Friday, April 30, 2010

Upcoming Events in Marshall Co.
May 15 - String Fling IV at Rock Creek Park 1-9pm - a bluegrass and acoustic music festival
May 27 - 2nd Annual Technology & Energy Fair at MCHS 10am-6pm
May 29 - Lewisburg Cruise in on the Square - 5-8pm
May 29 - Imagination Library Hole-in-One Contest - win a car and help kids to free books

Wednesday, April 28, 2010


String Fling IV Acoustic Music Festival announces awesome lineup

What started in Gary Francis’ backyard has grown to become an acoustic musical festival worthy of the fairgrounds of Nashville; and this May 15, String Fling IV comes to Rock Creek Park in Lewisburg with a lineup of musical talent sure to get toes to tapping.
Gary Francis of Teledyne in Lewisburg has been playing bluegrass music for several years. Along the way, he made a few friends in the business and decided to host a “little” festival in his backyard in Chapel Hill. In just three years, the music festival grew to over 400 people cramming into the field behind his house to hear some great bluegrass and other acoustic music.
So, Francis and his friend, Bruce Keedy, of Tennessee Acoustic Music, got with the City of Lewisburg to bring the festival to the stage at Rock Creek Park in Lewisburg. The result is the return of String Fling on a bigger stage and with yet another outstanding lineup of musicians and songwriters.
“This is a fantastic lineup,” said Francis. “Lewisburg should be very proud to have these talented performers coming to their stage.”
String Fling IV will kick it off on May 15, 2010 at Rock Creek Park beginning at 1 p.m. and playing through to 9 p.m. There will be food and baked goods provided by the Lewisburg Animal Shelter Association to benefit the Lewisburg Animal Shelter and more good music than you can shake a stick at. And admission to the festival is free.
Performers include songwriter Irene Kelly who has penned hits with Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Scaggs, Trisha Yearwood, Bill Anderson and many more.
Donna Ulisse has been songwriting and recording since moving to Nashville in the early 1980s and has performed on “Nashville Now”, “Hee-Haw”, “Hot Country Nights” and more. Along with her band, the Poor Mountain Boys, this recording artist is hitting her stride with a new CD called “Walk This Mountain Down.”
Flashpoint combines more than 30 years of music experience and talent into one package of bluegrass music that calls to mind the legendary Flatt & Scruggs or Bill Monroe. The band performs all across the country and is sure to enjoy the atmosphere at Rock Creek Park on May 15.
Jay Clark is a singer/songwriter with 3 CDs to his credit. His off-beat brand of country has made him a hit wherever he has played and his performances are getting much play on YouTube including his recent performance on “Jammin’ at Hippie Jack’s.”
Kenny and Amanda Smith made their name in bluegrass by winning the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Emerging Artist Award in 2003. Five records later, the duo has earned both Grammy and Dove Nominations for their gospel song “Tell Someone” and they continue to tour the country as one of the top bluegrass and gospel performers today.
Other performers set to take the stage are Jim Reynolds and Gemstone of Chapel Hill who released their first CD this year, Sweet Diezel of Canada, Highland Rim, Ronnie Fruge`, Markham Brown, Josh Glover, Greg Jones, Scott Phagley, Roam County Radio and Rank Strangers.
So, bring your lawn chairs and your dancing shoes and head to Rock Creek Park in Lewisburg, Tennessee for a day of good music and fun for the whole family. Admission is free.
String Fling IV is sponsored by the City of Lewisburg, Marshall County Tourism, Gary and Gale Francis, Tennessee Acoustic Music and the Nature Conservancy.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Teledyne Celebrates its Employee Wellness Program


Teledyne is currently in its third straight year of growth but there is one area where growth is shrinking – waistlines.
Thanks to a new fitness center and an employee wellness program, Teledyne is not only keeping people working, but they are also working out. And to celebrate, Teledyne held a Wellness Fair for its employees on Thursday, April 15 with food, music, door prizes and a special guest, Liz Young, of the Biggest Loser television show, from Chapel Hill.
Since the show, Young has been doing speaking engagements and holding boot camps with fellow Biggest Loser contestant Tracy Yukych all over the country; and she was very happy to talk to some folks from back home.
“It is rare to speak to people from my own community,” Young said.
Young was on hand to rib some employees for enjoying too many ribs at the Wellness Fair, to give a quick exercise boot camp and to hand out prizes to the winners of the Teledyne Biggest Loser Competition.
“Teledyne really rolled out the red carpet for your exercise facility,” Young told the Teledyne employees. “Take advantage of this great facility.”
The Teledyne Fitness Center was the culmination of an ongoing effort by the company to implement wellness to its employees. Each year, Vanderbilt comes to Teledyne to conduct health screenings and the company has had a Weight Watchers program for the past three years. Teledyne VP Norm Wolstein approached HR Director John Boutwell about taking their wellness program up another level when he noticed his own waistline heading in the wrong direction.
“We understand how tough it is to balance your work and personal lives,” said Wolstein. “We wanted to provide you a place to help you do that.”
Norm has lost around 50lbs since taking part in the wellness program and plans to win next year’s Teledyne Biggest Loser contest.
The Teledyne Fitness Center is state of the art with elliptical machines, weights, a yoga/dance studio and more. It is open to employees from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. There are even locker rooms with showers for employees who use the facility during their breaks. Boutwell turned to his friend, Andy Harvey of Harvey’s Gym to help locate the equipment and make the facility a real fitness center for Teledyne employees.
The Teledyne cafeteria has even gotten into the act by providing healthier choices in food.
Diane Nasser is serving as the Fitness Director for Teledyne and comes from the Dayani Wellness Center of Vanderbilt. She works with employees on their fitness routines and their yoga classes.
“This is an important program for not only the health of employees but for their morale,” Nasser said. “Using the exercise room and taking part in yoga classes here at Teledyne really pulls the employees together.”
The Teledyne Wellness Fair was a fun event for all the employees and their guests with booths set up by AFLAC, Rejuvenate of Jubilee Hills and Weight Watchers. Door prizes and drawings were held including a great spa treatment day at Rejuvenate of Jubilee Hills located on Cornersville Road.
“We think this is great,” said Flo (Coach Flo) Grabowski of AFLAC. “And as we always say, healthier employees make for more productive employees.”
With Marshall County’s own Nora Mills Band performing, employees enjoyed a nice BBQ in the sunshine before announcing the winners of the Teledyne Biggest Loser contest. Angie Davis took home first place by losing 13 percent body fat followed by Brenda Lindley in second and a tie for third between Nela Patel and Susan Garten. Each received a special gift from Teledyne and a word of encouragement from Young.
As Teledyne continues to grow and provide a stable employer for Marshall County, the company reminds us that employees are the key to success by giving back to its people with its fitness center and wellness program.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Marshall County Job Creation Recovery Program
• $3 Million Contract to employ 125 Marshall County Residents plus another 50 Marshall County Residents to be employed by TDOT
• Eligibility of employees to be determined by TN Dept. of Human Services
• South Central TN Workforce Alliance will serve as Grant Holder
• Program/Contract ends September 30, 2010
• Job Fair to be held April 20, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lewisburg Recreation Center located at 1551 Mooresville Hwy, Lewisburg

Eligible Employees
1. Residents of Marshall Co. (Must provide proof of residency)
2. Must have at least one child in household age 17 or younger
3. Must meet certain income/liquid asset maximums (To be Determined and Verified by TN Dept. of Human Services)
4. (For questions concerning Employee Eligibility, contact Tennessee Career Center (931) 359-9726

Eligible Employers
1. Must have meaningful work at pay scale of $7.25 - $15.85, according to other employee wages and benefits – 100% Reimbursement for Employee Wages & Benefits
2. Must have Federal ID#/Employer ID # (Paperwork involved to verify)
3. No Nepotism – Cannot hire family members
4. No Layoffs – Cannot use Recovery Program hires in place of laid-off employees before April 7, 2010
5. (For questions concerning employer eligibility, contact Greg Lowe, City of Lewisburg, at (931) 359-1544 (office) or (931) 993-7499 (cell) or email glowe@ctyoflew.com)
6. (Employer Eligibility requirements and/or limitations subject to change as program progresses)

Related Information
• Program seeks to put money into local economy through employment of unemployed workers
• Program seeks to re-attach unemployed workers with the act of working
• Program is not a permanent solution to local high unemployment as jobs created by Program are not permanent (end when Program ends on Sept. 30)
• Intent is to be at No-Cost to Employers
• Program will operate as a reimbursement to Employers for Recovery Program Employees
• Employers may still hire or fire Recovery Program employees at will as any other employees
• Employers will not be reimbursed for employment of less than 30 hours per week or more than 40 hours per week
• Employees released from Employers may re-enter the Eligible Employee Pool
• Employees will not draw Unemployment Insurance during duration of Program
• An individual is not eligible to be hired through the Marshall County Recovery Program if they voluntarily quit a 35+hour per week job in the last 90 days
• Goal is to find Employers with the most potential of retaining one or more Recovery Program Employees
BREDESEN ANNOUNCES JOB CREATION PLAN FOR MARSHALL COUNTY
EFFORT TO COMBAT UNEMPLOYMENT TARGETS COUNTY WITH HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen today announced a plan to reduce unemployment in Marshall County by putting up to 175 people back to work using federal dollars available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Marshall County has had the state’s highest unemployment rate – 19.1 percent in February – for the past three months and includes 2,330 currently unemployed residents.

“This jobs package will put people back to work and provide some much needed assistance to these residents who are feeling the effects of this economic downturn,” said Bredesen. “One of the primary goals of the Recovery Act is to put people back to work, and I’m glad the state can bring this assistance to Marshall County residents during these tough times.”

The 175 positions include government and private sector employment opportunities that will be funded through September 2010 by Recovery Act dollars allocated to the Tennessee Department of Human Services. These positions include 50 highway maintenance worker positions within the Tennessee Department of Transportation and 125 positions that will be filled primarily by private sector companies seeking to hire additional staff.

Residents of Marshall County must meet certain income and asset requirements to be eligible for these positions. To be eligible, a family’s income cannot be greater than 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($2,030/month for a family of three; $2,444/month for a family of four), and their liquid resources cannot exceed $2,000. In addition, residents must have a child younger than 18-years old living in their household.
A job fair for Marshall County residents will be held Tuesday, April 20 at the Lewisburg Recreation Center located at 1551 Mooresville Highway from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Those interested in the job creation program who meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to attend the job fair where they will have the opportunity view a list of available positions and complete an application for employment.
The Marshall County jobs package is similar to the program announced in May 2009 for Perry County, which, at the time, had the state’s highest rate of unemployment. More than 400 unemployed individuals found jobs as a result of that effort. At the Perry County announcement, Bredesen stated his desire to make this a model that could be implemented in other high unemployment counties and subsequently announced similar programs in Lauderdale and Hancock counties.

“The goal of this effort is to use Recovery Act funds to provide assistance where it’s needed most, Bredesen said. “Our state’s economy continues to suffer and thousands of Tennesseans are struggling. We’ll continue look for creative ways to assist counties with high rates of unemployment.”

Marshall County residents who need unemployment assistance can contact the Tennessee Career Center at Lewisburg, located at 980 South Ellington Parkway, or call (931) 359-9726.