Sheila Carter, left, and Oslin Gulick, event planners at Manchester Coffee County Conference Center, take advantage of online sites to collaborate about upcoming events.
ready to represent the company from home in a professional manner, and it has worked out well for them.” For Tullahoma’s Cubic Corporation, it’s the ideal location for their annual charity fundraiser, says Clay Cozart, the Cubic golf committee chairman. Cubic Corporation designs, integrates and operates systems, products and services for the transportation and defense industries, and they have suppliers all over the world. The Cubic Invitational – Supplier Charity Golf Tournament attracts those suppliers. They are invited each September and pay a sponsorship fee to attend a dinner and business outlook event on Thursday night and golf tournament on Friday. “Without the availability of the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center, we would have had to limit the participation during the past nine years,” Cozart says. The MCCCC assists with setup and decorating for the event and provides internet service for the large-screen LED TV. “The wireless internet service through Ben Lomand Connect for the TV worked flawlessly without any buffering or other issues,” Cozart says. The charity tournament started in 1999, and by 2008, the annual event had outgrown the original venue. After an extensive search, organizers found the ideal solution at the MCCCC, Cozart says. The conference center is large enough to accommodate the growing number of attendees, and it is also located near several hotels, which are an easy walk for the nonBen Lomand Connect
Various decorations and color schemes are available to choose for specific events at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center.
Rebecca French, left, is general manager at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center, and Bart O’Dare is executive chef, a position he has held for 12 years.
local suppliers, Cozart says. The conference has over 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space, ranging from a ballroom to small meeting rooms. The conference center has recently been awarded an economic development grant to build on and expand the parking lot, which will make access to and from the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival much easier. The festival, set up on the grounds near the conference center, has been held annually since 2002. The conference center has always been used for artist check-in and other aspects of Bonnaroo, but the event organizers had to supply their own internet provider, French says. Now, the center can provide internet. “We want to make it affordable for anyone to use,” she says. “We don’t try to sell something someone can’t afford. We want
everyone to use the conference center, and the price depends on their vision of their event. We streamlined our pricing to give fair and consistent prices to everyone.” There is an event planner at the conference center who specializes in decorating and organizing an event specifically for a particular organization’s needs. The conference center hosts many fundraising events. “We’re selling an experience,” French says. “We’re not selling square footage.” The center attracts many events, and that number is increasing because of the gig capability. Its location and the growth could have a big impact on tourism in the area. “We’re not a destination for tourism,” French says. “But we want people to want to come here and then come back again. Please and thank you cannot go far enough.” January/February 2017 | 13