MPC Welcomes New Planning Commissioners
This month's meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Commission marks the beginning of service for four new members. Rev. Charles F. Lomax, Jr. and Janice L. Tocher have volunteered to serve under appointment of Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, while Len Johnson and Herbert T. Anders are County Mayor Tim Burchett's selections.
Art Clancy, III, a fifth appointment, was tapped by Mayor Burchett to finish the term of Robert Anders, who recently resigned. Clancy had just completed his city appointment to the commission when asked to serve on behalf of the county.
MPC is a 15-member panel appointed by the mayors of Knoxville and Knox County and confirmed by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Commissioners serve four-year terms, without compensation, and meet monthly to deliberate and make land use recommendations to Knoxville City Council and Knox County Commission.
Notes Anders, "My goal as a planning commissioner is to help Knoxville and Knox County to continue to be one of the best communities in the nation in which to work and live through responsible development and growth."
A graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Architecture and Design, Len Johnson is the owner of R. Len Johnson & Associates, an architecture firm. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate School and a Vietnam-era veteran. Johnson is a member of the state and local chapters of the American Institute of Architects and a past president of both the Knoxville Jaycees and the Knoxville Ski and Outing Club. The Union County Business and Professionals Association, where he served as president, named him "Man of the Year" in 1992.
Johnson states that he will "promote quality development by integrating ideas from businesses, residents, developers, government, institutions, planners, and designers to make the Knoxville region a destination for people who appreciate all the region has to offer, today and in the future."
Rev. Charles Lomax is the Match and Training Coordinator for Amachi Knoxville, an initiative of Knoxville Leadership Foundation. A Knoxville native, he also serves as senior pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Alcoa. Lomax graduated from The University of Tennessee with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Political Science. He also holds a Master of Divinity Degree from the Morehouse School of Religion of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. Lomax is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the National Scholars Honor Society, the International Theological Honor Society of Theta Phi, and the NAACP.
"As a planning commissioner I will help with the enhancement of the Knoxville area for this and future generations," remarked Lomax.
Janice Tocher, a 25-year resident of South Knoxville, is President of Averra Media Corporation, a website development, multimedia, and custom programming company. Her business is a founding member of the Urban Wilderness Arts and Trade District, and she serves as the group's treasurer. She is president of the South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association as well as their representative to the South Knoxville Neighborhood and Business Coalition. Tocher is also a graduate of the CAC Community Leadership course.
Her goal for MPC is "to ensure that development is done responsibly with concern for the economy, neighborhoods, the environment, and the scenic beauty of Knoxville and Knox County."
MPC would like to bid a fond farewell and offer many thanks to outgoing commissioners, Robert Anders, Ursula Bailey, Stan Johnson, and Robert M. Lobetti.
Biographical and contact information for all planning commissioners is available on our website.
Posted 9-13-2012, written by Sarah Powell