Business Digest: Larry Hill Ford is online winner

Friday, January 1, 1904

Larry Hill Ford is online winner

Larry Hill Ford in Cleveland, Tenn., has been named a 2013 Ford Dealer of the Year in Tennessee for the second year in a row.

DealerRater, which calls itself the world's premier car dealer review website, said Larry Hill Ford has demonstrated consistently high PowerScore ratings for customer satisfaction. The score is determined using an algorithm that factors the dealership's average DealerRater consumer rating and the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the previous calendar year.

According to recent studies, 84 percent of Americans say online evaluations have an influence on their decision to purchase a product or service.

"It was a tight competition among many outstanding dealers throughout Tennessee, and Larry Hill Ford should be proud of this accomplishment," said Chip Grueter, president of DealerRater."


Pratt recognizes Carpenter, Dorsey

Judy Carpenter was recently recognized by Pratt and Associates.

Carpenter was cited for 15 years of service with the residential construction firm.

Also Jennifer Dorsey was recognized for 10 years of service with Pratt Home Builders as vice president of production.


Barge, Waggoner promotes two

Matt Stovall has been named director of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner, and Cannon's new land resources business unit.

Also, Russell Moorehead has been promoted to Chattanooga office manager.

Most recently serving as the architecture and engineering's Chattanooga office manager, Stovall will remain in Barge, Waggoner's location in the city.

"Our engineers, landscape architects and surveyors all play a critical role in impacting numerous communities through a variety of projects. This business unit seeks to carry on that Barge, Waggoner tradition with these disciplines under the same umbrella," he said.

Moorehead has over 25 years of experience in municipal transportation, stormwater management, water distribution and wastewater collection issues. Prior to joining Barge, Waggoner, he served as public works director for Marietta, Ga., for more than a decade.


Decosimo is bronze sponsor

Decosimo, the accounting and business advisory firm, recently provided support as a bronze sponsor for the Southern States Alternative Investing Symposium in Birmingham, Ala.

Decosimo principal Fred Decosimo provided leadership for the session "Real Estate State of the Industry: Revisiting Institutional Investment Real Estate Strategies -- What Part of The Cycle Are We Really In?"

Principals Robert Belcher and Cole Powell also will represented Decosimo during the symposium's various networking activities.

The conference hosted by the Southern States Business Coalition explored topics such as the state of the industry.


Peavy, McGowan new partners

Craig Peavy and Michael McGowan have become partners in River Street Architecture LLC.

They join senior partners Terry Barker and Rob Fowler who started River Street in 1999.

Peavy, a graduate of Auburn University. has been with River Street for seven years. Peavy is currently the lead architect on a $30 million mixed-use facility on West End in Nashville

McGowan, a University of Tennessee graduate, has been with the firm for six years. McGowan is currently the lead architect of the 24-acre commercial development Cambridge Square in Ooltewah.


Lyndhurst adds Toledano

The Lyndhurst Foundation has hired Macon C. Toledano, a licensed architect and contractor, to serve as associate director in charge of the foundation's grant programs in the priority areas of urban design and development, neighborhood revitalization, historic preservation, energy efficiency and conservation. He also will collaborate with other staff members in their oversight of programs in outdoor recreation, habitat and wildlife conservation, public health, education, and arts and culture.

Toledano has more than 20 years' experience in the planning and development of various types of projects in the United States and Europe, including retail, residential, and mixed-use projects, as well as preservation and urban revitalization efforts, and traditional neighborhood developments. He previously played a leading role for LeylandAlliance in the planning and development process for Storrs Center, a new mixed-use, college town center in Storrs, Conn., and was a principal at Civitas in Charleston, S.C., where he was involved in the planning and development of several New Urbanist projects in downtown Charleston.

Toledano is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Congress for New Urbanism, the Nature Conservancy, and the Big Sur Land Trust.


Winters named on-site physician

Life Care Physician Services LLC, a subsidiary of Life Care Centers of America, has placed Dr. Amanda Winters as on-site physician at Life Care Center of Hixson.

Winters was hired as part of Life Care Centers of America's initiative to place physicians in each of its buildings in Tennessee.

"Some of my earliest memories are of visits to nursing homes with my father, Dr. David Winters, a medical director at several facilities," said Winters.

Winters will work with the Life Care Center of Hixson's interdisciplinary team, facility medical director and other attending physicians in caring for each patient.


HealthSouth gets recertification

HealthSouth Chattanooga Rehabilitation Hospital has earned recertification for disease-specific care in stroke rehabilitation.

The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval was awarded to the hospital for its compliance with the organization's national standards for health care quality and safety for stroke rehabilitation.

"Our focus is to serve the needs of the Chattanooga community," said Scott Rowe, CEO of HealthSouth Chattanooga. "Each day, our staff works to provide a differentiated level of care and offer services that get patients back on their feet and functioning in their communities."