Nashville’s Entrepreneurs’ Organization Grows 32 Percent
Adds 21 new members since start of 2011
Information For Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. August 12, 2011 – Following a record-breaking fall recruitment, the Nashville chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) again broke recruitment molds, adding 21 members since the beginning of 2011, and securing its place as one of the fastest growing EO chapters in the world.
“We’ve grown 32 percent over the last 12 months,” said Debbie Gordon, president of EO Nashville and founder of S3 Asset Management and Snappy Auctions. “Our growth is due to more than just adding new members—96 percent of our existing members recently renewed their memberships as well. We expect this steady, healthy growth to continue through the end of the year.”
Entrepreneurs’ Organization is an organization for entrepreneurs to improve and enhance their lives and businesses through learning and sharing experiences. Including the new members, the Nashville chapter has 88 members. To join, an entrepreneur must be a founder, co-founder and controlling shareholder of a company with gross annual sales exceeding $1 million.
The 21 new members of EO Nashville are:
Michael Berman is founder and CEO of Network Contract Solutions, a leading provider of contract management solutions. He has worked as general counsel for Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Inc., Tecniflex, Inc. and Imagic Corporation. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Tennessee.
Robert Collins III founded Wealth Management Group of Tennessee in 2001, after nine years in the insurance and investment industry. His practice focuses on investment strategy, wealth preservation, retirement distribution and legacy planning for the next generation. He attended the University of Mississippi and Belmont University.
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann founded LetterLogic, Inc. in 2002 from in the basement of her home. The fast-growing manufacturing and business services provider, prints and mails statements, letters and invoices for other business, primarily in the healthcare sector. Deutschmann also speaks for national women’s organizations, publicizing the benefits of employee-centric cultures.
Michael Hodges has been president and CEO of Advance Financial since 1998. He has grown the company from three locations to 26 with over 200 employees, making it the leading provider of alternative financial services in Middle Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee.
Aimee Johns is well known in the music industry, not for her music, but for her unique style and unmatched client service. Her award-winning designer boutiques, Flavour and Flavour Men, cater to the music industry as well as professional athletes and everyone in between. Johns previously worked at RCA Records and Arista.
Bill Kimberlin is a proven entrepreneur, founder and investor of numerous businesses. By the age of 27, both Forbes and US News & World Report had recognized him as a leading entrepreneur. Kimberlin currently serves as founder and CEO of Medicare.com. He was the founding president of the Nashville chapter of EO, at the time called Young Entrepreneurs Organization.
Chris Kincade is chief executive officer of The Kincade Group, Inc., a master franchisor in commercial cleaning. He’s led and company for 12 years, managing more than 300 franchises for Bonus Building Care in Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham and South Florida. He attended Vanderbilt University.
Nancy Leach founded Facility Planners, Inc. in 1995, under the concept of coordinating the fields of architecture, interior design, construction and project management with furniture specification, procurement and installation. Leach got her bachelor’s from O’More College and her master’s from Belmont University.
Alan Looney is founder and president of Castle Homes. He serves as the Custom Builders Council president for the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee. He is also a member of Builder 20, U.S. Green Building Council, Christian Leadership Concept and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce.
Bert Lyles has spent his career in commercial and residential real estate. Currently the CEO of Showhomes Franchise Corporation, the country’s largest provider of staging services to high-end houses for sale. He has also served for more than 10 years as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University’s Graduate School of Business.
Susan Marlow is founder and CEO of Smart Data Strategies, Inc. She is familiar with all facets of the parcel conversion industry, having completed GIS and parcel conversion projects for cities and counties across the United States. She is active in multiple professional organizations, including the Institute for GIS Studies and the Transportation Research Board.
Jackson Miller is an innovative technologist turned entrepreneur. He currently owns Plato’s Closet franchises and is CEO of Bizen, a web-based dashboarding tool that provides insight into the workings of franchises. He has also made significant contributions to many of Nashville's most noteworthy startups, including Emma, Magazines.com, centresource and BorderJump.
Taylor Milliken is president and CEO of Elite Landscape Company, Inc., a turnkey provider for residential and commercial landscape services. He previously worked for The Tess Company, and attended Volunteer State Community College for engineering.
Miranda Whitcomb Pontes owns Burger Up in the 12South neighborhood. She’s passionate about using organic, locally sourced meat and produce in her establishments. She is currently fostering plans for a second Burger Up location in Cool Springs.
Gene Robertson has owned U.S. Lawns of Nashville, a commercial landscape management franchise, for 12 years. In addition to two Nashville locations, he has locations in Clarksville and Murfreesboro. Robertson graduated from Middle Tennessee State University.
JJ Rosen is the CEO and founder of Atiba Software LLC. He founded Atiba in 1992 to provide IT, programming, Web development, database design, and project management services to clients of all types and sizes including the District Attorneys Office and the State of Tennessee Department of Human Services. He graduated from Vanderbilt University.
Kevin Ross is an entrepreneur with a passion for bootstrapping and building profitable, sustainable companies that make a difference. He founded the mobile software company, Metova, Inc. in 2006. Three offices later, Metova now ranks among the best in the world in mobile application development. He graduated from Iowa State University.
Suzanne Sevier Rowland always had a passion for sewing clothes, but didn’t consider making a career out of the hobby until her late 20s, when she moved to New York City, enrolled in The Fashion Institute of Technology and took a job at the city’s top fabric store, Mood Fabrics. Rowland’s skirts-only line took off in 2004, and sales of Sevier Skirts have doubled every year thereafter.
Alex Tolbert is a team member at Bernard Health, a health insurance advisor. Founded in 2006, Bernard Health now employs 12 employees with offices in Nashville, Indianapolis and Louisville. Tolbert attended the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University.
George Uribe is president of Guestbooker.com. His television experience includes stints at Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN. He serves on the board of governors for The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-South Chapter. He holds degrees from George Washington University and North Carolina State University.
Hart Weatherford is the founder of Farmington Financial Group LLC. He has personally originated and closed over $500 million in mortgage loans in his career. Weatherford has consistently been a “Diamond” and “Platinum” awards of excellence winner by the Mortgage Bankers Association. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee.
Contact: Jeff Bradford/Erin Gagnon
615.515.4888
jcb@bradfordgrp.com
eringagnon@bradfordgrp.com
The Entrepreneurs' Organization is a dynamic, global network of more than 8,000 business owners in 40 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. Membership in one of EO’s 120 chapters is by invitation only; the average member is 41 years old with annual revenues of $17.3 million. For more information about EO Nashville, contact Sameera Lowe, executive director, at (615) 309-1755.
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