Harshad Shah, president and CEO of Hamilton Plastics, managing partner of the 3H Group, an organizer of CapitalMark Bank, and a partner in Fire Eye Productions and other enterprises, received the Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year (CAMOY) Award for 2008. “We look for an outstanding businessperson, but it’s also important that the Manager of the Year be an engaged citizen who is actively working to help others,” said Dan Saieed, CAMOY luncheon chair for 2008.  “Mr. Shah is a self-made businessman who built two of Chattanooga’s most promising new companies from the ground up and is playing a founding role in a third, but he still makes time to be personally engaged in helping his employees through their challenges.  He also plays a leadership role in a number of Chattanooga service organizations.” The award is presented by member organizations of CAMOY.

First Volunteer Honored for School Programs
The Tennessee Bankers Association named First Volunteer Bank as the “Bank of the Year for 2007” for its financial educational programs.  First Volunteer has been a participant in the American Bankers Association’s annual Teach Children to Save Day for several years, as well as the fall educational program, Get Smart about Credit.  “Each year we have reached out to more and more young people in the nine counties we serve in Tennessee,” said Patti Steele, First Volunteer President and CEO. “Our bankers want to reach more students than a one day program allows, so we conduct our programs over a two-week period.  To date this year, 45 First Volunteer bankers have taught more than 7,000 students in 37 Tennessee elementary schools.”

Achievement Award for Vision Hospitality
Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. received the Hilton International Outstanding Achievement Award, besting thousands of others considered for the brand’s highest honor.  The award recognizes the company’s commitment to quality and integrity in all its hotel projects. The company, which owns or is developing properties in Atlanta, Houston and Indianapolis, as well as Chattanooga, has announced plans for a new Hampton Inn and Suites to be constructed at the site of the Chattanooga History Museum and is also planning to complete a $20 million renovation of the Clarion Hotel this summer.  Once renovated, the hotel will become a DoubleTree Hotel.  In addition, the company has plans to build a boutique hotel on the North Shore.