On Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at 10:30am, the Kingsport Area Chamber of
Commerce will be holding a grand opening for two brand new hotel wings
at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center.‚ 
The $15 million expansion and renovation is estimated to generate an
additional $5 million a year in revenue for Kingsport economy.

The two new wings add another 110 guest rooms to the MeadowView
Marriott.‚  The project also incorporates the complete renovation of all
existing 195 guest rooms, which includes all new furniture, paint,
carpet and wallpaper, the latest technology enhancements and new
37-inch flat screen televisions in each room.‚  Ten of the new guest
rooms are executive king rooms. ‚ 

We are tremendously proud of MeadowViews success and are pleased
to be part of its continued growth, said Jim Rogers, Eastman Chemical
Company president and chief executive officer.‚  MeadowView plays an
important part in the areas economic development, and we are excited
by the opportunities this new expansion will bring to the region. ‚ 

MeadowView is soaring to new heights with new wings, said
MeadowView General Manager Andy King.‚  The hotel renovation and 110
guest room expansion will position MeadowView to compete in a new arena
for group business.‚  We can now target much larger association,
corporate, religious and affinity groups that we have not been able to
accommodate in the past.

From the word go, both the hotel and convention center were designed
as leading amenities to attract thousands of people to Kingsport who
might otherwise have never even heard of our community, Kingsport
Mayor Dennis Phillips said.‚  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, MeadowView
has met that goal, while also attracting more than $60 million in
spin-off private sector investment in the form of three new hotels and
numerous medical office buildings.

With the addition of the 110 new guest rooms, MeadowView now
features 305 guest rooms, enabling the resort to substantially increase
business by more than 33 percent.

In 2007, MeadowView set another record-breaking business year with
revenues totaling more than $11 million.‚  MeadowView officials
anticipate that number will approach $18 million with the additional
rooms.

Since it first opened its doors, MeadowView has been a colossal
economic grand slam for Kingsport, Kingsport Chamber President &
CEO Miles Burdine said.‚  And now with the opening of these beautiful
new wings at MeadowView, Kingsport will see an enormous amount of new
business and millions of new tax dollars rolling into Kingsport.

MeadowView makes an annual economic impact of more than $23 million
on Kingsport, and that number should drastically increase with the new
110 guest rooms. ‚ 

The more MeadowView grows, the more Kingsport grows – just as
leaders predicted when the idea for MeadowView was created several
years ago, Burdine said.‚  We are enormously thankful to the city of
Kingsport, Eastman Chemical Company and Marriott for their unique and
productive partnership with MeadowView and for making the resort such a
huge success.

Nestled in the rolling barthills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the
MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center provides
a magnificent resort setting, plus state-of-the-art conference
facilities, to accommodate all corporate meeting needs. MeadowViews
luxurious accommodations offer guests well-appointed guest rooms
featuring upgraded bedding and ergonomic work areas. ‚ 

In addition to scenic grounds and a convenient central location,
this award-winning, smoke-free resort in Kingsport offers full-service
conference resort amenities, more than 66,000-square feet of indoor and
outdoor function space, a modern fitness center, business center and
numerous dining options including the three meal Meadows Restaurant,
the Courtyard Lounge and the Courtyard Cafĩ featuring Starbucks⨠and
the Cattails at MeadowView championship golf course.

For more information on the MeadowView Marriott expansion and
renovation project, call MeadowView Marriott General Manager Andy King
at 423-578-6540.

For more information about the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center, call 423-578-6600 or visit MeadowviewResort.com.

2009 Schedule and Routes

KINGSPORT – A segment of West Ravine Road will be permanently closed as a through-street to Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center on September 1, bringing a little bit of peace to residents along the road as medical traffic will be forced to take Holston Valley Drive from Clinchfield Street to reach the hospital.

The closure will also bring a new name to this section of Ravine Road, which will be renamed Cherokee Village Drive.

The work is taking place as part of the first phase of the Gibson Mill Road realignment project, which included the new traffic roundabout at Gibson Mill Road and Watauga Street.  Also, in partnership with Wellmont Health System, contractors are completing a new stretch of road around the hospital from Cassel Drive to a new segment of Gibson Mill Road that will be constructed in phase 2 of the project. City officials expect to bid phase 2 of the project by September, with working beginning this fall.

Phase 2 of the project will realign Gibson Mill Road between Stone Drive and Millpond Street.  This will eliminate the s-curves, add a center turn lane and improve safety in this area, as well as becoming the designated route to reach Holston Valley Medical Center from Stone Drive.

This is a long overdue project that will reduce confusion and improve access to a major medical facility in the heart of our city, City Manager John Campbell said Thursday. We look forward to moving ahead as fast as possible to see the full project completed with the least disruption possible to those who live and work in the area. Acting now also allows us to continue reaping savings from the current lower cost construction environment.

The newly rerovated Planetarium Theater at Bays Mountain Park is now
open to the public.
Tickets are available on the day of the program and on a first-come,
first-served basis only.‚ 
The Planetarium seats 102 observers and is
available for private shows.‚  The Planetarium Theater is new from dome
to carpet and is full of new state-of-the-art technologies.‚ 
After the
$1.3 million overhaul, the theater boasts a brand new dome, a new
digital projector, new 6.1 surround sound, new seats, walls and
carpeting.‚  Bays Mountain Park welcomes all visitors and is handicapped
accessable.

Planetarium Shows and Show Times

	Four hundred years ago, a simple adjustment to a childs spyglass revealed for the first time an infinite and perplexing universe to our eyes and imaginations. Join us today, as the world‚¬s great telescopes, born of that serendipitous moment, gaze ever further into the distant past ‚¬â€ and into our future.
	This 25-minute program will be followed by a short "live" program entitled "Galileo’s Views", which will present the starry skies as Galileo would have viewed them in 1609 from Padua, Italy. Galileo’s observations of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon will be demonstrated.

ShowTimes

Monday through Friday:
1, 2,& 4 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday:
1, 2, 3 & 4 p.m.

Tickets are $3.00 for ages 6 and older. Children 5 and under are free.

For more detailed information about these shows click here.

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For directions to Bays Mountain Park click here.

To visit the Bays Mountain Park website click here.