TRANSCRIPT:
"It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update. This week, I welcomed participants to the 40th annual Aging: A Family Affair conference presented by the Knoxville / Knox County Community Action Committee's Office on Aging. Did you know that one in four Knox County residents are 55 or older?
Every weekday, many of these residents can be found at one of six amazing Knox County Senior Centers, where a talented team of professionals provides programming aimed at enriching the quality of the lives of those citizens. Thank you to Senior Services Manager April Tomlin and her team, for their dedication to serving our seniors.
I also spoke at the Tennessee Renewal Energy Economic Council’s conference about the importance of nuclear energy to Tennessee. One of Governor Lee’s priorities is to make our state a leader in nuclear power. We recently notched a huge win with the announcement that Orano plans to construct a multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge. Currently, the U.S. only produces about one-third of the enriched uranium we need. This 750,000-square-foot facility will go a long way in closing that gap. And best of all, it will be right here in East Tennessee.
Next week is MEDIC Regional Blood Center’s annual orange and blue competition as they take on the Kentucky Blood Center. The organization collecting the most blood products takes home the trophy. This competition, which runs from November 18th through the 22nd, is critical not only for bragging rights but also to boost inventory heading into the holiday season. As added motivation, MEDIC has lost each of the last two years. This year’s event is by appointment only, which can be made online at www.medicblood.org, via the MEDIC app, or by calling 865-524-3074.
It's Wreaths Across America time. Every year, this wonderful organization places wreaths on the grave markers of our veterans. Thanks to your generous support, the past couple of years have been spectacularly successful, as they have been able to place a wreath on every marker in Knox County’s veterans’ cemeteries. Let’s do it again this year. Please click the Wreaths Across America banner on our website, KnoxCounty.org, to see how you can help.
And, finally, this week’s college football game of the week is in Athens, GA as No. 7 Tennessee takes on No. 12 Georgia. I’m not going to lie, folks. This one makes me nervous. The Dawgs are coming off a bad loss to Ole Miss and need this win to make it to the college football playoff. Josh Heuel’s Vols have one of the best defenses in the country, but the offense has sputtered through much of the season, and star freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava is questionable for tomorrow’s game. Nevertheless, this is a Tennessee team that has found a way to win all season long so this should be a great game. Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week and Go Vols!"
