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In this section:
The NELAs
YP Event Photos
View photos from past YP events.
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2007 NELA Winners
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and YP Nashville are proud to announce the winners of the inaugural Nashville Emerging Leaders Awards (NELAs) program.
View photos from the 2007 NELAs ceremony.
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Architecture & Engineering
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Hospitality & Tourism
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 Hunter Gee joined Looney Ricks Kiss in 1998 and currently is director of community planning for the Nashville office. He has led several notable projects, such as the $350 million Gulch Redevelopment Master Plan, mixed-use "greenfield" projects, including Lenox Village and South Village, and the privatization of family housing at Ft. Campbell, Ky., and Fort Drum, N.Y. In addition to his work with LRK, Gee chaired a steering committee of more than 60 community leaders to work with the Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team to develop a vision for East Nashville following the 1998 tornadoes. After this, he helped create and later served as president of Rediscover East!, a not-for-profit organization focused on continuing the success and representation of East Nashville.
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 Lisa Garramone is district manager for Starbucks Coffee Company, making her responsible for eight to 17 Nashville-area stores. Additionally, Garramone has opened the East Tennessee market and assisted in opening the Memphis and Nashville markets. Garramone led Starbucks Coffee Company in supporting "Safe Place" programming, spreading this support to the Memphis and Knoxville markets for a total of 60 "Safe Place" Starbucks. Garramone also built a relationship with the Charles David Foundation, where volunteers from Starbucks stores donate their time to mentor teenagers in the art of finding their first job.
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Arts, Entertainment & Music
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Law
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 Lori Badgett currently serves as vice president of SunTrust Bank's private wealth management sports and entertainment group. In 2001, she became the first M.B.A. graduate of Belmont University's music business program. Badgett has served in leadership positions with the following organizations: American Music Association, Leadership Music, Nashville Screenwriters Council, Society of Leaders in Development and SOURCE. Badgett was the founding chair for the Country Music Hall of Fame's 90 Degrees Society, and served as president of the Young Leaders Council. She also contributes to the community through Habitat for Humanity, W.O. Smith School of Music, American Heart Association, T.J. Martell Foundation and Buddies of Nashville.
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 James Crumlin has spent the past five years at Bone McAllester Norton, PLLC, concentrating on the area of litigation, with an emphasis on employment-related litigation. Prior to his work with Bone McAllester Norton, Crumlin was a senior attorney at King & Ballow, as well as a law clerk for the Honorable William J. Haynes, Jr. Through his board positions and volunteer work, Crumlin has been able to talk to many students about staying in school, and also about the opportunities law school can provide.
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Business & Entrepreneurship
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Medicine & Health Care
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 As managing partner of DEX Imaging of Tennessee, Mark Blaze has helped grow DEX Imaging to 33 branches with more than 300 employees, and is responsible for Tennessee operations. He has been instrumental in conceiving and overseeing innovative business strategies, such as DEX's employee profit-sharing and charitable programs, the latter of which has donated more than $250,000 to Middle Tennessee non-profit organizations. Blaze also developed and implemented the DEX Score and Win program with the Nashville Predators, raising more than $55,000 for local charities. Blaze is a board member of the Equal Education Opportunity Group, Tennessee Minority Supplier Development Council and the Predators Foundation.
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 Rob Pittman holds several medical certifications and is currently the owner of Superior Orthotics and Prosthetics, Bioplex Orthotics Laboratory, WalkRite Footcare and Orthonediq Healthcare. At age 24, Pittman became the youngest certified orthotist in the country. Pittman created a "turn-no-patient-away" policy, leading to more than $1 million in donated prosthetic devices. In addition, Pittman created an indigent DME program installed in 14 Middle Tennessee hospitals, offering ambulatory aids and soft goods to all discharged patients, regardless of financial position. Superior Orthotics and Prosthetics has also created the only mobile labs of their kind, serving patients in their homes and outside facilities.
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Community Service & Non-Profit
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Public Relations, Advertising & Marketing
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 As Team Green director, Laurel Creech successfully created and developed a regional outdoor adventure/environmental organization that has grown to more than 2,000 members and 60,000 participants. Since 2003, she has worked with the Mayor's Office to obtain the needed grant and served as team leader for Music City Moves, a partnership to help our community become healthier and more livable. Creech is one of the lead organizers for the Nashville Earth Day Festival, and in June 2007, she took 12 Nashvillians to South Africa to work at an orphan care center. In working with Team Green, Creech has also led hundreds of volunteers to community organizations such as Hands On Nashville, Elephant Sanctuary, Walden's Puddle and Safe Haven Family Shelter.
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 Shelby White has continuously made an impact on Nashville, first in his role as director of government relations and community improvement with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and also in his current role as senior account supervisor with Seigenthaler Public Relations. In the past three years, White has led accounts for Tony Giarratana (including Signature Tower), Crescent Resources, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, Market Street Investments and Shirley Zeitlin Realtors. In addition, White has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council to protect the public health and environment on a national scale. Many of White's projects have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times and CNN.
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Financial Services
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Real Estate
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 In addition to her current role as vice president of business development and relocation for First Tennessee, Nicole Dunigan has a proven track record of success in mortgage lending, sales, public relations, event planning and program development. In 2005, Dunigan co-founded Coffee Talk, Inc., a monthly networking event that has received local recognition as it unites businesses and brings greater awareness of the importance of relationship-building. Dunigan chairs the board of directors for the Interdenominational Service Organization of America, and is a board member of the Northwest YMCA, Nurses for Newborns and the Nashville Technology Council. She has also volunteered with Smithson Craighead Academy, Brookmeade and Henry Maxwell Elementary Schools.
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 Alice Walker is a native of Nashville and an affiliate broker with The Wilson Group Real Estate Services. Walker entered the real estate profession after several years of sales and event planning for a multi-million-dollar company and heading the local marketing efforts for one of the world's largest non-profit agencies. During her first year in real estate, Walker was named 2004's "Rookie of the Year" by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors (GNAR). Walker has since served on the GNAR board of directors, and received the GNAR Awards of Excellence Gold in 2004 and 2005, and Silver in 2006. Walker also serves on the steering committee for her neighborhood association, is co-chair of the Sylvan Park Home Tour, a member of the Nashville Women's Political Caucus and a lunch mate at Park Avenue Elementary.
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Government
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Technology
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 Meredith Sullivan currently works as the assistant commissioner for the division of regulatory boards for the State of Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. While overseeing more than 30 programs, she was the youngest participant in the 2006 class of the Tennessee Government Executive Institute, supervised CLEAR's 2006 Investigations Team of the Year and led the Fire Mortality Prevention Task Force, which reduced Tennessee's fire death rate by 36 percent. Sullivan has served on the boards of Hands On Nashville and Generation Tennessee, and is also active with the Nashville Child Advocacy Center, Magdalene House, Nashville Women's Political Caucus, Pulse Day and Scarritt-Bennett Center's Celebration of Cultures.
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 Nicholas Holland is founder, president and CEO of CentreSource, Inc., which focuses on providing three core services for clients worldwide: custom web application development, digital marketing and business web solutions. CentreSource has experienced exponential revenue growth, is a leader in its market and has received a number of awards. Prior to founding CentreSource, Holland was a senior risk analyst with Reliant Energy, a firm based in Houston, Texas, where he was responsible for performing daily analysis and reporting of the firm's energy asset portfolio. In addition, Holland is an active member of the Nashville Technology Council, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement and the Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce. Holland also serves on the boards of the Better Business Bureau, Stratford IT Academy and Nashville OIC.
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Sage Award
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Sage Award
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 Liz Allen Fey is co-owner of Management Solutions Group, LLC. Her work with corporations, organizations and communities builds on her 15 years' management experience in human services, retail and food service. In the past few years, she has worked in health care, music, finance, manufacturing, architecture, government, construction and non-profits, as well as with communities. Fey's work ranges from conducting organizational assessments, writing curriculum and providing training, to coaching and mentoring executives and leaders, to facilitating both small and large groups. Fey is a trustee of the United Way of Nashville, is past president of the board of Book'em and a member of CABLE. She has served in an advisory capacity for such organizations as the Nashville Area Chamber and KraftCPAs. She is strategic planning chair for the Nashville League of Women Voters, and sits on the advisory board of All About Women. She is also a faculty member with FastTrac®, an entrepreneurial training program developed by the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City.
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 Debra Grimes is co-owner of Management Solutions Group, LLC. She has held management positions in manufacturing, distribution, physician practice and non-profits. Grimes also served as a radioman in the U.S. Navy. In her role as a consultant, Grimes has worked with both organizations and individuals. She mentors and coaches businesses owners/managers and budding facilitators. She is a mentor trainer with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, and is the trainer and facilitator for the Nashville Emerging Leaders program, now in its fifth year. Grimes is a 2000-2001 graduate of Leadership Nashville. She has served on and led numerous non-profit boards and committees, including Court Appointed Special Advocates, Hands On Nashville, the Downtown Rotary, Watkins Park Centennial Project, Junior Achievement and Artists for Oasis. In her many volunteer roles, Grimes has received honors such as Volunteer of the Week (Oasis Center and The Tennessean, 1999); being nominated for the Mary Catherine Strobel City-wide Volunteer Award (2006) and the Women of Influence Award for Community Supporter (2007). Grimes holds a master's degree from Owen Graduate School of Business at Vanderbilt University and a B.S. in management from Cardinal Stritch University.
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Thanks to our 2007 Sponsors:
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