Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

The Moser Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Carson-Newman University hosted another event to introduce the new entity to the community – this time to those centered in Sevier County.

Held on Monday as a lunchtime draw at The Chop House in Kodak, the event drew a capacity crowd who heard David Ogle, President of Five Oaks Development Group in Sevier County, chat with two other local entrepreneurs about their businesses and their plans for eventual leadership transitions. They were:

• Kevin Blalock of the Blaylock Companies; and
• Doug Swaggerty of Swaggerty Sausage Company Inc.

Both are large employers in the region. In the case of the very diverse Blaylock enterprise which includes lumber, asphalt paving, and trucking divisions, there are about 1,000 people employed. Swaggerty is a little more than half that size, employing 575 individuals.

The discussion was lively, with Swaggerty noting that his company processes about 1,000 hogs a day and has customers in 48 states, not including the Turks and Caicos Islands where he was pleasantly surprised to find Swaggerty products available in a store.

What’s the biggest challenge that keeps the two corporate executives awake at night? Both touched on workforce.

• For Swaggerty, it was food safety along with the need for more affordable housing in Sevier County.
• For Blaylock, it is the expectations posed by Gen Zers who have very different expectations than other generations about flexibility and a balance between work and life. 

In introductory comments, John Morris, Director of the Moser Center, talked about the focus on its MBA, certificate programs, and what he termed “just in time” needs of companies that would include sales and innovation matters. The Center was announced in late March (see teknovation.biz article here) and held a similar event in early May to introduce the Knoxville community to the programming.

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