. Her brother John J. Duncan, Jr. followed in their Dad’s footsteps as U.S. Representative from 1988-present.

For more information visit the website at www.BeckyMassey.com. The campaign email address is:Becky.Massey@comcast.net or call 865-544-5228.

Marilyn Roddy

Marilyn has served the last seven years as at an At-Large member of Knoxville’s City Council, working closely with the Haslam Administration to bring growth and fiscal discipline to the City.   Marilyn can often be found at community events and meetings across Knox County.  Marilyn believes that leadership begins with listening.

Marilyn Chairs the City of Knoxville Audit Committee, is a member of the City Investment Advisory Board and has served as co-chair of the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Committee.  As a member of Council, she has focused on services and finances, the backbone of local government.

Marilyn is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a former third grade teacher.  She has been involved in the Knox County community for over 20 years.  She is immediate Past President of the Metropolitan Drug Commission and was Vice Chairman of the Legacy Parks Foundation.  She is a graduate of Leadership Knoxville, has served as her daughters’ elementary school PTA president and has been a member of the Ijams Nature Center Board of Directors.  Marilyn is an active member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, where she has served as a Sunday school teacher and leader.

Marilyn and Patrick Roddy have been married for over 25 years and are the parents of three daughters, ages 15, 19, and 22. They enjoy supporting their daughters’ many activities.

Topic: State of the County

We had a great visit from Mayor Tim Burchett, who discussed the State of the County, and more specifically the possible new school for Carter.

For more information on Mayor Burchett, please visit http://www.knoxcounty.org/countymayor/bio.php.

In addition to Mayor Burchett, we had George Lucke with Edward Jones give us a brief introduction about his business in this month’s Member Spotlight.

Topic: What the Property Assessor’s Office does and what services they provide

Craig Leuthold is the Public Information Director for the Knox County Property Assessor’s Office. He previously worked in the Knox County Trustee’s Office for 16 years. He also served on the Knox County Commission for 8 years. He is a graduate of UT with a degree in finance.

Craig explained how the Property Assessor’s office worked, what they do throughout the year, and how they operate. He talked about the caliber of training each employees has had, as well as the technology and office setup they use to perform their duties. Craig also explained how property is assessed, what type of property is assessed, and the appeals process that people can go through if they’re not satisfied.

Facilitator: Todd Howell from WBIR-TV 10

Topic: Get to know your candidates – a question and answer session

This was a special opportunity to meet and get to know the city mayoral candidates. The candidates were presented with 10 pre-selected questions. Each candidate was given an allotted time to answer each question.

Here are some pictures and a clip from a question revolving around Metro Government:

A short video on the responses from Knoxville City Mayoral candidates in June 2011 during a Fountain City Business & Professional Association meeting. The question in the video asks about Metro Government.

At this meeting the membership was presented with 2 questions. Facilitators listened to all comments and suggestions made regarding the homeless in Knoxville, and wrote down the responses. The purpose was to search out ways to address homelessness in an inclusive, transparent, and informed process. The following two questions were discussed:

1. Homelessness is an issue that impacts our community, what do you suggest we do about it?
2. What are the major concerns you have about dealing with homelessness?

Thanks to everyone who came out and participate to share their thoughts and ideas!

Compassion Knoxville is a citizen-led effort to gather public input on ways to address homelessness. Past efforts to address homelessness in our community have mostly come from service providers or local government bodies. Compassion Knoxville is attempting to gather citizen input on ways that our community can best address homelessness, which is a community issue, thus the community should have the opportunity to participate in finding ways to address the issue. For more information on Compassion Knoxville please visit their site at www.compassionknoxville.com.

The Fountain City BPA had the privilege of hearing from Don Lindsey with AAA of East Tennessee. He discussed 3 main topics:

1. The new Enhanced Sideview Mirror Settings, which help improve blindspot visibility by adjusting sideview mirrors further outwards instead of looking at the back of your car when in your normal driving position.
2. The new update in steering wheel hand positions, which are 9 and 3, or 8 and 4, due to the potential hazard of airbags injuring arms and wrists even further during impact. It’s also considered to be a more comfortable, or natural, position then the traditional “10 and 2″ position.
3. The outdated rule for keeping distance between cars ahead of you, where you measure one car length. The new rule of thumb should be to use time as a measurement instead of car lengths, where you pick a stationary spot on the road or roadside, and count how many seconds between the time the car in front of you passes it and the time you pass it, which should be between 3-4 seconds to provide plenty of reaction time.

Don also talked about ways to save on fuel consumption, and provided a brochure for tips.

Here are the handouts that Don had available:

• Gas Watcher’s Guide 2010
• Enhanced Mirror Settings