CHATTANOOGA-At the invitation of Crossville City Manager Curtis Adams, a group of elected, civic and business leaders from Crossville and Cumberland County traveled here in January to visit the Chamber of Commerce and take a tour of the Volkswagen facility.
Crossville City Manager Curtis Adams
The tour included several presentations by Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce officials, along with a meal and tour of the Volkswagen Training Academy.
Making the trip from Cumberland County at Adams’ invitation were Crossville Mayor J.H. Graham, Cumberland County Mayor Kenny Carey, members of the Crossville City Council and Cumberland County Commission, officials from the Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce, and other business and civic leaders.
“This was a great trip for all of us, and we are very grateful to City Manager Curtis Adams for conceiving it, and organizing it,” said Crossville Mayor J.H. Graham. “We learned a lot about the good things going on in Chattanooga and how they have been accomplished, and we appreciate the hospitality all the folks there showed us.
“Curtis played a big role in so many of the good things that have happened in Chattanooga and Hamilton County in recent years, and we can already see those experiences and his leadership abilities and talents are going to make a big difference for the City of Crossville and Cumberland County,” Graham said.
Adams, hired last year as Crossville’s City Manager, is a former commission chairman of Hamilton County and was part of the recruitment team that helped bring Volkswagen Group of America to Chattanooga. Earlier this year, he organized the first-ever unity breakfast for elected and community officials in Crossville and Cumberland County.
“Everything rises or falls on leadership,” Adams said. “We believe we now have a new beginning in working as one voice to reach out to new industry and businesses to locate to Crossville and Cumberland County. Our story to these businesses is that Crossville is a great place to live, work and play, and we have unified governments willing to work together to attract new opportunities to our community.”
Welcoming the Cumberland County group to Chattanooga and making a presentation on “The Chamber’s Role in the Region” was Tom Edd Wilson, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. A native of Crossville, Wilson is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He was a banking executive for 35 years, retiring from Bank of America.
Also making presentations related to their respective fields before the lunch break were Chattanooga Chamber vice-presidents J.E. Martson (marketing and communications), Kristi Haulsee (member investor services), Trevor Hamilton (economic development), Cheryl Millsaps (finance and administration, CFO), and Rob Bradham (public strategies).
After Wilson and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger hosted a lunch, the group went by bus to tour the Volkswagen Training Academy.
Volkswagen’s Edward Collins, Director of the Training Academy, conducted the tour at the auto giant’s facility.
The $40 million center has been called the gateway to its production facility and also a model for future auto-manufacturing plants. It contains roughly 163,000 square feet, with 19 classrooms. Volkswagen officials say the automaker is cooperating with Chattanooga State Community College, the University of Tennessee and Tennessee Tech in the training effort.
The complete VW plant in Chattanooga is a $1 billion facility, and will eventually employ 2,000 workers, manufacturing a new mid-size sedan.
