From real estate to real memories: Meet the woman behind Knoxville’s Pinnacle Minority Business Award
Yvonnca Landes has spent 25 years building community — first through real estate, and now through the moments people remember long after the party ends.
Yvonnca Landes is the co-founder of Turning Knox Rental, the Knoxville-area event experience company that took home the “Minority-Owned Business Excellence” category at the Knoxville Chamber’s 2026 Pinnacle Business Awards.
Turning Knox Rental specializes in experiential event activations — selfie stations, 360-degree video booths, inflatable domes and custom branded installations that bring energy and engagement to any gathering.
Filling an entertainment gap in East Tennessee
The business idea came from watching people stand at the edges of rooms.
“We would go to galas and all these different events. Sure, it’s great to have good food and a DJ blasting good music,” said Landes. “But where is the actual connection? Because everybody doesn’t dance, and everybody doesn’t just automatically engage in that setting.”
She and her husband saw the same interactive activations at events in other regions and recognized a gap in the East Tennessee market.
The business also carries a personal thread. Landes credits her grandmother, who urged her to always photograph and document life’s moments, as an early inspiration.
“What gets pics or videos at events nowadays? These engaging moments,” she said. “This is one way to honor my grandmother and bring people together.”
Built on relationships
Turning Knox Rental uses the same relationship-first approach that has brought her success throughout her real estate career.
Their biggest relationship is the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Landes credits UT administrators including Dean Joe Mazer, Vice Chancellor for Student Life Frank Cuevas and Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement Tyvi Small for opening those doors.
Both her real estate business and Turning Knox Rental feed each other in organic ways.
“Our real estate clients hire us for Turning Knox because they’re always celebrating, especially when they’re buying a home. A lot of people do housewarming parties, baby showers, birthdays. Turning Knox opens doors for us to meet people that never knew that we sold real estate, and then our name is planted,” she said.
Today, the company employs seven people, four of which are family.
“We are a family business. Our goal has always been to create moments that matter for other loved ones, friends and organizations,” she said. “We want people to walk away from an event and say they had a great time. That feeling, that connection, is what drives everything we do.”
Follow Turning Knox Rental on Instagram to see more of their work.
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