Hamilton County EMS has promoted Capt. Devoria Johnson to assistant chief, making her the first woman to hold the rank in the department’s history.
Johnson began her emergency medical services career in 1993 as a first responder and EMT-IV at Hutcheson Medical Center in North Georgia. She earned her paramedic certification in 2001 and joined Hamilton County EMS in 2007.
Johnson was promoted to sergeant in 2018, lieutenant in 2019 and captain in 2021.
HCEMS Director Wade Batson praised Johnson’s leadership, professionalism and commitment to the department, saying her promotion marks a historic moment for Hamilton County EMS.
Johnson said she looks forward to supporting HCEMS personnel, working with the department’s leadership team and continuing to serve Hamilton County residents and visitors.
First Horizon adds Chattanooga bankers
First Horizon Bank has added Brittni Pierce and Jeremy Haley as business banking relationship managers in the Chattanooga market.
Pierce has worked for First Horizon for nearly a decade, most recently serving as banking center manager at locations in Athens and Cleveland. She also serves as a community volunteer lead with the American Red Cross.
Haley returns to First Horizon with more than a decade of banking experience after spending the past year with Builtwell Bank. He previously served nearly five years as a First Horizon banking center manager.
Haley serves on the boards of CORE, a membership network supporting Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s City Center Council. He also serves as chief financial officer for Chattanooga Elite Basketball.
Medal of Honor Heritage Center gets new leadership
The Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center has elected a new leadership team and added three members to its board of trustees.
The new executive leadership team, which took office July 1, includes Linda Moss Mines as chairwoman, Dr. Robert Dooley as vice chairman, C.K. Hyde as secretary, Joel Freund as treasurer and Bill Hullander as member at large.
Mines is the official historian for Chattanooga and Hamilton County and has spent more than five decades teaching and speaking about American history and the Constitution. She also serves on the Tennessee Cemetery Commission and with several local organizations.
Dooley is dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has more than 25 years of senior administrative leadership experience in higher education.
Hyde, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, is CEO of the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults. His previous roles include regional vice president for the United Service Organizations Indo-Pacific.
Freund is a certified public accountant who spent 16 years with the FBI as a special agent and supervisory special agent investigating violent and complex financial crimes.
Hullander has served as Hamilton County trustee since 2010 and previously represented District 9 on the Hamilton County Commission for 12 years.
The Heritage Center also welcomed Todd Ricke, Todd McCain and Debbie Whitmire to its board of trustees.
Ricke is vice president and general manager of NewsChannel 9, FOX Chattanooga and The CW Chattanooga. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he has more than 25 years of leadership experience.
McCain is founder and owner of Cumberland Title & Guaranty Company and a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Whitmire is chief financial officer of Miller Industries Inc., an Ooltewah-based manufacturer of towing and recovery equipment where she has worked for 30 years. She also serves on the Chattanooga State Community College Foundation Board.
The Chattanooga-based Heritage Center preserves the history and legacy of Medal of Honor recipients and uses their stories to educate visitors about character and service.