Page 5 - March April 2026 Vol 43 No 7

TCAPWA Executive By John Chlarson, P.E., C.P.M. and Klair Kimmey
Committee What’s new about TCAPWA’s TPWI?

tennessee.apwa.org
PRESIDENT: Ethan Skaggs Short answer: It’s still the same - but different!
BHS Concrete
ethan@bhsconcrete.com If you haven’t attended one of our workshops in a while, you’d be in for some surprises.
(901) 568-1929 Since it began in 2003, the Tennessee Public Works Institute (TPWI) and TCAPWA Past
PRESIDENT ELECT: Shane Snoderly President John Calvert were synonymous. He was the proverbial one-man band when it
Director of Public Works & Eng., Alcoa came to TPWI, single-handedly running the institute, coordinating scheduling, recruiting,
ssnoderly@cityofalcoa-tn.gov materials, instructors and class graduation (and other duties as required.)
(865) 380-4812 Some of us were worried about the fate of TPWI when Calvert retired from his role.
VICE-PRESIDENT: Casin Swann Fortunately, Ronnie Hammonds stepped up to the plate. Hammonds did an excellent job
Vice President of Business Development for a year, but then announced he was unable to continue due to family obligations.
Pavement Restorations, Inc. At that point, it looked like
cswann@pritn.net TPWI might have to go on
(629) 395-8189 hiatus. This led TCAPWA
SECRETARY: John Chlarson executive board members to
Public Works Consultant, MTAS evaluate whether TPWI could
john.chlarson@tennessee.edu continue to conduct business
(731) 695-2472 as usual. Running the program

TREASURER: Emily Harrell seemed to be too great a task for
Interim City Manager/City Engineer, Lakeland one person. The Board decided to
tcapwa.treasurer@gmail.com set up the TPWI Committee with
(901) 867-5418 two co-chairs.
An urgent text went out across
PAST PRESIDENT: Kimberly Strong
Director of the Office of Constituent Services the ocean to a cruise liner where
Mayor’s Office, Chattanooga Klair Kimmey, Tennessee Public
kstrong@chattanooga.gov Works (TPW) Magazine Publisher,
(423) 643-7814 was innocently enjoying a well- Instructors: John Chlarson, UT MTAS, TPWI Co-Chair; Scott Jenkins,
deserved vacation. Kimmey
WEST DIRECTOR: Jonathan Whitfield City of Knoxville; and Bo Mills, retired, City of Germantown.
Street Maintenance Manager, Memphis agreed to consider (and ultimately
jonathan.whitfield@memphistn.gov accept) the job. At the same time, John Chlarson, Chapter Secretary, and the University of
(901) 297-0311 Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) Public Works Consultant, agreed
to co-chair the committee and be on-site for each of the workshops throughout the year.
MIDDLE DIRECTOR: Rocky Robinson Spreading out the responsibility from one person to a very involved committee and
Transportation Administrator, NDOT
william.robinson@nashville.gov active co-chairs allowed folks to look past the alligators and consider alternative ways
(615) 880-1680 to drain the swamp. Chlarson and Kimmey slowly began considering all aspects of the
institute to determine where adjustments and improvements could be made to the already
UPPER EAST DIRECTOR: Scott Jenkins very successful program.
Fleet Services Deputy Director, Knoxville One area that came up for immediate consideration was cost containment. Student
sjenkins@knoxvilletn.gov registration fees had remained the same for years, but the Institute’s expenses had risen
(865) 755-8625
dramatically. The intentionally low registration fees never covered all the Institute’s costs.
LOWER EAST DIRECTOR: David Collins Thus, controlling the Chapter’s sponsorship expenses was a concern.
Administrative Manager, Chattanooga The first change was to the location. Previous classes were held at the host hotel (which
dcollins@chattanooga.gov recently has undergone complete renovation). Though incredibly convenient, that cost had
(423) 643-6822 risen over the years. Several attractive candidate venues were considered.
TPWI COMMITTEE CHAIRS: In the end, the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD), stepped in as a
John Chlarson and Klair Kimmey co-sponsor and offered the use of the excellent TAUD Training Station in exchange for
info@tnpublicworks.com guaranteed class space for TAUD members. This agreement has been a boon for the
(865) 288-0815 members of both associations.
CHAPTER ADMINISTRATOR: Mark Miller After leaving the hotel’s meeting space, we were free to cater meals instead of using the
Public Works Director, Pigeon Forge hotel’s food services, cutting that cost by half. We’ve had no complaints about the quality
P.O. Box 1350, Pigeon Forge, TN 37868 or quantity of the food since then. Breakfast is still offered to the class members staying in
markmillertcapwa@gmail.com the hotel, but dinner is no longer provided, mostly due to a lack of interest.
(865) 429-7312 TPWI had recognized a need to update the class materials for some time. Now, thanks
TPW MAGAZINE PUBLISHER: Klair Kimmey to the TPWI Committee’s involvement and many dedicated volunteer instructors, most
P.O. Box 22491, Knoxville, TN 37933 of the materials either have been or are in the process of being updated. These volunteers
klair@tnpublicworks.com come from TCAPWA membership, our counties and cities, organizations like Public
(865) 288-0815 (o); (865) 924-4956 (c) continued on page 11

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