CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (September 29, 2023) – The EPB Board has approved Evann Freeman’s promotion to Vice President, Government and Community Relations. In his new position, Freeman will continue to lead EPB’s government relations and economic development efforts by building on work he first undertook when he joined EPB in December 2019 as Director of Government Relations.

According to David Wade, EPB president & CEO, Freeman plays a critical role in in working with elected officials and community leaders. “Our mission to enhance quality of life for the people we serve gives us the opportunity to work closely with elected officials at the local, state, and federal level as well as many organizations engaged in related work,” Wade said. “Evann does a wonderful job of working with leadership from all of our stakeholders to keep our work coordinated and aligned with our partners, so we can work together on efforts that benefit our customers.”

Freeman points to HCS EdConnect powered by EPB as an example of a project that benefited from collaboration both within the municipal utility and across the community. “I felt honored to play a role in working with our partners including Hamilton County Schools along with city, county, state and private sector leaders as the EPB team pulled together to launch this nationally recognized program in a few short weeks,” Freeman said. “Knowing that HCS EdConnect now provides internet to more than 28,000 people in need is a great example of why working for EPB is so meaningful to me.”

With more than a decade of experience as a government relations professional, Freeman has focused his public policy efforts on community benefit and coalition building. Since 2009, Evann has worked for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander across Tennessee, most recently serving as the senior liaison in Middle Tennessee working closely with local, state and federal stakeholders.

A proud Chattanooga-native, Evann serves on many non-profit boards including the Urban League, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Chattanooga Tourism Company among others.

About EPB

With the mission of “enhancing quality of life in our community,” EPB is a municipal utility that delivers world-class energy and connectivity services to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the surrounding area. In 2010, EPB completed a 100% fiber optic network accessible to all its customers as the basis for launching America’s first community-wide Gig speed internet. The company still operates the world’s fastest community-wide internet service today at speeds up to 25 Gig. EPB also utilizes Chattanooga’s fiber optic network as the communications backbone for the most advanced and highly automated power distribution system in the United States. In 2022, EPB continued its commitment to keeping Chattanooga on the cutting edge by establishing our nation’s first commercially available quantum network — EPB Quantum Network℠ powered by Qubitekk, which aligns local job creation efforts with the national priority to accelerate the commercialization of quantum technology.

Since switching the lights on for its first electric customer in 1939, EPB has grown to serve nearly a half a million people across a 600-square-mile service area with cutting-edge infrastructure that integrates power distribution and telecommunications. At the same time, EPB keeps customer benefit at the center of all its efforts, earning recognition from J.D. Power as the #1 Mid-Sized Utility in the South for the last seven consecutive years based on customer satisfaction ratings. Learn more at epb.com.