Entrepreneurial Hall of fame inducts three

Entrepreneurial Hall of fame inducts three

In a celebration of Chattanooga’s rich entrepreneurial spirit, UTC’s College of Business and Chancellor Roger Brown announce three new inductees into the UTC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame: Nelson E. Bowers II, L. Hardwick “Hacker” Caldwell, III, and Ernest Holmes, Sr.

Nelson E. Bowers II has been involved in the automotive industry more than 30 years. He owns Village Volkswagen, Audi of Chattanooga, a Toyota and Honda dealership in Cleveland and three body shops. He has worked as an executive for Sonic Automotive and he owns a NASCAR team.

  1. Hardwick “Hacker” Caldwell, III an early innovator in financial services, owns the TSWII hedge fund. He began investing in hedge funds in 1980.

Ernest Holmes, Sr. was a garage worker at the time when autos began to replace horse-drawn buggies. After spending eight hours pulling a car out of a creek with blocks, ropes and six men, he was inspired to create the tow truck. The first design was complete in 1916. An improved design led Holmes and his brother Ernest to manufacture wreckers. Hundreds of military wreckers were produced during World War II. Holmes died in 1945, when he was age 62.

The UTC College of Business thanks the following organizations for their support of the Hall of Fame:

Bald Headed Bistro

Brenda Lawson & Associates, LLC

Check Into Cash, Inc.

Hazlett, Lewis & Bieter, PLLC

Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, PLLC

Jones Management Services, LLC

Joseph Decosimo and Company, PLLC

Merrill Lynch

Republic Parking System, Inc.

SunTrust Bank

Thunder Enterprises

Wolford Development, Inc.

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