2025 Milestones

3H Group

25 Years

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year is 3H Group, a hospitality management and development company founded in 2000 by Hiren Desai, Harshad Shah, and Harshad Naik. What began with one hotel has grown to include nearly 40 properties, several brand partners, and a team of close to 1,000 employees, situating 3H Group as a prominent name in the hospitality industry.

Since its founding, the company’s vision has evolved to encompass more than just hospitality. 3H Group now also operates in real estate development and recently began manufacturing relevant products for its industries. One of the company’s biggest transitions took place in early 2022, when 3H Group allied with LBA Hospitality, a top hotel management group in the Southeast, allowing for further diversification. Among 3H Group’s accomplishments are developing first-ever hotels for new national and international brands and being recognized as developer of the year for top brands like Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt.

“3H” stands for honest, hardworking, and hospitable, which Hiren Desai, president and CEO, says “are the pillars upon which 3H was founded, has grown, and continues to flourish.” These founding principles have seen the company through fluctuations in business over the years, such as during COVID-19, when guests were hesitant to travel. “We have endured and continued to be successful because of the quality of people on our team, as well as the strong relationships we’ve formed with lenders, vendors, partners, and customers,” says Desai.

A family-oriented culture is at the heart of 3H Group. Colleagues are treated like family, and the company currently has a team that has been with 3H Group for at least a decade, and for many employees, even longer. Shared values like teamwork and loyalty guide their business practices, and when curating the guest experience, Desai says he always follows the company motto: “We act like a guest and think like an owner.”

For Desai, it all comes back to the people, and he looks forward to celebrating those who have made 3H Group’s accomplishments possible this anniversary year, saying, “This 25th anniversary is a special milestone for us, and we look forward to celebrating with a surprise later this year to thank our employees for their hard work, great results, and dedication.”

Photos Courtesy of 3H Group

Chattanooga Allergy Clinic

50 Years

When Dr. Hyman Kaplan moved to Chattanooga and opened his clinic in 1975, he was making history. His business, Chattanooga Allergy Clinic (CAC), was the very first full-service allergy and immunology clinic in the city and was poised to meet the needs of a population dealing with the effects of an exceptionally high pollen count. Before, Chattanooga residents had to travel to Atlanta or Nashville to see an allergy specialist. Now, quality care was just around the corner.

Dr. Kaplan remained the only trained specialist in his field in Chattanooga for a decade, and worked to expand his practice. Since then, CAC has grown from five employees and one location to more than 130 employees, six double-board-certified physicians, 11 nurse practitioners, and eight locations in the greater Chattanooga area. Drs. Marc Cromie, Todd Levin, Lee Perry, Jennifer Patel, and Jessica Van Mason join Dr. Kaplan in providing quality care and bring an empathetic perspective to their patients, as each of them suffered from asthma or allergies as a child.

CAC’s motto is “Helping You Live Life to the Fullest,” and its services strive to accomplish exactly that. The clinic prioritizes cutting-edge, compassionate care and seeks to increase the quality of its patients’ lives while reducing the need for emergency room visits and hospital admissions. CAC treats allergies, asthma, immunodeficiency, and food allergies as well as skin and sinus conditions in both pediatric and adult patients. Through it all, “our values continue to include providing the best possible medical care with efficiency as conveniently and comfortably as possible,” shares Dr. Kaplan.

Over 50 years, CAC has witnessed and implemented many advancements in medical care. “The biggest successes include the introduction of up-to-date and advanced testing and treatments of allergic disease and immunologic deficiency,” says Dr. Kaplan. “We have seen huge advancements in medications for these illnesses as well as biologic agents giving relief not previously available.”

CAC has treated thousands of patients while maintaining the standard of care that Dr. Kaplan set from the beginning by treating each patient like family. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, CAC plans to hold a public ceremony to formally rename its Lee Highway building in honor of Dr. Kaplan as the clinic upholds the legacy he continues to leave.

Photos Courtesy of Chattanooga Allergy Clinic

Siskin Children’s Institute

75 Years

In 1942, Chattanooga local Garrison Siskin faced a life-threatening injury. Doctors had told him that his leg would need to be amputated, but Siskin prayed, pledging to dedicate his life to helping others if his leg was spared. Miraculously, his prayers were answered the next day. Siskin shared his pledge with his brother, Mose, who responded, “If it’s your promise, it’s my promise, and we’ll keep it together.”

The brothers made it their mission to serve their community and support individuals with disabilities. In 1950, they founded the Mose & Garrison Siskin Memorial Foundation and began funding a preschool for young children with physical disabilities and developmental delays, called Siskin Children’s Institute. In 2009, the Siskin Center for Developmental Pediatrics was launched at Siskin Children’s Institute to provide diagnostic, therapy, and support services to families navigating complex healthcare challenges in Tennessee and Georgia.

Today, the Siskin brothers’ inspiring legacy lives on at Siskin Children’s Institute, which has continued to grow its impact through the launch of feeding therapy and applied behavior analysis therapy programs and the opening of a clinic in Nashville.

“It is very unusual for a city the size of Chattanooga, TN, to have access to the developmental medicine and early intervention services offered at the Siskin Children’s Institute,” says CEO Don Mueller. “Over the last 75 years we have helped thousands of children achieve their full potential. We have built a comprehensive care team to address the needs of not only the children we serve, but their families as well.”

As a nonprofit, Siskin Children’s Institute is grateful for the philanthropic contributions that have allowed it to expand access to care. The institute is currently working to train specialists in the midst of a national shortage, and Mueller says this funding enables them to “bring more specialists on board, decrease wait times, and ensure that more children receive the care they need during these critical early years.”

“Siskin Children’s Institute has an unbelievable amount of regional and local community support that has enabled us to endure for more than 75 years. The Siskin family has remained involved throughout the years, and along with many dedicated community board and committee members, has helped steer Siskin Children’s Institute forward,” adds Mueller.

To celebrate 75 years of providing hope for children and families in the community, Siskin Children’s Institute will be hosting awareness events throughout the year as it remains dedicated to advancing access to care and making a difference in the region and beyond.

Photos Courtesy of Siskin Children’s Institute

Lawson Electric Co.

100 Years

One hundred years ago, Lawson Electric Co. opened its doors. The commercial and residential electrical service provider was founded in 1925 as Lawson & McCaslin Electric by Lester E. Lawson and Elmer McCaslin, who entered the industry at a perfect time – between 1925 and 1927, the use of electricity in Chattanooga increased by 31%. Taking advantage of this rapidly expanding trade, they began to grow their business. After McCaslin left the company in 1931, the name was changed to Lawson Electric Co.
The company has endured many historic events over the past century, including the Great Depression and World War II. During that time, Lawson Electric assisted with the Chattanooga campaign of the American Red Cross and helped raise $125,000 to support the war effort.

In the 1960s, under the leadership of Melvin Wilhoite, Lawson Electric Co. pioneered the introduction of electrical inspections in Hamilton County – one of four remaining counties in Tennessee without inspections. Wilhoite met with the Chattanooga Engineers Club regarding this issue and a committee was formed to request that the state provide the county with an inspector, efforts that paid off and set the foundation for today’s standards.

Lawson Electric Co. has since become one of Tennessee’s largest electrical contractors with an expansive portfolio of successful projects. The company has tackled projects big and small over the years, including installing LED lighting at Finley Stadium and working on the tallest peaks of the Tennessee Aquarium. Its team consists of more than 500 staff, and each electrician goes through a five-year apprenticeship. “We know the importance of a job well done and we take a lot of pride in our work. It’s something we instill in every individual on our team,” says current president, Bill Crawford.

As electrical technology has evolved, so has Lawson Electric Co. “We’re taking a long view on technology that focuses on renewable energy sources like solar and wind power and the desire by many of our customers to invest in new infrastructure and technology that integrates these resources. Solar panels, electric charging stations, and sustainability priorities are all pieces of our evolving industry,” shares Crawford.

A centennial anniversary is no small feat, and Crawford says the company is looking forward to celebrating. “We’re excited about our milestone year. It’s a time to share our history with our team members; however, it’s also a time for express our immense gratitude to clients who’ve been part of our success over the last hundred years.”

Photos Courtesy of Lawson Electric Co.

Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Company

125 Years

These days, Coca-Cola is widely enjoyed from a can or bottle, but this wasn’t always the case. The iconic beverage was invented in 1886 by pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia, and before it appeared in stores, was sold as a concentrated syrup to area drugstores to be mixed as a fountain drink. However, by the turn of the century, Coca-Cola would begin its ascent to the best-selling soft drink in the world, thanks to the
efforts of two aspiring entrepreneurs.

Chattanooga attorneys Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead wanted to turn Coca-Cola into a bottled beverage and were determined to make it happen. The summer of 1899, the men traveled to Atlanta for a meeting with Asa Candler, who had purchased the Coca-Cola Company seven years prior. Candler was skeptical that bottling Coca-Cola would be successful, but after much persuasion and persistence on behalf of the eager businessmen, he signed a contract granting exclusive bottling rights to Thomas and Whitehead.

To secure the capital needed to carry out their plan, Thomas and Whitehead partnered with colleague John Lupton, and that September, the very first Coca-Cola bottling plant in the world opened on Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. A couple months later, the Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Company was chartered. The three businessmen developed a franchise bottling method, and bottled Coca-Cola began to be introduced across the country, and soon, the world.

Demand for bottled Coca-Cola began to boom. In 1931, the company moved to a new facility on Broad Street, and by 1937, was producing more than 1 million cases per year – compared to 22,000 in 1904. The plant moved once again in 1970 to its current location on Amnicola Highway, and in 2016 added a $67 million distribution center and regional headquarters on West Shepherd Road.

Today, Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Co. produces 37 million cases annually and employs more than 500 people who work to manufacture, sell, and distribute the company’s brands in Hamilton County and North Georgia. Beyond Coca-Cola, the company also bottles brands such as Sprite, Dasani, Powerade, and Minute Maid. It operates under Alabama-based Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, which bought the business in 1926 and remains the third-largest bottler of Coca-Cola in the world.
Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Co. reached an impressive 125 years in business last year and held a 125-day-long celebration with its associates and communities. Honoring its storied past while looking to the future, the company stands ready to refresh customers for another 125 years to come.

(First) Photo Courtesy of Chattanooga Public Library,
(Second) Photos Courtesy of Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Company