With nine new board members; new officers and a new office location, the East Tennessee Foundation is ready to roar into 2026. The East Tennessee Foundation (ETF) is a public charity and nationally accredited community foundation created by and for the people of East Tennessee. The new office is at 525 Portland Street, Knoxville. It is the site of the former Perkins Elementary School.

The ETF was established in 1986 with $625,000 in assets. By end-of-year 2024, it was managing $647 million in assets, supporting 25 counties. Like other community foundations, the ETF operates as a collection of hundreds of distinct charitable funds and supporting foundations established by individuals, families, businesses, and other nonprofits.

2026 Officers

  • Barrett Simonis, president, Pugh CPAs, chairs the ETF board, assisted by:
  • Vice Chair: Diondre Jackson, founder, Penultimate Development
  • Treasurer: Nathaniel Shelso, relationship manager, private banking, FirstBank
  • Ex-Officio: Keith Barber, East Tennessee Foundation, president & CEO
  • Ex-Officio: Angelia Nystrom, ETF, vice president of advancement & chief legal counsel & board secretary.

2026 Board of Directors

  • Jerry Bodie, executive vice president and chief operating officer of White Realty & Service Corporation
  • Lauren Bowman, manager, Cherokee Distributing Company
  • Claudia Byrd, executive director, Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities
  • Bob Cantler, president and CEO of the Chamber serving Johnson City, Jonesborough and Washington County
  • Amy Cathey, associate dean for graduate and executive education, Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Wade Creswell, Roane County executive
  • Richard Dapaah, head of business and corporate development, SPARKZ Inc.
  • Mark Freeman, president, Clayton Family Office
  • Bryan Goldberg, general manager, BELFOR Property Restoration
  • Harry Gross, East Tennessee market president, Truist Bank
  • Susanna Hoskins, marketing specialist, HES Facilities Management
  • Trudy Hughes, CEO, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
  • Mark Kinser, retired executive vice president, General Shale
  • Greg Perdue, market president, First Horizon Bank
  • Matt Schaefer, president and CEO, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
  • Jennifer Sepaniak, president, The Bill Kitt Trust Company
  • Kiran Singh Sirah, storyteller/ peacebuilder/ narrative change/ arts and culture leader
  • Karen Walker, chief financial officer, The Trust Company of Tennessee
  • Chris Whaley, president, Roane State Community College
  • Susie Whitener, marketing specialist, The Whitener Company
  • Paul Willson, executive in residence at the Goodfriend School of Business, Tennessee Wesleyan University.
Food City names new executive merchandising/ marketing team

Kevin Stafford

Kevin Stafford, who currently serves as vice president of marketing for Food City, has been promoted to vice president of center store operations. He replaces Ross Purdy who retired. Stafford brings 30 years of knowledge and experience to this key position, having served in numerous roles across the company, including front-end supervisor, helpdesk manager, director of front-end operations and e-commerce, and vice president of marketing.

Steven C. Smith, Food City’s president and CEO, said Stafford has amassed tremendous knowledge of the company since he began work there at an early age. He also has developed rapport with other department leaders.

“I’m confident his experience and insight will enable us to continue to advance our center store operations for many years to come.”

Stafford will oversee all center store operations, including private label brand sales, as well as the supervision of the category management staff, space management, procurement, grocery supervisors, and coordination of the company’s consumer product goods partners. He is a graduate of Sullivan East High School and holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business from Milligan College. He is active in his local church and serves as board chair for Speedway Children’s Charities. He and his wife, Kristie, live in Bristol, Tennessee.

Misty Deskins

Misty Deskins, Food City director of loyalty marketing, e-commerce and outside sales, has been promoted to senior director of marketing. In her new role, Deskins will oversee all aspects of marketing, including traditional and creative advertising, sports marketing, loyalty marketing, and special events, as well as e-commerce and gift card/ gift certificate outside sales.

With more than 22 years of retail experience, Deskins has served in a number of key roles for the company, including recall coordinator, assistant store operations office manager, senior manager of loyalty marketing and director of loyalty marketing, e-commerce and Food City gift card/ gift certificate outside sales.

Smith observed Misty’s work “has well prepared her to lead this dynamic team.” She completed Food City’s management training program and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Virginia at Wise. She holds certifications from Cornell University and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Deskins also serves on the board of directors for Feeding Southwest Virginia.

Ross Purdy

Ross Purdy has retired from full-time work after 10 years as vice president of center store operations. He will remain with Food City part-time, Smith said, working on strategic initiatives for the company.

“We would like to thank Ross for his commitment to our company, our associates and our vendors,” Smith said. “He has been an asset to our company and the communities we serve. We wish him all the best in this exciting new chapter.”

Purdy joined Food City in 2015 after working 35 years for Daymon Worldwide. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Western Kentucky University and participated in Harvard’s general management program.

Fleetwood Photo racks up 40 years on Kingston Pike

Frank Distefano

Frank Distefano admits it’s been a while since he’s posted on social media, but he popped on LinkedIn recently to declare that his business, Fleetwood + The Print Refinery (formerly Fleetwood Photo) has been in West Knoxville for 40+ years in the same spot.

“However,” he writes, “we have not remained stagnant in all that time. As film and analog VHS tape have moved to the digital realm, Fleetwood + The Print Refinery has been right there moving with it at breakneck speed to keep up, and I think we have for the most part.”

Frank and Doris Distefano started Fleetwood in 1985, as a one-hour film processing service. The couple had brought one-hour photofinishing to the Knoxville area in 1981.

“Fleetwood Photo was started to meet a need for a more accessible location away from the shopping malls and strip centers. This enabled serious amateur and commercial photographers to bring their film to a lab that was not located in the “mall,” thus avoiding mall traffic and other inconveniences,” he wrote.

“We’re independent and local, at 6504 Kingston Pike, atop Bearden Hill. … We have a drive-thru window and night-drop to help speed you to your next appointment.” All processing is done on-site. See all services here.

“I am not sure what the future will bring for us, but it looks clean and bright, and I am excited to ride with it wherever it takes us. We have some exciting changes and new things to introduce in the coming months so stick around and take this trip with us.”

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