Business Digest: Habitat elects six leaders

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Habitat elects six leaders

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga has elected six Chattanooga business leaders to its board of directors: Denise Cobb, executive vice president and chief administrations officer at FSG Bank; Drew Hibbard, director of investments at Visions Hospitality Group; James Moreland, retired manager at DuPont and current chairman of East Chattanooga Improvement, Inc.; Ron Morris, a TVA retiree and specialist at Thrivent Financial; Gabrielle Charles Sanders, business analyst in the corporate compliance division at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; and David Wade, EPB's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"We are very pleased to have such dynamic business leaders who have all demonstrated their commitment to making a difference in Chattanooga join our board," said David Butler, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga. "They will undoubtedly bring expertise and insight to the board that will be invaluable as Habitat for Humanity continues to expand affordable home ownership opportunities to more Chattanooga families in the months and years ahead."


Joyce earns certification

photo Brian Joyce

Decosimo announced that Brian Joyce recently earned the designation of Certified Common Security Framework (CSF) Practitioner from the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST).

The CSF is the most widely adopted information security criterion in the U.S. health care industry. The HITRUST CSF Assurance Program is the most commonly utilized program for assessing the security posture of business associates and managing third-party compliance.

"With the advent of HIPAA and other policies, the health care industry has made information security one of its top business priorities, and working within the Common Security Framework is an important part of our firm's service to our health care clients," said managing principal Nick Decosimo.

Joyce leads Decosimo's HIPAA compliance risk assessment services. He also holds the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium's (ISC2) highest designation: the CISSP certificate. He has earned several Global Information Assurance Certifications (GIAC), Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), Security Essentials (GSEC) and the Critical Infrastructure Protection (GCIP).


Dutton earns certification

photo Adam Dutton

Adam Dutton of Kelly and Dutton of Ameriprise has earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) professional designation from American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Candidates for RICP designation must complete three college-level courses, pass a series of exams, attain three years of related experience, meet stringent ethics requirements and participate in continuing education.

Individuals who earn RICP can provide expert advice on a broad range of retirement topics including income needs and objectives, estate issues and other risks to retirement income planning, Social Security, health insurance, housing decisions and income taxation.


Erlanger adds Ardeshna

photo Nikesh Ardeshna

Dr. Nikesh Ardeshna, neurologist and epileptologist, has joined the UT Erlanger Neurology Group.

Dr. Ardeshna, a fellowship-trained epileptologist and seizure specialist, serves as medical director of epilepsy services for the Erlanger Health System. In addition to the diagnosis and management of epilepsy, the focus of his practice is the interpretation of electroencephalograms (EEGs) including long-term continuous video-EEG monitoring and critical care EEG monitoring.

His special interests include epilepsy in seniors, advocating for the needs of epilepsy patients at various levels of government, teaching both patients and EEG technicians and increasing awareness of epilepsy.

Most recently he served as director of the epilepsy monitoring unit at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., a level four epilepsy center.

Dr. Ardeshna earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and his medical degree from the University of Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean. He completed his neurology residency program at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and a clinical neurophysiology fellowship with a concentration in epilepsy at Wayne State University.

Dr. Ardeshna is board-certified in neurology and is a diplomat of the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry and Neurology. He is a member of the American Epilepsy Society and the American Academy of Neurology. He also serves on the national professional advisory board for the National Epilepsy Foundation.


King newest buyer specialist

photo Marie King

Real Estate veteran Marie King is the newest buyer specialist with the Todd Henon Real Estate Group, located at Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty. A top regional trainer and former team leader and managing broker for Keller Williams, as well as founder of Chattanooga Connectors networking group, King brings 14 years' experience to the Todd Henon Group which specializes in residences, land and farms and sporting properties in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.


Decosimo's Hyatt presents

Decosimo's director of state and local tax services, Larry Hyatt, will serve as presenter for Scott Insurance complimentary seminar "Managing Risk in Uncertain Times: Risk Management Topics for Finance and HR Execs," April 29, at The Chattanoogan hHotel. The half-day seminar will highlight strategies to manage risk in many areas of a business. The goal of the seminar is to provide attendees with a better understanding about the risk employers face when sponsoring retirement plans, preparing for Tennessee Workers' Compensation changes and implementing the Affordable Care Act provisions, as well as navigating business tax changes.

Hyatt will also present "State Sales/Use Tax and Business Tax Changes" at 9 a.m. as part of the educational program. This seminar will also feature additional speakers and topics related to sales and use tax issues.

Hyatt is a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner and specializes in federal, state and local tax at Decosimo. He provides state and local tax research and related services for large, privately owned companies and publicly-traded national and international companies.

Much of his time is spent defending clients during federal, state and local income tax audits and training other CPA firms in their tax audit services to clients. Additionally, Hyatt helps businesses determine which states or local jurisdictions offer the most advantageous tax incentives.

To register for the free event, contact Scott Insurance at seminars@scottins.com or call 800-365-0101.