Tennessee Realtors has named Travis Close the 2026 Realtor of the Year.
The award, presented during the association’s annual Fall Convention in Memphis, recognizes the member who best represents the character and professional profile of a Realtor.
Close has held several leadership roles with Greater Chattanooga Realtors, including serving as president in 2015. He currently serves as the association’s 2026 MLS chair. Close is also a National Association of Realtors RPAC Hall of Fame inductee and holds seven Realtor designations.
“Travis truly embodies what it means to be a Realtor,” Tennessee Realtors President Chris Garrett says. “His ongoing commitment to our industry and local community for the past 19 years has made an incredible impression.”
Tennessee Realtors represents more than 36,000 real estate professionals across the state.
Burnside earns national real estate honor
Daniel Burnside, a real estate agent serving the Chickamauga Lake market, received the Aqua Award during Lake Homes Realty’s 14th Annual National Agent Summit.
The award recognizes agents who achieved between $3.5 million and $10 million in total transaction volume or completed at least 20 transaction sides totaling $2.5 million or more during the 2025-2026 award period.
The Aqua Award is among the company’s highest honors for agent performance.
Manson joins CommonSpirit Orthopedics
Chattanooga native Dr. H. Corey Manson has joined CommonSpirit Medical Group Orthopedics, providing surgical and nonsurgical orthopedic care at its Hixson and Ringgold clinics.
Manson, a Baylor School graduate, treats conditions affecting the shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees and ankles, as well as sports-related injuries. He also specializes in orthopedic trauma, including the diagnosis and treatment of fractures and complex musculoskeletal injuries.
Manson earned his medical degree from East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine and completed his orthopedic surgery internship and residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia. He completed a fellowship in orthopedic trauma surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
A lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, Manson is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.
The practice has locations at 2051 Hamill Road, Suite 210, in Hixson and 4700 Battlefield Parkway, Suite 320, in Ringgold.
Jump joins Integrative Medicine practice
Dr. Max Jump has joined CommonSpirit Medical Group Integrative Medicine Chattanooga and is accepting new patients.
Jump earned his doctorate of osteopathic medicine from Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, where he also earned a master’s degree in biomedical sciences. He completed his internal medicine residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Jump joins a team that includes his father, Dr. Jeffrey Jump. The practice is located at 320 E. Main St., Suite 200, in Chattanooga. Appointments with Jump can be scheduled by calling 423 643-2246.
Holland selected for Leadership Collaborative
Lindsey Holland, dean of Social & Behavioral Sciences at Chattanooga State Community College, has been selected for the inaugural class of the Vanderbilt Academic Leadership Collaborative.
The program, launched by the College System of Tennessee in partnership with Vanderbilt University, is designed to strengthen leadership across Tennessee’s community and technical colleges.
Holland will participate in professional development focused on reflection, problem solving and peer learning through sessions examining real-world leadership challenges.
Sessions will be facilitated by Vanderbilt faculty and other partners with experience in the collaborative leadership model, which Vanderbilt has used internally with its own leaders for several years.