The official kickoff for our organization was successful on many levels. A wonderful crowd of interested community folks and some from surrounding counties attended the event. Our goal was to make the community aware of our organization and to provide some updated information about the state of education in Tennessee. Assistant Commissioner of the state Department of Education Susie Bunch offered insightful high school graduation statistics and the level of college readiness of our students across the state. She also discussed the American Diploma Project and Tennessee’s participation in that network. The Tennessee Diploma Project will make standards more rigorous and revelant. UT Economics Professor Matt Murray, a member of our Executive Committee, shared the results of a recent survey administered by the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Argiculture. Watch for Murray’s report on our Web site soon. A special thanks goes to DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc., a community-oriented company that sponsored the event so that we could invite members from all sectors of the community. Steve White, of Multi-Media Solutions, Inc., graciously offered to provide the projector and screen for our presentations. His technical assistance was invaluable. As the evening ended, it was apparent that a “buzz” about education in our community was starting. Our community has long been known for its tradition of strong educational systems, and what we want to do is capitalize on that to truly make education our No. 1 priority.