Smoky Mountain Surgical

Please join SMS in welcoming our two newest team members who start today! We asked them to send in a few sentences about themselves.

Here is was Mariam Nash had to share: My name is Mariam Nash, and I live in the Upper Cumberland with my husband (Brett) and our 4-year-old little boy (LJ). I am thrilled to join the Smoky Mountain Surgical team. I am eager to use the skills gained in project management and pre-construction management to grow my career with SMS. Being a former college softball player, I have been through my fair share of sports-related injuries, which piqued my interest in medical device sales. I want to help make a difference in the lives of the patients and surgeons that we serve. Outside of my professional life, I enjoy spending time with my family, snow skiing, attending Alabama football games, and playing pickleball. Fun fact about me: I met my husband Brett at the Alabama/Tennessee game in 2016 (he's a vol and I am not). I am excited to apply my skills and passion to contribute to the success of our team!

Welcome to SMS, Mariam!

Please join SMS in welcoming our two newest team members who start today! We asked them to send in a few sentences about themselves.

Here is was Mason Burks had to share: I have a background in kinesiology and psychology as well as being a trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Knoxville community for over 17 years. Science and Health have always been a passion of mine. I love traveling, cooking, playing chess, being outdoors, and spending time with my wife and dogs.

Welcome to SMS, Mason!

Happy Birthday to you, Kelley Vincent! We hope you have a great day!

Happy new fiscal year and happy birthday to Zeick Hicks! Zeick has been with SMS for about a year and a half. He started off strong in our Chattanooga market and today is his first day in Knoxville as a member of Team Bags! Have a great day, Zeick!

We are celebrating Mitch Kleiber's work anniversary this month! Happy 7 year anniversary to our resident caffeine addict and Arthroplasty Manager!

We've had a great two days kicking off the upcoming fiscal year! We spent yesterday setting strategies and goals. We also celebrated our FY24 award winners. Today, we're fully engaged in ECI Training (Educate, Challenge, Inspire) with Mike Fisher in Knoxville.

Congratulations to our FY24 Award Recipients!
- Team of the Year - Team Tri Cities
- TNRP MVP (Rep of the Year) - Jordan Findlay (Team Tri Cities)
- Leadership Team Award - Brandon Thomas (Supply Chain Manager)

Happy Birthday to our agency owner, Dave Kuendig! We are all lucky to have him leading SMS! Have a great day, Dave!

Happy Birthday to Kimberly McCain! Kim is often behind the scenes with our Sales Enablement Team working on administrative and inventory related projects.. her knowledge and help are invaluable! We hope you have the best day, Kimberly!

Thank you to Dr. Ed Akeyson for spending time with our team in our Knoxville Medical Education Space on Friday afternoon! We enjoyed discussing all the new products and procedures in our endoscopic spine portfolio.

We look forward to spending even more time working through these new techniques at the upcoming Endoscopic Approaches to Spine Course in August at Arthrex Headquarters in Naples!

Happy Work Anniversary to our June start dates!

Our Chattanooga Medical Education Space is an exciting place to be today! A big thank you to the Erlanger Orthopaedic Residency Program and their attending surgeons; Jeremy Bruce, MD, and Jad Dorizas, MD, and Chad Smith, MD.

We enjoyed working through QuadTendon, FiberStitch, and SutureLoc procedures with this group today!

Two SMS birthdays in one day! Happy Birthday to you, Christian Saylor! Have a great bday!

Happy Birthday to our Arthroplasty Sales Manager, Mitch Kleiber! Have an awesome day, Mitch!

Please join me in welcoming our newest interns to the team! See below for a little more information about each of them!

Elle: Hi! My name is Elle Francis and I am originally from Kingsport, Tennessee but now live in Chattanooga where I attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I am now a senior majoring in Marketing with a concentration in Professional Sales. I am so excited for this opportunity and can't wait to get started. A fun fact about me is I played varsity basketball all four years of high school!

Sarah: Hi, my name is Sarah Roderiques and I am a Farragut, TN native! I am so excited about joining the Smokey Mountain Surgical team and cannot wait to make great memories here. I am entering my senior year as a Supply Chain Management major with a collateral in sales. A fun fact about me is love to travel, mostly to watch my younger brother compete as a USA Gymnastics National Team member!

Jonathan: Hey everyone! My name is Jonathan Shaver. I am from Greenville, South Carolina but have lived in Knoxville for almost 15 years. I am attending the University of Tennessee in the fall with an International Business major and a Spanish minor. A fun fact about me is that I am a certified bi-literate in Spanish.

Please join me in giving each of them a warm welcome!

Please join us in welcoming Aaron Stafford to SMS! Today is Aaron's first day as a member of Team Tri Cities.

We asked Aaron to share some information about himself ahead of his start date and here is what he provided: A little bit about me is given my experience in being a 5-year division 1 student-athlete, I have seen my fair share of injuries. By being able to see my fellow teammates rehabilitation process through the use of medical devices is what got me so interested in this industry. I can’t wait to start and help make a difference!

Welcome to the team, Aaron!

Happy Birthday to our Senior Inventory Specialist, Scott Jeter! We hope you have the best day, Scott!

Please join SMS in welcoming Joey Nugent to our Chattanooga teams! Joey recently moved to Chattanooga from California.

We asked Joey to share some information about himself and here is what he sent: "I have been in Medical Device for over 15yrs. I have carried most orthopedic company's devices throughout my career. I left California as the Distal Extremities Product Manger over Central California with Cornerstone Med (Arthrex). I’m very excited to get started with SMS and meet everyone!"

We are thrilled to have you onboard, Joey!

Happy Work Anniversary to our May hires! We are celebrating five awesome employees between our Chattanooga and Knoxville teams! We are lucky to have them!

We are excited to celebrate another Team Tri Cities birthday today!

Happy Birthday to our Tri Cities Area Manager, Curt Phillips! Have a great day, Curt!

Happy Birthday to everyone's favorite Scotsman, Jordan Findlay! Have a great, Jordan!

Happy Birthday John Luke!! We hope you have an awesome birthday!

Welcome to our brand new Medical Education Facility in Chattanooga, TN!

On Monday, we celebrated the grand opening of this state of the art facility. The 11,000 square foot building has an incredible lab capable of hosting 4+ stations, a 75-person conference room, and an awesome surgeon lounge.

We are so excited to host our customers here and continue our mission of in this great space!

Two teammates have April 4th birthdays! Happy birthday to Coral Malpass today, too! Have an awesome day, Coral!

A birthday and a work anniversary celebration for this guy this month! Happy Birthday Chris Campbell! We hope you have the best day, we are lucky to have you at SMS!

After 27 years, we had the privilege of saying "see you later" to the legend, Terry Smith, this week as he retires!

Terry has been with Arthrex in the Chattanooga market since 1996. He's helped improve the lives of over 500,000 patients during that time. He's as kind as they come but a true sales killer through and through. We have all been lucky to learn from him!

Terry, we will miss you but are so excited for your next adventure as a kayak guide in Alaska and beyond! Thank you for all you've done in .

We'd like to warmly welcome our new Trauma Manager to the team, Brad Pilkay!

As always, we asked Brad to send some information to us and here is what he provided: "I’ve been fortunate enough to spend 15 years in Trauma & look forward to integrating that tenure into what Smoky is accomplishing! My family drives what I do - my wife Susan (26 years) Zach, Zoe & Grace & granddaughters Naomi 2 & Bailey Sue 1 - they call me PaPa!!"

We are thrilled to have you, Brad!

Happy Birthday to everyone's favorite April Fools Baby, Chloe Jacks! We love Chloe's positive attitude and magnetic energy! Have the best day, Chloe!

Happy Anniversary to two very important pieces of our Knoxville and Chattanooga teams!

Chris Campbell celebrates two years with Arthrex in East TN today but he has many prior years of Arthrex experience from his time in NY.

Jake Parker celebrates 11 years with Arthrex on the 22nd!

We are thrilled to have these leaders on our team!

We had an excellent day at the Health Care Leadership Forum in Naples today with leaders from 4 of our awesome facilities!

The Health Care Leadership Forum is a unique educational experience designed for hospital and ambulatory surgery center leaders. Surgeons, physicians, administrators, directors, and managers are invited to learn more about orthopedic procedures, medical technologies, and strategies that can positively impact programs. Discover new ways to address important areas such as operating room efficiencies, cost containment, and the overall patient experience.

Interested in learning more? Contact your local representative. There are upcoming dates in May, July, and September.

Happy Birthday to our Knoxville Inventory Specialist, Warren Church! Have a great day, Warren!