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The 71-year-old Morristown Housing Authority has changed its name to Tennessee Valley Housing Services, marking the re-branding officially with a celebration held Thursday afternoon on the front lawn of the Morristown offices.

John McClellan, Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce Chair, served as emcee for the occasion.

“It truly does incorporate where they branch out into surrounding counties, helping so many families. Thank you for what you do and for the families you’ve served over the years,” McClellan said.

Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney described the celebration that included a festive balloon arch as a really neat experience during his remarks.

“I was thinking how many cars go up and down Sulphur Springs Road every day, and I’m not talking about the school kids. I tried to find that out today; I was over at City Hall to see if anybody knew: ‘What’s that traffic count on Sulphur Springs Road?’ They said, ‘There’s only two reasons we do traffic counts – when we’re going to widen the road or we’re trying to catch somebody speeding.’ So if you see that hose across the road, somebody somewhere has complained.

“The high traffic count indicates the exposure as Morristown Housing Authority this institution got. The new name, the new logo means some new things and some new opportunities, but it does call attention to an organization that’s been here a lot of years and is a very large footprint in providing housing for folks who may not be able to get housing otherwise, or are delayed for a while.

“So what a great service we have here and Tennessee Valley Housing Services, that’s a great new name – those logos look good – and these guys in their T-shirts, look at those logos on their shirts. We thank Shaun, he’s been here long enough now to really get his feet wet, his board of directors: we really appreciate your leadership, because it’s not easy to run the type of service you run. We appreciate you, Morristown appreciates you and congratulations on this change.”

An abbreviated agency history lesson was provided by Shaun Gilbert, TVHS Executive Director.

“In 1952, Morristown Housing Authority was chartered and formed on this spot. The property around us was built then. In the years following 1952, we built eight more properties across Morristown, but also in Sneedville and White Pine,” he said. “During those years, we also expanded into a total of six counties: Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Jefferson, Hamblen and Hancock counties. So we’re truly this region’s housing authority. With that being said, we want to reflect on the region and all the people we serve. That’s why we are doing this rebrand, so that every one of our residents, every one of our customers and every one in our community feels like they’re part of our services. Starting here in a few minutes, we’ll officially be Tennessee Valley Housing Services. We’re really proud of that and we’re really excited.”

Gilbert recognized a few individuals – “While we’re moving forward and looking towards the future, we want to be cognizant of our past. We are in front of the Willie P. Osborne office building. Willie was a longtime board member. We are also lucky to have former director here, Marilyn Medley. She was here for many, many years and we wouldn’t be here doing what we’re doing today without her.

Medley retired in October 2020 and Gilbert was elected by the MHA board to take her place.

“I’ve known Shaun for years and he’s very smart; he loves housing and I knew he was the right person to come along,” Medley said after the ceremony. “HUD was going through a lot of changes at that time. I’d been here 46 years and it was time to move on and let somebody younger than me take over. And I knew he could do it. He’s getting us back into affordable housing, to where we can maybe start getting tax credits and building, hopefully, some elderly units because Morristown is really lacking in low income elderly units. I think it’s going to be moving forward in great hands.”

Gray, black and green shirts were worn by all the staff members, each sporting the new TVHS logo.

“We also have former staff members here; we’re really pleased that former staff think of enough of the former MHA moving forward, so thank you guys for being here,” Gilbert said. “I’m lucky to have the best staff. I’ve worked at a lot of housing authorities, and this staff does an excellent job. This community, and all our communities are lucky to have these ladies and gentlemen.”

Gilbert also recognized local city and county leaders and agency partners –“We work with Ready by Six and ReVIDA. So many partners across the community and we appreciate you being here.”

He recognized the TVHS board, saying “these guys really step up and go to bat for our affordable housing industry, and they should be proud of that. They come every month, thoughtful and thinking about how to make their city better. Our customers in our communities take great pride in where they live and we try to give them a space with great pride.

“We truly think of affordable housing as economic stimulus,” Gilbert said. “These people live in the communities, they shop in the communities and they buy in the communities and they’re so important to keeping a viable community.”

Susie Washington, TVHS Chair led the ceremony with a prayer, and after the official remarks, attendees headed for the tent set up on the front lawn of TVHS offices, where cake and bottled water were waiting, along with swag items like flashlights and foam sheets that were scored to fold into the shapes of houses.

“I think the turnout was fantastic,” Gilbert said “I think it just goes to show the value of affordable housing in the region and that it’s important for us to position ourselves to expand and not just rebrand, but reinvigorate and reimagine how we deliver housing services to local communities.

One of the agency’s goals is to fill a void, specifically in Hamblen County, regarding affordable housing.

That’s exactly what we’re looking to do, through a variety of ways,” Gilbert said. “We have an application in with the Tennessee Housing Development Association to build an elderly housing complex behind our current offices here, so we hope we’re successful with that. And then we’re going to continue to look at ways to expand our portfolio in Morristown and across the region. And we’re always looking for ways to partner with other people who provide services. That’s the reason we have the word ‘services’ instead of ‘authority’ – we want to provide housing, but we also want to provide the services to help our customers become successful.”

The rebranding is the culmination of discussions between the board of commissioners, employees, community members and residents about enhancing the organizations mission, vision and accurately representing all the areas served.

“TVHS intends to maintain and expand our status as the premiere provider of affordable housing in the region and the rebrand reflects our commitment to serve every community in our jurisdiction” Gilbert said in a press release issued prior to the ceremony.

Currently TVHS provides 676 affordable homes in the cities of Morristown, White Pine, and Sneedville; and administers 432 section 8 vouchers in Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Jefferson counties and in Bean Station. This portfolio clearly has a farther reach than what the Morristown Housing Authority name conveyed. It is important to accurately represent all the counties and communities served. TVHS believes this rebranding will help signify a new beginning to our customers and partners in the various communities served.

TVHS is actively working to increase the supply of affordable housing in the region while also maintaining and upgrading its current inventory of affordable homes.

Alongside the new name, TVHS has adopted a new logo that features a stylized house representing the housing provided by TVHS and the beautiful Tennessee Valleys rolling hills and lakes. The new brand image captures the TVHS’s renewed spirit to provide affordable housing for the region.