Mission
The Enterprise Center’s mission has changed over time to meet the ever-changing needs of the community and the ever-shifting landscape of technology, according to the organization’s acting president and CEO, Sammy Lowdermilk. But what has remained the same is the organization’s role in “making sure that our communities and the people and residents in Chattanooga are connected to those opportunities around those rapidly changing technologies and innovations.” Most everything the organization does, Lowdermilk says, is aimed at providing the community the tools and resources needed to keep up with everybody else in the realm of technology.
History
Founded in the early 2000s, The Enterprise Center was the brainchild of former U.S. Senator Bob Corker, who was then serving as Chattanooga’s mayor, and former U.S. Representative Zach Wamp. Corker’s proposal was to establish the Enterprise Center to handle the technology links, venture capital and business assistance programs initiated within city government to help entrepreneurs start and grow new businesses, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported in February 2003. Over time, The Enterprise Center has retained its original intent, while changing to accommodate the needs of the community and leadership of Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Lowdermilk says.
Scope
“Everything in our workforce and economy is really hyper-focused on technology,” Lowdermilk says. Applying for a job, for example, is no longer done with pencil and paper. It’s done online. So, if you don’t know how to use the technology of the day, you can quickly fall behind. Tech Goes Home, one of several programs through The Enterprise Center, offers digital skills training “to help participants acquire the skills to be able to access information and resources online, and improve their quality of life,” the organization’s website says. Anyone in Chattanooga and Hamilton County is eligible to participate in the program.
By the Numbers
* 0: The cost of The Enterprise Center’s programming for participants
* 500-600: Community organizations The Enterprise Center has partnered with
* 800+: Tech Goes Home trainers prepared to lead digital skills classes
* 9,000: Households served in partnership with Hamilton County Schools EdConnect, providing no-cost internet access to Hamilton County students and their families
* 17,815: People served through the Tech Goes Home program
* 14,000-20,000: People who come through The Enterprise Center’s free community space in a year
Drawing Board
“We are building on more than two decades of impact, connecting people and organizations with skills and technology to prepare them for the present and future,” Enterprise Center Board Chair Dan Ryan says. “By combining our skills as tech trainers and our community-first approach we’ve opened pathways to better education, jobs and opportunities for tens of thousands of our neighbors.” If our community isn’t ready for and taking advantage of new technologies, then other communities will instead take advantage, Lowdermilk says. In that spirit, The Enterprise Center is looking forward, focusing on how to equip businesses and workers to use advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum. Lowdermilk says the organization is also working with Thrive Regional Partnership to offer Tech Goes Home classes across the region, including in Northern Alabama and Georgia.
Learn more about The Enterprise Center at theenterprisectr.org.
