Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Thanks to a number of sponsors including Three Roots Capital and PYA-affiliate Realty Trust Group, friends, family, and current or former colleagues gathered late Thursday afternoon for a retirement celebration for Tom Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the University of Tennessee Research Park.

The longtime player in the region’s economic development and entrepreneurial community has led the organization, officially chartered as the Cherokee Farm Development Corporation, since March 2019 (see teknovation.biz article here). The April 11 event was a day before Rogers officially retired. Seven people offered comments about Rogers ahead of him expressing his thanks.

Speakers included:

• Grady Vanderhoofven, President and CEO of Three Roots;
• Cortney Piper, President of Piper Communications;
• Deb Crawford, Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Economic Development at UT, Knoxville;
• David Bradshaw, Oak Ridge Area Manager for Pinnacle Financial Partners;
• Anna Douglas, Co-Founder and CEO of SkyNano;
• Amy Bunton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Pathway Lending; and
• Yours truly.

Among those who attended, decked out in orange, was UT System President Randy Boyd, pictured here with UT Research Foundation President Maha Krishnamurthy, and Lee Riedinger, retired UT, Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory senior executive.

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