CHATTANOOGA, TN -- Chattanooga State’s Dinner of Firsts is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at The Chattanoogan Hotel. A reception will begin at 6 p.m., and dinner and entertainment will continue from 7 to 9 p.m.

This year’s dinner event will honor local community leader Jim Coleman, with Jay Dale serving as Event Chair. Coleman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Erlanger Health System. He is also a community college graduate and the first in his family to attend college. Hamilton County Commissioner Chip Baker will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

Those roasting Coleman include Bo Watson, Senator; Sheila Boyington, President and CEO of Thinking Media; Dane Boyington, CTO of Thinking Media; Darrell Moore, CEO Emeritus, HCA Parkridge Health; Rachel Harris, Executive Vice President and Director of Nursing, Erlanger Health System; and Lynn DeJaco, Chief Financial Officer, Erlanger Health System. 

The Dinner of Firsts is Chattanooga State’s signature “FUNdraising” event with a toast and roast honoring a community leader who is the first in their family to attend college. Jay Dale, market president of First Horizon Bank, along with State Representative Greg Vital, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living, serve as presenting sponsors and evening co-hosts.

Proceeds from the event fund scholarships for first-generation students and are divided equally between the annual First in the Family Scholarship and the Tom Edd Wilson First in the Family Endowed Scholarship. 

For more information about sponsoring Dinner of Firsts, please email Tammy Sawyers or call (423) 697-3359.